Collective acceptance of possible annihilation produced Cuban resolve

Evidence

Perhaps this thesis is not very inspiring for a resident of New York. But it was inspiring for the Cubans in 1962 when they faced the imminent prospect of atomic destruction. On the 27th of October few people in Havana doubted that that afternoon they would undergo an atomic attack. Few had illusions about their chances. “They’re going to wipe us out on the spot.” But nobody was afraid or wavered. It was impressive, moving, this collective security. Cuba felt herself to be part of humanity. The entire population felt like the soldier who knows that, though the next skirmish will surely cost him his life, he must not flinch but must help prepare the way for the triumph of his friends. To the end Cuba was able to take her own destiny in hand, and she won. — Frantz Fanon, A Dying Colonialism, 46

Categorization

• XREF: Documents the concrete historical case that death’s menace loses its grip on a population that has internalized revolutionary decision.