elef Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 The Nation Today Link In culture war, US retailer banishes Che Guevara's picture Washington - US conservatives have launched another assault on Latin American revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara. And scored another victory -- 39 years after his death. This time, though, the onslaught targeted a 4.99-dollar CD case featuring a picture of the famed guerrilla fighter, who enjoys cult-like status in many parts of the world. Target Corporation, a US discount retailer which operates in 47 states, announced, in a statement made available Friday, that it would stop selling the case in all of its nearly 1,500 stores. "We have made the decision to remove this item from our shelves," the chain announced. "It is never our intent to offend any of our guests through the merchandise we carry and we sincerely apologize for any discomfort this situation may have caused our guests." The move came in the face of loud calls for a boycott of the company by conservative activists and commentators right at the peak of the Christmas season, which is crucial to the company's commercial health. The clarion call sounded on December 14, when The Investor's Business Daily published an editorial, in which it blasted Target for "selling the murderous revolutionary's image as if it had just turned its stores into Marxist rally stalls." The newspaper termed Che Guevara "a psychopath," who had played "a central role" in mass executions, organised Cuba's gulag system, and put children in front of firing squads. "What next? Hitler backpacks? Pol Pot cookware? Pinochet pantyhose?" the editorial demanded. Conservative websites and right-wing bloggers exploded in outrage, and Target found itself under an avalanche of angry letters, written primarily by Cuban exiles. "As the son of Cuban American parents who fled Che's human rights abuses, as well as having friends and family members put to death by Che Guevara himself, I have decided to stop shopping at Target until the Che Guevara case, or any other item glorifying that human rights abuser is pulled from the shelves," wrote one of the protesters, Mario Ramirez of Wantagh, New York. The ill-fated case carried a famous 1960 photograph of Che Guevara taken by Alberto Korda, who succeeded in capturing the restless spirit of the long-haired revolutionary after he had helped Fidel Castro topple a pro-American regime in Cuba. The medic-turned-guerrilla fighter was killed in October 1967 in Bolivia, where he had gone to foment a leftist uprising. US Central Intelligence Agency operatives and special forces advisers helped organise a Bolivian military operation, as a result of which he was captured and executed, according to documents made available later. But much to the dismay of the Cuban exile community, Che Guevara's death turned him into a cultural icon. He appears in painter Andy Warhol's artwork, is the subject of countless books and articles, and a popular 2004 movie, "The Motorcycle Diaries." Target Corp. is not the first to get in trouble from conservatives for displaying his likeness. Rock guitarist Carlos Santana faced similar criticism in 2005 for wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt to the Academy Awards ceremony. Agence France Presse ---------------- Assholes - Che was a political genius and the brain behind the cuban revolution, Castro exported the revolution to South America to get rid of Che and of course he wasn't a guerilla leader or military genius. Che was a MD and Castro is a lawyer BTW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 It's hard to get a fix on guys like Che these days, their admirers glamorize them and their detractors give them horns and tail. I think that the worlds literate people are divided into two groups now, those who believe everything they read in the media and those who believe nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 If I went into Target and said that Rap music offeded me , would they pull all of that crap? OC lets see , if I only got one guess about which store bitched about Che, who would it be ...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 I suspect that the doufases who put Che stickers on their cars, wear Che T-shirts etc in Thailand are confusing him with Ad Carabao. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted December 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Che, Hitler and OBL are popular, much more in BKK than in Pattaya (why so?), sure very few thais ever heard who they were. I've just seen young americans and english guys wearing those t-shirts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidflux Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 No different than t-shirts with the hammer and sickle of the old ussr. People buy/wear it because they think it looks cool. Wouldn't doubt if 99% of them have no clue what the images represent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Ok....and the answer is Miami OC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALHOLK Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 "Che was a political genius and the brain behind the cuban revolution" I beg to differ in opinion. Ernesto Guevara was a revolution romantic. When he was killed/murdered in Bolivia possibly with the aid of the CIA he had about 20 followers. His only political significance was that he was a cult figure when I grew up in 50ies and 60ies. Even I who was conservative had his poster on my wall because he looked so cool. Castro on the other side has managed to run country that is constantly under attack by the worst opressor nation the world has ever seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted December 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Che was a romantic figure like Bolivar but could make things happen, he found Fidel and Raul hiding in Mexico City and persudaded them to start a cuban, no actually a latin american revolution starting on Cuba. Che was officially 2nd in command but was Commandante in the cuban revolution. CIA killed him that's for sure but probably with the help of the Castro brothers. Merry Christmas Alholk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 My understanding is, Fidel may have offed his own Brother (or was Raul his 1/2 brother?). As for the previous claim implying that the USA is the worst opressor nation the world has ever seen....tall comment (with some CURRENT noted fact, I admit) compared to other regimes in history. All that said, odd that a U.S. retailer would "censor" what Americans can by, claiming that the image on the item represents an oppressive person...sort of hypocritical when you think about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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