The Real
Che Guevara
An essay by
Dr. Douglas Young,
Professor of Political Science
& History at Gainesville
State College
February 10, 2009
THEREALCUBA.COM
Hollywood has dutifully churned
out yet another cinematic agitprop
paean to a leftist “martyr,”
this time Ernesto Guevara.
So let’s recall the real “Che”
and try to discern why many
supposedly democratic,
civil libertarian liberals still
swoon over this Stalinist
The meticulous myth of
Senor Guevara is of a handsome
Argentine heroically helping
Fidel Castro’s guerrillas liberate
Cuba from Fulgencio Batista’s
military dictatorship in 1959.
Then he became a global
revolutionary icon inspiring
the downtrodden to rise
up everywhere,
even personally leading
rebel warriors in the Congo
before being executed doing
the same in Bolivia in 1967.
The (communist) party line
says Che personifies the selfless
humanitarian courageously
fighting for “social justice.”
He’s the Marxists’ martyred
Christ figure replete with pictures
of his half-naked corpse riddled
with bullet holes.
And the classic poster of an
angry young Guevara has
scarred countless college dorm
rooms for over 40 years,
putting a face on the eternally
young rebel for angry
adolescents everywhere.
The real Guevara was a reckless
bourgeois adrenaline-junkie
seeking a place in history as
a liberator of the oppressed.
But this fanatic’s vehicle of
“liberation” was Stalinism,
named for Soviet dictator
Josef Stalin,
murderer of well over
20 million of his own people.
As one of Castro’s top lieutenants,
Che helped steer Cuba’s
revolutionary regime in a
radically repressive direction.
Soon after overthrowing Batista,
Guevara choreographed the
executions of hundreds of Batista
officials without any fair trials.
He thought nothing of summarily
executing even fellow guerrillas
suspected of disloyalty and shot
one himself with no due process.
Che was a purist political fanatic
who saw everything in stark
black and white.
Therefore he vociferously
opposed freedoms of religion,
speech, press, assembly,
protest, or any other rights
not completely consistent
with his North Korean-style
communism.
How many rock music-loving
teens sporting Guevara t-shirts
today know their hero supported
Cuba’s 1960s’ repression
of the genre?
How many homosexual fans
Did the Obama volunteers in
that Texas campaign headquarters
with Che’s poster on the wall
know that Guevara fervently
opposed any free elections?
How “progressive”
How socially just was it that
Che was enraged when the
Russians blinked during the
1962 Cuban missile crisis and
withdrew their nuclear
missiles from the island,
thus averting a nuclear war?
Guevara was such a zealous
ideologue that he relished the
specter of millions of Cuban
lives sacrificed on the altar
of communism,
declaring Cuba
“a people ready to sacrifice
itself to nuclear arms,
that its ashes might serve
as a basis for new societies.”
Some
humanitarian.
Che was a narcissist
who boasted that
“I have no house,
wife, children, parents,
or brothers;
my friends are friends
as long as they think
like me, politically.”
This is a role model for
today’s “post-political”
voters claiming we should
Adding to the ridiculousness
of the Che cult is that he was
virtually a complete failure.
As a medical doctor,
he never even had a practice.
When put in charge of the
Cuban economy at the start
of Castro’s government,
his uncompromising communist
diktats ran it completely
into the ground,
from which it never recovered.
Humiliated, and also angry
that Castro wasn’t fomenting
enough revolution abroad,
he then tried to lead such
quixotic adventures
in Argentina,
the Congo,
and Bolivia,
failing miserably everywhere
while sacrificing the lives of
scores of naïve, idealistic
young followers as deluded
pawns in the service of his
Another reason he fled Cuba
in the mid-1960s was the
complete mess he made of
his private life.
Though he preached sexual
purity to his colleagues,
he was a shameless adulterer
who abandoned two wives
and many children,
some legitimate,
others not.
As a grandson put it,
“he was never home.”
The public Che who
supposedly had such great
love for humanity privately
couldn’t stand most folks.
Guevara’s promiscuous
communist adventurism
was the pattern of a terminal
adolescent running away
from his problems to get
caught up in some heroic
crusade against his
eternal bete noir,
So why do so many
well-heeled American libs
still admire this thug?
Are the young simply ignorant
of his execrable record and
drawn to the image of the
dashing young rebel?
Do older progressives feel
guilt for their free market
prosperity,
and showing solidarity
with Che absolves them?
Do hippies-turned-yuppies
get nostalgic for their
youthful protests and
rationalize that the symbolism
of Che as a “social reformer”
eclipses his actual horrific
human rights record?
And are some
American Guevaraistas
truly dangerous leftists
who seek to emulate their
icon and destroy our free,
democratic,
capitalist society?
Ask that guy wearing
the Che t-shirt.
.Che Guevara links in GREEN
.
.
.
Very informative.
The next time I see some stupid hippy wearing that ridiculous shirt I will tell them that they are incredibly ignorant.
As a side note,
I would bet $50 that barry O had one of those flags in his dorm room.
dave - July 29, 2009 at 7:18 pm |
It is ignorant for anyone to think that a war,
or in this case a revolution can be won without the end of inocent people’s lives.
I would love for comments, or papers like the one against Che to be written by people who have actually lived similar experiences as Che did, thru their lives.
It is so easy to criticize the ideals, and believes of others, especialy when they are long dead.
Let Che rest in peace.
Let him be the symbol of justice for some, and simple teenage rebelion to others.
Let him be a symbol of sadness to those who fled Cuba soon after the revolution, for fear of their lives, or fear of loosing their homes and their lands.
All of this while most of the population died of hunger, didn’t know how to read or write, while university men and women were brutalized by Batista’s regime.
Cuba’s revolution began with the right idea.
Che was part of that revolution they brought kids hope for a better life, the poor became rich with knowledge, and they truly took from the rich to give to the poor.
The Cuba of today is no more the Cuba of Che Guevara.
There is corruption, there is no change, and there is an embargo.
The same can be said about almost every single country in the world today.
You want to write about Cuba and its heroes?
Move to Cuba and live there for a year as a Cuban, have the cubans from Cuba tell you about their history. Don’t write a story based on hatred, because then you haven’t spread any knowledge, you have only given hatred wings.
I am very disappointed on the writings about Che’s death.
Che was a human being,
I supposed he was scared, and at all cause he would have tried to stay alive, if anything else just to see his children again.
You weren’t there, and you certainly are not, nor will you, or i for that matter, will ever do anything in the life of our World and the existence of human life that will ever be comparable to the good things Che did to many.
So write an article, write a book about your thoughts, it is your human right.
But do it with taste and with respect.
Che does not need to be your hero, but you certainly have no right to be disrespectful, specially since he is dead. and about your video of an execution.
That guy I believe worked for the police in Batista’s dictarorship and murdered many, and if you feel sorry for him or the way he died, then you truly have no basis to disacredit Che’s work.
Derzula - August 12, 2009 at 8:39 pm |
Very interesting and informative essay.
Thanks for sharing this.
I suppose there are those who
idolize Pol Phot,Hitler,
Mussolini,Stalin as they do good ‘ol Che.
Does not change the fact
they were and are murderers.
Jeffrey nolast name - September 24, 2009 at 2:16 am |
I’m glad you found it informative Jeffery.
For decades I always heard what a hero
Che was,
until I finally read about his actual life
and not the propaganda.
I used to be brain washed big time,
until I finally started doing my own research
on so many things I feature on 22MOON.
Now in the U.S.A. most of the mainstream
media simply can not be trusted to tell the truth.
I started 22MOON to try to break through
the brain washing,
inform the public,
educate the dumb masses,
defend free speech for all,
and show lots of girlie pictures.
Thank You for reading 22MOON Jeffery,
and Thank You for the thoughtful comment!
Rash
rashmanly - September 24, 2009 at 4:05 am |
It’s awfully hard to be on the side
of people who fight against free-market capitalism,
when YOU are obviously are ignorant to the
damages that it has on the world,
even United states!
Capitalism as a definition is a system
that thrives on people’s greed and selfish attitude.
We value making money over anything else
and those who have the power to make money,
will do so no matter who they exploit.
The rich grow richer,
the poor grow poorer
When we hear socialism or communism,
we think oh no! russia ! stalin ! Mass genocide!
A system of government does not kill people
people kill people
communism is not evil,
stalin was,
but not because he supported communism,
but because he was responsible
for an extremely high death rate.
He believed the end justified the means,
which caused many to die,
but the ideal was not necessarily bad.
He just went the wrong way about it.
He was a zealot much like Hitler.
Che fought for a society t
hat thought about it’s community (communism)
rather than a system that supported
a few individuals (capitalism).
He chose the people of Cuba
over the the people that exploited them
(United fruit, Batista, etc)
Is he evil because he supported
the side you are not on?
Ever ask your self why he but
so much energy into fighting for Cuba?
An adrenaline junkie?
There are several less complicated
ways to satisfy that.
When you are trying to change a system
that is ruled by a tyrant (Batista)
you have no other option then rebellion,
Cuba had no democracy.
Che may not have done anything good for YOU,
however, we have to respect the man who put
his actions towards his values.
Those values were a better future for cuba,
hell all of south america.
In united states we can avoid bloodshed
to change this “feudalistic” capitalism,
because we live in a democratic society.
The media is where our battles are fought.
When the public opinion shifts
to a more socialistic side,
it won’t be long until we can find
a good balance between socialism
and capitalism.
Socialism at it’s worst is
“total government control”
Capitalism at it’s worst is
“total bourgeoisie control ”
Che supported ideals of stalin,
but not the means which stalin obtained them.
(Che did not rob banks to gain funds for his party.)
Che’s actions resulted in
the death of his enemies,
(obvious result of rebellion)
Stalin’s actions resulted in
indiscriminate mass-murder.
Che is not stalin
Sharp - October 11, 2009 at 3:07 am |
Che was a murdering Scumbag!
Joe R - April 7, 2010 at 6:13 am |
Well said Joe!
Rash
rashmanly - April 7, 2010 at 8:19 am |
View the music video “You don’t know Che”:
Steve Pichan - April 17, 2010 at 2:04 am |
Wow,
Thank You for sending that video Steve!
It sounded like you were exposing
that murderous bastard for the
true monster he was,
very good job!
Great music,
everyone watch
this video,
big thumbs up!
Real musical talent
at work here,
and the production values
on the video first rate.
Thank You for sending that and
Thank You for reading 22MOON.
Rash
rashmanly - April 17, 2010 at 6:44 am |
I was recommended
this website by my cousin.
I am not sure whether this post
is written by him as nobody else
know such detailed about my problem.
You are amazing!
Thanks!
Lauretta Kernan - April 21, 2011 at 5:25 am |
You are so welcome!
Rash
rashmanly - April 21, 2011 at 5:59 am |
American’s bullshit!
mass murder was truly done by the Americans in Iraq, VIETNAM
LATINO HOMBRE - April 21, 2011 at 3:50 pm |
Shame! is what you should feel in your very core for defending this monster. He was an evil man and it’s too bad he didn’t die sooner.
Diego - June 28, 2012 at 6:26 pm |