Pardon Me, Is that Che Guevara on your T-shirt?

Che T-shirtBy: Christine Morabito – February 2014

I’m not judging you. I’m sure you would never knowingly celebrate a violent, bloodthirsty hit-man for the brutal communist dictator, Fidel Castro.

What we should have learned from Hitler, Stalin, Mao and their ilk, is that tyrants are good at marketing. In order to sell their snake oil, it must be wrapped in a pretty package. They control the media, and hence the message. And, while most of us are skeptical consumers when it comes to our despots, there are obnoxious blowhards like Michael Moore assuring us that Cuba has better healthcare than America, because – get this –he went there and the Cuban government showed him (wink, wink).

When a lie is repeated often enough people start to believe it. Maybe that is why Ernesto “Che” Guevara has enjoyed such a cult following around the world. Somewhere between the bloviations of liberal apologists and the failure of our public schools, you probably never learned the following about your hero, El Che:

Guevara the Sadist

Cuban-American Vietnam veteran and Former CIA operative, Felix Rodriguez, who ultimately helped capture Guevara, told Newsmax: “I believe that eventually people will see what he really was. He was an assassin.” Rodriguez continued, “He was an individual with very little regard for life. He enjoyed killing people.”

In Che’s own words: A revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate.” Another fan favorite: “Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any enemy that falls in my hands! My nostrils dilate while savoring the acrid odor of gunpowder and blood. With the deaths of my enemies I prepare my being for the sacred fight and join the triumphant proletariat with a bestial howl!”

There are accounts of Che shooting pregnant women in the stomach, simply because their families opposed him. Other than that, I’m sure he was a nice guy.

Guevara the Assassin

He was fascinated by violence. Castro’s hatchet man ordered thousands of executions (no trial necessary) which earned him the nickname “Butcher of La Cabaña.” In his own words: “To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary … These procedures are an archaic bourgeois detail. This is a revolution!”

Yet, actor Johnny Depp wears a pendant of the sociopath around his neck.

Guevara the Tyrant

This hygienically challenged “freedom fighter” hated free speech, freedom of the press and freedom of religion. He ordered books burned and signed death warrants for authors who dared to disagree with him. According to Cuban jazz legend, Paquito D’Rivera, “Che hated artists, so how is it possible that artists still today support the image of Che Guevara?” Cuban songwriter Silvio Rodriguez, remembers, “We had to follow orders apparently given by a commission of the Central Committee of the Party whose job it was to approve songs, poems, and anything that had to do with Che Guevara.”

Still, artists like Madonna and Carlos Santana think he’s just swell.

Guevara the Racist

In Che’s own words: “The black is indolent and a dreamer; spending his meager wage on frivolity or drink.” Also from his diary: “The blacks, those magnificent examples of the African race who have maintained their racial purity thanks to their lack of an affinity with bathing, have seen their territory invaded by a new kind of slave: the Portuguese.” So, why does Jay Z parade around in his Guevara tee? Jessie Jackson has called Che, “the most honest, courageous politician I have ever met.” Even Mike Tyson sports a tattoo of his alleged champion.

Guevara the Terrorist

El Che had a deep-seated hatred for the free people of the United States and their allies. In his own words: “If the nuclear missiles had remained (in Cuba) we would have fired them against the heart of the U.S. including New York City. The victory of socialism is well worth millions of atomic victims!” and “Against those hyenas [Americans] there is no option but extermination!”

Angelina Jolie should consider having that tattoo removed. We have the technology.

The Castro regime conspired with communists in Russia and around the world. They collectivized farms and confiscated businesses. Cuba imprisoned homosexuals and committed scores of human rights violations. In Che Guevara’s Cuba there were no free elections.

So please throw that t-shirt in the trash heap where it belongs. If you want to make a fashion statement, surely there’s a better way.

Related Articles:

El Che: The Crass Marketing of a Sadistic Racist

Che Guevara; a Study in Stupidity, Sadism and Failure

Rolling Stoned: From Che Guevara to Dzojar Tsarnayev

The Che Guevara T-Shirt Industry Celebrates its 45th Profitable Year This Week

Che Guevara: Communist Icon, Capitalist Commodity