 An Iconic Hero2009-Jan-3 |
"Che was the most complete human being of our age."
Jean-Paul Sartre
Every generation needs a hero. Every generation needs that one person who stands out above the rest as a symbol of resistance. Someone, that the little man can relate to. Every generation needs someone so different, so willing to fight for the people who cannot fight alone for themselves, the forgotton people, the used and abused people, the exploited people. We all need someone to show us that we've all become a little too obsessed with the disturbingly life-consuming chase for individual wealth, that we're forgetting our duty to humanity as a whole. Especially to those less fortunate. There is nothing any one can tell me, to convince me that allowing people to die every day of extreme hunger, whilst others across the World buy their third or fourth house, a yaht, and a new holiday home in Cyprus, can be justified in any way whatsoever.
It's strangely satisfying to know that such a man, such a great man, is hated by the majority of Conservatives, Capitalists, and American Imperialists. It's a two finger salute that generation after generation will read The Motorcycle Diaries, and wear the iconic Che tshirts, with their red Che posters, as a reminder that people are more important than money, whilst no one will ever wear a tshirt with Margaret Thatcher's face, or Ronald Regan's face, i'd be surprised if anyone names their child "George" again, after the past eight years. Whenever American Imperialists insist on describing someone other than every Republican currently running their country as "communist" or "insurgent" my instant reaction is "ah so what they mean is, people who don't want to become just another American state".
There are many right winged blogs that shout "terrorist" at the very mention of Che Guevara, and yet they have very little problem with the abuses of America, of Britain, of all Western nations, who continue to manipulate the word "freedom" in the most grotesque, and evil of ways. Che was no terrorist.
"Here's a list of people he had killed!!!" - Let's set up a list of those killed by American imperialism over the past fifty years shall we? Che killed, because he had to, if he didn't kill, he'd have been killed, That's what war does. None of those killed, were innocent. That's a fact. And yet, more innocent people have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan than non-innocents. Who's the terrorist now?
He taught me to think — he taught me the most beautiful thing which is to be human.
"Urbano", former Cuban rebel fighter
The same people who cannot help but critise every thing Che Guevara stood for, or his methods, his fight, are the people who bitterly claim Obama to be an evil anti-christ and Socialist. These people are boring now. We've heard their shit for twenty five years. Their free market masturbation, that has lead to the World financial crises perhaps ever. We're bored of it.
"Che's life is an inspiration for every human being who loves freedom. We will always honor his memory."
Nelson Mandela
"He killed people! He's nothing but a terrorist!!" - He killed those who would have killed him given the chance. We don't live in that World. We can never know what it's like to live in a country under a corrupt government that happens to be supported by the Americans, who systematically execute anyone who disagrees with them. We don't know what it's like to live in a World where you should just give in to Capitalism, whilst you watch people dying of starvation all around you.... whilst the ignorant Capitalist Conservatives hail your nation as "free". In a World where you kill or be killed, Che was no terrorist, he was a freedom fighter, a doctor, a teacher, a poet, a writer, a revolutionary. And let's face it, he could never kill as many innocent people as Britain and America has since 2003 (over 600,000 now I believe). If the Right Wing are happy to ignore their politicians horribly destroying lives across the World, purely for profit, then they cannot complain when the Left Wing start to react with violence against their opressors.
The CIA throughout Latin America during the 1940s and 1950s financed corrupt regimes like those of Pinochet, or Batista, or Videla setting up "death squads" to kill off any resistance. Anyone who stands up against such a dangerous machine, anyone who fights that machine, fighting fire with fire, willing to endure the struggle, is a true hero.
It usually works like this...
America and Britain support a corrupt Capitalist government. Purely for money making opportunities.
That corrupt government (for example Cuban under Batista, or Chile under Pinochet) causes untold suffering and poverty.
The left wing is all but wiped out.
Someone from the oppressed nation steps forward and says "enough is enough" and fights back, sticking up for the less fortunate.
America refer to that person as a terrorist.
America go to war somewhere..... kill thousands..... anyone who fights back, is a terrorist.
If you say "woah woah woah, this isn't right!!!" you're "unamerican" or maybe you're a terrorist too!!!
Mark Falcoft in his book on Che, had this to say...
"What has made Guevara a cultural icon is not his example for poor countries, but his capacity to provoke empathy among the spoiled youth of the affluent West."
I think this sums up the legend of Che Guevara perfectly. You look at Che, you find out what he stood for, and you're introduced to a world where the rich man will do the most evil of things to increase his wealth whilst the poor man lingers on the edge of the mountain, supported by no man, and you cannot help but feel deep empathy. You start to think , Thank the heavens for good men, men who wont just roll over and be fucked by American imperialism. Thank the heavens for people like Che Guevara. |
| Post A Comment! |
2009-Jan-4 - Untitled Comment |
| Posted by birdsnest |
I've been reading A People's History of the United States
By Howard Zinn and came to many of the same conclusions as you. But then I realized this is the way it's always been. Every country with expansionist ideals operated in similar ways. Britain was no different. China and Russia were the same.
The biggest issue with America was that they operated under the false pretense that their actions were "just" and "honorable". So we are also guilty of the crime of hypocrisy.
But we are not much different then any other country with similar means. We just have CNN now showing every little dirty secret. |
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