I claim to be a big fan of Che, my fav posession my bike is named after him, several Che t-shirts, wall papers and whenever some ignorant minds ask "who is he?" I take time to lecture about him. It is very much true that I get inspired by his words "Die standing than living on your knees". But if i sit back and think for a while, i feel ashamed that i had used him as an inspiration to achieve personal goals, some simple things like raising my voice against oppressive managers, questioning some company policies&decisions, instigating and always speaking for my friends..many friends of mine had worked like dogs to appease their managers to win a trip to some foreign land..I can never do that, if i do that i cannot see myself in the mirror next day..But again i regret that all my heroism was for some personal gains, I had never stood up against any oppression in my day-to-day life..Atrocities,corruption,traffic violations..happen around me and I turn a blind-eye and move on as if nothing had happened..Here are some of them..
1.Been to several shops which employ child labour
2.Grew up paying bribes, latest was for my house registration
3.Spoken and seen drug peddlers selling drugs
4.Had seen several instances of drunken driving, and had never filed a complaint.
5.Always bribed traffic sergeants whenever i broke a rule
Shame on me..I had never stood for anybody who cannot fight for themselves, if i see an instance of child labour, i just want to fight against it but there are several things stopping me..my career, security of my dear ones,..it has always been me..me..me..I cannot be a true fan of Che and his ideals if i cannot emulate him in any form..if i dont then there is no difference between me and one scum who when asked about Che on his tee claimed him to be a rock star !!!.
From today I have decided to Complain/Protest against child labour in any form.
Resolutions against paying bribes cannot be kept in India :((((((((((((((((((((.
Until I stand-up for someone in my society..no more preaching about Che
Sunday, December 16, 2007
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10 comments:
most ppl these days flaunt che jus as a fashion statement.. i seriously doubt whether they would hav done the same had he been less photogenic..
i ve not spent a lot of time with you.. but i could always get a sense that u wer a "rebellious child", always questioning what seemed wrong or injust to you.. to be honest, it's rare to find such people who speak their heart fearlessly... keep up the good sprirt and continue to inspire me to follow ur path...
Piravi payana adanchachu..Piravi payana adanchachu
dont confuse che with vice.. after all che was not quixotic and he was not after moral scruples.. he fought nothing but imperialism. And what makes him special is that he fought not for his country but, for humanity. imprerialism still exist and we are more than happy to associate with it. dont you regret for what you had been snr.. its quite normal. its simply not the season to be rebellious.. 25 years ago it was communism that stood against imperialism..now its islam
so next time just talk about bosnia, chechnya, somalia, darfur, hamas, hizbolla and you are on board! :-)
--Manikandaprabhu
Saying Che fought only against imperialism would be a gross understatement. Che also stood for the poor labourers in his country working with them in farms/mines..we should get a bigger picture here..we can't dismiss what bhagatsingh did as just a fight against imperialism , the spirit.willpower to sacrifice all u had to fight for ur country,comrade against someone whom everybody fears is something commendable.(remember che was a doctor)
The regret I have is, i dont have the guts to fight against a corrupt govt official, the spirit to question, the spirit to cleanse this infection, the spirit to REBEL like Che is all am lacking..
agreed. but you cant compare 60s latin america with 2007 india. the entire region was impoverished with yankees calling the shots everywhere with their puppet govts. any sane soul with access to the legendary works of Marks and Engels would be indoctrinated and a person like che would naturally stand up and fight
this is not the situation in 2007 india. economy is doing good and there is simply no reason to be rebellious. That is why i say 'it is not the season' communism cant thrive now and even CPM acknowledge that. you may regret for your silence against vice but you need not drag che in to this. there are numerous other leaders who faught to cleanse the society. the legacy of che is far more the the corruption of some govt officials.
IMHO we have our own heros to emulate. barathi, for eg was 3 years younger to che when he died. t-shirts flaunting him would have floated around had he been photogenic!
--Manikandaprabhu
this may be OT but i was jus thinking.. portraying che as saviour of humanity might be an overstatement. after all there was a spanish connection wherever he went. no offenses!
--mkprabhu
bharathi was great i accept that..His words "routhram palagu" are as inspirational as che's "die standing than living on ur knees". doesnt India 2007 have any problems..what abt corruption and poor infrastructure, u shud see the grin and taunts of fellow workers when they are with u in indian airport.
I would never advocate communism for lethargic indians who always think IST is India Stretchable Time.
Evrybody has their own role model..take an inspiration and fight for the ppl who cant fight for themself..thats the msg
i thought the msg was "i'd rather quit!" :P
-mkp
CHE was a murderer and a thug who killed innocent boys and men. This romanticizing and rewriting of history is disgusting. Go to Miami and ask some Cubans who lived under his regime if they think he is a "freedom fighter." Facts are a stubborn thing. He was second in command of a regime that jailed and tortured more people as a percentage of population than Stalin. His regime killed more people as a percentage of population than Hitler. He may have said something nice about standing on your feet vs on your knees or whatever but when he was captured in Bolivia in 1967 he whimpered, "Don't shoot! I'm Che!"
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