Che Guevara – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
“I will perfect myself and accomplish whatever may be necessary in order to become a true revolutionary.”
It was during this period that he acquired his famous nickname, “Che”, due to his frequent use of the Argentine interjection [[Che]] (pronounced /t?e/), which is used in much the same way as “hey”, “pal”, “eh”, or “mate” are employed colloquially in various English-speaking countries.
Author Christopher Hitchens, a supporter of the Cuban revolution in the 1960s, summarised Guevara’s legacy thus: “Che’s iconic status was assured because he failed, His story was one of defeat and isolation, and that’s why it is so seductive. Had he lived, the myth of Che would have long since died.”
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2 responses to “On Che Guevara”
Since reading Che’s Motorcycle Diaries, I’ve had a fascination about him, but a realistic one. His committment and self-sacrifice was something to admire. He coulda had it made by sticking to medicine. Instead, he gave up good middleclass (should I say bourgeois) living, living in jungle conditions that irritated his asthma. He was one that not only beleived in the ideology, but lived it, and was a pain in Castro’s side when he saw the new ruling class hypocrasy. But he was a zealot and zealots tend to go too far. WE cannot forget the mass executions he did at the sports arena in Cuba.
That being said, here is a link to a picture of me wearing a Che T-shirt.
http://www.whatsinthebag.us/media/Poetry_SteveGoldberg.jpg
Viva La Revolution!
Thanks for the thoughtful post, Steve. I too have mixed feelings about him and the whole Marxist movement. I mean technically, wouldn’t it be great to give the power back to the proletariat? And I guess I understand why Marx felt violence was necessary to get this done. But is violence really worth the price (of course! they would all say)?
Couldn’t Ghandi or MLK have done it without violence?
But then there’s the whole matter of making it stick… of somehow getting the proletariat not to turn into the bourgeoisie.
I predict society is going to revisit these ideas in some way.
…could it work in business better than in politics?