Google Honors Cesar Chavez, Gets Complaints

Google is facing harsh criticism from some Google users for recognizing Cesar Chavez instead of Easter on its Google search engine logo called the “doodle.”  Cesar Chavez, who was born in Yuma, would have turned 86 on this past Easter Sunday.  President Barack Obama proclaimed March 31, Chavez’s birthday, as “Cesar Chavez Day.”  The day is not yet a federal holiday but is official in Colorado, California and Texas.

Cesar Chavez the founder of the United Farm Workers union was and is admired by many, but some are concerned that Jesus should have been on the doodle instead. In its defense, Google said that it was not snubbing Jesus or Easter, and was not sending out any type of political statement.

Many people took to Twitter to express their thoughts of the doddle in terms of Christ versus Chavez. Some even compared Google to Bing, although since 1998 Google has never recognized any religious holiday. Christmas for example has always been expressed as Happy Holidays.

The company shrugs off criticism over its Chavez doodle, saying basically it was trying to be original.

“We enjoy celebrating the holidays at Google but, as you may imagine, it’s difficult for us to choose which events to highlight on our site,” the company said in a statement. “Sometimes for a given date we feature an historical event or influential figure that we haven’t in the past.”