I grew up in one of the most brutal Latin American dictatorships: Argentina. By age 14 I joined the Anarchist movement and spent many a nights in jail for being at the wrong place, at the wrong time. I was taken during raids with my drag queen and gay friends because we were hanging out at “dangerous places”, I was regularly photographed by uniformed men during the demos in public spaces, all of this until well into my 20’s. I remember, as a very little child, the explosions in the middle of the night, the screaming in the streets because the paramilitars had come to take someone away and, in the process, bombed their home (so that there would be nothing left). The next morning, nobody would speak about it for fear of repercussions.

I remember my father, crying and burning his much loved collection of Marxist books. If they came and found such literature, you would be taken and nobody would know about you again. The night he burned his books (I must have been 10 or so), was the first time I saw tears running through his eyes. This big man, crying while he was forced to part with his most prized possession: his library.

So yeah, I know the devastating results of totalitarian regimes. I lived in one. And I will make every effort to make sure the effects are known.

Thanks for the tip, btw! (Here’s the clickable URL to listen).

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