UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal recently took a swing at former NFL player and social justice warrior Colin Kaepernick for wearing a Fidel Castro t-shirt while claiming to protest oppression. He called out the social justice warrior for his hypocrisy as protests rise in Cuba against its communist regime.
Masvidal tweeted that his father escaped Cuba when he was 14 years old. He said he’s only heard the horror stories about the communist regime but that he wants to shed light on Cuba’s real reason to protest and not the “COVID-19 mismanagement” that the White House continues to distract people with.
“This oppression has been going on for 61 years. This is not just because of the pandemic, or it’s not just because they ran out of medicine — they’ve been out of medicine and they’ve been out of resources and food because of the corrupt government and the extreme corruption over there where only a few at the top eat and everyone has to suffer. Those days have to end,” Masvidal said.
Masvidal recalled the time that Colin Kaepernick wore a t-shirt praising Cuba’s dictator Fidel Castro, saying that cowards like him should be sent to live in Cuba so they can experience “real oppression.” Kaepernick has frequently defied the whole country in general, arguing that the U.S was never great and that he is protesting more than just anthems.
Kaepernick attended the San Francisco 49ers Press Conference in 2016 and was poised to educate the US on its oppressive history. Ironically, he showed up wearing a Fidel Castro shirt. He praised Cuba for its education and healthcare system, bragging that Castro spends more money on schools than on prisons.
Critics called out Kaepernick’s claims that Castro did not imprison his people and pointed to a 2012 report that found Cuba had the sixth-highest rate of imprisoning its people per capita in the world. Most of those people were behind bars for being political prisoners and openly defying the communist regime.
Kaepernick, however, defended his decision to say he agreed with Castro’s investment in education and universal health care but does not support his oppressive tactics. He said he hopes everyone agrees that those things are “good things” but that people are trying to push a false narrative that he was a supporter of oppressive things.
“One thing that Fidel Castro did do is they have the highest literacy rate because they invest more in their education system than they do in their prison system. Which we do not do here, even though we’re fully capable of doing that,” Kaepernick said to an SI reporter in 2016.
Others argued that the United States invests more money in our education system than almost anywhere in the world, but that the education system is built and controlled by people with nefarious intentions. Most of the funds go to the pockets of administrators, teachers, and union officials. “Keep in mind there is a big difference between education and indoctrination,” one user wrote.
Kaepernick went on to say that the United States breaks up families with “mass incarceration” and that is the foundation of slavery. He said the country has been based on that since the “genocide of Native Americans.” He also wore a Malcolm X shirt before the 29ers played the Dolphins back in 2016.
Masvidal posted a side-by-side picture of Colin Kaepernick wearing the shirt and Cubans waving American flags during the protests. “American leftists who know nothing about real oppression and communism wear images of Castro while Cubans living in the horrors of Communism and real oppression are waving the American flag,” the picture caption reads.
Masvidal has a good head on his shoulders and isn’t afraid to speak the truth. He knows what actual communism is because his family escaped it and it’s refreshing to hear more people call out the Cuban regime for what it is and defend American for what it is.
