Yay for Che? (and Mao)

There's nothing quite like wearing a Che Guevera or Mao t-shirt to proclaim one's ignorance of history to the world. That is of course, unless one wants to be associated with the things Che was actually known for. Che was a blatant racist and executed gay people amongst countless others - and while I suppose he killed fewer people than Hitler, that's hardly a record one wants to be wearing on a t-shirt.

Now Mao on the other hand killed anywhere between 20-70 million people depending who you ask but apparently that record isn't worth remembering. But that doesn't proclude him from being a pop culture icon either. It is a strange strange world in which we live. I have heard from one of my colleagues that there is a prevailing view that without Mao China would be a "messy" place but that seems to be a distinction without a difference.

Reason.tv has an episode on Hollywood's sick love affair with Che Guevera:

Update: Oh the idiocy. "Aye caramba. Yes, the real lesson to be drawn from a man who oversaw summary executions and ran Cuba's economy 20,000 leagues under the sea is that profits and capitalism are evil."