Cesar Chavez's farm worker world could not have been more different from Jeffrey Epstein's high-flying mixing and mingling with zillionaires, but apparently the two shared something important: an appreciation for little girls. That's the news from a New York Times investigation that hit our screens today, and it's astonishing.
Is it a good thing that we can still be shocked and appalled? Because we're shocked and appalled. So are a lot of other folks, who are rushing to cancel the annual parades and celebrations that were scheduled for Chavez's birthday on March 31. Heck, in California and a few other states, Chavez's birthday is a state holiday, for crying out loud. (Note to Gavin Newsom: Yes, please change the name to something that salutes farm workers as a whole, not just their now-tarnished leader.)
And we haven't even mentioned the other part of the story, which is that Dolores Huerta — Chavez's partner in building the UFW, who has her own well-earned place in labor union history — has finally told the world that Chavez raped her twice and that she had children by him. You can't help but wonder how she felt when #MeToo exploded in 2017, because she's admitted today that she's realized there were others Chavez abused, and because of that she couldn't be silent anymore.
Well, good for Huerta, who is about to turn 96 and deserves to unburden herself. Still, it's heartbreaking to think that she had to hide all this for the sake of the farm worker movement. How many other Dolores Huertas are out there, in how many other political and social campaigns? It's unknowable, but disturbing to think about.
When we cats were kittens, we first realized who Cesar Chavez was when we saw him break bread with Bobby Kennedy to end his 1968 hunger strike. He seemed like someone from another plane of existence — a man who would sacrifice everything for the sake of the people he led. He's certainly come down to earth now.
At least, unlike the Trumpsters, we're willing to reassess our thinking when our heroes turn out to have feet of clay. (MAGA will never admit they've been duped by Donald.) But it still makes us HISS.
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