So, what's the deal with Che?

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ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,402
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126
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
I find it more disturbing that you went through school without ever hearing about him.

why? he was a minor player in a minor revolution of a minor country (that castro offed when convenient). he didn't DO anything.
 

PoPPeR

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 2002
6,993
0
0
Originally posted by: jjones
Originally posted by: anxi80
wow, kinda shocked a lot of people hadn't heard of che. next thing you people are going to tell me is that you've never heard of emiliano zapata either (that one may be a bit more of a stretch though).
Exactly. It's sort of like never having heard of Zapata or Maximilian or Pancho Villa.

If you've read anything at all about Castro's revolution you could hardly have missed Guevara's name. I think most people just seem to know that Cuba had a revolution and it was led by a man named Castro; throw in a couple of fuzzy thoughts about Communism, the Bay of Pigs and Kennedy and you can sum up the overall knowledge of the topic. Sad really, considering this is a country lying 90 miles off of our coast and has been influencing foreign policy for decades now.
well there's the problem right there. We didn't study Castro's revolution, we didn't study Castro, we didnt' study the Bay of Pigs or Kennedy. If you ask most students these days, I doubt they'd know how Castro came to power, or what the Bay of Pigs is. I only know of the last two because I read a novel that mentioned those two things. If i hadn't read the book, I wouldn't know what the Bay of Pigs was today either.

Your expectations, or opinion, or the education system today is much too high. Or much higher than it actually is at least.
 

Rogue

Banned
Jan 28, 2000
5,774
0
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Che also played a role in modern combat and warfare. His guerrilla tactics and assault methods were highly effective, especially when it came to jungle warfare against much larger forces. So while he didn't really DO much as some people said, his mark was left in very low key areas such as dismount combat tactics.
 

EyeMWing

Banned
Jun 13, 2003
15,670
1
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I find it amusing how the self-proclaimed non-conformists all conform to their own little mold :p

And then the REAL non-conformists, those who truly lament society, blend right in with the conformist society because they know better than to attack when unprepared.
 

Babbles

Diamond Member
Jan 4, 2001
8,253
14
81
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
. . .As for my "disturbed" comment, that was not an insult thrown at the OP or others who had never heard of him, it was a comment about the school system these days. If someone isn't taught about Che then how is it their fault they aren't familiar with him? In fact I even stated that in a later post in this thread.
. . .
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
I guess taking CS courses and playing kiddie games while at school kept you from learning about historic individuals of the past century.

Perhaps my reading comperhension is lacking, but seems somewhat of a personal insult to me. Hell you berate the guy for what type of classes he may have chosen to take.

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Odds are you probably think "Sandinista" is just another brand of coffee.

A little belittling here, maybe?

Originally posted by: The Boss
What you learn out of school is far more than what you learn in school. Don't use your schooling as an excuse to your lack of knowledge.

And my reading comprehension was made fun of?
Originally posted by: ME
I did read up on him on my own when I was in college because I was curious to know more about this clown.
I did read up about him oustside of school to expand my knowledge, contrary to what you implied.

My problem is with the attitude and arrogance of some people here. Che was essentially a nobody and I fail to see why it is surprising that a biography of Che is not taught in high schools. Frankly if a high school was spending any significant amount of time on Che you should be concerned about improper time management skills of the teachers.

 

Megatomic

Lifer
Nov 9, 2000
20,127
6
81
Originally posted by: pulse8
Originally posted by: Megatomic
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Che also became an icon of the early Punk Movement when the Clash had that same image of him on one of their Album Sleeves.
The Clash were as much into anti-establishment in England as RATM was here in the USA. Only the Clash made better and more influential music.

You don't think today's pop rock bands were influenced by RATM? So many bands are unsuccessfully trying to do the same rap/rock sound that it's ridiculous.
That may be true but my point still stands. I'm sure the number of bands giving inspirational credit to The Clash are exceeds those giving credit to RATM. All this aside, I do like RATM. I even have a few of their CDs (that I PURCHASED no less!). :D

 

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
28,558
3
81
Originally posted by: jjones
Originally posted by: anxi80
wow, kinda shocked a lot of people hadn't heard of che. next thing you people are going to tell me is that you've never heard of emiliano zapata either (that one may be a bit more of a stretch though).
Exactly. It's sort of like never having heard of Zapata or Maximilian or Pancho Villa.

If you've read anything at all about Castro's revolution you could hardly have missed Guevara's name. I think most people just seem to know that Cuba had a revolution and it was led by a man named Castro; throw in a couple of fuzzy thoughts about Communism, the Bay of Pigs and Kennedy and you can sum up the overall knowledge of the topic. Sad really, considering this is a country lying 90 miles off of our coast and has been influencing foreign policy for decades now.

My comments will be in response to both you and Red Dawn. You have to consider the time in which you grew up and your age. Certainly Cuba and Communism were more important when you two where in school, than when the majority of other ATers. Yes, I knew about Che, but only in passing. Cuba has influenced our Foreign Policy, but not as much anymore. After the Berlin Wall fell, Communism was no longer the hot button issue when studying current history of the world. To say it is failure of our education system or these others posters is unfair. The more pressing issue relating to Foreign Policy was our relationship with Islamic Countries, and the continuing rush to Democracy in Eastern Europe. Cuba is no longer the problem it once was due to Castro's health, and the lack of any major incidents in quite awhile.

Consider the current state of the world and the past decade, and you will see why Che is not taught as a major figure. He was no bigger than the Contras and certainly was much farther in the past. Even the Contras aren't focused on as heavily except when talking about past US policies and Reagan. You both are older than most of the posters here, so you have a different viewpoint of things. I think that is fair.
 

UNCjigga

Lifer
Dec 12, 2000
25,572
10,255
136
Wow...didn't ANYONE see "The Motorcycle Diaries?"

it was some indie film that came out a few months back about Che's life before he became a leftist rebel. Him and his friend toured South America on motorcycles while on leave from medical school, and he saw just how much suffering there was and how governments weren't doing anything to help the people.
 

anxi80

Lifer
Jul 7, 2002
12,294
2
0
Originally posted by: Jigga
Wow...didn't ANYONE see "The Motorcycle Diaries?"

it was some indie film that came out a few months back about Che's life before he became a leftist rebel. Him and his friend toured South America on motorcycles while on leave from medical school, and he saw just how much suffering there was and how governments weren't doing anything to help the people.
waiting for it to come out* on dvd feburary 15th.

there's also this coming either later this year or early next year.
 

imported_Snagle

Golden Member
Sep 28, 2004
1,805
0
76
as others have said, theres been no mention of Che in public education, probably rightfully so considering how minor he was compared to others figures who we didnt have time to study. I only learned about him from wikipedia a few months ago.
 

Red Dawn

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2001
57,529
3
0
Originally posted by: Babbles
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
. . .As for my "disturbed" comment, that was not an insult thrown at the OP or others who had never heard of him, it was a comment about the school system these days. If someone isn't taught about Che then how is it their fault they aren't familiar with him? In fact I even stated that in a later post in this thread.
. . .
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
I guess taking CS courses and playing kiddie games while at school kept you from learning about historic individuals of the past century.

Perhaps my reading comperhension is lacking, but seems somewhat of a personal insult to me. Hell you berate the guy for what type of classes he may have chosen to take.

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Odds are you probably think "Sandinista" is just another brand of coffee.

A little belittling here, maybe?

Originally posted by: The Boss
What you learn out of school is far more than what you learn in school. Don't use your schooling as an excuse to your lack of knowledge.

And my reading comprehension was made fun of?
Originally posted by: ME
I did read up on him on my own when I was in college because I was curious to know more about this clown.
I did read up about him oustside of school to expand my knowledge, contrary to what you implied.

My problem is with the attitude and arrogance of some people here. Che was essentially a nobody and I fail to see why it is surprising that a biography of Che is not taught in high schools. Frankly if a high school was spending any significant amount of time on Che you should be concerned about improper time management skills of the teachers.
Granted my second comment was totally uncalled for. Like I stated earlier it's not their fault they didn't know about him. As for it being a waste if time studying about him, in the late 60's and early 70's (when I was in school) the Communist Movement in Latin America supported by Castro and Che was going strong, especially with the Maoist group Shining Path who still operates today in Peru and Bolivia. However with the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall there is no longer much fear of these groups and I can fully understand why their relevance has been downgraded, especially in the School Rooms of America.
 

lithium726

Senior member
May 11, 2004
228
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0
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: The Boss
To tell you the truth, I find it normal that most American kids don't know who Ernesto Rafael Guevara is. They probably were too busy playing their Nintendos or Playstations, getting their fat asses fatter and flaming each other on the internet. Sad.
If the subject isn't brooched in school you really can't blame them for their ignorance.

Can you diagram a compound sentence? If so, how is an infinitive identified?

i dont really think thats fair. i used to be able to do that, in 8th grade, when i was taught it. now, i dont really give a damn and it has faded away along with many things i learned in the 8th grade.

 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,982
11
81
Originally posted by: lithium726
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: The Boss
To tell you the truth, I find it normal that most American kids don't know who Ernesto Rafael Guevara is. They probably were too busy playing their Nintendos or Playstations, getting their fat asses fatter and flaming each other on the internet. Sad.
If the subject isn't brooched in school you really can't blame them for their ignorance.

Can you diagram a compound sentence? If so, how is an infinitive identified?

i dont really think thats fair. i used to be able to do that, in 8th grade, when i was taught it. now, i dont really give a damn and it has faded away along with many things i learned in the 8th grade.
Correct. You don't even need to know what that is or how they are identified to write a brilliant essay. And for many, you don't have to write essays at all.
 

g8wayrebel

Senior member
Nov 15, 2004
694
0
0
News flash...It's pronounced SHAY and I did learn about him in school...at sometime? or another? WFC... he is nobody. He is less significant to our history than Kurt Flood. BTW I recognized the name,but couldn't place it until reminded so I guess he wasn't very memorable.
I wouldn't mess with RED DAWN if I were you. WOLVERINES!!!hahaha