RENDER UNTO CESAR: LESSONS FROM "CESAR CHAVEZ"

A strong belief in borders.

by Bay Area Guy

I recently saw the film Cesar Chavez. As expected, the hagiographic film about the legendary Latino labor activist who organized exploited farm workers and promoted the boycott of grapes depicted Chavez as a borderline saint. Aside from his strained relationship with his son, Chavez’s actions were purely heroic.

Despite enduring countless attacks and abuse from racist and greedy growers, Chavez remained committed to non-violence. When his fellow Latino activists began to grow angry and resort to violence on account of the abusive tactics of the growers, Chavez fasted for about a month on behalf of non-violence. Continuing to persevere, the strike and grape boycott eventually brought the growers to their knees and forced them to negotiate with Chavez and the United Farm Workers (UFW) union.

The film ended with Chavez delivering a triumphant speech and writing an impassioned letter to his estranged son. Words on the screen then educated the audience about how Chavez’s efforts allowed farm workers to secure bargaining rights.

Sounds like a pretty amazing man. I’ll admit, despite my innate cynicism, I couldn’t help but feel great admiration for Cesar Chavez after leaving the theater. However, knowing the proclivities of Hollywood, I decided to look up the real Cesar Chavez. As it turns out, the man was much more flawed and complex than the simplistic and heroic narrative. This is why everyone should refrain from deifying people just because they endorse their views or activism.

The film also made me ponder the issue of illegal immigration. During the part of the film where the activism of Chavez and the UFW began to achieve greater success and recognition, the growers began to panic. In response, one of the particularly racist and redneck sounding growers ordered his minion to drive to the Mexican border and bring back truckloads of illegal immigrants. The reasoning was that if they could find illegals to work in the fields, not only would they have less need of striking workers, but the sight of new workers in the fields would demoralize Chavez and the UFW.

I’ve written before about how leftists serve as useful idiots on behalf of big business interests through their support for mass immigration. By supporting the abolition of borders and sporting bumper stickers saying “a human being is not illegal,” these SWPL’s are enabling the kinds of amoral growers depicted in Cesar Chavez. As it turns out, the real life Cesar Chavez felt the same way, because he was staunchly opposed to illegal immigration:

“With the help of UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, Chavez launched the ‘Illegals Campaign,’ which he believed was nearly as important as the boycott. He criticized President Nixon and the Border Patrol for letting in so many ‘wets,’ as he called them. Under the campaign, he turned the UFW into an anti-illegal-immigrant spying organization. Union volunteers became dedicated to finding and identifying undocumented immigrants working on farms — as well as those giving them aid and comfort. The information was turned over to the feds…Chavez believed that the campaign would help his supporters explain to the public why the boycott against grapes and lettuce wasn’t effective: Farmers were hiring illegal workers who didn’t care about the strikes or boycott. A favorite line of Chavez’s was, ‘If we can get the illegals out of California, we will win the strike overnight.’”

Yikes! If Cesar Chavez were alive today and suddenly transformed into a white man, he would be on the $PLC’s “hate watch.” At the end of the article, the biographer of Chavez clarified that he would have deplored the anti-immigrant rhetoric employed by the white right today. That’s probably true, but I nevertheless find it fascinating that one cannot oppose illegal immigration in a much milder manner than Latino legend Cesar Chavez without being branded a hateful racist. The last time I checked, not even most white nationalists refer to illegal Mexicans as “wets.”

(Yes enraged social justice warriors, only members of the oppressed are allowed to use such terms. I know, I know)

This only goes to show how ingrained PC and multiculturalism in our society have become. It is also yet another illustration of how little the left cares about workers and economic justice. They care more about random brown people from the 3rd world more than they care about native born white workers. Heck, they care more about outsiders than they do about helping native born non-white workers. They don’t seem to mind that amoral and avaricious business owners are committed to importing armies of wage slaves and making workers more expendable, so long as they can continue to purchase cheaper strawberries.

So if you happen to know any SWPL hipster types, take them to see Cesar Chavez. Let them see that they have good company when it comes to supporting open borders. Then, once the film is over, tell them that the real life Cesar Chavez opposed illegal immigration. The reactions will be priceless!