# Abuse allegations against Cesar Chavez **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 18, 2026, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555 "2026-03-18T18:42:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/82 "2026-03-19T16:29:26Z")
Santa Barbara is full of them but I’ll stop the hijack here. It might make a good thread. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/83 "2026-03-19T16:33:57Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > On a related note, I once read that high-profile heroes for a particular cause (like Chavez, or directors of do-good nonprofits, etc.) can be mentally susceptible to misdeeds or predatory behavior because of one of two mindsets, either a sort of mental tally of “I’ve done so much good for the world that I’m allowed to do some bad, too,” or an attitude of “I’m genuinely a good guy, everyone thinks I’m a hero, therefore even the bad things I do are actually good things.” Psychologically, I strongly disagree with either of these as a likely “mind-set.” I think blaming the victim is much more likely (“she lured me on, she shouldn’t dress like that” sort of thing), handy helplessness (“I couldn’t help it”) or else just burying the event out of conscious memory. Much later, they might get to the point where they can reflect and wish they hadn’t done it, but without any thought for any kind of reparative behavior. “It’s done now, there’s nothing I can do about that.” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/84 "2026-03-19T16:36:56Z")
Most predators don’t have enough self-insight to feel guilty about what they are doing. They are extremely deluded and believe the victim wanted it. Kinda wish I hadn’t read that NYT article. That’s a tough read. If I understand correctly, this is the culmination of a five-_year_ investigation. Not exactly a knee-jerk response. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/85 "2026-03-19T16:52:24Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Everything is going to end up being “Fred Rogers’ \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” I’m Hispanic and this has my vote. For many reasons: > **[Fred Rogers Took a Stand Against Racial Inequality When He Invited a Black...](https://www.biography.com/actors/mister-rogers-officer-clemmons-pool)** > > In 1969, when Black Americans were still prevented from swimming alongside white people, an episode of 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' broke the color barrier. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/86 "2026-03-19T17:41:58Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I don’t think I accept that people who do good things are any more “mentally susceptible of misdeeds” than the rest of us. Yeah, same here. More like if you have an individual that may have such impulses within, and he finds himself “in command” or held up as an important public face of a Worthy Cause, he may find the usual restraints on that impulse are no longer restraining him as much. Which includes people just not asking questions they would of anyone else, or as apparently happened here, victims feeling that the Cause is too much more important than themselves to risk denouncing the Leader. Power or fame doesn’t always really change you , some times it just gives you license to act out what you had been holding back. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > It’s one thing to say that famous and powerful men are often able to command female attention in whatever way they want, and the men are not always strong enough to behave with integrity. It’s skeevy, but if it’s consensual, whatever. > > But when we’re talking about minors or non-consensual encounters, obviously that’s not something that can get any kind of pass. And one very real thing we have to deal with is that even if we know that “in that culture, in that time” looking the other way about a certain conduct was common, we _ **can** _ still call it out if it crossed those lines, especially in cases when victims are still around so some belated redress may be offered, even if symbolic. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/87 "2026-03-19T17:56:11Z")
WA will not observe Cesar Chavez Day this year, and the governor is proclaiming Dolores Huerta Day for April 10th instead. [https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/washington-not-honor-cesar-chavez-day-sexual-assault-allegations/281-5b222893-fe36-4277-a22d-c0773ab3406a](https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/washington-not-honor-cesar-chavez-day-sexual-assault-allegations/281-5b222893-fe36-4277-a22d-c0773ab3406a) ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/88 "2026-03-19T17:59:00Z")
Knowing what is now known I understand the need to change names. And I still have a likely very unpopular position, not that the NYT should have buried the story, but that if I was his victim maybe I’d not bring it up now? Chavez is now less a real person than a myth, and myths have important functions: > [@JRDelirious](#): > > teaching values/ideologies in the abstract is too, well, abstract. Holding up an icon to be venerated or pointing to an exemplar to be imitated is more relatable. People want to rally behind a leader with a face and a voice, or behind her/his memory. Torn, because, well truth matters. And the role model of being a victim who comes forward is a strong message to get there. The concept that no one is above being held to account, given a pass, matters. But we do need out myths that tell us who we want to be, even if the figures we mythologize weren’t that. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/89 "2026-03-19T18:00:59Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Power or fame doesn’t always really change you , some times it just gives you license to act out what you had been holding back. I think a lot of people are attracted to those roles because they want to be powerful and exercise that power. It’s not necessarily that power corrupted them, but that they were corrupt to begin with. From the article it sounds like Chavez was your basic machismo misogynist asshole, at least based on how Huerta describes him. He went out of his way to deny her credit for her work, physically and verbally abused her at times, and was just an all-around jerk to women. The article suggests this was well-known behavior, in many cases it was on the record, recorded in emails and correspondence and corroborated by multiple witnesses. It’s really just a case of this man, who was not a very good man, had a lot of power. He abused that power because he was not a very good man. I don’t know what fully motivated him in his work. I don’t deny him real feelings and emotion about the plight of migrant farmworkers. I don’t discount his accomplishments in this arena. But I suspect there was more to him taking on this role than a feeling of duty to his people. I suspect he was leveraging a lot of this attention in order to exercise his power over others. What’s most disappointing to me about this is how many people knew and kept silent or encouraged the silence of his victims. These women suffered terribly. There are things that can be done to a human being that stay with them for the rest of their lives, and this is one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/90 "2026-03-19T18:08:42Z")
California is going with Farmworkers Day. > **[California to rename Cesar Chavez Day as Farmworkers Day following sexual...](https://www.wmur.com/article/california-to-rename-cesar-chavez-day-as-farmworkers-day/70793637)** > > Latino leaders and community groups quickly condemned the alleged abuse by Cesar Chavez but emphasized that the farmworker movement was never just about a single man. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/91 "2026-03-19T18:09:10Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Torn, because, well truth matters. And the role model of being a victim who comes forward is a strong message to get there. The concept that no one is above being held to account, given a pass, matters. But we do need out myths that tell us who we want to be, even if the figures we mythologize weren’t that. Maybe certain men will see this and care about their legacy going forward and behave better. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/92 "2026-03-19T18:11:22Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > And I still have a likely very unpopular position, not that the NYT should have buried the story, but that if I was his victim maybe I’d not bring it up now? For one thing, this investigation started five years ago. I think Huerta told her story because they asked her for comment. From the NYT article: > Ms. Huerta struggles to reconcile the Cesar Chavez she knew, who inspired so many and achieved so much, and the man who assaulted her and publicly humiliated her. She said she was unaware of any sexual abuse of teenage girls. Moments after some of that abuse was described to her, Ms. Huerta broke down, sobbing and wailing. What do you suppose she’s thinking there? About all the girls who were hurt because of the conspiracy of silence against his victims? I wonder how many times people told these girls and women not to bring it up, because it wasn’t a good time for the movement. The whole point of this is that it’s not fair to put that on women. You have to balance the legacy of a mythic hero with the empowering effect of Latina women speaking out about the abuse they suffered and making it clear that it’s not acceptable behavior and it won’t be tolerated. This was not just a movement for and about men. This was about women too, and their voices and their experiences deserve as much consideration. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/93 "2026-03-19T18:17:13Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Maybe certain men will see this and care about their legacy going forward and behave better. Perhaps (and hopefully). But I think people are either willing to behave badly or not for more internal reasons than legacy concerns. I have no concern about my legacy, but I’ve never been inclined to rape anyone or even take advantage of power dynamics (in employment, for example). ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/94 "2026-03-19T18:31:38Z")
Yeah. My WAG is that those of us unconcerned with having a legacy are also not people to get off on that abuse of power stuff, and that more of those driven by a need to be “a great person”, a person of history, are also more at risk to abuse power dynamics. Rules don’t apply to The Great Ones. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/95 "2026-03-19T18:40:02Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Granted, sometimes the women involved in such situations are indeed “impressed” - poor Monica Lewinsky, who against all odds matured into an awesome person, as far as I can tell, was foolishly enamored of Bill Clinton. Brief hijack to say how strongly I agree with this. During the scandal I thought she was a young person who flirted with trouble but was punished with consequences vastly disproportionate to her actions. As years passed my pity for her has been replaced by admiration. FWIW I’m a 75 year old male. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/96 "2026-03-19T18:51:02Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Well, I’m sure glad I never got that _si, se puede_ tattoo back when I was working with immigrants. > > For a number of reasons. But also this one. Dolores Huerta coined that slogan. No shame in it. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/97 "2026-03-19T18:51:49Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > This suggests to me that they were already aware of it. Yep. At the very least it tells us that people who knew him aren’t all that surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/98 "2026-03-19T18:58:42Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Yep. At the very least it tells us that people who knew him aren’t all that surprised. I made that post before reading the NYT article and it’s clear a lot of people were _really_ aware of it, to the extent it made it into official UWF correspondence, there were meetings in which it was discussed and tons of people said they were aware of the allegations. > [The findings](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/18/us/cesar-chavez-sexual-assault-allegations-takeaways.html) are based on interviews with more than 60 people, including his top aides at the time, his relatives and former members of the U.F.W., which he co-founded with Ms. Huerta and Gilbert Padilla. The Times reviewed hundreds of pages of union records, confidential emails and photographs, as well as hours of audio recordings from U.F.W. board meetings. > The accounts of abuse from Ms. Murguia and Ms. Rojas were independently verified through interviews with those they confided in decades ago and in more recent years. Elements of their stories were also corroborated in documents, emails, itineraries and other writings from union organizers, supporters of Mr. Chavez and historians. > Internal emails dating back over a decade show union members discussing Ms. Murguia’s claims of abuse and the impact it had on her life. That’s like Catholic Church levels of corruption. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/99 "2026-03-19T19:01:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And once again the Far Right rejoices as we tear each other apart. This is why a lot of organizations bury these things. Fear that it’ll be weaponized by the opposition, be bad for the organization, or hurt the movement. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/100 "2026-03-19T19:23:09Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > That’s like Catholic Church levels of corruption. I think it’s an important distinction if this information was being discussed when Chavez was still alive. Internal emails “dating back over a decade” is still well after his death. Don’t get me wrong, it’s terrible that it was being hushed up after his death, because it leaves the victims without support or justice. But it’s a different ballgame if it was happening when he was still alive and in the position to inflict further harm. That is where the Catholic Church fully broke bad. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/101 "2026-03-19T19:26:13Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I think it’s an important distinction if this information was being discussed when Chavez was still alive. Internal emails “dating back over a decade” is still well after his death. There are written records that predate email. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555.md?page=6)