When I was young I quickly gravitated to the method of non-violent resistance to effect change in an imperfect world. During those days I identified Mahatma Ghandi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as my heroes and sought after any similar leaders who achieved progress through passive resistance. Yeah, I’ve been out of touch in this violent, angry world for as long as I could remember.

One such hero that was active in my youth was labor leader Cesar Chavez, toiling in the farming communities of California. I even participated in the grape boycott as a teen. I hadn’t thought about Cesar since he died in the early 1990’s. Imagine my shock and chagrin when I read the credible accusations of him abusing young women and children as outlined in the extensive investigation by the New York Times. I was shocked and dismayed. Why are so many men drawn to abuse and think it is okay and that they can get away with it? Rough lessons for the idealistic man that I still try to be.