Is there something about Che Guevara?

[SevenFeathers]

From the little I have read about him, it seemed to me that Che Guevara was a homicidal maniac. So I was little taken aback to see his picture on SOTT in recognition of his birthday. Is he someone to be admired? I searched SOTT and the forum for any article disputing the idea of Guevara being a murderer, but have found nothing so far. I am here to learn, so if my idea about him is wrong, I would like to read further. I have no sacred cows. If folks here do have a different idea of him, could you post a link where I could read more? Or was it just a picture? Thanks!

 

[Palinurus]

Ouch SevenFeathers, did you at least read the wikipage about him ? Apparently not, I presume.

In short, Che Guevara was a 1960's/1970's icon of the Cuban, and later on South American, revolution and uprising against the evil (Anglo-American) empire and is still held in high esteem because of that. He was brutally murdered for his contributions to this cause.

 

[Ruth]

From the little I have read about him, it seemed to me that Che Guevara was a homicidal maniac. So I was little taken aback to see his picture on SOTT in recognition of his birthday. Is he someone to be admired? I searched SOTT and the forum for any article disputing the idea of Guevara being a murderer, but have found nothing so far. I am here to learn, so if my idea about him is wrong, I would like to read further. I have no sacred cows. If folks here do have a different idea of him, could you post a link where I could read more? Or was it just a picture? Thanks!

We all have sacred cows, whether we know about them or not. At least, I currently think that is true for most people.

Where did you read that Che Guevara was a homicidal maniac? Perhaps it is your interpretation of something that led you to this conclusion? He was also a doctor, prior to being a revolutionary, so he had to be familiar with the Hippocratic Oath as well, as well as how to heal.

 

[Meg]

From the little I have read about him, it seemed to me that Che Guevara was a homicidal maniac. So I was little taken aback to see his picture on SOTT in recognition of his birthday. Is he someone to be admired? I searched SOTT and the forum for any article disputing the idea of Guevara being a murderer, but have found nothing so far. I am here to learn, so if my idea about him is wrong, I would like to read further. I have no sacred cows. If folks here do have a different idea of him, could you post a link where I could read more? Or was it just a picture? Thanks!

One of the Dutch SOTT editors wrote a piece on him commemorating his birthday. Once you read it, you'll have a better idea why SOTT would commemorate his birthday. The homicidal maniac idea sounds like disinformation.

It's in Dutch, so you'll have to use google translate or another translator. Happy Reading :)
Sott Exclusive: Obituary: Che Guevara, revolutionary leader of Cuba

 

[nicklebleu]

From the little I have read about him, it seemed to me that Che Guevara was a homicidal maniac. So I was little taken aback to see his picture on SOTT in recognition of his birthday. Is he someone to be admired? I searched SOTT and the forum for any article disputing the idea of Guevara being a murderer, but have found nothing so far. I am here to learn, so if my idea about him is wrong, I would like to read further. I have no sacred cows. If folks here do have a different idea of him, could you post a link where I could read more? Or was it just a picture? Thanks!

One of the Dutch SOTT editors wrote a piece on him commemorating his birthday. Once you read it, you'll have a better idea what SOTT would commemorate his birthday. The homicidal maniac idea sounds like disinformation.

It's in Dutch, so you'll have to use google translate or another translator. Happy Reading :)
Sott Exclusive: Obituary: Che Guevara, revolutionary leader of Cuba

Same here, would like to know more about Che - does this article exist in English? Couldn't find it on SOTT. If not maybe a translation would be in order.

 

[Mal7]

From the little I have read about him, it seemed to me that Che Guevara was a homicidal maniac. So I was little taken aback to see his picture on SOTT in recognition of his birthday.

FWIW, I had a similar reaction to seeing Che Guevara's picture being celebrated. Some time ago I watched Stefan Molyneux's video "The Truth About Che". Rightly or wrongly, this video left me with the impression that, as much as battling the US empire and empowering Latin-American nations against US hegemony is a noble thing to do, Che Guevara himself was a man of a lowly character with psychopathic tendencies.

Molyneux's video on Che Guevara is here:
_https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eMLk1nQh5o

 

[seek10]

From the little I have read about him, it seemed to me that Che Guevara was a homicidal maniac. So I was little taken aback to see his picture on SOTT in recognition of his birthday. Is he someone to be admired? I searched SOTT and the forum for any article disputing the idea of Guevara being a murderer, but have found nothing so far. I am here to learn, so if my idea about him is wrong, I would like to read further. I have no sacred cows. If folks here do have a different idea of him, could you post a link where I could read more? Or was it just a picture? Thanks!

One of the Dutch SOTT editors wrote a piece on him commemorating his birthday. Once you read it, you'll have a better idea why SOTT would commemorate his birthday. The homicidal maniac idea sounds like disinformation.

It's in Dutch, so you'll have to use google translate or another translator. Happy Reading :)
Sott Exclusive: Obituary: Che Guevara, revolutionary leader of Cuba

I too wondered about Che phenomenon. Thank you Menrva for the article. I used translate.google.com to convert it to english and translation was decent.

 

[Mr.Cyan]

Same here, would like to know more about Che - does this article exist in English? Couldn't find it on SOTT. If not maybe a translation would be in order.

If you are interested in further reading, the biography by Jon Lee Anderson "Che Guevara : A Revolutionary Life" is a good read.

 

[1peacelover]

Visiting the island nation of Cuba, Che's portrait is all over. A large iron image is featured on the front of the Ministry of the Interior building. There is also a freedom fighters park dedicated to freedom fighters of the Caribbean & Latin America. As an observer of a May Day celebration over a decade ago, it was awe inspiring to see over 1 million Cuban people gathered in one location for hours listening to
President Fidel Castro deliver his May Day oration that lasted hours. There were no people shoving & pushing. It was an orderly procession to & from Revolutionary Square. Almost everyone wore red (I still have my red May Day t-shirt) and it was a festive time. I cannot express the feeling other than overwhelming.

Disinformation is on both sides. However, as a person of Caribbean descent, I choose err on the side of freedom loving peoples & their desire for self-determination. The colonialists have twisted idea of who should have natural born rights and should have those rights conveyed unto them. The best thing to do is research, research & research.

My visit taught me more than could be learned through books or through the eyes and experiences of others. This visit made me question everything I thought I knew. Found a grave marker with one of my family names in Santiago de Cuba. If we take the time to study the history of Cuba, then we will realize many lies and deceit which created the state of Cuba & the involvement of Fidel & Che in freeing the people under colonial rule. The visit changed my perception of many things..

 

[Palinurus]

The Dutch article about Che has now been published in English:

http://www.sott.net/article/303847-Sott-Exclusive-Western-civilizations-legacy-in-the-Congo-and-the-spirit-of-Che

 

[Niall]

Che Guevara was an Argentinian doctor who was so fired up by the poverty he witnessed when travelling Latin America as a young man that he became a committed anti-imperialist. He was ultimately assassinated by (or certainly with the help of) the CIA in the jungles of Bolivia because he was attempting to replicate the successful anti-US revolution in Cuba throughout Latin America.

The reference to him being a 'homicidal maniac' concerns those executed for committing war crimes during the Cuban revolution. Here's what one of his biographers had to say about that:

"I have yet to find a single credible source pointing to a case where Che executed 'an innocent'. Those persons executed by Guevara or on his orders were condemned for the usual crimes punishable by death at times of war or in its aftermath: desertion, treason or crimes such as rape, torture or murder. I should add that my research spanned five years, and included anti-Castro Cubans among the Cuban-American exile community in Miami and elsewhere."

The Wikipedia page on him is a decent place to start: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara

While he erred in a number of respects, Che is deserving of a place in the 'Pantheon of Heroes', or 'list of good-natured people who saw that we're all in a prison and wanted to help others break free'.

 

[Oxajil]

From the little I have read about him, it seemed to me that Che Guevara was a homicidal maniac. So I was little taken aback to see his picture on SOTT in recognition of his birthday. Is he someone to be admired?

When I first searched for info on Guevara, most of the search results that came up were anti-Guevara articles. I think that with most individuals who are anti-imperialists, the propaganda machines always manage to put information out there that puts them in a bad light. Just look at how easily they start blaming Putin for everything, and people absorb that kind of fabricated information as facts. Sometimes these lies even end up in textbooks as facts. So yeah, I had alarm bells go off and instead searched for information that was at least verifiable to some extent, and found that he was a good person at heart fighting for freedom for the people.

 

[SevenFeathers]

Thanks for all the links. The wiki page does have a lot of references and does state "both" sides somewhat. And I have now found a copy of Jon Lee Anderson's biography of Guevara to read.

I think that the "homicidal maniac" image I had of Guevara was due to reading somewhere about how he killed men who just wanted to stay in their village and not continue on with him fighting. My limited reading was done several years ago. A young woman friend (university student) occasionally wore a "Che" shirt, so I read a little due to that. She admired him because he fought the powers that be. Other students we saw wearing similar shirts just thought it was "cool".

With all the information written about Guevara, I know there is mis/disinformation on both sides. BUT, since the United States was against Che Guevara, he must have been doing something right. My government lies all the time. Yes, I see it with all the stories about Putin or about how Assad gassed his own people. And let's not forget the lies about weapons of mass destruction. That's just a few. (Yes, I am biased.)

As for people having differing opinions on Guevara, well some people in my country admire George Bush and Barack Obama. I, however, think they are war criminals. Some view Snowden as a traitor. I, however, see him as courageous. We have these different opinions in spite of the fact that we live in the same time and have seen the same things happening. So the fact that many people love and admire Che, while others revile him, is not a surprise.

I respect the writers and editors at SOTT so the fact that the picture of Che was posted made me interested in knowing more about him. I will continue my reading. Thanks again.

 

[Solie123]

I think it's great to ask questions, especially when there's so much disinformation.

The article posted on sott is a great place to start, and it's always encouraged to do your own research.

 

[Yas]

While he erred in a number of respects, Che is deserving of a place in the 'Pantheon of Heroes', or 'list of good-natured people who saw that we're all in a prison and wanted to help others break free'.

I agree with this. He might have been wrong in many things, but my impression is that he was a good-natured person who really wanted to do something for the people.

I once read a book called Cuadernos de Praga (it would be "Prague Notebooks), "Guevara's notebooks written during his clandestine stay in Prague in 1966", according to Wikipedia. It was a good read and I really enjoyed reading his own thoughts for once. He was passionate, very sensible and thoughtful in my opinion, but of course, passion can bring us to do things that might not be the best. The book also shows his own doubts, his inner struggling, which I think show he was a human, with his virtues and mistakes.

Maybe, sometimes, we want to cover the ones we would like to put in that "Pantheon of Heroes" with an "all-good and pure" blanket, but the truth is that they are all human beings, not perfect, just as we are. They just seemed to fight for something which was bigger than themselves, for freedom, etc... so they deserve to be remembered, OSIT.

About he being a "homicidal maniac", well, that's the sort of thing that we hear about Caesar at school... and about Putin nowadays... that should give us a clue, I suppose.