Che Guevara T-Shirts vs People who wear them.

[Kornilios Sunshine]

http://chicksontheright.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/che_guevara-1.png
By far,the most true poll it has ever been taken about Che T-Shirts. :p

[Nox]

So true.

It's also extremely ironic that the bourgeoisie are making millions selling Che's image in t-shirts. It's an utter disgrace to his legacy.

[RedRose]

My friend once bought a Che lighter, and he couldn't even pronouce his name...

It's a shame such an iconic image is now a sign of teenage angst :(

[Fopeos]

That's how they strip revolutionaries or their power, turn them into impotent icons. They did the same to Malcolm X.

[thefinalmarch]

no-one knows how to pronounce Che's name

trufax

[Triple A]

I have a Che t-shirt that I bought in a store that sells a lot of twisted leftist stuff as well as water pipes and bongs.

Thanks in advance.

[manic expression]

I actually don't mind that most Che-shirt-wearers don't know who he was. That's why Che is a powerful symbol for anyone who somehow feels that there's something wrong with the society they were born into. Educate them on who Che was and what he believed, and you've already laid the seeds of revolutionary thought. I wish more people wore Che shirts...and Lenin shirts, and Marx shirts, and Fred Hampton shirts...

And Che didn't shoot anyone for being "middle class". He reviewed and denied the appeals of members of Batista's worst death squads who murdered defenseless people.

[Smyg]

I have a Che pin. But since I know who he is and bought it from an actual Communist party, it's all cool, right? :D

[Aspiring Humanist]

I haven't seen a kid wearing a Che shirt in a LONG time. However while I was working a few months ago I saw a middle aged man wearing one in my line at my supermarket so I said "Che Guevara huh?" And he pretty much yelled "hasta la victoria siempre" it was kind of weird but it was cool

[Ballyfornia]

Nice to know a good percent of the population are, just going to be shot

[tfb]

I actually don't mind that most Che-shirt-wearers don't know who he was. That's why Che is a powerful symbol for anyone who somehow feels that there's something wrong with the society they were born into. Educate them on who Che was and what he believed, and you've already laid the seeds of revolutionary thought. I wish more people wore Che shirts...and Lenin shirts, and Marx shirts, and Fred Hampton shirts...

And Che didn't shoot anyone for being "middle class". He reviewed and denied the appeals of members of Batista's worst death squads who murdered defenseless people.

For some reason the possible existence of Lenin shirts hadn't occurred to me until I read your post, so I googled "Lenin shirts" and Google corrected it to "linen shirts". :huh:

[Iron Felix]

http://www.klangundkleid.ch/img/kleid/shirts/LOG275-Lenin.jpg

[Smyg]

I got a shirt with a group photo of a Spanish anarchist militia during the civil war. Good enough? :D

[pax et aequalitas]

What I always find funny is that because the image is so capitalized and so many people wear the shirt without knowing who he was many communists decide to not wear it. This of course results in even less people knowing who he was wearing it.

I got a few t-shirts myself from when I was more like an average marxist instead of an anarcho-commie, but I still wear them because at least I know who he was and what he stood for... well and of course because of the undeniable fact that Che was one very handsome revolutionary :wub:

[DeBon]

I've always wanted a Che/Lenin/Marx shirt, but it just feels wrong knowing it was made in an Asian sweatshop, so I'm just sticking with my normal clothes, unless someone could justify buying one of these shirts.

[Zealot]

I've got a che shirt, I wear it proudly and have met a few comrades in this country just by wearing it. Communism is considered a "threat" in Singapore (http://www.mha.gov.sg/isd/ct.htm) so i see it as an achievement that this shirt has put me in contact with other communists.

I've heard capitalists laugh about how they make money off of selling shirts of a guy who hated capitalism. I see it a different way, capitalists are giving communism free advertising by promoting an idea they hate. You wouldn't believe how many people come to communism just by buying a che shirt and googling him (like me). It's also a good chance to tell people who he was if they ask about the shirt.

[ellipsis]

I have never met any of these mythical "middle class white kids who don't even know who he is." To me it seems to be a self replicating meme used by both the left and the right.

I have more than 5 che shirts of Ernesto "Ché" Guevara de la Serna, I know who he is. A guy at a supermarket check out line asked me if he was a pro skateboarder once though :laugh:, so it provided me with a mini-agit-prop opportunity.

[Kornilios Sunshine]

I actually don't mind that most Che-shirt-wearers don't know who he was. That's why Che is a powerful symbol for anyone who somehow feels that there's something wrong with the society they were born into. Educate them on who Che was and what he believed, and you've already laid the seeds of revolutionary thought. I wish more people wore Che shirts...and Lenin shirts, and Marx shirts, and Fred Hampton shirts...

And Che didn't shoot anyone for being "middle class". He reviewed and denied the appeals of members of Batista's worst death squads who murdered defenseless people.
I also do not have problem people wearing Che T-Shirts but I really mind it when you tell them : "Che was a communist revolutionary" and they answer "FUCK THAT COMMIE BASTARD AHDJADADSDA!" Fuckin pathetic, isn't it?


I have never met any of these mythical "middle class white kids who don't even know who he is." To me it seems to be a self replicating meme used by both the left and the right.

I have more than 5 che shirts of Ernesto "Ché" Guevara de la Serna, I know who he is. A guy at a supermarket check out line asked me if he was a pro skateboarder once though :laugh:, so it provided me with a mini-agit-prop opportunity.
I lol'ed so hard on the last sentence. :D

[Kornilios Sunshine]

And generally,it is good people wear Che T-Shirts.They promote the communist propaganda to make people realise what communism is.What is really sad though,is those heroes in T-Shirts,be worn by some fuckin posers.:D

[MattShizzle]

I have a Che shirt. I also have a Che poster someone brought back to me from Spain - he thought of me as soon as he saw it.

[Art Vandelay]

Not going to lie but I can not stand the hate for people who wear che shirts. You can look at it like people are making money off him in the system that he tried to destroy or that it was made in a sweat shop, however most likely damn near everything you wear anyways is made in sweat shops. It is extremely expensive to shop free trade and most people can not afford it anyways.

I look at it like even now 44 years after his death che is still doing his part to end capitalism. At least by wearing his face it may at least make someone curious about him, it can be a great way to stimulate thought about him and if even one person then goes on to become a communist it served its purpose.

P.S. I bought my che shirt from a Cuban selling things from a shack in the street so yes I know who he is and at least my money helped feed the people he fought for.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

I have a Che shirt but I hardly ever wear it.The last time I did it was during my birthday.I went to the movies with my brother and since there was a midnight showing of harry potter it was PACKED....with so many people though I got a few stares when people saw my shirt :lol:

Other than that I have a Che necklace which I wear everyday.This has actually found several people who thought better of communism: A teacher and a bottle redemp worker.So it is true,wearing Che stuff will help other progressives,and if you are lucky revolutionaries,to find you.

[Hiero]

Latino/Latina people may wear Che shirts as part of ethnic identity and solidarity for Latin America.

I went through the phase of wearing a Che shirt when I first became a communist as a teenage. Then being a snoob who looked down on people for wearing a Che shirt. Then ironically, now wearing Che shirt to piss off the people who think it is ironic Che is on a shirt. I have been a member of a Communist party, travelled to Cuba and spent some time in Pakistan, meet plenty of Latino's who look up to Che as a symbol of oppressed people world wide. I know a bit about Che, I know what he stood for and I don't need to authenticate myself by being a snoob.

And secondly anti-consumerism was not Che's thing. Anti-consumerism, as in "activism" that focuses on not use certian commodities is a middle class thing.

[Os Cangaceiros]

Stalin shirt > Che shirt

[thefinalmarch]

Gorbachev shirt > All
http://www.luvthatshirt.com/images/s02/80827.jpg

[Sir Comradical]

http://www.klangundkleid.ch/img/kleid/shirts/LOG275-Lenin.jpg

Leiii?

[Le Libérer]

I always lol at the Che/Jesus tshirts.
http://members.chello.hu/szaban/che_jesus.jpg

[Thirsty Crow]

And generally,it is good people wear Che T-Shirts.They promote the communist propaganda to make people realise what communism is.What is really sad though,is those heroes in T-Shirts,be worn by some fuckin posers.:D
It's utterly ridiculous to assume that an act so simple as wearing a specific piece of clothing amounts to "promoting communist propaganda to make people realize what communism is". It's equally ridiculous to rant about the irony of it all, spoiled middle class brats not knowing anything about the person who makes up the icon on their clothing (Hiero puts it right, definitely).

[khlib]

I am making a Josip Broz Tito shirt :)

[ВАЛТЕР]

I'm going to make this Awesome Lenin shirt, but I have to wait for my mothers shirt printing machine to be fixed. Then boom. One of a kind awesome Lenin shirt. I'll post pics when it gets done. Eventually.

[Crux]

I don't know who this "che guevara" is and I wear his face on t-shirts all the time. So c'mon. Bring it.

I also have a Lenin t-shirt. You know, because I like the Beatles.

[L.A.P.]

For some reason the possible existence of Lenin shirts hadn't occurred to me until I read your post, so I googled "Lenin shirts" and Google corrected it to "linen shirts". :huh:

I have a t-shirt of my avatar.

[manic expression]

I am making a Josip Broz Tito shirt :)
Already got one. :D Definitely a good choice.

[OHumanista]

Latino/Latina people may wear Che shirts as part of ethnic identity and solidarity for Latin America.

I went through the phase of wearing a Che shirt when I first became a communist as a teenage. Then being a snoob who looked down on people for wearing a Che shirt. Then ironically, now wearing Che shirt to piss off the people who think it is ironic Che is on a shirt. I have been a member of a Communist party, travelled to Cuba and spent some time in Pakistan, meet plenty of Latino's who look up to Che as a symbol of oppressed people world wide. I know a bit about Che, I know what he stood for and I don't need to authenticate myself by being a snoob.

And secondly anti-consumerism was not Che's thing. Anti-consumerism, as in "activism" that focuses on not use certian commodities is a middle class thing.

This :D
In Brazil it is relatively common to see a Che shirt, most are just anti-imperialists with a basic knowledge about him but you occasionaly see a real commie with one.
I am seeing less and less che shirts in recent years however.

[Kitty_Paine]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3vlgShhKNXM/TkCwBxT0cNI/AAAAAAAATfo/jpXDiA3P9lU/s1600/che_guevara+copy.jpg


Yeeeeeep...

[revamerica23]

funny yet sad at the same time

[Susurrus]

Hells yeah. Che's cool, but he's in better company.

http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs31/f/2008/223/1/2/Emiliano_Zapata_T_shirt_by_RedClassPride.jpg

http://ridnamoda.com.ua/pfs/files/products/F_Makhno_Volya_0104.jpg

[Rocky Rococo]

That's how they strip revolutionaries or their power, turn them into impotent icons. They did the same to Malcolm X.

There's no doubt that Che's image has been turned into an icon. There is a reason however that religions have produced icons since the neolithic, and it's not because they're necessarily impotent. (Think of Sorel on "social myth" in this regard.) I know that the first Youtube out of Tunisia that I saw, there was some middle-aged guy carrying the iconic Warhol Che on red banner, and it struck me then, that wherever people are rising in revolt, Che can be found.

[Crux]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3vlgShhKNXM/TkCwBxT0cNI/AAAAAAAATfo/jpXDiA3P9lU/s1600/che_guevara+copy.jpg


Yeeeeeep...
Isn't that the singer in RATM?

[Bardo]

I refuse to purchase a Che shirt. First because I don't want to walk around getting into debates with strangers all day (I live in the Tampa area, lots of Cubans). Second because unless the shirts are made by a worker-friendly enterprise or in Cuba it would be a contradictory message. And third because it's totally played out :P

I do own this Einstein shirt though:

http://media2.teenormous.com/items/feeds2.yourstorewizards.com/2225-images-250x1000-aleivilarefu.jpg

[The Jay]

I do own this Einstein shirt though:

http://media2.teenormous.com/items/feeds2.yourstorewizards.com/2225-images-250x1000-aleivilarefu.jpg

Ah, so you know of Commandante Al. :)http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2X2BDM/www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay.htm

[Bardo]

Ah, so you know of Commandante Al. :)http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2X2BDM/www.aip.org/history/einstein/essay.htm

Of course! http://monthlyreview.org/2009/05/01/why-socialism

[Commissar Rykov]

I refuse to purchase a Che shirt. First because I don't want to walk around getting into debates with strangers all day (I live in the Tampa area, lots of Cubans). Second because unless the shirts are made by a worker-friendly enterprise or in Cuba it would be a contradictory message. And third because it's totally played out :P

I do own this Einstein shirt though:

http://media2.teenormous.com/items/feeds2.yourstorewizards.com/2225-images-250x1000-aleivilarefu.jpg
Nice shirt as to Che Shirts they are only amusing for pissing off Right-Wing Nutjobs. The last time I wore mine this guy in the middle of a resturant screamed that He Killed Thousands and then he was told to leave.:lol:

[LeftAtheist]

I have a Che shirt, a shirt with a picture of Che wearing a Che shirt and a shirt of Lenin in the style of an Obama poster. If nothing else, it leads to people asking questions about who those people are.

[Smyg]

I recently got a Che t-shirt from a friend... :crying:

[El Louton]

I got 2 Che shirts! One from the Cuban Solidarity Struggle Tent at Tolpuddle last year and the other from a union conference my Dad went to....

And yes I knew who he was and we should embrace the fact that people wear his face as it shows they are curious but we should tell them who he is first!

[Mitja]

phaha im yellow in this poll fuck yea :laugh:

[Dimitri Molotov]

The Che shirt I have is tan with Che's face and a big ol' Pot Leaf on the top, it's pretty sweet. xD I bought it from these people who were trying to support hemp clothing and hemp use for other things, so I know my money at least went to them instead of some corporate chodes like pretty much everything else, haha. The way I see it, there isn't really anything wrong with it. Since almost all of our clothing is going to be made in a sweatshop anyway, regardless if it has che on it or not, we might as well make it a bad ass shirt and slap Che or someone else's face on it. :D

[Kitty_Paine]

Isn't that the singer in RATM?

Yes... yes it is. :p

[Mettalian]

I was recently given a Che shirt (and a Che sticker and keychain) by an Iranian communist and apostate, who was in danger of being punished in Iran. He escaped and, upon arriving here in Canada, was harassed by Customs for reading Das Kapital in Farsi. The RCMP began harassing him as well and when they came to his house and saw that he had a picture of Marx and a picture of Lenin on his wall, they asked who they were. He responded, in an extremely badass move: "This my god, and this is my messenger, now get the fuck out of my house." So I, understandably, wear it with pride, because this man's story is really inspirational and I'm glad to know him, and glad that he would think enough of me to give me such a thoughtful gift.

[The Jay]

I was recently given a Che shirt (and a Che sticker and keychain) by an Iranian communist and apostate, who was in danger of being punished in Iran. He escaped and, upon arriving here in Canada, was harassed by Customs for reading Das Kapital in Farsi. The RCMP began harassing him as well and when they came to his house and saw that he had a picture of Marx and a picture of Lenin on his wall, they asked who they were. He responded, in an extremely badass move: "This my god, and this is my messenger, now get the fuck out of my house." So I, understandably, wear it with pride, because this man's story is really inspirational and I'm glad to know him, and glad that he would think enough of me to give me such a thoughtful gift.

Talk about political persecution, jeez. He's one lucky guy for escaping and for not being kicked out of Canada. I'm not sure if he would've been allowed to stay in the U.S..

[Agent Ducky]

I wanna make a shirt out of this so much:
http://th03.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/f/2011/152/f/f/chenge_obama_poster_parody_by_captainvendetta-d3htzvq.jpg
I made the art and I've been wanting the shirt for... 6 months?

[The CPSU Chairman]

“During the lifetime of great revolutionaries, the oppressing classes constantly hounded them, received their theories with the most savage malice, the most furious hatred and the most unscrupulous campaigns of lies and slander. After their death, attempts are made to convert them into harmless icons, to canonize them, so to say, and to hallow their names to a certain extent for the “consolation” of the oppressed classes and with the object of duping the latter, while at the same time robbing the revolutionary theory of its substance, blunting its revolutionary edge and vulgarizing it.”
- Vladimir Lenin

^ I think this applies here.

In addition, I personally wouldn't wear a Che shirt because of the immense contradiction between sporting the face of an anti-Capitalist revolutionary like Che on a shirt made by sweatshop workers.

On the other hand, there's the argument that as long as we're wearing clothes made by exploited workers, we might as well use them to sport a message that speaks against exploitation (even if that message has been thoroughly diluted by liberal teenage hipsters). I don't agree with this argument, but I understand it and it's why I won't jump down the throat of a comrade who chooses to wear a Che shirt. I can't remember if it was Lenin or Stalin who said "the Capitalist will sell you the rope you use to hang him".

I do have to wonder what's going through the minds of those workers while they're making these shirts. I wonder if it gives them amusement or bitterness. Maybe both.