Comments on The Pensive Quill: Guevara No Racist

Michaelhenry- they were forced to accept it. The ...

2012-08-15T21:18:59.128+01:00

Michaelhenry- they were forced to accept it. The US wouldn't have hesitated wiping them out, that's why keeping Guantanamo is seen as act of aggression. The Cubans wanted their land but they realised they couldn't get it back. Why fight an un-winnable war?

I am not making excuses for the US. I do however support the Cubans for not having perhaps millions of their own people killed in a war with a superpower.

The Vichy analogy you make is false. They are two totally different, incomparable scenarios. Like saying a park warden is equivalent to a Nazi for just following orders. Two qualitatively and quantitatively different scenarios.

MH, " the cubans were forced to accept it&qu...

2012-08-15T19:21:55.170+01:00

MH,

" the cubans were forced to accept it" 'Pétain and his vichy goverment made that same argument-'

As Adams and McGuinness have done in our own time here.

Simon- " the cubans were forced to accept it...

2012-08-15T18:09:29.133+01:00

Simon-

" the cubans were forced to accept it " Pétain and his vichy goverment made that same argument-

" the US weren't going to give it up lightly." no occupying force gives your own territory back lightly- thats why there are wars you know- it sounds like you support armed american soldiers in cuba- you are making plenty of excuse's for the yank land-takers- and for those cubans who did not want all there land back-

Michaelhenry- I think you will find Ché didn't...

2012-08-15T14:59:07.307+01:00

Michaelhenry- I think you will find Ché didn't "allow" Guantanamo the Cubans were forced to accept it. The Americans held it since the 1903 Cuban-American Treaty and the US weren't going to give it up lightly.

The people of galway are being bullied by American...

2012-08-15T11:50:59.907+01:00

The people of galway are being bullied by American politicans and will be prevented from erecting a staue of Che in the town.What do irish yanks have to say about that ? The silence is deafening. A sport blog would be welcome relief, Liverpool guaranteed to finish top 4 !

At war or politics Che Guevara was one of the best...

2012-08-15T11:46:51.944+01:00

At war or politics Che Guevara was one of the best- At war he beat his
cuban enemys- At politics he settled for the Foreign armed american army and the c.i.a to be allowed to base themselves on cuban soil- such is war and politics- so God knows what Che would have settled for in Bolivia if he had of survived that war-

Mick Hall sums it up well that Che
was no racist or bigot, something
which most of those part timers who write for the independent can-not say-

Stimulating piece Mick. Some good points about Cub...

2012-08-15T11:40:34.000+01:00

Stimulating piece Mick. Some good points about Cuba. There is much about it that is commendable but I am not a fan due to its censorship and repression of writers. A SF friend once told me Cuba was the most democratic society in the world which I am still trying to work out.

Excellent article and a much welcome diversion fro...

2012-08-15T10:22:59.425+01:00

Excellent article and a much welcome diversion from all the endless 'norn-iron' depression. Che was likely evolvng his attitudes and politics in 'the field'throughout his life. Sadly there are no shortage of racists today among republicans in Ireland and in Irish society in general, somewhat depressing and disgusting when encountered. It exists even among some who would consider themselves savy, politically correct and 'troubles veterans'. Just the reality of the world. None of us is perfect, except John McGirr, but then John has Jesus onside.

John

'the black is indolent and fanciful, he spends his money on frivolity and drink'

Think that could be the Unionists talking about Irish RCs. I agree with you, peoples attitudes evolve throughout life. But the Irish remain the same, unfortunately.

Jon Lee Anderson explains that Ché was ambivalent ...

2012-08-15T08:54:32.605+01:00

Jon Lee Anderson explains that Ché was ambivalent during this time, straying from one political point of view to another as a young man getting drawn to revolutionary politics and that the uncertainty of his views was symptomatic of that. In fact he made several capitalist statements in his youth as he was finding his feet. Would you say he was a capitalist?

In the mines before he wrote this in Carraccas he complains about the obvious racial differences between the bosses and the workers and in Miami a month later he spoke negatively on the discrimination against the black population there.

He struggled to find himself and although this does not excuse his diary entry it does help explain it.

He didn't like the Jews or the Homos much eith...

2012-08-14T23:01:59.092+01:00

He didn't like the Jews or the Homos much either:

“The first person we hit on was the mayor, someone called Cohen; we had heard a lot about him, that he was Jewish as far as money was concerned but a good sort.”

“The episode upset us a little because the poor man, apart from being homosexual and a first-rate bore, had been very nice to us, giving us 10 soles each, bringing our total to 479 for me and 163 1/2 to Alberto.”

But, to be fair, these quotes were made when he was only 24. He may well have changed many of his views.

"The blacks, those magnificent examples of th...

2012-08-14T22:56:18.095+01:00

"The blacks, those magnificent examples of the African race who have conserved their racial purity by a lack of affinity with washing, have seen their patch invaded by a different kind of slave: The Portuguese. These two races now share a common experience, fraught with bickering and squabbling. Discrimination, and poverty unite them in a daily battle for survival but their different attitudes to life separate them completely: the black is indolent and fanciful, he spends his money on frivolity and drink; the European comes from a tradition of working and saving which follows him to this corner of America and drives him to get ahead, even independently, of his own individual aspirations."
Jon Lee Anderson, "Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life.", pg 92

Jon Lee Anderson's "Ché Guevara" quo...

2012-08-14T21:44:00.656+01:00

Jon Lee Anderson's "Ché Guevara" quotes diary entries and letters home in which for example Ché spoke of visiting mining communities where Ché went purposely to view for himself the terrible living conditions of the poor people of different races. He spoke eloquently of their plight and of the discrimination and racism elsewhere.

This is explicit in all his letters home when he mentions different races. He always empathises with the downtrodden and victimized, particularly when due to poverty or race. Not only that but he spoke of fighting for their rights and helping them fight for themselves which is what in fact he did.

She’s a silly, pathetic little fascist, without an...

2012-08-14T20:55:07.773+01:00

She’s a silly, pathetic little fascist, without an original thought in her head. Don’t pay too much attention to her, except when you want to have a laugh. A bit like notorious cave dweller, Nelson McCausland.