Kaback: Deconstructing the reasons for wearing a Che shirt

When I walked down the street recently, I saw an all-too-familiar sight. I know you’ve seen it… When I walked down the street recently, I saw an all-too-familiar sight. I know you’ve seen it at one time or another, and I hope you summoned your best Bush-choking-on-a-pretzel impression when you did. Standing nearby, casually smoking a cigarette and handing out some kind of leaflet, was a college-aged guy wearing a Che Guevara shirt.

Maybe this shouldn’t have surprised me. I’ve heard that Cuba has amazing beaches, and according to liberal filmmaker Michael Moore, its healthcare system is top-of-the-line. But in the end, it’s safe to say Cuba isn’t at the forefront of the world political stage.

Nevertheless, for reasons I struggle to understand, Che Guevara remains a permanent fixture in Western culture. Yes, he loved to read and was all about ending imperialism, but all that makes him is a Gandhi wannabe. Oh, and he ordered the execution of prisoners in Cuban jails without a fair trial.

Still, the trying-too-hard-to-be-cool kids won’t stop wearing his picture on their shirts.

I have three theories as to why this occurs. First, people actually just like the shirt. You know, it fits the muscles well and the red brings out the color of your eyes or something. I have total respect for these people. My favorite shirt in seventh grade was an American Eagle shirt that said, if I recall correctly, “Alaska!” I’ve always wanted to see Russia from America, but even Sarah Palin’s binoculars won’t let me gaze upon that frozen tundra. Regardless, I wore the shirt. I loved the shirt. I also wore a minor league baseball team’s shirt all the time. I knew nothing about the team, but the shirt had a great color scheme. If you’re just about shapes and lines and the like, then more power to you.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this theory applies to the Che shirts. After all, they’re not even that cool. It’s not like Che was on the cover of People magazine’s 100 Sexiest Men Alive. I guess the Goodwill look is in right now, but the shirt isn’t even plaid. So that hypothesis is out.

The second theory is that the people who wear these shirts are actual communists. Now I’m no Joe McCarthy, but if “The Communist Manifesto” is on your nightstand, then you need to re-evaluate your pleasure-reading list. The Berlin Wall fell down, and right now, China is about as communist as Dick Cheney. My mom always taught me to come fashionably late to parties — you know, if I wanted to be prom king and all — but this party has been over far longer than SempleFest.

Now this second theory of mine also falls apart pretty quickly. Unless society banded together and distributed Che shirts to every citizen, that person probably bought the shirt with his own money. Che would have been pissed! It would be like speaking eloquently to support George W. Bush or staying faithful to campaigns for Bill Clinton — it just doesn’t suit the man. Che probably wouldn’t want people spending their capitalism-earned wealth on possessions any more than Michael Jordan wants to be remembered for his baseball career.

My third theory is that people want to seem like they go against the mainstream and have some better understanding of human struggle, despite a lack of knowledge about world issues. Unfortunately, this isn’t confined to Che worship — people our age have a general tendency to immediately latch onto the latest political trend. How many college students, for instance, championed Obama simply because he was liberal and an eloquent speaker? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t get involved and build our own opinions of world issues, but it’s important to have well-informed reasons for joining causes. By that, I mean that you should probably know who Che is before you wear a T-shirt with his picture — a T-shirt which you, as I mentioned, likely acquired through a capitalist transaction.

Granted, it’s natural and normal to try to distinguish ourselves by cutting away from the mainstream. The need to break from our expected norms is responsible for more than just minding the bollocks with the Sex Pistols — it also spurred some of the most successful social movements ever, such as America’s civil rights movement. As college students, we’re at the time in our lives where we begin to see the world through our own lenses and make up our own minds on social and political issues.

But it’s also important that we use this time to really educate ourselves. If you love Che Guevara, that’s fine — as long as you know the story behind him. Just don’t wear the T-shirt to be cool.