Had a good day downtown.

Went with Jelena to change my nose stud. Ended up buying an expensive pair of boots. Go figure.

So as we were walking, there was a guy handing out flyers. When I took one, he said "thank you for supporting human rights". I read the flyer, curious as to what it said.

It was protesting a "naval blockade" that the US has against Cuba. Now, I know that the US hasn't had an actual blockade since the Cold War. So we went back to ask him what he was talking about.

When we asked what the flyer was talking about, he said that the US is keeping Cuba poor with the trade embargos that they have placed. There is going to be a rally at 4:30, he told us. It's about basic human rights, he said.

This is where I was a little confused.

"Wait. You're talking about human rights - you haven't forgotten that Cuba is communist, right?"

Jelena cuts in with a "oh no, here we go..." remark.

"No, I haven't. Communism isn't what's keeping the Cuba poor. Have you read anything about communism?"

"Enough to know that theoretical Marxist communism can't work."

Cutting in - I realize that this point is debatable. But any theory that sits on a rule that says that all leadership will fall away and a successful communist nation will be established after an "undetermined amount of time" doesn't revolce around logic.

"Oh, have you read the Communist Manifesto? Adam Smith?"

"Adam Smith has a book about lassiez-faire economcs, not about communism. What difference would it have made if I've read that or not?"

Now, cutting in here, I realize that communism is more of an economic theory than a political ideology. But Adam Smith isn't communist, and his overall message is to keep the government out of the economy - something that obviously didn't work during the Great Depression.

"You were born in a capitalist country. You have been raised to think that communism is bad. I'm a psychology student. I've studied these things. "

"Actually, my mom was in Vietnam during the war. The communists burned down her house and murdered a bunch of her friends and family members. I have a very good reason not to like communism".

"Well, my dad's been to Cuba, and he's seen that it's the result of the US trade embargoes that everyone is poor, not Fidel Castro. Castro is actually a good man and leader. Cuba is the world's first and only successful communist country."

So this guy hasn't even been to Cuba.

"I've been to Cuba too."

"Where did you go? Havana?"

"Well, yes..."

"See, you need to go and see the poverty. The poor districts. Where people are starving."

"I did go there. That was the basis of my trip. And they're not starving because of the US, they're starving because the government takes most of their money. And if it's all about human rights, what about the fact that they buldoze down churches and houses? That they murder pastors and kidnap children?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, Communism isn't great or anything..."

This is, of course, an abreviated version of the conversation. He said something about how great their education system is. It ended because he had to give out more flyers, and to get into a real debate would have been silly. Not that the whole conversation wasn't. But whatever.

Wish I could spend more time on this entry, but I can't. Maybe I'll discuss it later.