When you’re in a position of having to call out the Village Voice, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders for being too far to the right, maybe it’s time to stop, get your bearings straight, and ask yourself just how far off the reservation you’ve strayed. Nat Hentoff of the Voice (beloved by ATM hippies everywhere) has been on an absolute tear here, here, and here about 75 Cuban dissenters – 10 of whom are librarians – who have been given prison sentences of 20 or more years for, you know, thinking. Castro’s status as a darling of the Left always triggers interesting (if oh so depressing) fratricidal battles among those on the American political spectrum who really feel bad about all that nasty violence stuff and wish it would just stop.
So far, this story has been pretty much buried by the popular press. But take a look-see at the debate occurring within the hallowed halls of the Leftist… um… community. This is from the most recent Hentoff article:
Ann Sparanese, a member of the governing Council of the American Library Association, has written a letter to the Voice criticizing my columns about Fidel Castro’s prison sentences of 20 and more years for 75 Cuban dissenters, including 10 independent librarians…
She is exercising her First Amendment right to speak for herself
