Marxist extremist, pop icon

Che shirts are appearing everywhere, but do people even know who he was?

By MATT JUEL, Editorials Writer

Published: October 26, 2005

We have all seen them; the often drab T-shirts with a silhouette of a man's head - his matted hair sticking out from under his beret with a red star. But who was this man? I am convinced that even many of the people who sport his image do not truly know who he was.

His name was Ernesto Guevara, but he is known to most of the people who actually know who he was as "Che." Che Guevara was one of Fidel Castro's closest aides during that glorious revolution in Cuba. Once the violent throes of revolution subsided, he moved from country to country trying to foment revolution and spread Marxism. In short, he was a hideously violent communist thug.

So why is he so revered? Is it because "Rage Against the Machine" believes in his cause? Rage rocks my socks, but to puppet what they believe without knowing what it means is ignorance. And to wear his shirt without caring what you're supporting seems irresponsible.

Most Americans probably would not wear T-shirts that display quotes like this:

"Our every action is a battle cry against imperialism, and a battle hymn for the people's unity against the great enemy of mankind: the United States of America. Wherever death may surprise us, let it be welcome, provided that this, our battle cry, may have reached some receptive ear and another hand may be extended to wield our weapons and other men be ready to intone the funeral dirge with the staccato singing of the machine-guns and new battle cries of war and victory."

Who said these words? Was it some member of Al Queda, or Hamas? No, it was Che Guevara. Ironically, shirts bearing his likeness often rest on the backs of many of the most virulent anti-war protestors. People who think war is never the answer are wearing the portrait of a man who felt war is the only answer.

"In time of war, the expression of current differences constitutes a weakness; but at this stage it is an illusion to attempt to settle them by means of words. History shall erode them or shall give them their true meaning." These are not the words of a peace-loving activist. Rather, they are the declarations of a man who wrote an entire treatise on how to conduct guerrilla warfare.

Of course this is not the only irony that arises from looking at Guevara's legacy. It is the height of irony to consider that the image of this champion of communist principles has become a commercially lucrative product. A true socialist would roll over in his grave if he knew his face had been so commercialized. Maybe that is why his apparel is so popular. Maybe it is an elaborate, ironic protest. But somehow, I doubt it.

The success of Che's shirts could spawn a whole line of clothing -- The Heroes of Communism line. Who wouldn't want a T-shirt with a picture of Pol Pot? They would sell like hotcakes. Che himself might have bought a Pol Pot hoody. After all, he wanted the U.S.-led wars to fail in Vietnam and Korea. And he mentioned that if the U.S. began aggression in Cambodia, its people should fight the good fight against the imperialist invaders.

I will admit that sometimes it is easy to get caught up in Guevara's rhetoric. Some of his words are quite poetic and powerful. Every once in a while I have to remind myself that when he was talking about revolution he was not advocating throwing off the shackles of an oppressive regime in favor of freedom and democracy. He wanted to see governments replaced by communist dictatorships. He was trying to install an ideology responsible for more deaths than any other, and in many different parts of the world. I also remind myself that he died struggling to overthrow the popularly-elected government of Bolivia so that he could replace it with a totalitarian regime.

In spite of all this, Guevara is endlessly portrayed in a positive light. In addition to the apparel, Time magazine included him in a list of heroes, and he was the subject of a recent, flattering movie called "The Motorcycle Diaries." Again, I am sure that Guevara would be thrilled to know that his life is being used to enrich and entertain Americans.

More importantly, why are we glorifying such a ruthless, violent man? He is not fit to be the poster child for anything except radically violent communism, nor would he want to be. We should respect this. Che Guevara should not be immortalized, and we should try our best to forget him.

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