• nave@lemmy.zipOPEnglish
      581·
      1 year ago

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeonmi_Park

      Yeonmi Park is a North Korean defector, YouTuber, author, and American conservative activist, described as being “one of the most famous North Korean defectors in the world”.

      38 North, a website dedicated to news on North Korea, has noted that some critics, including other North Korean refugees, have accused Park of embellishing her accounts or appropriating elements from others’ escape stories.

      In early 2023, screenshots of Park’s 2021 interview with Joe Rogan became the center of memes accusing her of embellishing her stories.

      • BOMBS@lemmy.worldEnglish
        16·
        1 year ago

        embellishing her accounts or appropriating elements from others’ escape stories

        I grew up in Miami with the Cuban community. Those people use to embellish and outright lie about their experiences in Cuba. People would tell me things like that the government would shoot you because they didn’t like you. Once I went to Cuba myself, I stopped believing anything those people in Miami said. They were straight full of crap.

        One dude in particular would claim he was such a victim of the Cuban government. They wanted to lock him up for whatever BS reasons I can’t remember, but something political like upsetting a government official or something. He was somehow an extended family member, and I was at his house for a BBQ. The dude got drunk, and I happened to mention something neutral about Ernesto “The Che” Guevara, and this dude flies off of the handle with some uncomfortable, 30+ mins rant that ruined the night. I left because the night was ruined. While I was leaving, someone I was much closer to in my family later told me on the way to our cars that he had to leave Cuba because he was wanted for rape.

        Cuba definitely has its problems and certain restrictions that aren’t common in the rest of Western liberal democracies. Their economy sucks in comparison to a lot of other countries. However, they are under one of the hardest embargoes in the world. Everyone also has free education and healthcare. These are so good, that their health education system is the educator of choice in all of Latin America, and Cuba sends battalions of doctors and other medical providers around the world. I have used their healthcare system multiple times, and it was seriously impressive. It’s not the hellhole these people say it is.

        Edit: I wouldn’t have chosen to have been born there, but I also wouldn’t have chosen to have been born in the USA. It seems to me that the best places to have been born are in Western Europe.

  • UrPartnerInCrime@sh.itjust.works
    173·
    1 year ago

    I used to ride my road bike on actual road here in Florida. The only reason I think I didn’t get hit, although definitely some close calls, is because I’m an offensive lineman so if they were to hit me it would cause a lot more damage to their vehicle than a normal bicyclist and didnt want to damage their trucks too much.