How would Miami be different today if the McDuffie riots and Mariel had never occurred? (Hialeah: upper-class, insurance)

[Cougar Beach]

Originally Posted by muscleman305

My friend who is in the Marines and stationed in Afghani tells me stories u would not believe. His platoon was assigned to guard a poppy field the size of south beach and were instructed to allow the farmers to conduct business as usual in exchange for the local tribes cooperation. Turns out a comrade of his in the same troop had a sister in seattle that comitted suicide from heroin withdrawls and it was driving him literally crazy, standing by watching helpless while these guys farmed poppies that are used to make that poison.

The U.S. government is in a quandary. They don't want the drug trade, but if they try to crush it, they will lose the "heart and minds" of the locals for destroying their source of income. Potatoes and such just don't yield much money. The U.S. has strategic interests and long-term stability interests, and they don't really know what to do. There are no good answers. It's a quagmire.

[Ache]

Originally Posted by Cougar Beach

Castro and Gueverra took over Cuba with a small band of men. Apparently it's not that hard to take over Cuba. I don't know about Castro, but Gueverra was no military genius.


I suggest you take your own advice and learn more about the subject, beyond what you were told by partisan sources.

Beside all other things ....

Please don't forget how much support Castro have from the USA govement and the Cuban rich man during Batista regime, yes Batista was "Indio" and Castro was that tall white and charming.

[Cougar Beach]

Originally Posted by Ache

Beside all other things ....

Please don't forget how much support Castro have from the USA govement and the Cuban rich man during Batista regime, yes Batista was "Indio" and Castro was that tall white and charming.

The support other countries get from the U.S., but particularly Latin American countries, is a function of their economic value to the U.S. -- or more to the point, to U.S. corporations.

[stevep111]

I was at work downtown during the riots and I can tell you that it did not change a thing. That area has been frozen in time long before and after the riots. It was not the first time anyone every rioted in America and it was not the last. 68 was the bloodiest year ever and then Rodney King riots proved that people will burn down anything given the right circumstances. Nothing came out of the ritots that had a positive or negative affect on Miami because of what happened next. The boat lift followed soon after and people forgot everyting about Overtown. That area is now going through redevelopment and after the new Stadium is built and the area recovers all you will ever find left of that area may be a plaque denoting that the area was once a black neighborhood. If anything came out of it, it was that people moved on. They always do. Who remembers Katrina or the World Trade center bombings both in 93 and 01 or even Pearl Harbor. People forget and that is the problem and the solution both at the same time. O.J is in jail so all is right with the world.

[BrynMawr12]

This does not have much to do with McDuffie, more with Mariel but I am compelled. I must say that after reading posts from some of the older members here I am greatly dissapointed. I am only 18 years old, born and raised in Miami and I think I know more about Mariel than most of you here. For the record, not even 1% of "Marielitos" were what we would call deviants. More than half were sent BACK to Cuba and maybe 80% were institutionalized here in the United States. Mariel did not impact just Miami but other regions as well, since I am sure you know many Marielitos were sent to refugee camps throughout the US. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE that Mariel created a NEGATIVE impact on Miami, in fact it's the opposite. There was a slight drop in the economy shortly afterwards, but it is to be expected. Soon enough, Miami's economy saw a boost in standard of living. The only one's whose standard of living decreased were the Marielitos themselves! It is sad that the influx of many amazing people through Mariel has to be tainted with comments like some I've seen. Without Mariel, you would not be able read, see or hear many amazing Cuban-American books, art and tv personalities that you so enjoy. I think the white flight has more to do with a White-American reluctance to accept minorities than anything else. If you don't agree, please explain to me why we continue to see segregated schools even if it is outlawed. (Yes, 85% black, 2% white and 13% other is NOT a diverse public school).Please stop insulting, and degrading the culture of Miami. If you think there is something wrong, try and be a good influence and create some change! I speak on behalf of all Miamians who love their city and hate to see it ripped apart by those who don't care. -Diana Vergara

[EnjoyTheSilence]

Originally Posted by BrynMawr12

This does not have much to do with McDuffie, more with Mariel but I am compelled. I must say that after reading posts from some of the older members here I am greatly dissapointed. I am only 18 years old, born and raised in Miami and I think I know more about Mariel than most of you here. For the record, not even 1% of "Marielitos" were what we would call deviants. More than half were sent BACK to Cuba and maybe 80% were institutionalized here in the United States. Mariel did not impact just Miami but other regions as well, since I am sure you know many Marielitos were sent to refugee camps throughout the US. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE that Mariel created a NEGATIVE impact on Miami, in fact it's the opposite. There was a slight drop in the economy shortly afterwards, but it is to be expected. Soon enough, Miami's economy saw a boost in standard of living. The only one's whose standard of living decreased were the Marielitos themselves! It is sad that the influx of many amazing people through Mariel has to be tainted with comments like some I've seen. Without Mariel, you would not be able read, see or hear many amazing Cuban-American books, art and tv personalities that you so enjoy. I think the white flight has more to do with a White-American reluctance to accept minorities than anything else. If you don't agree, please explain to me why we continue to see segregated schools even if it is outlawed. (Yes, 85% black, 2% white and 13% other is NOT a diverse public school).Please stop insulting, and degrading the culture of Miami. If you think there is something wrong, try and be a good influence and create some change! I speak on behalf of all Miamians who love their city and hate to see it ripped apart by those who don't care. -Diana Vergara

I don't think it's that white Americans refuse to accept minorities...I just think that the whole thing was "rushed" and people had no time to integrate. Change like this is frightening to many people....it's not about racism; it's human nature.

[tallrick]

Think of it this way, we have as much chance in this country of changing the corrupt and incompetent government as the Cubans do of booting the Castro brothers. Kennedy betrayed the Cuban freedom fighters and left the US stuck with boatloads of exiles. The whole Castro "revolution" was caused by the typical presense of a large underclass in Latin American countries. The embargo has to stay to avoid opening a legal can of worms, or having the Castro gang borrowing money that have no intention of repaying.

Mariel was simply the Castro gang flushing the toilet. When the sewage flowed into Miami along with other refugees we all paid the price. The invasion of Cuban communist culture created an undertow that pulled in additional reinforcements from central and south America. However, with the US economy going down the road Argentina took, I wonder if eventually immigration will turn to emmigration and Miami changes yet again. A big blow could accelerate that process.

[intelfan11315]

I can't see that happening. Yes, USA is taking a huge financial hit, and our standard of living might go down.. but this is not only a USA crisis. This is something that is happening throughout the world, and I believe that here in USA we'll still always be a step ahead of the rest of the world and always have people wanting to come here. If you think that when USA goes downhill these South American countries are going to start flourishing, that is completely outrageous. Miami can take a hit, but it will never stop the people from Latin America wanting to come here for a better way of life. Life will always be safer here in the US, jobs will always be more abundant and we'll always have a higher standard of living. Obama isn't and won't live up to his promises, but I'm still convinced he won't and can't screw up bad enough to put us behind Europe or South America. Sure, maybe China will become a superpower, but you'll never see the types of slums in the US like you would in most other countries.

US will never end up like Argentina, the problem with Argentina is the way they changed and how quickly it happened. Remember you can't just force a new type of government and hope that it works right away. It takes time for people to trust in the market and for things to switch over.

[Island_OnThe_Land]

Originally Posted by rogerbacon

I was 12 in Miami when the McDuffie riots took place and I really don't have any memory of them. I had to do a Google search to find out what they were about. So, I don't think they had that big of an impact. Did we see a lot of white flight from LA after the Rodny King riots? (Wouldn't it suck to have a riot named after you?)

Like Miami, Los Angeles has had its share of riots (the Watts riots in 1965 and the Rodney Kings riots in 1992). Actually, the record in Los Angeles is one of "black flight" from the inner-city areas (like Watts) to more suburban areas.

In 1970, african-americans made up 18% of the City of LA's population and by 2000 they were just 11% of the city's population. Like whites before them, those African Americans who could, left Watts (or other inner-city areas) for more suburban locations within the metro area or even other states.

The black population in Watts has been replaced by successor migrants, primarily Latino immigrants of Mexican and Central American ancestry, as well as a smaller proportion of Ethiopian and Indian ancestry. This process of residential change accelerated after the 1992 riots.
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[Leovigildo]

I was in Miami during MacDuffy. I knew the cop. I was there during the riots. I still remember the smell of burning tires, I lived in NW, near the frontier. I was a student and prices there were reasonable.

I remember people defending their businesses along the 44 ave. Nw? I knew people that worked in a magnificent shop there specialized in miniatures, toy trains, man, they were scared.

First time I've seen Cubans and Americans working hand by hand.

I remember Mariel...the tents under the turnpike...Strange characters...

As to Cubans, I don't recall seeing black or mulatto Cubans in Miami until Mariel.

I believe that without Mariel and any further influx of recent Cubans or Latins, all those Cubans would now be now part of the larger society.