Thomas Sowell. Sun-Sentinel. Web-posted: 7:14 p.m. Apr. 21, 2000
Whether you think Elián should stay or go, you should be able to recognize what the Miami González family has endured and what it has given of itself for this little boy. Nor should we forget that the Cuban-Americans who have surrounded the González home in Miami are not
getting one dime from all this. They are putting their bodies on the line against an attorney general who already has a track record that includes Waco.
Yet unbelievable venom is pouring out against the Cuban-Americans from the mainstream media. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert referred to Cuban-Americans as having a "fanatical hatred" of Castro. Did anyone ever accuse Jews of having a "fanatical hatred" of Hitler?
Is there anything mysterious about the fact that people who know firsthand what a horror Castro has inflicted on Cuba do not want a child sent back there after his mother gave her life to get him to freedom?
Meanwhile, the political left has mounted a chorus of demands that Elián be sent back to Cuba, along with a campaign of demonization of the Cuban-Americans in Miami. Newsweek columnist Anna Quindlen refers to the Cuban-Americans in Miami as "blinded" by their "hatred"
of Castro and dismisses Elián's videotaped statement that he does not want to go back to Cuba as "exploitation" by Cuban-Americans who "betray" the "importance of the family."
The political left's sudden discovery of the importance of the family would be welcome and touching if there were reason to believe that this position would last after the Elián González episode is over.
The question is not whether Elián should be sent back to his father. The issue is whether he should be sent back to Castro. Radio Havana has announced that the boy will be taken to a place prepared for him when he gets back. A Cuban official in Washington has referred to Elián
as the "property" of the state.
The possibility that it is not the son, but the father, who is forced to say what others want him to say, never receives a moment's reflection. Castro, like other dictators, has used the hostage tactic before and there is no reason why he would not use it again.
Why else were the grandmothers allowed to come here while the father remained in Cuba and then the father has been allowed here while the grandmothers are in Cuba? Surely the whole González family could have come at one time. But, if Castro had permitted that, the family could defect
together and the charade would be over. Then the "useful idiots" who are doing his dirty work in the media would have to fall silent.
Readers may write to Thomas Sowell at Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Suite 700, Los Angeles, CA 90045.
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