Quote:
Originally Posted by TumorAttitude
Okay, I understand why you posted it. And it was a great post. Che was still a murderer. |
Few problems with the video:
Firstly, if I ever came across a t-shirt with "Hitler ist mein homeboy" on it I'd be very tempted to get it. Especially if it had such an awesome picture on it. Then I'd remember I don't wear gimmicky t-shirts these days and pass it over, but was a time.
Secondly, it seems to spend half it's time whining about how evil Mao was which is quite frankly irrelevant to the point.
Thirdly, it ignores the fact that most people who wear a Che T are raving idiots more focussed on what's fashionable than having any knowledge about it.
Even so I still consider the wearing of a Che t-shirt and general respect for Che is not so incredibly bad, history is riddle with people doing the wrong things but still having impressive traits of character. The Roman Empire is looked back on as an enterprise of glory and majesty but throughout it's history if it wasn't busy subjugating, invading and enslaving other lands it's leaders were busy assassinating each other to take power; the movie 300 is a tale of Spartans fighting for freedom against the Persian horde ... so that they can go home, train as soldiers and wait for their slaves to finish in the field so they can cook them up a feast. Che grew up in South America observing the devastating effects that capitalism was having on the impoverished and the destruction it caused. He went on to
do something about it and despite being heavily asthmatic he lead from the front (which is how he was picked up in Bolivia) and was absolutely determined to carry out his convictions, incredibly confident and at peace with himself. While people condemn him with his record of executions ordered (which absolutely pale in comparison compared to the other big bads mentioned; Mao, Stalin, Hitler) they merrily forget that the Cuban revolution usurped Batista a U.S. backed dictator of 7 years who had taken power by coup and actively propagated organised crime in Cuba, along with systematic torture and execution. Some years before that Batista had effectively controlled the country through puppet Presidents after an earlier coup.
Che did exceptionally wicked things but at the same time had an inspirational character, exceptional ideals (a unified South America, stamping out the class divide caused by capitalism). He wasn't some cackling megalomaniac such as Hitler or Stalin, the executions were endemic of his absolutist approach to the revolution and the situation within which Cuba existed. To focus only on that aspect of his existence is as bad as the people who wear a t-shirt with his face on just 'cus it looked cool.
As for photos, BTown posted what I consider to be the better photo of Che so we'll see what I can come up with.
Mostly anything by Banksy is generally pretty decent. His stuff on the Palestinian side of the Israeli defence "fence" is exceptionally poignant.
In my view the picture to encapsulate the World Trade Centre events.
Picasso's Guernica, so brutishly simplistic at first glance it's almost reminiscent of a stone age wall painting but this only enhances the emotion portrayed and belies the complicated construction of the piece. A visceral depiction of the first use of planes bombing civilian targets. Which of course opened up the way for stuff like:
Bienvenue Nagasaki.