On Monday, July 18, 2016 at 6:58:17 AM UTC-10, The Greatest! wrote:
> On Monday, 18 July 2016 10:04:03 UTC-5, Cheri wrote:
> > "The Greatest!" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > On Sunday, 17 July 2016 14:28:39 UTC-5, Jeßus wrote:
> >
> >
> > > Those are quite contrasting experiences there. I like the sound of
> > > those sandwiches. I *especially* like the idea of no generic fast food
> > > places contaminating the place, and much of contemporary western
> > > culture, for that matter.
> >
> >
> > Ya gotta love a snotty statement like this, declaring that a place should
> > remain dirt poor, just so rich foreigners like himself can keep the place to
> > themselves. Some think that Cuba should remain some sort of closed
> > "socialist Disneyland", unsullied by modernity. Pretty shameful...
> >
> > I've got news for ya: the ordinary Cuban cannot *wait* until "generic fast
> > food" and other manifestations of "contemporary western culture" appear,
> > they will be celebrating.
> >
> > Believe or not, ordinary Cubans desire things such as modern retail,
> > internet, reliable sewerage and electricity, refrigeration and air
> > conditioning, etc. There is no reason they should remain "quaint natives"
> > just for the sake of rich First World tourists...
> >
> >
> > --
> > Best
> > Greg
> >
> > ==========
> >
> > +1
>
>
> I'm just badgering our Canadian friends a bit, no harm intended ;-)
>
> But this attitude that Americans/western culture/chain restos/whatever is going to "damage" Cuban culture is sheer nonsense. Just because chain dining or whatever gets established doesn't mean that visitors to Cuba will be forced to eat at McD's, it's simply another option...
>
> In the early 90's there was this sort of disdainful and condescending attitude the opening up of the former Communist states in Eastern/Central Europe, e.g., "Hurry up and see Prague/Warsaw/Moscow/wherever before the AMERICANS and MCDONALD's comes in to SPOIL everything...!!!"
>
> Lemme tell, some Czech acquaintances mentioned that they were THRILLED when McD's, and Marks & Spencer, Tesco, IKEA, and other western chains opened up in their country. For them, it meant that they'd "arrived"...same is/will happen with the Cubans.
>
> IIRC some tens of thousands of Muscovites lined up on the opening day of the first McDonald's in Moscow. And IIRC that location is the single busiest McD's in the world...
>
> I can't stomach McD's, but I'm just sayin'... if all you've got to do is slag on fast food as a symbol that a country is forever "ruined", then you've a fairly **** - poor "argument".
>
> North Korea is just about the only place left that is fairly devoid of "western influence", and that will eventually change, too. So visit there if what you're looking for is an unspoiled Third World/Communist "theme park' of a place.
>
>
> --
> Best
> Greg

It's an odd thing that a simple embargo of a country by the US could freeze it in the late 50's. Some Americans would like this to be 1950's America but my guess is that most Cubans would like to get the hell out of that time zone.