MANDELA’S PASSING: NO COMMENT FROM FIDEL CASTRO

            The long silence of Fidel Castro, normally given to figure publicly whenever possible, awakens some doubt as to his current physical condition. The last one of his “Reflections” appeared in the Cuban press last August 27, an article full of foolishness on the subject of the military and political crisis in Syria. There he assured his readers that a devastating, worldwide apocalypse was in the making. Now, with the death of Nelson Mandela, we continue to await some remarks from the Comandante on an important event. It would seem that his physical condition makes it impossible for him to comment on the virtues of the South African leader.

            Perhaps he is simply taking refuge, as usual, in silence, converting his actual health into a state secret, later to reappear to only to confound those who had thought him well on his way to his final destination. As long as Fidel lives and breathes and remains mentally lucid, anything is possible. Why? Persons with severe mental problems , such as Castro suffers, compensate for their unhappiness by making others suffer. Such people have a need to remain the center of attention, stoking passions with a view to emphasizing how indispensable they are, especially when their capacity to act is severely diminished. They need to remain the center of attention, to continue to dominate the scene, even if it means only wallowing in an orgy of nonsense. Normally such people do not even respect their own rules and have a need to degrade their adversaries so as to sleep soundly, even though it may even result in an unjustifiable death.

            People who suffer from such delusions also consider their own actions—no matter how illogical—legitimate and necessary; if they turn out badly, it is someone else’s fault.

            What inspires his silence on the subject of Mandela since passionate his support for the creator of the African National Congress in the past is a matter beyond discussion? It’s not that I am particularly worried that we haven’t heard from him, nor do I particularly miss reading his “Reflections”, but I must admit a sense of surprise that he has missed an opportunity to say something about a man that he admired, even though Mandela’s leadership in South Africa turned out to be the very antithesis of Castro’s own in Cuba.

            Perhaps we will just have to wait. We are nearing the end of the calendar year and the Cuban government always avoids that season to announce bad news.