Fidel Castro vs. Jefferson Davis

[Deus Naturae]

Castro, and anyone who says Davis needs to re-examine their values.

You are aware that Davis didn't execute political opponents, right?

Davis fought for the enslavement of a large group of people, and he fought for the system that often murdered blacks for "not knowing their place".

The thing is, Davis himself didn't really do anything in his capacity as POTCS to intensify, expand, or preserve the institution of slavery. Slavery was going to continue to exist in the South regardless of whether Davis or any other Confederate was in charge in Richmond, and regardless of whether the Southern States seceded at all. That isn't to say that Davis's leadership wasn't terrible and didn't make life in the South much, much worse in a number of aspects, but in most of those aspects I think Castro's leadership clearly resulted in greater negative change.

[Middle-aged Europe]

The irony is that in a strict sense both Castro and Davis ran unopposed in a single-party system and were almost unanimously elected to their respective offices.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_presidential_election,_1861

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Castro, and anyone who says Davis needs to re-examine their values.

You are aware that Davis didn't execute political opponents, right?

Davis fought for the enslavement of a large group of people, and he fought for the system that often murdered blacks for "not knowing their place".

Take away the racial aspect, and that is exactly what post revolution Cuba is.

[PiMp DaDdy FitzGerald]

Castro, and anyone who says Davis needs to re-examine their values.

You are aware that Davis didn't execute political opponents, right?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Pillow
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nueces_massacre

Both suck, so no vote out of principle.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The Fort Pillow massacre was an act of war, and cannot be cited as an example of Davis shutting down dissent like Castro does. The Nueces massacre on the other hand was a horrible crime against humanity, though the Confederacy was so decentralized that the blame lies in the hands of Texas officials. Unlike Castro, who has directly ordered the deaths of dissidents and opponents, dissent was common in the Confederacy, which was a genuinely free country if you were white.

Davis was of course a dick. But he wasn’t a dicktator (TM) who ruled with an iron hand.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Unlike Castro, who has directly ordered the deaths of dissidents and opponents, dissent was common in the Confederacy, which was a genuinely free country if you were white.

And male.

[PiMp DaDdy FitzGerald]

The Fort Pillow massacre was an act of war, and cannot be cited as an example of Davis shutting down dissent like Castro does. The Nueces massacre on the other hand was a horrible crime against humanity, though the Confederacy was so decentralized that the blame lies in the hands of Texas officials. Unlike Castro, who has directly ordered the deaths of dissidents and opponents, dissent was common in the Confederacy, which was a genuinely free country if you were white.

Davis was of course a dick. But he wasn’t a dicktator (TM) who ruled with an iron hand.

If Fort Pillow, a massacre that had nothing to do with military necessity, could be shown as an example of a government not shutting down dissent, then many of Castro's worst crimes during the revolution are also dismissed. Also, many of the muders in Cuba were done by local groups rather than the government, so those would also be dismissed.
The Nueces massacre showed that even if you where white, you could still be illegally killed. There was also the fact of mass voter fraud that kept only the planter elite having power. So the assertion that if you where white, you where free, is absurd even if you don't take unionists into account.
The truth was that the Confederacy was founded on voter fraud and, while mostly free for planters, was very dictatorial for anyone else. If Brezhnev can be counted as a dictator, there is no reason to say that Davis couldn't be counted as one as well.

[SWE]

This thread is hilarious. You are either voting for a Socialist or a racist who might try to enslave you.

If Castro was just a socialist, then there'd be no excuse not to vote for him

[ElectionsGuy]

Unlike Castro, who has directly ordered the deaths of dissidents and opponents, dissent was common in the Confederacy, which was a genuinely free country if you were white.

And male.

And heterosexual, and right-handed, etc.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

The Fort Pillow massacre was an act of war, and cannot be cited as an example of Davis shutting down dissent like Castro does. The Nueces massacre on the other hand was a horrible crime against humanity, though the Confederacy was so decentralized that the blame lies in the hands of Texas officials. Unlike Castro, who has directly ordered the deaths of dissidents and opponents, dissent was common in the Confederacy, which was a genuinely free country if you were white.

Davis was of course a dick. But he wasn’t a dicktator (TM) who ruled with an iron hand.

If Fort Pillow, a massacre that had nothing to do with military necessity, could be shown as an example of a government not shutting down dissent, then many of Castro's worst crimes during the revolution are also dismissed. Also, many of the muders in Cuba were done by local groups rather than the government, so those would also be dismissed.
The Nueces massacre showed that even if you where white, you could still be illegally killed. There was also the fact of mass voter fraud that kept only the planter elite having power. So the assertion that if you where white, you where free, is absurd even if you don't take unionists into account.

The truth was that the Confederacy was founded on voter fraud and, while mostly free for planters, was very dictatorial for anyone else. If Brezhnev can be counted as a dictator, there is no reason to say that Davis couldn't be counted as one as well.

Castro has committed plenty of crimes after the revolution, and many are far worse than what was committed during the revolution.

You do raise an interesting point in the comparison with Brezhnev, I admit.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Unlike Castro, who has directly ordered the deaths of dissidents and opponents, dissent was common in the Confederacy, which was a genuinely free country if you were white.

And male.

And heterosexual, and right-handed, etc.

Thanks for making fun of women's suffrage.

[Sopranos Republican]

Unlike Castro, who has directly ordered the deaths of dissidents and opponents, dissent was common in the Confederacy, which was a genuinely free country if you were white.

And male.

And heterosexual, and right-handed, etc.

Thanks for making fun of women's suffrage.

...

[Mechaman]

Oh good lord, can we not?  I mean please?

This is like asking which nut I want to cut off, the left one or the right one.  I think that if forced to choose an option on this poll question it would be the one that says that this question is being asked is proof that the OP is a horrible person.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Castro, and anyone who says Davis needs to re-examine their values.

You are aware that Davis didn't execute political opponents, right?

Davis fought for the enslavement of a large group of people, and he fought for the system that often murdered blacks for "not knowing their place".

Take away the racial aspect, and that is exactly what post revolution Cuba is.

The thing is that, bad as that is, the racial aspect makes it exponentially worse.

[fartboy]

I went with the legal citizen. Fidel Castro looked homely and unkept. Sometimes I wonder if he showered. Imagine body odor coming from the White House and going all through our country. We'd need an environmental bill just to balance things out. Then again Davis did live in an era where people weren't as clean. He might smell too. One supported slavery based on race and the other supported slavery based on those who do and don't belong to the ruling party. I say we turn it into a farting contest at that point.

[TNF]

So I have to choose between the who who leads a repressive dictatorship where everyone is entitled to a home, health care, a job, and an education (whether or not they actually get those is another story)...

...or a guy who lead a repressive dictatorship founded solely upon the purpose of owning people?

Real tough choice.

[MATTROSE94]

Neither (Sane.)

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

This thread only exists as a trap to call people who don't want to vote Castro racist or whatever. Not voting out of principle.

No its not.

Yes it is.

It's so obvious, dude.

[Potatoe]

Neither, both are just awful.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Just what is/was the point of this thread?

[All Along The Watchtower]

muh states rights

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

muh states rights

Your a libertarian. Where else could you obtain so much smugness?

[Randy Bobandy]

I love Fidel Castro.

[All Along The Watchtower]

muh states rights

Your a libertarian. Where else could you obtain so much smugness?

lol

[nolesfan2011]

Curious what the results would look like...

Castro was a far superior military commander, so... Castro (Davis was a hapless fool, both had terrible politics, racist slavery support vs communist dictator).