# 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:** 7
**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 20, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/122 "2026-03-20T19:55:06Z")
Yeah, as was said, you have to beware staking your ideals and causes to an individual, however much our human instinct craves embodiment. Every hero, every idol, will take hits. And better they do, than to have to provide feel-good sanitized versions of history. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Maybe the tip came from another organization outside UFW, or someone in UFW who wants a change. And it would fit the timeline how by now we are 30+ years past his lifetime so by now organizers in and out of the movement have “grown up” without him. As to why not bring it up when it happened…. can only think, 50 to 60 years ago was a tough world in which for a woman or girl to stand and make such accusations, and like Huerta has said herself they perceived the risk that it would be used to destroy the movement as an even greater harm. Women were (in many circles still are) strongly socialized and conditioned to adopt a _sacrificial_ role in such situations. (We know, appalling as it may sound to us now, that until very recently sexual assault was viewed by many as a sort of inherent “occupational hazard” of Living While Female that you just have to deal with. Hell, some still do feel that way.) ---
**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 20, 2026, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/123 "2026-03-20T20:13:57Z")
I was not alive until the 80s but what Huerta is talking about, the pressure not to make waves, is still the dynamic that exists in many families where abuse is disclosed, just on a smaller scale. And I think that pressure often comes from the pressure that was placed on previous generations. It self-perpetuates. If I accept that this happened to you, what does that mean about what happened to me? If I demand justice for you, how can I face that justice was never demanded for me? We have to draw this stuff out and end this cycle. I really think putting it out there and making it a matter of public dialogue is the only way to get through to people - and by people I am talking about women who have been conditioned to sacrifice for whatever greater good that society, or a family, deems to be more important than her safety and healing. ---
**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 20, 2026, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/124 "2026-03-20T20:18:52Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I was not alive until the 80s but what Huerta is talking about, the pressure not to make waves, is still the dynamic that exists in many families where abuse is disclosed, just on a smaller scale. In the Star Trek TOS episode where the transporter splits Kirk into a good half and an evil half, Evil Kirk nearly rapes Yeoman Rand, and her reaction when Good Kirk finds out is to apologize to him for potentially getting him in trouble. It clearly was a common way of thinking at the time. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/125 "2026-03-20T20:36:56Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Maybe the tip came from another organization outside UFW, or someone in UFW who wants a change. That makes me wonder if Chavez was being blackmailed because of his proclivities. His leadership of the UFW during the last 10-15 years of his life became increasingly insular and erratic as the union’s influence and membership declined. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/126 "2026-03-21T00:44:51Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Beyond that, my conspiratorial sense suggests that, because the UFW seems to be a mostly ineffectual shadow of what it once was, many activists prefer that it die so they can start over with a vibrant new farm labor organization unencumbered by the Chavez-related baggage. Hmmm, This makes sense. ---
**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 21, 2026, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/127 "2026-03-21T16:12:03Z")
Crap on a cracker. Someone has started a petition to change Cesar Chavez street in San Francisco to Chuck Norris street, and I’m afraid it will catch on because of the coincidence of the timing of Norris’ death, and because so many people don’t realize what an asshole he was. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/128 "2026-03-21T16:16:29Z")
Soon we’re going have to start genetically engineering people incapable of badness just so we can name streets after them. ---
**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 21, 2026, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/129 "2026-03-21T17:00:20Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > what an asshole he was. Was he? Yes his political views were from my POV abhorrent, but I’m not sure that defines “asshole”? I wouldn’t want a street named after him, or anyone just by way of being a celebrity, who didn’t really accomplish any good for the world or country, but there are many streets named after figures whose politics I dislike. ---
**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 21, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/130 "2026-03-21T17:03:03Z")
There seems to be evidence that he was homophobic, which makes him an asshole as far as I’m concerned, especially if he used his fame and fortune to push that point of view. It also makes him a very undesirable public figure for things to be named after. ---
**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 21, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/131 "2026-03-21T17:20:03Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Yes his political views were from my POV abhorrent, but I’m not sure that defines “asshole”? Politics is arguing about tariffs, how to tax people and businesses, how much we should fund NATO, stuff like that. Politics is not arguing that LGBTQ people don’t deserve rights. That’s being an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/132 "2026-03-21T17:37:26Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Someone has started a petition to change Cesar Chavez street in San Francisco to Chuck Norris street That will go nowhere. San Franciscans that weren’t aware he was homophobic (and many already do) will know soon enough if this generates any chatter. It would have zero chance of passing. Confession time: I still think of Cesar Chavez as Army Street, because I’m older and in my college days I had a close friend that lived off of it in the Mission. So I drove on it constantly. By the time the name changed in 1995, I was only rarely driving on it and I probably haven’t now in twenty years. So it is stuck in my head as ‘Army’. Which is not necessarily the name I would suggest reverting to 30 years later. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/133 "2026-03-21T18:29:20Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > Crap on a cracker. Someone has started a petition to change Cesar Chavez street in San Francisco to Chuck Norris street, and I’m afraid it will catch on because of the coincidence of the timing of Norris’ death, and because so many people don’t realize what an asshole he was. Sure, he had different political views than most of us. So what? > [@DSeid](#): > > Was he? Yes his political views were from my POV abhorrent, but I’m not sure that defines “asshole”? Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/134 "2026-03-21T18:33:09Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > It’s easy to read this as suggesting it would be better if this had all been kept under wraps. I think we should focus on crimes being committed by people who are currently in power rather than be diverted by crimes that were committed by a person who died over thirty years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/135 "2026-03-21T18:51:23Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > It’s easy to read this as suggesting it would be better if this had all been kept under wraps. I mean [Elaine Brown, former Black Panther Party leader](https://oaklandside.org/2026/03/19/cesar-chavez-oakland-dolores-huerta-allegations-fruitvale/) said exactly that. But fuck her - she’s wrong. ---
**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 21, 2026, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/136 "2026-03-21T19:24:40Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think we should focus on crimes being committed by people who are currently in power rather than be diverted by crimes that were committed by a person who died over thirty years ago. I’m not seeing a lot of attention being diverted from current crimes to these old ones, beyond acknowledging them with appropriate action, such as changing the names of public spaces so as not to celebrate a man who, among genuine achievements, was a rapist. I’m not seeing, among the millions of people outraged by Trump administration actions, anyone being less outraged because they transferred some of it to Chavez. In short, there is room in “our” attention for both, with appropriate levels of anger and action. ---
**Author:** ![Ancient\_Nerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed655f/32.png) [@Ancient\_Nerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ancient_Nerd)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/137 "2026-03-21T19:55:46Z")
Addressing the issue lets us draw a distinction from those who would actually reelect a known living rapist like el donald. ---
**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 21, 2026, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/139 "2026-03-21T22:11:12Z")
In my experience, no matter when a victim comes forward, people will think it’s the wrong time. ---
**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 21, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/140 "2026-03-21T23:11:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think we should focus on crimes being committed by people who are currently in power rather than be diverted by crimes that were committed by a person who died over thirty years ago. This is such a frustrating attitude. What do you think it says to current perpetrators and their victims when rape is ignored because it happened in the past? ---
**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 21, 2026, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/141 "2026-03-21T23:32:54Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > But fuck her - she’s wrong. And from reading the article, the actual farm labor and Chicano community leaders are reported as mostly willing to deal with the discomfort to get to the other side of this, as they should be. So she need not be too concerned. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555/142 "2026-03-21T23:51:54Z")
> [@On another topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/1029424/32): > > I believe the victim. Did you believe the woman who claimed Biden assaulted her in the Capital? proven to be false. it happens. _Trust_ but verify. _Listen_ but check for evidence. Most of the time the victim is telling the truth- at least mostly. (memories are a funny and unreliable thing) I started by reading other news articles about this, as I didnt know the OP had provided us with a Gift link, and of course the NYT is paywalled. Those gave no evidence and sketchy details. When I read the NYT article, I saw they had evidence, and it looked pretty solid. This is sad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/abuse-allegations-against-cesar-chavez/1028555.md?page=8)