By James Zeruk Jr. Santa Monica
In slight regard to reader Henry Rosenfeld’s letter to the SMDP (July 17) concerning John Wayne — Rosenfeld made a fair argument against the preconceived status of the much beloved actor … fine. But I should like to do similar justice concerning the Pop Culture worship of another “Icon” by the name of Ernesto Rafael Guevara de la Serna — most commonly known as “Che.” Almost every day in Santa Monica or Venice I see mothers and fathers and children of all ages wearing T shirts and hats or riding in cars displaying bumper stickers of the romantic, heroic-looking Argentine-born Che Guevara looking up wistfully from under his manly, red-star emblazoned beret. Che is regarded as “revolutionary;” a hero of freedom, and claimed to be a medical doctor… this is a lie and a vulgar perversion of history and truth.
First, as to his being a doctor, there are no substantiated records, anywhere, by any medical school, to support this.
Second … Che Guevara was a cold-blooded murderer … period. The records supporting this fact are too numerous to list here.
The facts are without dispute for anyone not stoned enough to take even five minutes to research (and I don’t mean watching a movie trailer of “The Motorcycle Diaries,” or surfing MoveOn.org, either).
After Castro took power in Cuba during the late 1950s, Che was placed in charge of the military fort known as “La Cabana.” While running La Cabana, Che supervised and personally participated in the tortures and executions, without trial, of hundreds of civilians. Most were Christians. Many were women and children. Their crimes? They were freedom-loving people who were perceived as threats to the fanatically paranoid Fidel Castro.
The sources for this are many, but as we live in a town that fancies rebellion against America, Christianity, and good-old-fashion values as chic, “progressive” and even “hip,” it is no wonder that even school-age children consider Che a man to be admired.
Che slaughtered many hundreds — perhaps thousands — but his victims were not soldiers in combat, they were not insurgents invading his country, or thieves or robbers or rapists. Che Guevara murdered innocent men, women, and children who had been imprisoned for being suspected of opposing Fidel Castro — Che’s hero second only to Joseph Stalin.
I think every American should visit the Web site of the grandson of a captain in the Cuban army who knew Che intimately and was witness to the actual battles and aftermaths during those revolutionary years. Go to www.trenblindado.com.
It is sad and tragic that many people in this city (and the nation) believe that a cold-blooded murderer who fought to advance communist ideology, and who even took to signing his name as “Stalin II,” should be mentioned with the likes of our own Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. The thought of it turns my stomach. Stars like Johnny Depp, and Madonna, and Carlos Santana may make the perverted lie of Che’s myth fashionable at the Oscars and Grammy Awards — but it doesn’t change the truth … Che Guevara lived a lie and died a murderer.
Give me John Wayne any day.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 23, 2007. Read the original PDF.