There’s cross-ideological agreement that Tom Morello (currently of Prophets of Rage, formerly of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) is a superb guitarist. It’s a different story when it comes to his political acumen, which some would say is about as impressive as the singing talent of Florence Foster Jenkins.
Morello, a staunch leftist who’s given to comments such as “words like ‘socialism’ and ‘Marxism’ have been so demonized that it's difficult to have intelligent discussion about what they mean,” was at it again in a Saturday Instagram post concerning the death of Fidel Castro, writing, “While I don't agree with all that Fidel Castro did there is ample reason why he is vilified in the US and yet remains a huge hero throughout the Third World. By defying Yankee imperialism for 50 years, instituting the best healthcare, child immunization and literacy systems in the Western Hemisphere (surpassing the US and Canada), exporting doctors to countries in need all over the globe…and being an unrepentant advocate of the poor and exploited it is no surprise that millions will mourn his passing.”
(In a sense, though not the one he intended, Morello has a point that Castro was a supporter of “the poor and exploited,” since the Cuban government’s policies have led to considerable poverty and exploitation over the past several decades.)
Wrapping up the post, Morello recalled that Audioslave “was the first US rock band to ever play in Cuba and that experience will be one I will always treasure, especially the trip we took to a former country club of the wealthy that had been turned into a free college for gifted musicians.” He closed with the hashtags “#vivalarevolucion” and “#RIPFidel.”
