Cuban oxen

[bivol]

@B Grant 25476 wrote:

Bivol, I think you hit the nail on the head when you described a model of slavery that is evident throughout Cuban culture (and agriculture!). As much as everyone says that the Cuban people are very friendly and seemingly content, the truth is that the ones I spent time with seem to be to have resigned to the fact that their lives kind of suck. There is no way ahead, and no way out. There is a lot of resentment toward the government and I presume the average population feels trapped in the same way a slave does. It is therefore no wonder that they have a lack of sensitivity toward the being over which they have domain.

As for tractors – I did see a fair number. They of course are all Belarus tractors. Mostly 1960s vintage. Big ones too! They were on the streets of towns (pulling wagons of cargo/people), as much as they were in the countryside. From what I could gather, they are used mostly on the state-run plantations and large dairy farms. The common people do not own tractors, and are instead provided with beasts of burden.

Grant, i didn’t mean current slavery, although the mental pattenr of doing things is there – cuba has no real choice, unfortunately (the whole political back-yard thing). they can either stall all poor and communist or have another Battista back. and believe me it is nicer when We all have nothing, that when We All don’t have nothing, but They wallow in cash.

i meant that they (and balkanians too, for that matter) were oppressed slaves for all of their history, so human beings develop behaviors that reflect the political reality – and this could be, for example, animal cruelty (or better, indiference to suffering).

as grandma put it: WHY do you think people must care about about animals when HUMANS live almost like animals and have it really rough?
and she’s right.

in a country where people are really poor ( be it serbia or cuba) and beaten from all sides from “life” (be it the government, foreign capital, unemployment, corruption, crime,…) they will toughen up mentally, and will not necessary be very gentle, because there is nothing gentle about their lives.

let’s face it, most of people in the world have a life that “sucks”. only question is to what extent and in which way. no future? are they poor? are they powerless? are they without future? are they all of that?

heck, we here don’t have any of that as well…. so should i sulk? do i want to sulk? no.

lol i have yet to meet a person who life doesn’t suck. it’s the worst when they steal your future and believe me, it can and does happen!

i could speak for a great many people of the World when i say westerners have a bit local outlook on things when they think it is normal to have freedom, rights, etc. – yes, it is nice and a welcome development, but common people having power over their governments is NOT a normal thing but an exception in the world!

OldKat, i think Eric meant the richest will use their influence, greed and money to profit from current economic development to make more cash. who profited the most from the economic crysis? a banker.

we are not talking about “normal” rich people who worked all their life, maybe even for a few generations, to become well off, i think he meant faceless multinational companies and banks that have long since become demonic money (and humanity) sucking systems reeking of power, death and influence.

[bivol]

there is one good thing about cuba though. they have a socialist culture, and in this culture there is an accent on public good, and on non-material stuff like forging a socialist society, and not nearly as much accent on money. if it was about money, Cuban doctors wouldn’t have stayed in Haiti for free much longer than western doctors (if they came for free at all, which i doubt).

that means money is important but not the center of society or world in cuba. not everything is measured in money, like it is in “democratic west”. friendships, family connections, neighbours, trade, and other types of personal connections ad to a healthier balance to earning for life.

america could be a bit extreme example, but i heard there are lot of “exclusive” clubs and restaurants. i can’t enter a certain restaurant.
this means people are basically voluntarily locked to their own income class. once you get fired and dont find a job, you loose not only your job, but your entire world. you move to a less expensive neighbourhood, loose club membership and contacts, everything.
this is an example of how money controls people.

here’ if one is fired you as a general rule, keep your friends, neighbours, and they will probably help you find something. it’s a different culture, without any comparable living standards, but then again, not everything is in living standards (that’s what gross happiness index is for)

[bivol]

continuing on oxen:

for the yoke design, it’s really good! the foreheads are under 90 degrees to line of draft, this is optimal for head yokes.

wagons – somewhat obviously unbalanced, even if it would be plain to see the wagon could be more balanced, esp. becasue of head yokes udes.

driving – well, i’m not well of with that, mostly because oxen are newver genuinely tamed. instead, they’re beaten into submission…

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