“Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any enemy that falls in my hands! My nostrils dilate while savoring the acrid odor of gunpowder and blood. With the deaths of my enemies I prepare my being for the sacred fight and join the triumphant proletariat with a bestial howl!”

–Che Guevera

This, apparently, is the kind of thug clueless Hollywood moms want their kids looking up to:

Actress-mommies Jennifer Connelly and Kate Hudson have both bought the Che tees, which are distributed by Appaman.com, an online supplier to stores like Sam & Seb, the bustling children’s boutique in Williamsburg, and Lolli’s in Park Slope. “I don’t think many of our customers are Communists,” said Harald Husum, Appaman’s founder, a Carroll Gardens resident with a 2-year-old daughter. According to Mr. Husum, he’s sold nearly 6,000 Che products since his company was launched in 2002, despite a smattering of protests from Cuban-Americans. “The whole idea behind the company was to put traditional grown-up images on babies,” Mr. Husum said. “This is not at all a political statement, it’s a fashion statement. Che’s image has a rock ‘n’ roll edge to it that we’re looking for.”

Mr. Moore’s wife, Francesca Castagnoli, a writer, wearily estimates that one in 10 kids in her ‘hood own the Che shirt. “Some people probably think it’s an icon of what’s cool,” she said, adding (without apparent irony): “Also, you sort of want that independent spirit for your child.”

And by “independent,” she apparently means a kid willing to slaughter everyone else in his kindergarten class. By “rock n’ roll edge,” she means support for an oppressive, totalitarian regime where rock n’ roll isn’t allowed to exist.

Catallarchy pisses on Che’s legacy here. Alvaro Vargas Llosa here. Getcher’ Che-with-Mickey-Mouse-ears t-shirts here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 15th, 2005 at 9:37 am by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.