On Fashion and Che

In todays world we routinely see people wear emblems of their favorite athlete or super hero on their shirts.  Much of it is a fashion statement that taps into the trends of the day.  Over the next few months we will see a propagation of Spider Man symbols on the chests of eight year olds everywhere.  And today, the Michael Jordan ‘Jumpman’ is more about the iconic fashion statement than it is a statement of a person’s idolization of Jordan himself.  But imagine a bizarro world where people actually began to wear the icons and images of the most reviled ideologies and humans in history.  How repulsed would you be if at your local mall you found the images of Josef Stalin or Adolph Hitler hanging proudly on the mannequin in the display window?  Perhaps other mass murderers would make you feel better?  Why not idolize the Young Turks that killed up to a million Armenians?  Maybe someone a little more even tempered like Philip IV (Philip the Fair) of France or more contemporary like Saddam Hussein should garner a place on the shirts of our youth.  Or perhaps you could adorn your chest with the image of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara?

Humberto Fontova details what a swell guy Che Guevara was in his piece aptly entitled The Che Guevara Farce.  He was such a peach that hatred was a constant in his writings:

“Hatred as an element of struggle”; “hatred that is intransigent;” “hatred so violent that it propels a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him violent and cold- blooded killing machine.”

Must be a coincidence that the modern left hold the monopoly on hate.  And to satisfy his incessant hatred, Che apparently partook liberally in the sport of killing:

At first the troubled young Argentine took an active role in the mass murder of defenseless Cubans, shattering the skulls of the convulsed victims with a blast from his own pistol. But given the volume of these murders the task proved fatiguing and the Argentine soon appointed Cuban henchmen to better facilitate the serial bloodbath.  Not that he distanced himself from the slaughter. In fact, he took such a keen delight in the murder process that a special window was constructed in his office allowing him to watch and gloat at the orgy of bloodletting in the field below his office.

Sounds reasonable!  So where can I get a shirt?  Perhaps I can get one for the kids too.  After all, its good to have the image of a brave revolutionary war hero emblazoned on your chest right?

Che Guevara’s delight in slaughtering Cubans was made possible only because these Cubans were completely defenseless at the time. Bound and blindfolded was his preference. And in that very manner they were lined up in front of his firing squads. In other settings featuring firearms (held by others) the troubled Argentine quivered with fear.

On Oct. 8 1967, for instance, upon finally encountering armed and determined enemies, Che quickly dropped his fully-loaded weapons and whimpered: “Don’t Shoot! I’m Che! I’m worth more to you alive than dead!”

Sounds like a regular George Washington!  Where’s the order form?  I know its fashionable and I want to show my total ignorance of history by displaying a mass murderer on my clothing.