# Why do we Idolize Che Guevera? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 21, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344 "2004-10-21T04:13:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/57b2e6/32.png) [@Quasimodal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/1 "2004-10-21T04:13:49Z")
Reading another thread here regarding Fidel sparked something thats been in my mind for awhile now. For the longest time I have seen Che Guevera parapanalia on T-shirts, on spraypainted walls and so forth. They all idolize the fact that he was a revolutionary leader. But as far as I know of his history, he began life as a doctor and eventually cast it aside to help Fidel Castro come to power. Even more to the point (according to my knowledge) he was very socialist and did not value hearing the democratic voice of the people. That and he was involved in many battles and killings. If my facts are correct, why do young people idolize him so much. It would seem to be a strange role model. Perhaps the two new Che movies coming out will answer my questions. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/2 "2004-10-21T04:19:22Z")
> [@Quasimodal](#): > > Reading another thread here regarding Fidel sparked something thats been in my mind for awhile now. For the longest time I have seen Che Guevera parapanalia on T-shirts, on spraypainted walls and so forth. They all idolize the fact that he was a revolutionary leader. But as far as I know of his history, he began life as a doctor and eventually cast it aside to help Fidel Castro come to power. Even more to the point (according to my knowledge) he was very socialist and did not value hearing the democratic voice of the people. That and he was involved in many battles and killings. If my facts are correct, why do young people idolize him so much. It would seem to be a strange role model. Perhaps the two new Che movies coming out will answer my questions. > > Thanks You’ll generally find Guavera-worship among college and high school kids. From my own memory of that time in my life, people of that age are _generally_ pretty idealistic and romantic. Communism looks good because you don’t have the age and experience to understand that people aren’t good enough for communism to work except in very small, self-selecting groups. Che Guavera was an intense, idealistic figure who was romanticized after his death, which makes him very popular with that particular crowd (idealistic, romantic college students). ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/3 "2004-10-21T04:44:35Z")
From [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che\_Guevara:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara:) > [@](#): > > While pictures of the dead Che Guevara were being circulated and the circumstances of his death were being debated, Che’s legend began to spread. Demonstrations in protest against his assassination occurred throughout the world, and articles, tributes, and poems were written about his life and death. > > Even liberal elements that felt little sympathy with Che’s Communist ideals during his lifetime expressed admiration for his spirit of self-sacrifice. He is singled out from other revolutionaries by many young people in the West because he rejected a comfortable bourgeois background to fight for those who were deprived of political power and economic stability. And when he gained power in Cuba, he gave up all the trappings of privilege and power in Cuba in order to return to the revolutionary battlefield and ultimately, to die. > > In the late 1960s, he became a popular icon for revolution and youthful political ideals in Western culture. A dramatic photograph of Che taken by photographer Alberto Korda [3] ([http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Month/korda.htm](http://www.art-for-a-change.com/Month/korda.htm)) in 1961 (see Che Guevara (photo)) soon became one of the century’s most recognizable images, and the portrait was simplified and reproduced on a vast array of merchandise, such as T-shirts, posters, and baseball caps. Che’s reputation even extended into theatre, where he is depicted as the narrator in the musical Evita. This portrays Che as becoming disillusioned with Eva Peron and her dictator husband, Juan Domingo Peron because of Peron’s increasing corruption and tyranny. It was written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The narrator role involves creative license, because Guevara’s only interaction with Eva Peron was to write her a facetious letter in his youth, asking for a Jeep. > > An intellectual and a thinker, Che believed in putting his theories into action. Called “the most complete human being of our age” by the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, Che’s supporters believe he may yet prove to be the most important thinker and activist in Latin America since Simón Bolívar, leader of the South American independence movement and hero to subsequent generations of nationalists throughout Latin America. Also, unlike Fidel, Che: 1. Never actually was responsible for running a government, which in the event might have made him look more like a monster than a romantic hero, and 2. Had the good fortune to die young and sexy. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/4 "2004-10-21T05:26:13Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > You’ll generally find Guavera-worship among college and high school kids. From my own memory of that time in my life, people of that age are _generally_ pretty idealistic and romantic. Communism looks good because you don’t have the age and experience to understand that people aren’t good enough for communism to work except in very small, self-selecting groups. Che Guavera was an intense, idealistic figure who was romanticized after his death, which makes him very popular with that particular crowd (idealistic, romantic college students). That’s al lwell and fine, but the absolute fact of the matter is that most people - college students or otherwise wearing Che Guevara’s likeness haven’t got a clue who he was or what he stood for, or just don’t care. His likeness is now a clothing brand, like the Nike swoosh, more than it is a political statement. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/5 "2004-10-21T05:31:52Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That’s al lwell and fine, but the absolute fact of the matter is that most people - college students or otherwise wearing Che Guevara’s likeness haven’t got a clue who he was or what he stood for, or just don’t care. His likeness is now a clothing brand, like the Nike swoosh, more than it is a political statement. Yep. Screw all the long answers. Kids like him because he was on the cover of a Rage Against the Machine album. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/6 "2004-10-21T06:04:46Z")
He pisses off the right people? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/7 "2004-10-21T06:09:03Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > He pisses off the right people? 🙂 Yup, rebellious youth that don’t have mortgages. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/8 "2004-10-21T06:10:04Z")
> [@duffer](#): > > Yup, rebellious youth that don’t have mortgages. 😉 Shit, that’s supposed to be: Yup, rebellious youth that don’t have mortgages and buy t-shirts on spring break. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/9 "2004-10-21T08:10:10Z")
Like James Dean, he looks great and he died young and of course violence is always romantic. Here’s Slate: \*“Che was a totalitarian. He achieved nothing but disaster. Many of the early leaders of the Cuban Revolution favored a democratic or democratic-socialist direction for the new Cuba. But Che was a mainstay of the hardline pro-Soviet faction, and his faction won. Che presided over the Cuban Revolution’s first firing squads. He founded Cuba’s “labor camp” system—the system that was eventually employed to incarcerate gays, dissidents, and AIDS victims” \* Is this a Nazi speaking or the beloved Che – well it hardly matters? _““Hatred as an element of struggle; unbending hatred for the enemy, which pushes a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him into an effective, violent, selective, and cold-blooded killing machine. This is what our soldiers must become …””_ [http://slate.msn.com/id/2107100/](http://slate.msn.com/id/2107100/) And Jean-Paul Sartre as well had himself more than a little affair with totalitarian ideologue and romanticising of violence, so I wouldn’t necessarily take his word what makes a complete human. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/10 "2004-10-21T09:48:20Z")
Another addition to the Che Guevara mystique: there is very good evidence that Castro wanted to be rid ofhim. hence, the “missionary” trip of Che to Bolivia. Che was “set up” ,in the Mafia sense of the word…his presence was leaked to the Bolivian military, who promptly ambushed and killed Che! All of whhich makes the funeral orations by Castro a bit over the top…he wanted Che out and had him killed, like any Mafia don would have a subordinate “whacked”. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/11 "2004-10-21T12:14:38Z")
> [@](#): > > who promptly ambushed and killed Che! Too tired to look it up now, but wasn’t he held captive for a week or so before he was executed? ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/12 "2004-10-21T12:54:06Z")
Another angle to consider beside the others previously mentioned; Guevara was also extremely dedicated and unwavering in his devotion to socialism- he refused many of the perks he, as a recognised official, could have taken. He refused to collect his allocated salary from the government positions he held. He worked unpaid overtime and weekends to try to show the necessity of “removing the individual” and being part of the socialist whole. He had a level of dedication to his ideology, for good or ill, that many may find to be remarkable regardless of disagreeing with his worldview. \* The use of his image on t-shirts would be completely contrary and repellent to anything Guevara ever stood for, and could well be the last laugh for Capitalism – companies profiting off marketing his image and reputation to unknowing students. - I can thoroughly recommend _“Che Guevara: A revolutionary Life”_ by Jon Lee Anderson for a in-depth answer. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/13 "2004-10-21T12:57:22Z")
As someone who attended a conservative Eastern private university…who the hell is Che Guevera? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/14 "2004-10-21T12:59:53Z")
Is it even true that students wear Che Guevara T-shirts or put up Che Guevara posters anymore? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/15 "2004-10-21T13:12:12Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Is it even true that students wear Che Guevara T-shirts or put up Che Guevara posters anymore? Well, I always see one available for sale when there’s a poster sale. However, I’ve never bought one or seen anyone buy one. Or seen one in anyone’s room. Beer posters, naked or near-naked models (of either sex), and old pop-art seem to be more popular. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/16 "2004-10-21T13:25:07Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Is it even true that students wear Che Guevara T-shirts or put up Che Guevara posters anymore? It’s a smaller subset than it used to be (even 10 years or so ago), but the Romantic Revolutionaries are still out there. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/17 "2004-10-21T13:33:51Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > As someone who attended a conservative Eastern private university…who the hell is Che Guevera? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che\_Guevara:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara:) > [@](#): > > Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna, (May 14, 1928—October 9, 1967), commonly known as Che Guevara, was an Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary and Cuban guerrilla leader. Guevara was a member of Fidel Castro’s “26th of July Movement,” which seized power in Cuba in 1959. After serving various important posts in the new government, Guevara left Cuba in 1966 with the hope of fomenting revolutions in other countries, first in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and later in Bolivia, where he was captured in a CIA-organized military operation. The CIA wanted to keep him alive for interrogation, but he was executed by the Bolivian army. After his death, Guevara became a hero of Third World socialist revolutionary movements; he remains an iconic figure, although more widely admired for his spirit than as a theoretician or tactician of asymmetric warfare. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/18 "2004-10-21T13:39:01Z")
> [@Wendell Wagner](#): > > Is it even true that students wear Che Guevara T-shirts or put up Che Guevara posters anymore? Yes, but in a minor cult status, and as mentioned before very often more as a brand-name fashion statement than as a real ideological model. You’re more likely to see the t-shirt at the anti-globalization protests. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/19 "2004-10-21T15:02:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Called “the most complete human being of our age” by the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre… It should be noted that Sartre visited Castro & Guevara in Cuba shortly after the successful revolution, during the (Honeymoon) time of celebration, and it was during this meeting (or just after) he made that particular comment. It was a viewpoint he later came to retract and regret as the perceived ‘glory’ of the revolution (and attempted armed revolutions elsewhere) became ever more tarnished. > [@](#): > > Is it even true that students wear Che Guevara T-shirts or put up Che Guevara posters anymore? I would also say that the particular iconic image (\*that \* photo by Korda) has been popularised due to two main considerations; Korda refused to apply copyright or collect royalties for its use which allowed swift proliferation, and it is quite a cool poster image (especially silhouetted in black with the red background) regardless of whether the viewer even has any idea who or what it represents. ---
**Author:** ![Polerius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d78d45/32.png) [@Polerius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polerius)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344/20 "2004-10-21T15:02:45Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > As someone who attended a conservative Eastern private university…who the hell is Che Guevera? As someone who has never heard of such a thing…what the hell is a conservative Eastern private university? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-idolize-che-guevera/270344.md?page=2)