Scrawling on Che Guevara poster an act of patriotism

Editor’s note: The following column was written in response to comments made in a story about someone scrawling the word “asesino,” the Spanish word for “murderer,” in black ink atop the shoulder of the Argentine Marxist-Leninist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara in a display at New Haven City Hall this month.

The pitiful lack of knowledge about Latin American history that Mr. David Greco, cofounder and executive director of ARTE Inc., has sadly shown is a slap in the face to every single person who embraces democracy, freedom and liberty. To portray Mr. Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, an Argentinean sociopath also known as “Che” or “Chancho” (which in LatinAmerican argot means “pig,” due to his hatred for personal hygiene, according to his young personal friends) as an icon is tantamount to the dim-witted Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro calling this sadist murderer “The Christ of Our America.”

is idea of showing “Che” Guevara in a display of Latino historical figures is not only brutally idiotic, but irresponsibly unacceptable. According to reputed scholars, “following the Cuban Revolution, Guevara performed a number of key roles in the new government, which included reviewing the appeals and firing squads, for those convicted as war criminals during the revolutionary tribunals.” He carried out these sentences himself. Guevara left Cuba in 1965 to foment revolution abroad, first unsuccessfully in Congo-Kinshasa and later in Bolivia, where he was captured by CIA-assisted Bolivian forces and summarily executed. I wonder: was he massacred because he promoted love, peace, happiness, and eternal bliss?

Mr. Greco even had the audacity to acknowledge that he actually pushed to include Fidel Castro to be included in the ‘Heroes & Icons’ exhibit but added that the ARTE Inc. board voted against it. He even says that “the point is to let the people decide who are the enemies in this exhibit (sic) and who are not.” The board should be worried that this individual spews that “the idea was to have people look at these posters and decide for themselves what they think, especially Latino children.” I doubt Mr. Greco wants to include a small caption under “Che” that reads: “As second in command, Guevara was a harsh disciplinarian who sometimes shot defectors. Deserters were punished as traitors, and Guevara was known to send squads to track those seeking to go Absence Without Leave (AWOL). As a result, Guevara became feared for his brutality and ruthlessness.”

Mr. Greco also said that (in regards to the culprit who vandalized the poster) “at a minimum whoever did this should be singled out and forced to pay to fix it.” How poetic. Just like “Che” singled out human beings and forced them to kneel before he mercilessly ended their lives. Truly, whoever expressed this brave act should be left alone. Mr. Greco’s idea of portraying “Che” had been vigorously opposed by those who know who this mass murderer was. “We’ve heard from a few people who complained about the Guevara poster.” Yet, his blatant disregard for people’s discontent triggered what he called vandalism. I call it patriotism.

I invite Mr. Greco to visitMiami’s Calle 8 (also called Celia Curz Way) and proudly walk with the “iconic” image of Guevara plastered in a double-sided T-shirt. As he indicated, “the point is to let the people decide who the enemies in this exhibit are, and who are not.” I am 100 percent certain that the Cuban exiles living there will make him the everlasting enemy.