Brazilian archbishop Hélder Pessoa Câmara once said, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist.”
During my younger years as an academic, before being radicalized by standing in solidarity with the marginalized, I was simply a moderate progressive liberal. But such tame political views were still too extreme for my Cuban American friends and family.
They delighted in calling me a communist, a particularly hurtful slur considering the lifelong pain and humiliation I suffered as a refugee because of an authoritarian regime. Simple minds falsely conflate empathy, concern and care for the disenfranchised with advocacy for antidemocratic principles and support for authoritarian regimes.
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