March 10, 2006

Anti-Castro Sign at Ballgame Causes Stir: Gotta love it! - Cubans don't know what a democracy truly is. The Cuban official thought he could just bully the guy on the stands ... and got taken to the police station to be lectured on Freedom of Speech ... I'm sure that must have been a nightmare in itself ... (Sweetness!).

posted by zippinglou to baseball at 02:13 PM - 27 comments

Unfortunately his grammar is horrible. He wants to say "Down with Fidel", but the message is lost in translation. Sports and politics suck together. He should have kept his rhetoric to himself... I think

posted by everett at 02:30 PM on March 10, 2006

Why is it when some nut does something like this, everyone thinks the US had something to do with it?

posted by dbt302 at 02:38 PM on March 10, 2006

tell the Cubans to paper the fences with "Down With Bush" signs. They'll hear booing and cheering and everything in between, and maybe a lot of laughter. Then they may learn about freddom of speech.

posted by jazzdog at 02:49 PM on March 10, 2006

And longer link descriptions. That's another thing SpoFi needs.

posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 02:55 PM on March 10, 2006

Then they may learn about freddom of speech. We sure could use more fred-dom of speech! ((I once shook Fidel Castro's hand, he said, to nobody in particular.))

posted by Amateur at 03:03 PM on March 10, 2006

I would have payed (sic) to have seen Fidel Castro's face as he read the sign I'm sure he already realises most Cuban-Americans don't like him. But this subscription-TV idea of zippinglou's - maybe some kind of 'Fidel-Cam (TM)' - could be a real revenue raiser for the Cuban economy!

posted by owlhouse at 03:04 PM on March 10, 2006

"Unfortunately his grammar is horrible. He wants to say "Down with Fidel", but the message is lost in translation. Sports and politics suck together. He should have kept his rhetoric to himself... I think" Who's grammar are you reffering to? Abajo Fidel, is correct..make sure you read the link before you make any comments...."FREEDOM OF SPEECH" I don't believe you need a definition for this....do you?

posted by Grrrlacher at 03:05 PM on March 10, 2006

Having attended a (very) few sporting events in Cuba, I will say this -- either the people there genuinely love him, or there is some well-orchestrated adoration going on. Either way, the idea of somebody holding up a sign saying 'down with Fidel' would be completely foreign to them.

posted by Amateur at 03:06 PM on March 10, 2006

Cuba si Castro No! Esta La Victoria Siempre!

posted by Robb Dubbs at 03:06 PM on March 10, 2006

La Lucha Continua!

posted by yerfatma at 04:01 PM on March 10, 2006

Down with Fiddles! I hate the string family.

posted by wfrazerjr at 04:18 PM on March 10, 2006

See that is what is wrong in the world. People hate strings just because the are strings. Not all fiddles are bad.

posted by scottypup at 04:29 PM on March 10, 2006

Freedom of speech rules!!!!!

posted by chemwizBsquared at 04:33 PM on March 10, 2006

Freedom of speech in the US? There isn't any anymore I thought...

posted by Drood at 04:40 PM on March 10, 2006

There is no freedom of speech. If there were, I wouldn't have had to get a Sirius Satellite Radio to listen to Howard Stern and Bubba The Love Sponge.

posted by dbt302 at 05:09 PM on March 10, 2006

There is no freedom of speech accounting for taste. If there were, I wouldn't have had to get a Sirius Satellite Radio to listen to Howard Stern and Bubba The Love Sponge. Fixed that for you.

posted by wfrazerjr at 05:29 PM on March 10, 2006

So tell me, zippinglou, were you has het-up enthusiastic about the player that refused to stand for the US anthem? Did you get angry when his team threatened to bust him if he didn't observe the mandatory patriotism?

posted by rodgerd at 05:50 PM on March 10, 2006

You already know tha tthe guy was dealt with by Castro after the game- hes a gonner for sure!- lol

posted by redsoxrgay at 05:59 PM on March 10, 2006

I guess I was ok with you up until the lol. Totalitarian Death Squads: ROFLMAO!

posted by yerfatma at 06:03 PM on March 10, 2006

The US Dept of Treasury did not allow Cuba into the WBC until after they agreed to donate all $$ to Katrina victims so that Cuba would not benefit financially from the event.

posted by rxreed at 06:12 PM on March 10, 2006

Poor Fidel. All he ever wanted was a world of fairness, equality and totalitarianism.

posted by Texan_lost_in_NY at 07:21 PM on March 10, 2006

Poor Fidel. All he ever wanted was a world of fairness, equality and totalitarianism. True dat. He didn't even get to keep his title of "World Leader Most Likely to Enjoy a Stogie", 'cause you know who grabbed that one ... Image hosting by Photobucket

posted by wfrazerjr at 07:58 PM on March 10, 2006

Fidels millions of cubans back home could never of held that sign up. Think about the millions of things that are printed or said about are polliticians in this country on a daily basis in a negative or critical manner. VIVVA FREEDOM VIVA FREEDOM of expression and speech.

posted by kck54 at 08:59 PM on March 10, 2006

So tell me, zippinglou, were you has het-up enthusiastic about the player that refused to stand for the US anthem? Did you get angry when his team threatened to bust him if he didn't observe the mandatory patriotism?
posted by rodgerd at 5:50 PM CST on March 10

Are you referring to the basketball player in the NBA. The Muslim? (Forgot his name – Thank Ala!) ---

Here’s my thought: - Out of respect for the country in which you're living in, making a living off, etc. The least a person "must" do (not should do), is stand up for its anthem! To be courteous doesn't make you a lesser being, on the contrary....

Back to the topic here: "Abajo Fidel" is correct Spanish.... It's an idiomatic expression - not to be taken literally as "Down Fidel" but as "Down with Fidel". The Spanish language allows these abbreviations when the idea transmited is obvious.

posted by zippinglou at 09:23 PM on March 10, 2006

dbt302: There is no freedom of speech. If there were, I wouldn't have had to get a Sirius Satellite Radio to listen to Howard Stern and Bubba The Love Sponge. How ridiculous. If you want to know what living without freedom of speech feels like, draw a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed in a country with a large Muslim population. Then escape with your head intact back to the United States and let's hear you whine about how you have to shell out a few pennies a day to hear Howie drop an f-bomb. Howard Stern is the primary example of freedom of speech. Here in the USA, Howard is free to be as dumb as he wants to be.

posted by L.N. Smithee at 09:56 PM on March 10, 2006

Howard Stern is brilliant; he's convinced his panting legions that he stands up for constitutional rights. One of the greatest entertainment scams since the Cardiff Giant. On preview: off topic

posted by The_Black_Hand at 10:22 PM on March 10, 2006

Let's bring this back to sports, please. If this becomes a political free-for-all it will be deleted. VIVA FREEDOM VIVA FREEDOM of expression and speech. Americans are forgetting that we don't have freedom of speech in our sports arenas, where a sign criticizing an owner or a team can get you ejected from the property.

posted by rcade at 05:42 AM on March 11, 2006

You're not logged in. Please log in or register.