He’s gotten way too much press in the past 50 years.
He’s been romanticized and has become the poster boy for revolutions worldwide.
Let’s make it our goal to educate our sadly ignorant world about the misconceptions surrounding his "accomplishments."
JUST SAY NO to "Romancing the Ché."
Read the truth here www.trenblindado.com .
Thanks, Amy. For not being afraid to wear it and say it.
What a great family! I love you guys! I’m not Cuban but I love Cuban food! Thanks for all the great information! You are a great mom! I look forward to more great blogs!
I have been pondering this whole obsession with Che Guevara. For those who know the truth, he is a murderer. However, for those who admire him, they either don’t know the complete story or, at worst, they simply ignore or minimize this fact.After looking at the different sites online that sell Che T-shirts, and memorabilia, the real draw or selling point is all about the concept of “revolutionary.”
I Googled “revolutionary” and here is what seems to be the most common definition:
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– markedly new or introducing radical change; “a revolutionary discovery”; “radical political views”
– rotatory: of or relating to or characteristic or causing an axial or orbital turn
– relating to or having the nature of a revolution; “revolutionary wars”; “the Revolutionary era”
– revolutionist: a radical supporter of political or social revolution
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
The term Revolutionary is some what vague and may be thought to be relative to the context it is used in. It is used to refer to diverse people from Che Guevara a Communist guerilla fighter to Nelson Mandela a nationalist and Gandhi a pacifist nationalist. A general definition might be any one who advocates and organises extreme change from the current status-quo i.e. a Revolution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary
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What caught my attention was the second part:
“The term Revolutionary is some what vague and may be thought to be relative to the context it is used in.”
Herein lies the trouble. I remember back in high school when I took logic and writing classes. One of the things that got pounded into my head was: Always define your terms.
It appears our generation has lost all sense of the importance of defining their terms before they use them, or they just don’t feel the need to. Perhaps it takes too much time, or too much thought, or it’s just “not cool.” Whatever the reason, the consequences can be catastrophic.
So when it comes to Che, based on the definition above, I would agree that he was a revolutionary. However, as I pointed out earlier, that is only half the story. According to first hand accounts, and the names of his dead victims listed over at http://www.cubaarchive.org/downloads/CA08.pdf , he was also a cold-blooded killer and “an animal.”
At the risk of being obvious, let me state the following:
Murder is bad. Killing children is bad. Killing old people is bad. Killing people at random is bad.
Now I need to define my own terms.
Good = ethical, moral, honest, honoring other people, selfless, considering others before oneself, empowering to others
Bad – evil, abusive, dishonoring other people, destructive, selfish, power is stripped from others.
So I submit that there are two kinds of revolutionaries: good ones and bad ones.
Let me clarify with some examples:
Gandhi – good revolutionary
Martin Luther King – good revolutionary
Jesus – good revolutionary
Hitler – bad revolutionary
Mussolini – bad revolutionary
Osama bin Laden – bad revolutionary
And logically…
Che Guevara – bad revolutionary
I welcome your replies.
eric I DIG yr comment! Bee-YEW-tiful & effortless following yr flawless logic. I too am frequently asking folks to define their terms; so often I find people crouching behind the current cultural imperative (relativism) & they’ve no clear sense at all how to discuss a topic rationally. The notion of being governed by absolute concepts of right & wrong simply prompts an accusation of intolerance – altho of course we can’t even exercise intolerance unless we 1st establish an objective standard of goodness from wch we depart. I completely support yr INTOLERANCE of Che’s despicable legacy of violence.
I love your site… Being a Cuban-American myself, I can totally relate… I have not finished going through it all, but trust me, I will…:)
Gracias…
Jackie in NJ
You are so awesome. I live in Dallas and feel so disconnected from my cuban culture. It was great to find your site. I was searching for ideas for my daughter Daniela’s quince and found you. Where did your daughter get the t-shirt with Che X’d out? Can’t wait to hear back from you. Any ideas on how “cubanize” the quince. Her theme is Havana Nights.