Post by Veggirl on Aug 25, 2006 23:39:51 GMT -5
Here is something I've found in a book about the history of racism and this kinda amazed me.
"World War II is often credited with pulling the country together. As their compatriots defended democracy abroad, however, some Americans met hostile forces on the home front. Los Angeles in the 1940's was swamped with GI's. The entertainment capital drew thousands of servicemen on leave from nearby bases and training centers. As it does today, the civilian population of L.A. then included a large Mexican American , or Chicano, minority. Many of the Anglo servicemen in town came from areas of the country where there weren't a lot of Chicanos. Here they heard stories about Chicano youth gangs and about how to pick up Chicanas, or Mexican girls. Lately, a Chicano teenage fashion trend called the zoot suit---modeled on flashy mobster attire---had been widely ridiculed in the Anglo press. Visiting servicemen joined in harassing the strutting and posing "zoot-suiters." In the spring and summer of 1943, tension between GI's and young Mexican American males turned violent. In Oakland and Venice, Calif. sailors and marines "raided" Chicano gatherings and attacked the zoot-suiters, stripping them off their clothes. On June 3 in Los Angeles, a reported dispute over Chicanas set off a military riot. For five straight nights, Anglos in uniforms stormed the streets. They dragged zoot-suiters out of bars and nabbed them in movie theatres by turning the lights on. What started out as an assault on Mexican Americans quickly expanded to include blacks and Filipinos. Each night, police officers waited until the GI's had left and then swooped in to arrest the victims of violence. Fearing mutiny, military officials declared the downtown district off limits to military personnel. The measure restored order, but real peace would be harder to achieve. In a national newspaper column, First Lady Eleanor Rooosevelt blamed the riots on "long-standing discrimination against the Mexicans in the Southwest." A rebuttal by the Los Angeles Times ended with the statement, "We like Mexicans and think they like us." This wording makes clear that, as far as official Los Angeles was concerned, Mexican Americans were still "them"."
When I read this, I thought that it would have been hard on Greasy since he's part Mexican, wears a zoot-suit and lives near Los Angeles.
Dang Racism!!!
"World War II is often credited with pulling the country together. As their compatriots defended democracy abroad, however, some Americans met hostile forces on the home front. Los Angeles in the 1940's was swamped with GI's. The entertainment capital drew thousands of servicemen on leave from nearby bases and training centers. As it does today, the civilian population of L.A. then included a large Mexican American , or Chicano, minority. Many of the Anglo servicemen in town came from areas of the country where there weren't a lot of Chicanos. Here they heard stories about Chicano youth gangs and about how to pick up Chicanas, or Mexican girls. Lately, a Chicano teenage fashion trend called the zoot suit---modeled on flashy mobster attire---had been widely ridiculed in the Anglo press. Visiting servicemen joined in harassing the strutting and posing "zoot-suiters." In the spring and summer of 1943, tension between GI's and young Mexican American males turned violent. In Oakland and Venice, Calif. sailors and marines "raided" Chicano gatherings and attacked the zoot-suiters, stripping them off their clothes. On June 3 in Los Angeles, a reported dispute over Chicanas set off a military riot. For five straight nights, Anglos in uniforms stormed the streets. They dragged zoot-suiters out of bars and nabbed them in movie theatres by turning the lights on. What started out as an assault on Mexican Americans quickly expanded to include blacks and Filipinos. Each night, police officers waited until the GI's had left and then swooped in to arrest the victims of violence. Fearing mutiny, military officials declared the downtown district off limits to military personnel. The measure restored order, but real peace would be harder to achieve. In a national newspaper column, First Lady Eleanor Rooosevelt blamed the riots on "long-standing discrimination against the Mexicans in the Southwest." A rebuttal by the Los Angeles Times ended with the statement, "We like Mexicans and think they like us." This wording makes clear that, as far as official Los Angeles was concerned, Mexican Americans were still "them"."
When I read this, I thought that it would have been hard on Greasy since he's part Mexican, wears a zoot-suit and lives near Los Angeles.
Dang Racism!!!
