The Rodeo
On Donald Trump’s war against Iran. Folks are dying. The price of gasoline is going up. You and I both know that Trump and his folks don’t know what they are doing. That is disturbingly and dangerously sad.
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Here is more from the front page of today’s Chron on the atrocities committed by César Chávez. See this:
Dolores Huerta, César Chávez’s longtime organizing partner and co-founder of the United Farm Workers, said Chávez raped and pressured her into sex in the 1960s, breaking decades of silence as part of a New York Times investigation detailing allegations that Chávez groomed girls and sexually abused women.
Huerta, 95, said in a statement Wednesday that she experienced two sexual encounters with Chávez in the 1960s, describing one as coercive and the other as forced.
“I am nearly 96 years old, and for the last 60 years have kept a secret because I believed that exposing the truth would hurt the farmworker movement I have spent my entire life fighting for.
“The first time I was manipulated and pressured,” she said. “The second time I was forced, against my will. I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.”
She said both encounters resulted in pregnancies that she kept secret. She said the children were raised by other families. Huerta said she remained silent for decades because she believed speaking out would harm the farmworker movement.
“The first time I was manipulated and pressured,” she said. “The second time I was forced, against my will. I have kept this secret long enough. My silence ends here.”
She said both encounters resulted in pregnancies that she kept secret. She said the children were raised by other families. Huerta said she remained silent for decades because she believed speaking out would harm the farmworker movement.
“I convinced myself these were incidents that I had to endure alone and in secret,” she said.
The New York Times investigation, published Wednesday, is based on interviews with more than 60 people and a review of union records, emails and archival materials. It found that multiple women accused Chávez of sexual abuse, including two who said they were minors at the time.
The San Antonio Express-News reported Tuesday that organizations tied to Chávez’s legacy had acknowledged allegations involving women and minors and canceled events across the country.
Ana Murguia told the newspaper that Chávez, then in his 40s, began abusing her when she was 13 after summoning her to his office at the United Farm Workers’ La Paz headquarters in California. She said the encounters continued for years.
Debra Rojas said Chávez first touched her inappropriately at age 12 and later had sex with her when she was 15, which would constitute rape under California law, the report states. The women, both 66, were the daughters of longtime organizers who had marched in rallies with Chávez.
Here is the entire read: Dolores Huerta speaks out on César Chávez allegations.
This is wicked. I am now reading where some are calling Chávez “flawed.” That’s BS. He was a monster and POS.
Just out of curiosity I went to see if I had a César Chávez file in my file cabinet. Sure do. It is about 26 years old now. The file contains the City of H-Town City Council meeting agenda page and agenda item in 2000 when 67th Street was renamed César Chávez Boulevard – agenda item #52. The file also contains paperwork where we helped promote the inaugural César Chávez Parade on April 1, 2000. Talk about being fooled. Fooled, big time.
I will say it again. It is good to see our folks step up and cancel Chávez related events like parades and to see folks move toward removing his name from schools and libraries. We are not tolerating this horrific crap.
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The Chron E-Board today says the Rodeo needs to clean up their act, sort of. The featured photo is the hard copy headline of today’s E-Board take. Here is from the take:
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the city’s signature event. Nearly 100 years old, it’s our brand, as legible to the world as the cattle brands of Charles Goodnight or King Ranch once were to early Texans.
That brand is looking tarnished these days.
Last week, the rodeo did damage control after a slew of bad headlines and online chatter. After footage of a fight circulated, the rodeo increased security. After revealing getups garnered social media attention, it updated the dress code. That’s on top of the injured steer that had to be euthanized after a steer wrestling event. And the cringeworthy drama involving County Judge Lina Hidalgo that led to a petty back and forth between her and the rodeo leadership.
At an event meant to bring all of Houston together to celebrate a shared past and present, we seem to be coming apart.
But the controversies speak to a deeper question: Exactly what – and who – is the rodeo for? It is obviously much more than schoolkids raising goats, busting muttons and painting hyper-realistic Western nostalgia.
And this:
Now, here’s the bad news:
We can’t celebrate a shared cultural identity if everyday Houstonians can’t afford to share it.
Houstonians have to fork over an increasingly large share of their paycheck for a day at the rodeo. A family of four would spend roughly $300 for a day at the rodeo this year, per KPRC2. Regular admission for one adult is an astounding $25 for adults and kids over 12. There are discount days for families once a week and one Community Day, but even with price breaks on the entry fee, a turkey leg could set you back $22, and a bottle of water costs $5.
And that’s just for the hoi polloi. This year, famously, County Judge Lina Hidalgo was denied free access for herself and a group of guests to the exclusive, sold-out “dirt area,” where chute seats go for $425 a pop.
So much for egalitarianism. Something’s gotta give.
Here is the entire take: Crowds, costs and controversy seem to plague the Houston Rodeo.
It is kind of hard to argue with today’s E-Board take. I will say that maybe the issue is that the Rodeo is too big. They have a rodeo, parade, trail ride, carnival, food galore, vendors, exhibitions, BBQ cook-off, wine judging, high end fancy restaurant, mutton busting, and I am sure I am leaving some stuff out. The Rodeo is just too big.
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Honey Ryder, the first Bond girl from “Dr. No” is 90 today. Happy Birthday, Ursula Andress.
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March Madness goes full blast today. I don’t do brackets.
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Opening Day is one week from today.