Cesar Chavez’s name adorns the student center at San Francisco State University, pictured in 2018. There’s a movement to rename the public spaces named for the labor rights icon.
Sarahbeth Maney/For the S.F. Chronicle
Regarding “Cesar Chavez’s name is all over the Bay Area. Will streets, schools and parks get renamed?” (Bay Area, SFChronicle.com, March 18): The allegations that Cesar Chavez sexually abused women and girls are a sad reminder that gender inequality and sexual exploitation are a sickness of our patriarchal society that affects even the most dedicated advocates for economic justice..
Chavez’s reported behavior was unacceptable, and the decades-long cover-up reminds us that unquestioning deference to charismatic leaders is a plague on the left and the right.
Let’s take this moment to turn away from the view of history that elevated Chavez on a pedestal and reorient ourselves toward the farmworkers — women and men — who are the true heroes of the movement they built.
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Farmworkers put food on our tables and deserve our gratitude and support, not to mention a living wage, safe working conditions, and, where appropriate, a path to citizenship.
I hope we will rename all the “Cesar Chavez” schools, buildings, streets and holidays to “Farmworkers” as a reminder of their essential work and as a tribute to people who truly make America great.
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Backlash too strong
Regarding “A UC professor won criminology’s highest honor. Americans still don’t believe her research” (California, SFChronicle.com, March 17): Congratulations to Professor Charis Kubrin for winning the Stockholm Prize in Criminology for her research that shows immigration does not increase crime. Despite the research by Kubrin and others, Americans, on the whole, believe the opposite.
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This is not a surprise because, as much as America has depended on immigrants, those who get here have tended to want to shut the door to the next group.
There has always been a vociferous nativist streak reinforcing fear of the other, despite the advantages America has realized from immigrant populations. It’s difficult to overcome almost 200 years of anti-immigrant propaganda.
You’d think we’d know better by now.
Bernard Gershenson, Oakland
Do carpools help?
Regarding “Bay Area gas prices are skyrocketing. But I found a new free ride to work” (Opinion, SFChronicle.com, March 19): Although carpooling is beneficial when it actually reduces the number of cars on the road, it’s not at all clear that casual carpooling from the East Bay to San Francisco does this.
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As the column makes clear, passengers in casual carpools are predominantly people who would otherwise be riding BART or AC Transit. Given that those agencies are suffering from post-pandemic declines in ridership and fare revenue, it’s a mystery why the 511 program is reestablishing its Casual Carpool program, which will reduce ridership on public transit.
Christopher Pederson, San Francisco
Be nice to everyone
Guest opinions in Open Forum and Insight are produced by writers with expertise, personal experience or original insights on a subject of interest to our readers. Their views do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Chronicle editorial board, which is committed to providing a diversity of ideas to our readership.
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A MAGA voter in Texas may have assembled your auto’s brakes, a West Coast liberal voter may have packaged the fruit tree that was delivered to your porch and an independent voter may have unclogged your sewer line.
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We’re all dependent upon each other’s existence. Isn’t this enough reason to be kind to the people you interact with today?
Bill Krumbein, Santa Rosa