Revolt of the Rabble

Cuba: Revolt of the Rabble
July 10, 2013
Erasmo Calzadilla

HAVANA TIMES — One of the most significant socio-cultural events Cuba is
witnessing today is something we could call the "Revolt of the Rabble".
This issue is cause for concern, particularly for those who feel most
affected by it: the older generations, people who have other values and
are unwilling to renounce them, intellectuals and those interested in
social matters.

In "normal" countries, the rabble, if it exists (I wonder if there is
any nation without rabble), is marginalized or kept at bay by other
social groups (the middle class, for instance). Being considered
"rabble" means being very low on the social ladder, which is why people
try not to act like rabble, even when they are part of it.

In Cuba, however, this trend – at least since the triumph of the
revolution – has been inverted: the more trashy you appear, the greater
your chances of survival, of defeating your enemies, of solving day to
day problems and even appealing to people and hooking up with someone –
which is why many people here try to act this way, even when they are
not like that at all.

The attitudes typical of the rabble have become hegemonic in Cuba. The
everyday wisdom, manner of speaking (content, pronunciation and body
language), music and fashion which predominate in the country are those
of the rabble. It represents, not only a mass phenomenon, but a
totalitarian culture as well, for it is intolerant towards other trends,
identities and alternative lifestyles.

Causes

The revolution set out to create the New Man and ended up engendering
our reggaeton-listening youth. It pictured itself giving birth to a
mature, educated and conscientious working class (the world's most
cultured people), but its offspring turned out to be a rag-tag of
criminal underlings. Now, it must reap what it sowed.

In its fight to the death with the bourgeoisie and the remnants of
Cuba's capitalist past (everything that wasn't communist fit these
categories), the revolution ended up throwing out the baby with the bath
water, impoverishing the nation's cultural fiber dramatically.

True, it redeemed the poor and favored the underprivileged sectors of
society. But, simultaneously, it implemented political, labor, economic
and other practices which have eroded the best things these people had.

State centralization, egalitarianism, the curtailment of liberties,
paternalism, Soviet subsidies, measly salaries, the incitement of
political violence, the establishment of an information monopoly – these
are some of the social practices, unleashed years ago, which today
encourage the consolidation of the rabble.

Political Trashiness

An alienated social group, the rabble never expresses itself as a
politically-conscious subject. It would be ridiculous to refer to it as
"civil society".

The State takes advantage of the rabble's political illiteracy to
provoke it and set it loose on its opponents. Neither the State, nor any
political vanguard, could ever rely on the rabble to improve socialism
or create a more just society. The rabble can only destroy, it can never
create.

In this and many other senses, the "Revolt of the Rabble" is an
undesirable phenomenon and, as such, many well-intentioned people are
looking for ways to contain it.

To expect the rabble to put its ways behind it of its own decision would
be rather naive. Culturally speaking, the rabble likes the way it is and
is even proud of itself.

Some set their hopes on a return to capitalism (something which doesn't
seem so distant now), which they feel will set things "in their place."
Capitalism may, in effect, be able to hold back the tide of the rabble,
but it would also propagate its own vices, which look even worse than
those of the rabble.

Since I don't have an answer and I am not convinced by those of others,
I'm going to join the rabble. If anyone has a problem with that,
well…they've got plenty of work to do.

Source: "Cuba is experiencing the revolt of the "rabble"" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=96213