So Long, Castro

I read today that Fidel Castro is stepping down from power. Permanently. It turns out he isn't immortal. He's old and sick, and in a few days the national assembly will meet and select a new head of state, according to the New York Times. 

I read this, and I felt a little nostalgic. Castro was such an anomaly--or at least always seemed like it to me. History was bridged in one man--with him, JFK and Che Guevara were still part of the present. 

But so were Marx and Engle. And he proved dictatorships are not part of history--they are alive and well. When I see guys in red Che Guevara tee shirts, I wonder if they know this. I wonder if they know what all that face symbolizes, its link to Castro and to corruption.

But if they know the story, I think they wear it for that dream that it represents. Marx, Engle, Guevara, Castro, they all hoped for something better--for freedom. Freedom from poverty, from corruption--ironically, freedom, I think, from things they turned around and created again. I have often thought that better than a line showing right and left, a more correct way to model political philosophies would be a circle. The extremes come back around and meet each other. A dictator is a dictator whether fascist or communist. 

But these ideals are seductive. I think this seduction is fascinating, and I've started taking pictures of leftist merchandise and such that I see. Here are some of the collection. 

Cherborug, France 

Brussels, Belgium. (Rough) Translation: "To vote is to accept capitalism and to reinforce the bourgeoisie. It is collaborating with our own exploitation. Let us vote a blank ballot! We will fight! " 

Old Town, San Diego, California 

Brussels, Belgium