Che chic: it's tres disgusting

National Review, Dec 31, 2004 by Jay Nordlinger

Who could argue with that? Despite protests, the store has hung tough. Its owner told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "[The onesie] is one of our top sellers. The Che image is just trendy right now.... I don't think people are buying the shirt necessarily because of his exact politics. I have a baby store, and in my eyes it's just a T-shirt."

DEGREES OF GUILT

Some key questions are encapsulated right there. It seems obvious that some people know what they're celebrating and some do not. Growing up in Ann Arbor, Mich., I saw Che's face quite a bit, and, for the most part, those people knew what they were doing: They liked what he stood for. Other people are totally ignorant. Still others are perhaps semi-ignorant, wanting merely to express outrage or defiance, or to advertise their nonconformity. (Actually, in Ann Arbor, to wear Che was to conform.) The comedienne Margaret Cho pictured herself in a Guevara pose for a "Cho Revolution" tour. The boxer Mike Tyson, when he was feeling particularly aggrieved, had Guevara tattooed to his torso.

And last summer, you could find Che at the Minnesota State Fair: He was portrayed in seeds. (You mean, you've never heard of seed art?)

One of the most nauseating recent celebrations of Guevara took the form of a movie, The Motorcycle Diaries, whose executive producer was Robert Redford (one of the most dedicated Castro apologists in Hollywood, which is saying something). The movie received a standing ovation at the Sundance Festival. About this obnoxious hagiography and whitewash, I will confine myself to quoting Tony Daniels: "It is as if someone were to make a film about Adolf Hitler by portraying him as a vegetarian who loved animals and was against unemployment. This would be true, but rather beside the point." There is another movie coming out about Guevara, directed by Steven Soderbergh. We can guess at its contents by the publicity material: "He fought for the people." Sure he did. A prominent Cuban American recently lunched with a famous and powerful actor to discuss a movie that tells the truth about Guevara. The actor was entirely sympathetic, but said it simply could not be done--Hollywood would not permit it.

Beyond the occasional protest or boycott, there is some of that Guevara backlash: in the form of T-shirts, or counter-Tshirts, if you like. (Yes, anti-Communism is countercultural, in a sense.) One shirt shows Guevara with a diagonal line drawn through him and the words, "Commies Aren't Cool." Another has Guevara in crosshairs (violent--too Che-like). Still another has the statement--underneath the image--"I have no idea who this is"! A fourth shirt is an exercise in camp, festooning Guevara in rhinestones and calling him "Liberache" (linking him to the late, flamboyant pianist).

A far more serious shirt is purveyed by the Center for a Free Cuba, in Washington, D.C. It does many things, one of which is to put "Cuba Libre" in Guevara's hair, and another of which is to list Cuban political prisoners on the back, complete with the lengths of their sentences.