A thoughtful Che Day to all!

[rainonlevs]

Today is the 40th anniversary of the murder of Che Guevara. In Latin American countries especially, but also around the world there are rembrances of this revolutionary.

Democracy Now! did an excellent historical piece on his origins and what his work actually meant to Latin America and the world

Comments

Che Guevara

[madisonmassage]

Che isn't really my cup of tea, I can understand why some people idolize him and why some people react with anger when the name is mentioned.

Here is an old but interesting story on the commercialization of Che Guevara
The Killing Machine: Che Guevara, from Communist Firebrand to Capitalist Brand
http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1535

Here is an online documentry on Che Guevara
http://www.moviesfoundonline.com/true_story_of_che_guevara.htm

An interesting look at a different view of Che Guevara
http://www.therealcuba.com/MurderedbyChe.htm

Re: Che Guevara

[rainonlevs]

Yes, one of the things I found interesting in the DN! article was their discussion of who Che was and what he stood for and what the popular myth of him has come to represent.

It's kind of like how Dick Cheney has come to represent all that is evil about capitalist imperialism to many in the US, Che has become all that is good about anti-capitalist imperialism in Latin America.

Though he was a thinker and a socialist, he was also a revolutionary fighting brutal wars against oppressing nations, and that does not leave one with clean hands. I would certainly believe that he had, like Shakespeare's Henry V, prompted his men to take on aspects of the tiger, not the lamb, and that he had executed those from the opposition.

I think that claiming he was killing children goes a bit far though. Considering the virulence of the elite Cuban anti-populists however, it is not hard to believe they would go this far to make their case.

Re: Che Guevara

[madisonmassage]

So you think Che's actions were in keeping with your world view..?
Just asking, not insinuating anything. I'm just curious as to how you reconcile his the use of violence for political ends.

I actually don't know all that much about Che, like I said he hasn't been of much interest to me.

Re: Che Guevara

[rainonlevs]

I am hardly an expert on Che either, but I'll tell you what I think based on what I do know.

First, while I am very slow to accept violence as the best answer to any problem, if I didn't accept it on some level then I couldn't support the existence of the United States of America, also the child of a bloody revolution, which I do.

Second, Che supported the creation of a state where the needs of the people would come before the needs of a few elites, which I do endorse. Working on those principles, he and Castro were able to show that even in an incredibly poor country, services could be offered in the people's interests that would not only be functional, but on the same level as a nation like the US's. I note Cuba's medical programs as proof of concept.

Third, Che addressed the UN in 1964 and said in part:
The bestiality of imperialism, a bestiality that knows no limits, that has no national frontiers. The bestiality of Hitler’s armies is like the North American bestiality, like that of Belgian paratroopers and that of French

[woopflying]

http://browse.guardian.co.uk/search?search=che+guevara&sitesearch-radio=guardian&go-guardian=Search