NO "HAMLET" TODAY: INSTEAD, CHE GUEVARA!

That's Che Guevara and Fidel way back when, after the Cuban Revolution. Boy, Che looked good in pictures. Come to think of it, so did Fidel. Communist leaders like Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot and Kim Jong-il looked horrible in photos, but the camera loved these guys. They looked like somebody you could joke with...somebody it would be fun to pal around with.

Che in particular got a reputation for being cool. Rock musicians and Hollywood stars used to wear Che t-shirts. That's (above) Carlos Santana sporting his at an Oscar ceremony.

That's (above) Johhny Depp wearing his.

Johnny Depp isn't a communist. I imagine he just saw Che as a symbol of rebellion against the Man, and maybe of his belief that communism, if it does nothing else, at least feeds the poor.

I don't think that's true, but at least I understand why somebody would believe that. What I don't understand is why Che would be the focus of that belief.  Che was a food destroyer, not a food creator. He and Fidel turned an up and coming country into an economic basket case. Before the revolution Cuba had a higher per capita income than Austria, Japan, and Spain. It had the third highest protein consumption in the Western Hemisphere. What has it been since the revolution? It's a poor country which requires the dollars sent from relatives living in exile to prevent disaster.

It's time to ask some questions: when has communism ever made a country rich? Was China better off under Mao's communism or under the present state capitalism? Was India better off under Nehru's socialism, or under capitalism? Who's feeding their people better, North or South Korea? Remember how everybody predicted economic doom for Chile when Allende was kicked out? Today it's one of the most successful countries in South America. Look at post-war Vietnam. Why would anyone who cares about the poor have anything good to say about communism?

But I digress from my topic, which is Che. I hate to say it, but Che was not a nice guy. He was a Stalinist. He couldn't sign the death orders fast enough. Che's Cuba hated rock and roll, which they regarded as American music, and had young people beaten and arrested for wearing long hair. Gays were put into a forced labor camp with a sign over the gate that read, "WORK WILL MAKE A MAN OUT OF YOU." He had utter disdain for blacks...all this, and yet only a short time ago he was the darling of American Rock and Roll. Go figure.

But...I have to admit...he took a good picture.

BTW: My information about Che comes from a book I'm reading now called "Exposing The Real Che Guevara" by Ernesto Fontoya.