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Over Castro, Canada PM faces nightmarish side of social media

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As Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau found out, liberals aren’t safe from the nightmare that social media can turn into for anyone who has even a slightly specific or opinionated comment.

In a statement, Trudeau seemed to compliment Fidel Castro, the deceased former leader of Cuba, more than he may have deserved. Many people were less-than-pleased about what Trudeau had to say, especially the Cubans who fled to Miami when Castro was in power.

In response to Trudeau’s statement, social media got to work on #TrudeauEulogies, making seemingly positive statements on unequivocally evil people like Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler.

Many people on social media don’t realize that not everyone generally accepts their perspective on things. When I first saw the responses that people had, I figured that it was some Canadian conservative getting roasted about some poorly worded statement.

I was surprised to find out that Trudeau is a member of his country’s Liberal Party.

Perspective is exactly what it boils down to. Canada had a much more relaxed and less hostile  relationship with Cuba than the U.S. Not many know that it’s the third-most popular destination among Canadian tourists after the U.S. and Mexico.

While that does not excuse Castro from the terrible things that he did, it explains why Trudeau had what can be interpreted as a more lighthearted approach to Castro’s death than other NATO members.

Depending on who you might ask, Colin Kaepernick and baseball players of Cuban descent have a lot of things to say about Castro’s death.

I can understand why many Americans, especially Cuban refugees, celebrate his death and be upset with Trudeau’s words. At the same time, I can see that Trudeau thinks differently about Castro and the state of Cuba.

Facebook and Twitter are like packed rooms for people to scrutinize and complain, as loudly as they possibly can, about the latest arguable point that a notable person has brought up. Everyone thinks that their opinion of things is truth and indisputable. There’s no room for anything else.

It’s easy to see a point you disagree with on the internet and go to town tearing it apart. This is most visible when said point is from a person who you know will not response to you. It’s just disgraceful and creates no real dialogue as Trudeau hasn’t made a follow-up statement about what he said.

Is it unreasonable to see the good things that Castro did for his country while seeing at what costs he was able to undertake them at? Holding a leader — or any person, for that matter — to moral absolutes will always lead to underwhelming disappointment.

We can always expect more from people in the world, but they will never act in strict accordance with what we think is right.

If anything, I am hopeful for the future of Cuba. I am optimistic about the economic and political reforms that will come to Cuba since U.S. rebuilt diplomatic relations with the country last year.

I hope that the leaders of Cuba are willing to listen to the people’s needs and wants.

Assistant opinion Thom Dwyer broadcast journalism sophomore and can be reached at [email protected]

3 Comments

  • Well … when Justin Trudeau is the SON of Fidel Castro, you would expect a complimentary statement from the Canadian PM.

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