Following the death of Fidel Castro, it seemed as though everyone instantly became an expert on Castro and Cuban history. From the think pieces on how bad Castro was to even those praising the deceased dictator, everyone had an opinion about the man's life. And some of those opinions were met with criticism.
Rapper Nas posted an Instagram photo remembering Castro and stating that a lot of black people identified with Castro.
Several people used the post as an opportunity to give their take on Castro's history.
“Your ‘ally in the struggle[’] was going to allow the USSR to park NUCLEAR MISSILES in Cuba and point them at the United States.. you think he cared what color the targets were??” one commenter wrote. “The man killed his own people for over 50 year[s] and some were willing to risk the lives of there entire families just to get away from him. A few pictures with prominent African American activist does not erase that. The man was manipulative and would not have done any of that unless he thought it would further his cause. People are incredible hypocrites for talking against oppression and then backing this monster. The world is a better place without him.”
Another person stated that you can't actually support Castro if you support the Black Lives Matter movement: “Any black person that supports black lives matter and at the same time think Castro was a good leader are stupid ignorant [f—ks] who deserve to be ‘targeted’ by our [government].”
Everyone is going to have varying opinions about Castro, but in a world where freedom of speech lives, you can't stop someone from praising a person he thought was a great leader.