More on Target and Che

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Academic Elephant went out and purchased the Che cd case being sold at Target stores yesterday. Here’s a picture of the thing:

Che_002.jpg

Boy, Che must be spinning in his grave. Mr. Anti-capitalist, Mr. Ban Rock-n-Roll as Music of the Imperialists not only being sold in a major US chain store, but his image being used on a product specifically used for the purpose of storing cds for capitalist imperialist music. The iPod earphones are just the cherry on the irony cake.

Academic Elephant notes the irony as well:

I do find it ironic that the designers of this object decided to stick iPod’s signature white earbuds into Che’s ears–especially with Americans in training in the Latin American Medical Center going on record only last week that they were “going minimalist” in the island paradise and learning to do without their iPods. How many of the Cubans that Che helped to “liberate” could afford an iPod, or would have access to iTunes to stock it with songs? I wonder if Apple knows about this adaptation of their product?

Even though it only cost $4.99 and I don’t plan to do anymore shopping at Target, I’ll be battling back through the crowds to return the CD case today. I don’t want my children seeing that sort of thing around our house.

Join the revolution! Only $4.99 plus tax.

13 thoughts on “More on Target and Che”

  3. I agree with taking it back. It’s the principle.

    Whenever I see people with Che Guevara shirts, I usually go up to them and ask, “excuse me… but I always see that face on T-shirts, who is that?”

    Half the time they don’t even know. Sometimes they do, but I always let them know a few facts about Che’s life, including firing squads, etc.

  4. The really f***ed up thing about this is that the che image is copyrighted, and, presumably, Korda’s “estate” (whatever that means in commie-double-speak) is paid royalties for the right to reproduce the image. I’m sure the smaller players that sell “bootlegged” merchendise violate the copyright because they are small enough that they can get away with it. But, in the case of Target, chances are this is “legit” merchendise. I.E. somebody is paying royalties to the “estate”. Now, I’d be willing to bet that, if one were to follow the trail of this so called “estate”, one would find that a big chunk of that royalty money actually ends up in the hands of you-know-who. I.E. Korda’s “estate” (state?) is probably, for all practical purposes, essentially a front for castro’s coffers.

  7. I think the image is kind of appropriate: a murderous pychopath in a sea of blood. As for the earphones, I could easily see him listening to some sort of music or other recording while watching executions, so he’d have audio and visual entertainment at the same time.

  8. I suppose Academic Elephant could send this thing as a gift to Gore Vidal. True, “Che” was a homophobe, which should obviously bother Vidal, but the infamous UMAP concentration camps, set up in Cuba to isolate “undesirables” like homosexuals, don’t seem to have kept him from visiting Cuba and playing along with the regime responsible for those camps. Vidal should definitely be familiar with the work and life of writer Reynaldo Arenas, but that didn’t seem to make much difference either. Of course, selective vision is something many people have developed to a incredibly high degree.

  9. Aside from being an assasin Guevara must have been a real charismatic guy in real life. I knew two people who died with him in Bolivia. I am still figuring out why two anti-communist guys would have given their lives for him. A couple of months ago I took a trip through several former communist countries. In one of them, in a medieval city that is now being restored I found an exclusive shoestore. It had several artistic black and white pictures of Che smoking Cuban cigars. I asked the manager if she knew who he was and she said “I love him”. I told her that I didn’t and therefore I could not buy her shoes. Capitalism is blooming in many former communist countries and many are making money by using Guevara’s presumed credentials as a revolutionary. Loma de la Cruz

  10. ***
    Better Idea…

    Go buy a bunch of them, go to your favorite gun range and use them as targets… Then return then to Target as being “defective”….

    Yeah, a nice .45ACP hole in the middle of the forehead will certainly render that POS “defective”
    ***

  12. CO~NO DEACON !!!I love that idea of yours .You actually make it look better,get your money back and you get stress relief.Fantastic!!LOL

  13. The really f***ed up thing about this is that the che image is copyrighted, and, presumably, Korda’s “estate” (whatever that means in commie-double-speak) is paid royalties for the right to reproduce the image. I’m sure the smaller players that sell “bootlegged” merchendise violate the copyright because they are small enough that they can get away with it. But, in the case of Target, chances are this is “legit” merchendise. I.E. somebody is paying royalties to the “estate”. Now, I’d be willing to bet that, if one were to follow the trail of this so called “estate”, one would find that a big chunk of that royalty money actually ends up in the hands of you-know-who. I.E. Korda’s “estate” (state?) is probably, for all practical purposes, essentially a front for castro’s coffers.

    Uhm.. what’s so f***ed up about it being copyrighted? The picture belongs to us, Alberto Korda’s family so stop naggin’!
    The Korda estate belongs to Korda’s children and they do NOT give any of their money to Fidel Castro. Trust me.
    It would be nice if I could get some of that money too, but that’s not how the world works.

    Tossers..

    Get a grip

    sincerely, Alberto Korda’s granddaughter.

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