Che's goals were not bad. Spread the wealth. Lift up the poor. Perhaps Quixotic, naive, and romantic. But basically his heart was in the right place, more or less.
Anyone who has a heart wants to do some of those things.
There are a million things I'd like to change. End war in the Middle East. Get rid of American exceptionalism, the snobbish idea that somehow we are better than other people. We need universal healthcare. Subsidies for artists and writers. A negative income tax. A pretty young assistant for every old writer. At least for one. Free Ai Weiwei.
I'd like to pay teachers more, enough to attract and keep the best young minds. (See this great op-ed piece co-written by Dave Eggers in the NY Times:)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/opinion/01eggers.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=pay%20teachers&st=cse
But Che thought that violence was the only way. He saw what happened in Guatemala when democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz was overthrown by the U.S. CIA, which rallied the opposition. Che's answer was simple: Kill the opposition.
As a kind of chess match--Che was an avid chess player--this makes a kind of brutal sense.
Fidel Castro and Che Guevara wanted socialism, so they took the means of production (the land, mills, factories, and businesses) away from the traditional owners and gave them to the peasants and the workers. Or, more accurately, took them for the state to run.
Che wanted people in Cuba to throw themselves into their crappy mundane jobs, so he preached to them and did volunteer work on weekends, as an example.
Again, chess moves, without considering human nature.
In my opinion, Che and Fidel replaced an unfair economic system with an incompetent one.
Che is a complex figure in history: adventurer, idealist, vicious killer, inspiring leader.
It's hard to explain why his image became such a huge international symbol. Here are two photos, one famous and one not so well known:
In the second photo, notice the beautiful woman by his side. I don't know who that was, but he was something of a ladies man. Women loved him.
The first photo is obviously more heroic. But that doesn't explain the myth that has grown up around that image and around him.
(I have the feeling my friend "Lito" is going to hate me for what I am about to say.)
Partly, I think Che died at the right time in his career. He was 39, still young and handsome. He was on a foolhardy and Quixotic mission, doomed from the start. There is something romantic about fighting for a hopeless cause, fighting till the end, and dying for that same cause.
Che was extremely charismatic. He embodied the ideal of resistance, which is always romantic, and of fighting for the little guy, of being the underdog, of fighting against fat cats and against imperialism.
Like a lot of symbols, his image and his reputation oversimplify the reality of his character and his life. He could be cruel and vicious, even to his friends.
One of his most loyal followers begged to go to Bolivia with Che on what turned out to be his last mission. Wisely, Che wouldn't let him go; he was too valuable to the new government in Cuba. But then, at a farewell dinner, Che made fun of the younger man and shamed him in front of his comrades.
Also, as I've said before, Che neglected his children and his family.
So the myth is more glamorous than the man.
My question, when I started reading Jon Lee Anderson's excellent biography, "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life," was whether Che was a good guy or a bad guy. I wanted to settle an argument between two friends, Lito and Richard.
I hate to say it, but finally I have to come down on the side of Richard. Che was 60% insensitive, selfish bastard, and 40% hero, in my judgement.
And that is being charitable. He put his own ideals above humanity. He was trying to save people by neglecting and destroying some of those around him. He was a self-appointed judge and jury. He did some good, but he caused a lot of pain.
For me, I am glad to finish reading about Che and move on to other pursuits.
Adios, Che. I'm glad I'm not like you. And, BTW, I won't be wearing one of those T-shirts. Not anytime soon.
-- Roger
© Copyright 2011, Roger R. Angle
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