I read this last week, and meant to link to it. An absolutely fantastic blistering piece by Paul Berman on the "cult of Che Guevara". In case you haven't read it yet - do not miss this article.
Posted by sheilaActually, Che's "ELN" DID contain a majority of Bolivians, who were tin miners if not peasants. It's not just students either but labor unions and peasant associations who "worship" Che.
I think when enough time passes, people will be able to approach the subject of Communists more objectively. These days, we can still admire such people as, say, Napoleon but have a kind word or two about someone like Che and people put you in the same boat as a neo-Nazi! I mean, who cares nowadays whether or not you're a "Jacobite"?
Che didn't "invent" Cuban prison camps and firing squads...those already existed under Castro's capitalist predecessors. And speaking of predecessors, it seems like the REAL sin of the Communists was that they ultimately copied some of the same habits of the old order they overthrew.
Posted by: ed at October 3, 2004 03:21 AM