The guerrilla band is not to be considered inferior to the army against which it fights simply because it is inferior in fire power.
Che GuevaraRead
Blind hate against the enemy creates a forceful impulse that cracks the boundaries of natural human limitations, transforming the soldier in an effective, selective and cold killing machine. A people without hate cannot triumph against the adversary.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Hate can drive people to overcome their limitations in conflict, but it also suggests that a lack of hate may hinder victory.
In this quote, Che Guevara argues that intense hatred towards one's enemy can push individuals to surpass their inherent human limitations, enabling them to act in extreme ways, such as the transformation of a soldier into a ruthless combatant. Conversely, he posits that a populace devoid of such hatred may struggle to achieve success against its adversaries, suggesting that emotion plays a critical role in the dynamics of warfare and conflict.
Themes
HateWarVictorySoldierEmotionConflict
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about resilience in warfare, one might use this quote to emphasize the psychological aspects of soldiers.
More from Che Guevara
All quotes →Every day People straighten up the hair, why not the heart?
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It is a revolution that came to power with its own army and on the ruins of the army of oppression.
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The final hour of colonialism has struck, and millions of inhabitants of Africa, Asia and Latin America rise to meet a new life and demand their unrestricted right to self-determination.
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We must carry the war into every corner the enemy happens to carry it, to his home, to his centers of entertainment: a total war. It is necessary to prevent him from having a moment of peace, a quiet moment outside his barracks or even inside; we must attack him wherever he may be, make him feel like a cornered beast wherever he may move. Then his moral fiber shall begin to decline, but we shall notice how the signs of decadence begin to disappear.
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This is not a story of heroic feats, or merely the narrative of a cynic; at least I do not mean it to be. It is a glimpse of two lives running parallel for a time, with similar hopes and convergent dreams.
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