Cindy Sheehan is a farce

Cindy Sheehan uses her dead son to pimp a dangerous message for America — the immediate withdrawal from Iraq of American troops.

So I am going to use her publicity whoremongering to advance one of my causes, Guillermo Fariñas.

At first glance, Sheehan and Fariñas might seem to have a lot in common.

Sheehan is on a "fast" to protest the war in Iraq, and to bring the troops home. She's also out to attack a "dictator," George W. Bush.

Fariñas is on a hunger strike to protest Cuban government limitations on Internet usage. He also wants a dictator, Fidel Castro, gone.

But, really, there is no comparison.

Academic Elephant wrote eloquently this week about how Sheehan lacks what makes Fariñas' protest so admirable:

Dignity.

Fariñas, who suffers silently far from the glare of worldwide media attention, has it. In fact, it is what sustains him after 170 days of self-starvation.

Sheehan, who revels in the celebrity that her son's death has brought her, doesn't.

Just consider these descriptions of their respective protests.

From Information Bridge Cuba-Miami, on Fariñas:

As everyone is well aware, this is Fariñas Hernández' 20th hunger strike. Just today he was saying that in order to quit a hunger strike one had to be extremely brave, that he was not that brave. That he (Guillermo) was not going to depose his hunger strike because doing so, would be killing his brothers, who are being beaten and arrested with such impunity on the part of the government.

From Sheehan's blog:

"I traveled from Venice to the frontier of Italy to the province of Udine which is right at the foot of the pre-Alps. I am here for a huge youth festival which includes many elements of social justice and peace work. It is beautiful and the air feels different from other places that I have travelled. It is strangely soft and gentle as is the natural light. However, there is not a Jamba Juice on every corner, so blended juice drinks with protein powder are impossible to find.

Cindy Sheehan gets all the publicity, and the support from Hollywood celebrities, even though her "fast" is nothing but a farce.

Guillermo Fariñas is dying for freedom, to break the chains held by a real dictator, Fidel Castro, for more than 47 years.

On whose side do you stand?

(H/T to Malkin for the link to the Sheehan blog.)