Exiles' Love for Cuba is Understandable, but it Doesn't Excuse Censorship

Ever since Fidel Castro took the reins of control in Cuba and turned that island nation into a Communist dictatorship, South Florida has been the surrogate home to hundreds of thousands of exiles, most of whom lost properties, their lifestyles, and social and political status. Many of the area's Cuban-American community suffered unimaginable hardships; the Castro regime has a long and bloody history of repression, imposing long prison terms and even executions on those it deems "enemies of the Revolution." Even more tragic, untold thousands of Cubans - men, women and children - have died horrible deaths at sea while attempting to cross the Florida Straits by various means ranging from rickety homemade rafts to smugglers' speedboats.

It's not hard to understand, then, why some Cuban-Americans have such a passionate hatred for Fidel Castro, his brother Raul and the entire Soviet-style police state they run like a private vassal holding. In their eyes, the Cuban Revolution didn't replace Fulgencio Batista's allegedly corrupt (and U.S.-friendly) regime with an equitable and just form of government; it betrayed its own ideals and became even more repressive and murderous than the previous regime had ever been.

Nevertheless, such passionate hatred and misunderstood patriotism doesn't entitle anyone, whether their roots be from Cuba, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, or Belarus, to break the laws of Miami-Dade County, the State of Florida, or the United States of America. Nor is it fair for "concerned parents" to behave in a fashion that is not only socially unacceptable in a democracy, but also in such a fashion that it has a negative impact on their children's education.