Some thoughts on people who wear Che Guevara T-shirts.

I’m a bit puzzled by those who wear Che Guevara T-shirts. Unlike other unseemly fads – like Justin Timberlake, or Polynesian tattoos on non-Polynesians – this Che Guevara thing can't be so easily ignored or laughed at.

Che, of course, was a politician, a socialist, an atheist and a bloodthirsty Supreme Prosecutor, all of which led him to become an even better friend of that slippery old hypocrite Fidel Castro. But putting aside the disgusting tendency of communist “revolutionaries” to imprison or kill people, let’s concentrate on the T-shirt wearers themselves.

Broadly speaking, they inhabit three categories.

First there are those that haven’t got a clue who the guy on their T-shirt is but just think he looks cool. And/or they look cool. And/or there’s just something cool about the whole thing. While not blameless, these types probably bought the item on a relatively innocent whim, or perhaps even received it as a gift.

Second there are those that have a vague, romanticized notion of who the guy on their T-shirt is, yet are drawn to the clothing primarily because they just think the guy looks cool. And/or they look cool. And/or there’s just something cool about the whole thing. While far from blameless, these types probably bought the item with only a limited degree of planning and commitment, or perhaps even received it as a gift.

Third and most troubling are those that think they have a strong connection to Che’s revolutionary struggle, yet are drawn to the clothing primarily because they just think the guy looks cool. And/or they look cool. And/or there’s just something cool about the whole thing. Very far from blameless, these types made a pre-meditated, excited purchase of the item – and possibly bought several more items because they make cool gifts.

And what a cool world it is for some. Like those who wouldn’t give two hoots for Che Guevara if he happened to look less cool, less aesthetically appealing. Had he been fat, ugly and wearing a tattered sombrero, I doubt Alberto Korda would have even bothered taking the photo.

I’d hardly have thought, though, that the simultaneous exhibition of a beret and a moustache would have proved so enticing for university and college students. Then again, when comparing Che’s mugshot with that of other socialist heroes like this, this, this or this, Che’s a very hip dude – alluring on the cover of a Romance novel or fighting alongside John Rambo. Add “martyrdom” and his rebellious gaze and we can appreciate Che’s unisex appeal to so many middle-class college students.

But certainly not to all college students, only ones like those from Columbia that cheered whenever Iranian President Ahmadinejad said something. Only ones prone to going through a “cool”, “socialist” phase resulting from the years of capitalist exploitation they’ve endured – in the form of consuming more products than any other generation in history courtesy of the unenlightened apathy of their bill-paying parents.

The soothing myths often administered by left-leaning academics play a role as well.

Bottom line for all you Che Guevara Wannabies: Either head over to Cuba, China or North Korea and re-revolutionize affairs so people are freed from state-sponsored starvings, beatings and murderings. Or, get yourselves a genuinely cool T-shirt displaying the image of a real freedom fighting hero!

P M Doyle

October 31, 2007