The Beeb {hearts} Che

Last week I predicted

expect another fellational report soon since “the island prepares for commemorations to mark Che Guevara’s death 40 years ago.”

I didn’t have a long wait:
On Friday: Che: The icon and the ad

Today: Hero. Rebel. Revolutionary. These are words one often hears in association with Ernesto Che Guevara. And, of course, reporting about the compulsory attendance rallies as if they were voluntary: Cuba pays tribute to Che Guevara

Other commemorations are being held in Bolivia and Venezuela, countries where the Argentine-born hero was active.

In today’s video, which must have been narrated while the worshipful reporter was kneeling down: Forty years after the death of Che Guevara some of the people who fought alongside him have paid tribute. Starting with the opening words,

The Argentine revolutionary, Ernesto Che Guevara, a visionary, a man of ideas

But the reporter doesn’t stop there:

the Argentine doctor… after the victorious revolution in Cuba… he is still remembered in Bolivia with affection by those who fought alongside him… but the poverty and injustice he fought against have not gone away

Wait – there’s more:

If you go to the Spanish BBC page, the Beeb actually has a video of testimonials to go with the Remembering Che memorial page, complete with flash quotes from their beloved:
“Hay que endurecerse sin jamas perder la ternura” (We must toughen up without losing tenderness);
“Seamos realistas y hagamos lo imposible” (Let’s be realistic and do the impossible);
“Prefiero morir de pie que vivir siempre arrodillado” (I’d rather die standing than live on my knees);
“El conocimento nos hace responsables” (Knowledge makes us responsible);
“Si no hay cafe para todos no habra para nadie” (If there’s not enough coffee for all, there won’t be any for anyone).

The Beeb forgot this words, also from Che: “We don’t need proof to execute a man. We only need proof that it’s necessary to execute him. A revolutionary must become a cold killing machine motivated by pure hate.”

The Beeb buried in a corner a link to El Che, el déspota which talks about Che’s executions, glossed over by saying that Che wasn’t perfect because he was only human.

The Beeb has paid tribute indeed, as does the Tehran Times

Not one name of the 216 documented victims of Che Guevara in Cuba in 1957-1959 (PDF file).

Not a word about Che’s homophobia:

He thinks about that cruel ritual he has witnessed so many times, when the guards strip all the prisoners naked and parade the most handsome in front of the newly arrived inmates to find out who among them is gay. He thinks about how anyone who gets aroused is taken away for a special mandatory “rehabilitation” program that includes the application of electrical currents to the genitals.

(From Carlos Eire’s Waiting for Snow in Havana, page 256).

Then there’s Che’s specialty:

Che specialized in psychological torture. Many prisoners were yanked out of their cells, bound, blindfolded and stood against The Wall. The seconds ticked off. The condemned could hear the rifle bolts snapping ….. finally – FUEGO!!

BLAM!! But the shots were blanks. In his book, “Tocayo,” Cuban freedom fighter Tony Navarro describes how he watched a man returned to his cell after such an ordeal. He’d left bravely, grim-faced as he shook hands with his fellow condemned. He came back mentally shattered, curling up in a corner of the squalid cell for days.

While the Beeb shows plenty of photos, it doesn’t show this one:

Humberto Fontova speaks on Che Guevara and the Useful Idiots Who Idolize Him. Watch his entire lecture – all forty-five minutes.

And by the way, Che didn’t have a medical degree. Fontova has documented that on the last day of his life Che admitted he was not a doctor.

The Monkey Tennis Centre has more on The BBC’s vile infatuation with Che Guevara. Blue Crab Boulevard is posting. Babalu has more. Don’t miss Marc Masferrer’s essay on Che Guevara’s bloody legacy.

As Paul Berman said, The cult of Ernesto Che Guevara is an episode in the moral callousness of our time.

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