Chavez-Columbus Debate No Holiday for Council

The Los Angeles Times ^ | 3/21/02 | Patrick McGreevy

[GeneD]

Faced with the sometimes choppy waters of ethnic politics, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday could have used the navigating prowess of Christopher Columbus and the negotiating skills of Cesar Chavez.

The touchy issue at hand: whether to allow 2,000 city employees to take Cesar Chavez Day as a paid city holiday instead of Columbus Day.

[GeneD]

Oy vey!!!!!

[My2Cents]

Let them eat grapes.

[senorita]

Forget both of those days and make election day a holiday and then no one has an excuse for not making it to the polls.

[senorita]

Forget both of those days and make election day a holiday and then no one has an excuse for not making it to the polls.

[senorita]

Oops! Heavy trigger finger!

[L.N. Smithee]

Former City Councilman Mike Hernandez said that when he and others first proposed commemorating Cesar Chavez's birthday, it was not their intent to pit one ethnic group against another. During negotiations, the unions refused to swap a floating holiday for Cesar Chavez Day, insisting that another holiday be swapped, City Administrative Officer William Fujioka said.

Unbelievable...this is even worse than what happened in San Francisco, where Army Street was changed -- with little notice or public debate -- to "Cesar Chavez St" by a vote of the Board of Supervisors. The latin community applauded it, of course, but others wondered why the Army had to be demoted in order to elevate Chavez. Why not, suggested some, simply rename South Van Ness Blvd., seeing that there is already a Van Ness Blvd. and no one's honor would be taken away? That went through the pierced and deaf ears of the Stupes without staying long. Enraged citizens got a measure on the ballot to reverse the name change, but there wasn't enough public support to undo what had been done already.

The Times hasn't the guts to mention that Columbus is a white guy.

[cutlass]

Is'nt multiculturalism wonderful?

[Malesherbes]

By the year 2020, there will be two named national holidays in the U.S.: Martin Luther King and Cesar Chavez. George Washington won't even be in the history books. By 2050, the Martin Luther King holiday will be displaced by one named Coahtemoc (the last Aztec emperor, nephew of Montezuma.)