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Say Hey! Che |
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Thursday, 09 August 2007 |
 Joseph C. Phillips
Ernesto "Che" Guevara was born in Argentina. While in Mexico in 1956,
he met the young socialist revolutionary Fidel Castro. He became one of
Castro's chief lieutenants during the movement to unseat Cuban dictator General
Fulgencio Batista. Following the fall of Batista, he grew to become
the dashing face of revolution with his signature beret worn just so he was a
symbol of the counter culture. "Viva La Revolución!" He fought the
power and won. Well, sort of. Eight years after the fall of
Batista, while attempting to foment revolution in Bolivia, he was captured and
executed by the Bolivian Army. Che now lives on as an anti capitalist icon and
symbol of rebellion chic for the liberal and Hollywood elite.
This last part is puzzling. Che was no friend of free
speech or artistic expression. Che is on record as saying that it was his
aim "to make individualism disappear from Cuba! It is criminal to think of
individuals!" Young people said Che, "should learn to think and
act as a mass." How odd that a Hollywood
that prides itself on pushing the envelope of free expression and individualism
continues to celebrate a man that jailed or sent into exile most of Cuba's best
writers and artists.
Perhaps Hollywood's
love for Che is fueled primarily by a sense of fashion rather than a concern
with facts ala Cameron Diaz. You will recall that Diaz offended the
people of Peru
by strutting around carrying a bag emblazoned with a red star and a quote from
Mao Zedong - another Marxist murderer -- "serve the people." No doubt she felt
fabulously stylish but was apparently oblivious of the price paid by 70,000
Peruvians murdered by Maoist insurgents attempting to walk in Che's bloody
shoes.
There are those, however, that are aware of Che's record and
admire him nevertheless. I think it says a great deal about their true
philosophical leanings. I try to keep that in mind when I see the likes
of Jesse Jackson, Danny Glover and the Congressional Black Caucus embracing
Fidel Castro and chanting long live Che Guevara.
We should all be concerned that anyone in the halls of our
government would celebrate Guevara.
As head of the National Bank of Cuba,
he ran one of Latin America's most successful
economies into the ground and nearly killed its primary industry. Oddly
enough, he also concentrated wealth in the hands of a few elite. Alas, the
players may have changed, but the game remained the same.
Following the fall of the Batista regime, Guevara signed the
death warrants for hundreds of military, religious and political prisoners. As
he sent men to the firing squad, he proclaimed that "To send men to the
firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary." So much for due process.
He was also instrumental in setting up the Cuban secret
police and supervised the creation of Cuban forced labor camps for those who he
deemed to have committed crimes against revolutionary morals. These
criminals included homosexuals, Catholic and other religious
leaders.
It may be that my concern was over-wrought. Perhaps
the mouse pad was a gift from a co-worker with an ironic sense of humor or it
may be that this state employee has like so many others adopted Che as
fashion. I would hate to believe that any government employee knows the
true Che and still boasts his portrait in an office of the state government.
Joseph C. Phillips is the author of "He Talk Like A White
Boy" available wherever books are sold.
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