Ozzie At The Bat

“I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death, your right to say it.”

      -Patrick Henry


Read that last sentence one more time, let it soak in!

Now folks, apply that logic to this weeks statements made by Miami Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen who chose to give said leader a sympathetic visage. Guillen was quoted in Time Magazine as saying, “ I love Fidel Castro”, and then later in the same article, ““I respect Fidel Castro,” “You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that [expletive] is still here.”


With those two sentences, he has managed to destroy any good will the newly minted Miami Marlins had gained with the quaint Cuban-American haven known as Little Havana. This goodwill, being needed after a billionaire owner used tax money to build himself a personal playground all while demolishing their beloved Orange Bowl and with it, the memories of the first American homes for some that lived in the tent cities erected there to hold the exiles.

This isn’t however about demolition of buildings, or dismissal of memories, it’s really not even about insensitive comments made by an arguable ignorant baseball manager. This is an argument of a persons 1st amendment rights to Freedom of Speech. You may not agree with his views on the aged dictator, but he most certainly has the right to have and express those views.

It is difficult as the son and grandson of Cuban immigrants myself, to write the words above, however as a proud American citizen, I can not disavow the laws of the country many such immigrants ran to for the same freedoms they now chastise Guillen of exercising. The 1st amendment does not make allowances for freedom of speech (as long as the speaker agrees with me). It is a right bestowed upon any citizen taking the oath of allegiance to the flag and nation of autonomy.

Having said the above, it is absolutely the right of any individual offended by his comments to assemble and demand the head of Guillen on a silver platter.

Is it just for a man to be forced to resign or lose his job simply for stating his opinion? Any and all of the above statements he made, have nothing to do with his ability to manage a ball club. So often there is no separation between what is necessary and just, and what is a rash reaction to a ill-advised remark. While the Marlins have distanced themselves with both the remarks and what they represent, they have not gone so far as to completely black-ball their manager.

There are many people who feel so many different ways about so many different topics, who are we to demand that a person lose their livelihood for having an opinion that differs from our own. Ninety miles from the new $500 million dollar home of Ozzie Guillen and his team lies an enslaved nation, chastised for lacking the freedom we now try to take from this manager.

Are we any better than what we dislike?