Is there a more pointless "holiday" than the one dedicated to the late Cesar Chavez?
Celebrated on Monday by some government agencies and Tuesday by others, the observance is largely a waste.
To begin with, the iconic former leader of the United Farm Workers union never took a day off in his life. Agree or disagree with his mission or methods to empower farm workers, Chavez shunned leisure and false ceremonies.
Yet that's what his birthday has become in the seven years since being designated a state holiday. It's another paid day off for government employees who have too many of those already. And it's a shallow tribute to a man who was not shallow.
"(Chavez) would be aghast," said Marc Grossman, who was a close friend of Chavez's and has been a spokesman for the UFW. "He was a very humble man who refused most personal awards."
To be fair, Grossman is not a critic of the Chavez holiday. His comment was in response to a question from me and was neither pointed nor angry.
UFW supporters love that the story of a poor Mexican kid who organized the most downtrodden workers of the state is highlighted this week in schools.
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