TRAKCAR

For the lemons racers; In the local paper this morning:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/ca...as-899219.html

A joke of a car race in Palm Beach County is falling flat with some South Florida race fans and drivers for using the image of Che Guevara in its logo.

The tongue-in-cheek 24 Hours of LeMons racing circuit challenges drivers to buy, repair and transport a broken-down car - decked out to look like a Halloween parade float - for $500 or less and try to keep the thing together for a 24-hour endurance race.

Each of the circuit's 24 races plays off a local theme to poke fun at itself: The Can't Get Bayou in New Orleans; The Capitol Offense 500 in D.C.; The Rod Blagojevich Never-Say-Die 500 in Chicago.

But the Dec. 30-31 event at Palm Beach International Raceway west of Jupiter is billing its junk car race as the 24 Horas de Cuba del Norte (24 Hours of Cuba of the North) and using the iconic image of guerrilla Ernesto "Che" Guevara, former Cuban President Fidel Castro's right-hand man during the country's revolution.

"When I saw it, I said, 'That's totally insulting,' " said racing promoter Ralph Sanchez, who brokered the deal to build the $82 million Homestead-Miami Speedway and designed the track's oval and road courses. "They don't understand the history of what this man has done."

Like several other South Florida race fans and drivers, Sanchez, who is of Cuban descent, wrote a letter to 24 Hours of LeMons founder and administrator Jay Lamm, asking him to consider using a different image for its advertising. But Sanchez said he had not received any response.

Lamm, who was at a Le-Mons race in Omaha, Neb., last weekend, responded via e-mail that he had received only "about a dozen" complaints and responded to "the few that seemed to be thoughtfully written." He does not intend to change the race logo or name.

"If some people take offense at an icon we're using sarcastically, that's an unfortunate but natural byproduct of humor; if they don't understand that we're on the same side as they are, I can't help that," he wrote. "I would note, however, that these are often the very same people who (are) offended by other images we've used (Appalachians, Coloradoans and recovering alcoholics, to name just a few) (and) that America was not founded on political correctness, nor on a reluctance to offend certain parties.

"Being an American means that you won't get every joke, and you won't like every image. Fortunately, since this is America - not Cuba - you're free not to participate in anything you don't get or agree with."

Guevara is often credited as being the face of the Cuban revolution, especially since photographer Alberto Korda captured the famed image. The LeMons organization has played off that image by hanging racing goggles from Guevara's neck.

But Guevara is also reputed to have been the violent muscle behind the Cuban government, presiding over executions in the time of transition. Moreover, it was Guevara who publicly criticized car races as capitalist and bourgeois and put an end to them in Cuba.

That, other Cuban-American racers say, makes Guevara's image as toxic as using a Klansman for advertising in the South. At best, they say, it shows a lack of knowledge or empathy.

"No matter how much sarcasm is used, it's still offensive," said Alberto Naon, a Cuban-born racer who has competed in the prestigious 24-hour events at Le Mans, Daytona and Sebring. "I've seen the races. They're fun. But for some misguided reason, they've decided to use the image of Che Guevara."

Ritter v4.0

Lighten up Comrades.

Premier Motorsp

It is not possible to insult the bag of **** murdering Che Guevera enough.

If you are offended, StrekStrekStrekStrek you.

Chris Cervelli

Veloce Raptor

That is the muthafukken fact, Jack.









Professional Racing and Driving Coach

BC

Exactly. His image should only be used in a sarcastic and anti-supportive manner. Down here in SoCal, people sometimes wear Che shirts as if he is someone good.

FGL28

+993

I HAD a friend who put a picture of the mass murder up in her home. When we stopped doing things with her she was surprised that I and wifey were disgusted by the pic of Che.

we have not spoken in 2 years.

RedlineMan

Just like average everyday kids......

... walkin round with their pants on the ground...
... with wide flat brim hats down over their ears...
... with hoodies on regardless of the weather
... sporting Ts with Guevera on them...

There are people that will follow fads without the slightest clue of who they are emulating or what the historical message is. Asking them if they might not ought to be expressing such ideas is met with a blank stare and a "Like... whut.. .yuhknow, like? Stupefying ignorance that characterizes most of pop culture.

Images of Guevera should only be allowed on toilet paper.

enduro911

Personally, I think the title of the race could be somewhat insulting, but the use of the image, the issue at hand, is blown out of proportion. Talk the creators of South Park about not being able to use certain images and they'll tell you that people get absolutely out of hand. This is America, where freedom of speech is protected, and the last time I heard, art was a form of expression. On that note, let's shift from social to economic matters, the latter being much more important in this context.

syncspeedinc

- Said the man who is calling Obama a "commie" in his sig line, lighten up, it is a LeMons race after all. Why would you take anything to heart. Don't like it, do go, easy as that.

jrgordonsenior

Agreed, he should just call him a traitor....

"Those Who Forget History Are Doomed to Repeat It"

I think those of us who lived thru the cold war and Vietnam era have little patience with those who emulate and honor a man such as Che. For many decades we've been led to believe there was honor in the revolution of Cuba and other countries that accepted aid from the Soviet Union and therefore became part of the communist umbrella. The truth is they were just simple dictatorships that bled off the assests and wealth of their country and in doing so did immeasurable harm to their citizens. Communists are now suspected of killing over 100 million people over the past 60 years. Che was a part of that sytstem and well known as Fidel's executioner. To honor him in any way such as wearing his image on a t-shirt is silly and a slap in the face to those who suffered under his regime or their survivors. Young girls think he looks sexy, the truth is he would have raped and murdered those same impressionable teenagers. He was a monster...

Now should we give a hoot about a Lemon's race that make satirical fun of Che? Probably not but hard to convince a survivor or relative who lost a loved one under Cuba's revolution. As previously mentioned, we should be more concerned with the editing of South Park, and the impact our biased main-stream-media has had on society for the past 50 years. Che is only one of many distorted images in our recent history. The real issue should be what's happening in our world today and how the media is attempting to shape our immediate future. Blinders then, blinders today?

RedlineMan

Whats Yur Point?

They are both Commies. Let me be clear that I do not take the time to make any distinction between Communists, Socialists, Marxists, Fascists. They are all the same to me: Ruling Class control of the majority by subtle coercion or force. Same result: loss of freedom. Whether they practice the soft tyranny of internal destruction like Obama, or a boot on the neck and a bullet in the brain, the end result is the same; loss of freedom. I'm not anybody's idea of an activist until someone tries to tell me how to live, what to do, or takes away my ability to do as I see fit. Then I get animated. I choose not to glorify such people above under any circumstances. I could care less what the race organizers do, but their ignorance is showing. Poor decision, that's all. That's my opinion.

MJSpeed

I got it, next LeMons race will be held in NYC's financial district and on the promotional poster, Osama and a couple of guys from his "pit crew"...then the one after that in Alabama the poster for that one will be great, Kunta Kinte (spell?) shaking hands with a Klans member. The one after that Jerusalem, with Hitler, Himmler, Göring and Goebbels. To the winner a gold bust of Heydrich, that ought to be really funny.

mrbill_fl

Hmmm...
Cubans are known for their tolerance and understanding. NOT!

hopefully Alpha 66 doesn't make an 'entry'...

paging P.N....

sbelles

South Florida Cuban ex-pats have many fine qualities but a sense of humor about the people who stole their property is not one of them.

I see the humor in it but I can understand how some wouldn't.

Veloce Raptor

A blonde pushes her Porsche 356 into a gas station. She tells the mechanic it died. After he works on it for a few minutes, it is idling smoothly.

She says, 'What's the story?'

He replies, 'Just crap in the carburetor.'

She asks, 'How often do I have to do that?'








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