Response to Dr. Craig

To start off, I really just want to say that I enjoyed reading Dr. Craig's post. It really helped me understand some key concepts about Marxism that can be applied to everyday life, even when you least expect it. One thing in particular that really grabbed me about Dr. Craig's post was the part in which he described the Communist Manifesto leaning toward a pair of trendy jeans in a fashionable store. Oftentimes, strolling through the mall myself, I instantly realized that this particular marketing tool sounded very familiar to me. There have been multiple times where I go out to shop and run into Communist symbols or icons on T-shirts and posters. As Dr. Craig stated in his post, one of the most familiar of all has to be Che Guevara. Che Guevara has become a consumer sensation from T-shirts to books to movies to posters. On T-shirts he is hailed as an icon symbolizing revolutionary change and radical ideas, therefore appealing to the masses as a distant hero. Dr. Craig asserted that the masses are tricked into purchasing these items, as a form of rebellion, and as a result the ruling class profit from the working class struggle. I found this particular idea very interesting, and it made me think about the type of person the ruling class aim at targeting. I have noticed that the only stores, in which Che Guevara T-shirts or other similar items are sold at, happen to be stores such as Hot Topic, Walmart or Target. All of these stores pride themselves on discounted prices, where you can find the best (or should I say cheapest) price in town for whatever it is you're looking for. With that said, it might be assumed that these particular stores reach out to the working class people--keeping the working man's best interest at heart. More expensive stores, that the wealthier are known to shop at, such as Ralph Lauren, Gucci, or Anthropology, do not sell Che Guevara T-shirts. Although stores such as Walmart aim at saving the working individual more money with discounted prices, the people in charge of running the multi-million dollar corporation belong to the ruling class. As a result, by Walmart selling more Che Guevara T-shirts to the working class population, the ruling class in turn benefit, while at the same time appearing to do the working man a favor ( Che Guevara T-shirts 40% off original sale price). It is exactly in this instance that the ruling class assume hegemonic control over the ideas that reach society. At the same time, everything that Che Guevara stood for as a communist icon is tainted and destroyed by corporate America, which further emphasizes the silencing of the working class by the ruling class above them. To end on my reflection of Dr. Craig's post, I wanted to ask some questions. Why does the ruling class merely assume that the working class will keep quiet? Because the ruling class is implanting radical icons such as Che Guevara who fought for the oppressed, in the working class' minds, do they not feel partially threatened by the working class people?