A brief primer/thread on Cubans in the US, especially in Florida.
I guess I need to start with a few reminders 1) Being Hispanic doesn't mean free of white supremacy; 2) Exiles/immigrants usually want to assimilate 1/

3) The majority of Cubans are VERY grateful to the US for opening its doors to us 4) Socialism for us isn't an abstract notion that our grandparents told us about. It is a real and living thing. 2/

There is a pretty constant influx of Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans entering the US and settling in the Miami-Dade and Broward counties in Miami 5) People don't have to listen to Fox News. 3/

The news in Miami is constantly geared towards what is happening in LATM, especially Cuba and Venezuela 6) For the most part, things have worked out well for Cubans, especially in Miami. 4/

This is partially due to our special status in terms of immigration; the established community; a lot of hard work and our education level, even before the revolution. This isn't a unique phenomenon to Cubans. 5/

A lot of West Indian immigrants have the same work ethnic AND the same mindset that if they/we can do it, others can too. So we may not have as much empathy/understanding for others, especially since English isn't our first language. 6/

The other thing people need to keep in mind is history. Cubans arriving during 1960 through 1973 struggled. And the Dems at that time, especially in the South weren't at all welcoming to these newly arrived non-English speaking foreigners. 7/

There were plenty of No Shoes. No Dogs. No Cubans signs. Cubans knew they needed to gain political power and the GOP was anemic to say the least at that juncture. The betrayal by JFK during Bay of Pigs can never be forgotten or underestimated. 8/

That has reverberations which are still being felt today. Then you have the Mariel, the downing of the Brothers to the Rescue planes and Elian Gonzalez. 9/

ALL of this has an effect which cannot be explained away logically & the past four years saw the emergence of Bernie Fcking Sanders and the Justice Dems, who keep saying they need to primary "centrist" Dems and replace them with left-leaning Dems and/or socialists. 10/

THIS ISN'T GOING TO EVER FLY IN FLORIDA NEVER MIND MOST OF THE COUNTRY. Obama won because enough people believed he wasn't a raving lefty lunatic & wanted to feel good about voting for the Black guy to "prove" they weren't racist. 11/

Feel about this any way you want, but it's the truth.
The GOP and media in Miami constantly talked about AOC/Sanders/Omar/socialism and one of the reasons it worked, is precisely because those folks don't know how to fcking play nicely in the sandbox. 12/

Yes, there are distortions, but people could play ANY of their statements and hear them crapping on the US, pushing socialism for themselves. 13/

Also, this bears shouting out: NOT EVERY CUBAN WHO CAME HERE IN THE 60s WAS A WEALTHY LANDOWNER. BUT EVEN IF THEY WERE, THEY/WE LOST OUR PATRIA. WE LOST BEING WITH OUR FAMILIES. PEOPLE DIED. That is something no one forgets or forgives. 14/

So here we are. I fear people will grab the wrong lessons from this. It's not to run more lefty people or BeRnIe wOuLd'Ve wOn. Or AOC iS tHe fUtuRe. It's working really hard and putting more boots on the ground in the South & running "centrists" there when possible. 15/

Don't believe me? Look at what happens every time Bernie/AOC endorse, especially in the South/Midwest. Another impt point, Latinos aren't a monolith. What draws Puertoricans in, won't work with Chileans or Mexicans. FIN