Telegraph
After experiencing 40 hard years of communism, as well as the horrors of Nazi occupation, few Poles have qualms equating under law the inequities of Nazism and communism.
“Communism was a terrible, murderous system that claimed millions of lives,” said Professor Wojciech Roszkowski, a leading Polish historian and member of the European parliament.
“It was very similar to National Socialism, and there is no reason to treat those two systems, and their symbols, differently. Their glorification should be prohibited.”
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It seems odd that Poland doesn’t like Che… Maybe some of our leftists need to ‘educate’ them.
BadgerHawk on April 23, 2009 at 1:04 PM
I think we have found the country we can move to when Obama finishes screwing this one up beyond repair.
CNH_320 on April 23, 2009 at 1:05 PM
I’m torn. It would be a blow against free speech, but part of me wants to say “Eat it, Che lovers.”
Count to 10 on April 23, 2009 at 1:09 PM
Che gear is ironic, though. People who wear it are really just making fun of themselves.
lorien1973 on April 23, 2009 at 1:11 PM
Me too. However I find it a tad ironic that they’ll be resorting to dictatorial measures to prevent the promotion of a dictatorial system.
Kronos on April 23, 2009 at 1:11 PM
The best way to fight totalitarianism is rarely using totalitarian tactics. If you’re dealing with open armed rebellion, sure. But not any other time.
Here be dragons:
Pretty soon every sort of dissent looks like racism and the exception swallows the rule of free speech. Like the UK for example.
Thought police muscle up in Britain
Beagle on April 23, 2009 at 1:13 PM
Aw, don’t ban Che. It’s like banning people from holding signs that say “I’m a twit, please don’t take me seriously.”
TheUnrepentantGeek on April 23, 2009 at 1:14 PM
This will just make Che more popular amongst the rebellion crowd.
portlandon on April 23, 2009 at 1:15 PM
not necessary, and possibly counter-productive in the long run.
homesickamerican on April 23, 2009 at 1:16 PM
What a fantastic idea. Make a communist the mascot of “cool nonconformists”.
Fail, Poland.
ZJPolitical on April 23, 2009 at 1:17 PM
I’m all for the Che urinal targets, Che dartboards, & Che floor mats.
portlandon on April 23, 2009 at 1:17 PM
This will be death of all posers.
darii on April 23, 2009 at 1:19 PM
I’m not really for all of this quasi-Orwellian banning, but hopefully through the debate process, there will be a few drones with enough sense left in them to realize why Che is called the “butcher of Cuba.”
Glenn Jericho on April 23, 2009 at 1:20 PM
Don’t ban Che images. Those images make it easier to spot the useless idiots.
Vic on April 23, 2009 at 1:26 PM
So true. It’s like the mass produced T-shirts at department stores advocating reducing our impact on the planet.
Esthier on April 23, 2009 at 1:31 PM
Their women are addicting. As enticing as it sounds, i couldnt last in poland.
ernesto on April 23, 2009 at 1:33 PM
I don’t think his image should be banned. I enjoy the cheap capitalistic exploitation every time I see a stooge wearing one of his shirts.
Shtetl G on April 23, 2009 at 1:36 PM
How many polish politicians does it take to ban a shirt?
lorien1973 on April 23, 2009 at 1:42 PM
They are considering banning any image that promotes Communism, not just Che Guevarra. To the Poles Communism isn’t some greaseball on a tee-shirt. They lived under Communism and hundreds of thousands died under it. If bad luck of geography puts you in between Germans and Russians, you have to do what you can to survive.
My wife’s grandfather was arrested and murdered by the Soviets in 1939. He was the town chief of police and a Polish nationalist. Their town was actually right on the Molotov-Ribbentrop partition line, and they were occupied by a few days for the Germans. Then the Russians arrived and the Germans pulled out. The Communists left lots of Poles, especially priests, politicians and military officers, with a single bullet hole in the back of the neck.
Ted Torgerson on April 23, 2009 at 1:44 PM
My Grandmother came from the Soviet occupied area of Poland. She said the only thing that you could say nice about them, is, when they were drunk, they were great singers.
MDWNJ on April 23, 2009 at 1:44 PM
As the Tea Party was winding down in downtown Houston, I met a Polish immigrant who left right before the soviet occupation in the late 70s.
He gave me some words of inspiration. He simply said, things are going to get better.
He was, of course, speaking about the Obama regime.
madmonkphotog on April 23, 2009 at 1:50 PM
So I guess the iconic Obama “hope” posters are out, too.
Beo on April 23, 2009 at 2:08 PM
Would this law include Muhammad and the Qur’an?
dentalque on April 23, 2009 at 2:26 PM
We still have our Bin Laden urinal target at my work. I love it.
Joe Caps on April 23, 2009 at 2:40 PM
Yeah if Obama turns us into a Socialist nation and sends out the DHS truth squads, Maybe I’ll move to Poland or the Czech Republic.
Daemonocracy on April 23, 2009 at 3:50 PM
Che was a dirt bag, but at the expense of free speech?
koolbrease on April 23, 2009 at 4:09 PM
Meh…Che’s old news, anyway.
Kid from Brooklyn on April 23, 2009 at 4:18 PM
The last thing Europe needs is MORE hate speech laws. It’s particularly idiotic in this case, since Poland has no direct connection to the image being banned.
Infidoll on April 23, 2009 at 4:23 PM