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*I did a double take. In the middle of a breezy discussion with the deputy director of something or other for the governor of the state of California , I noticed a Che Guevara mouse pad by his computer. When I entered the office, I had taken note of all the photos of former president Bill Clinton adorning the walls. I had to remind myself that the governor of California is a small “R” republican and his wife is a member of the first family of the Democrat party. Besides, Clinton was my president for eight years. The photo of Che was particularly disconcerting, however. Moderate is one thing; photos of Marxist thugs displayed on the desks of state employees is quite another!
Ernesto “Che” Guevara was born in Argentina . While in Mexico in 1956, he met the young socialist revolutionary Fidel Castro. He became one of Castro’s chief lieutenants during the movement to unseat Cuban dictator General Fulgencio Batista. Following the fall of Batista, he grew to become the dashing face of revolution with his signature beret worn just so he was a symbol of the counter culture. “Viva La Revolución !” He fought the power and won. Well, sort of. Eight years after the fall of Batista, while attempting to foment revolution in Bolivia , he was captured and executed by the Bolivian Army. Che now lives on as an anti capitalist icon and symbol of rebellion chic for the liberal and Hollywood elite.
This last part is puzzling. Che was no friend of free speech or artistic expression. Che is on record as saying that it was his aim "to make individualism disappear from Cuba ! It is criminal to think of individuals!" Young people said Che, "should learn to think and act as a mass." How odd that a Hollywood that prides itself on pushing the envelope of free expression and individualism continues to celebrate a man that jailed or sent into exile most of Cuba’s best writers and artists.
Perhaps Hollywood ’s love for Che is fueled primarily by a sense of fashion rather than a concern with facts ala Cameron Diaz. You will recall that Diaz offended the people of Peru by strutting around carrying a bag emblazoned with a red star and a quote from Mao Zedong – another Marxist murderer -- “serve the people.” No doubt she felt fabulously stylish but was apparently oblivious of the price paid by 70,000 Peruvians murdered by Maoist insurgents attempting to walk in Che’s bloody shoes.
There are those, however, that are aware of Che’s record and admire him nevertheless. I think it says a great deal about their true philosophical leanings. I try to keep that in mind when I see the likes of Jesse Jackson, Danny Glover and the Congressional Black Caucus embracing Fidel Castro and chanting long live Che Guevara.
We should all be concerned that anyone in the halls of our government would celebrate Guevara.
As head of the National Bank of Cuba , he ran one of Latin America ’s most successful economies into the ground and nearly killed its primary industry. Oddly enough, he also concentrated wealth in the hands of a few elite. Alas, the players may have changed, but the game remained the same.
Following the fall of the Batista regime, Guevara signed the death warrants for hundreds of military, religious and political prisoners. As he sent men to the firing squad, he proclaimed that "To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary." So much for due process.
He was also instrumental in setting up the Cuban secret police and supervised the creation of Cuban forced labor camps for those who he deemed to have committed crimes against revolutionary morals. These criminals included homosexuals, Catholic and other religious leaders.
It may be that my concern was over-wrought. Perhaps the mouse pad was a gift from a co-worker with an ironic sense of humor or it may be that this state employee has like so many others adopted Che as fashion. I would hate to believe that any government employee knows the true Che and still boasts his portrait in an office of the state government.
Joseph C. Phillips is the author of “He Talk Like A White Boy” available wherever books are sold.