Zoot suit riots - Essay Example

Introduction The Zoot Suit riots are among one of the most important and significant events to happen not only in Los Angeles but also in the United States, because it showed the underlying racism that was prevalent in the nation at the time. They happened at a time when the United States was at war, in 1943, and the nation had gained a lot through its war industry. It was a time when many Mexicans had chosen to immigrate to the United States so that they would be able to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that were available in the country. While this may have been the case, the presence of so many Mexicans in the country, especially in Los Angeles, led to the rise of resentment amongst the local, mainly white, population. This was due to the fact that the Mexican immigrants were perceived as a direct threat to the lives of Americans, since they were often implicated in matters concerning crime and gang violence. Despite the wrongfulness of the American stereotype of the local Hispanic population, the fact that they were present in the United States and that they had made a life for themselves in their adopted country against all odds that were set against them put local public opinion in opposition to them. The fact that members of the American navy, many of whom had never set foot in Los Angeles, chose to attack members of the Hispanic population in the city, with wide public support is among some of the worst racist incidents to happen in the United States. It is possible that the feeling of losing control had become almost unbearable for the white population because of the growing confidence of Mexican Americans in their new environment. The Mexican Americans had come to the United States with barely anything to their names but by the 1940s, they were becoming an increasingly prosperous people, since they took advantage of almost every opportunity that came their way to make it in their adopted country. For quite a large number of them, their coming to America and starting their lives anew, away from the poverty prevalent in their home country was indeed the achievement of the American dream. The growing prosperity and presence of Mexican Americans in Los Angeles, as well as in other parts of the United States may have been behind the motivation of the American servicemen to attack these people in what became known as the zoot suit riots. Literature Review For an entire week in 1943, during the Second World War, white American servicemen moved about the streets of Los Angeles, attacking anyone whom they found to be wearing the then fashionable zoot suit. This type of clothing was most common among the Mexican American men and these incidents seem to have been aimed at showing them that they were not welcome in the society by white Americans (Acuna, 1168). These attacks also showed the underlying racial tensions that were taking place in American society, at the time considered to be among the most liberal in the world. The fact that American servicemen were capable of committing such crimes, with the full approval of the local authorities has been considered to have been a sign that it was what the society wanted to happen. From the earliest days of their immigration to the United States, Mexicans had faced a wide variety of discrimination, from being given the most demeaning of jobs, lower wages than their white colleagues as well as open discrimination in public places (Sanchez, 87). The cases of discrimination, at the time of the Zoot Suit Riots, had become so public that Mexican Americans were treated as second class human beings in the society. It was normal for those individuals of Mexican descent not to be allowed into certain places that were frequented by white patrons (Villa and Sanchez, 47). In addition, the fact that Mexican Americans were not wholly accepted by the society made it possible for white Americans to deny them access to those neighbourhoods that had a majority white population. But while this may have been the case, an increasing number of prosperous individuals of Mexican descent were slowly but surely growing in influence, and some of these often left those neighbourhoods associated with Hispanics and settled in white neighbourhoods. Theories It is suspected that it was the stereotype of Mexican Americans being behind most of the gang related crime as well as their ever increasing presence in Los Angeles, which may have led to the development of the Zoot Suit Riots. It can further be said that most of the actions that led to the development of these riots may have been founded on the belief that the white population was superior to the Hispanics and that the lives of the latter were of little importance in American society. The growing acclimatisation of the local Hispanic population, especially the younger generations of Hispanics, may have played a role in the increasing dislike for them by the white population (Orfalea, 113). The younger generation not only became comfortable in the environment in which they were raised but they also coveted the privileges that were given to all other Americans. Their desire for acceptance had become so great that they chose to ignore the traditional subservience of the Mexican American population towards the white Americans, a factor which was not taken well by the latter. It has been speculated that it was the growing confidence of Mexican Americans in their new environment that led to white Americans to feel threatened and this was mainly due to the belief that the growing population of Hispanics would in future want more political power. Such a move would have challenged white dominance of American society and would have provided the Mexican Americans the privileges which they were otherwise denied. One of the theories that have been put forward by some scholars is that the growing crime rates in Los Angeles had left the American public looking for a scapegoat, and the Mexican Americans were the perfect victims. The massive dislike for them by white Americans became manifested when they were often blamed for almost all the major crimes that took place in the various neighbourhoods within the city. The stereotyping of Mexican Americans as being gang members and common criminals who were out not only to corrupt but to also destroy American society through their influence may have been what inspired the zoot suit riots. The American servicemen, through their violent actions against Mexican Americans, may have felt that they were protecting the integrity of the United States. They may have felt that they were doing a service to American society by ‘putting the Hispanics in their place’. There has been some speculation that the zoot suit riots may have been politically instigated by white American politicians who felt their political might waning as more and more Mexican American became eligible to vote. This may have caused some of them to instigate the servicemen into ‘defending’ the integrity of American society through their dealing with the enemy at home before going to fight in the Second World War. The political involvement in the matter can be said to have been behind the general support of the action by most of the local newspapers in the city, which declared the riots as actions that were long overdue. Most of the newspapers even went further by stating that Mexican Americans had to be put in their place and that if they felt that they were equal to white Americans, then they should go back to their own country (Revoyr, 11). The fact that these dailies allowed such opinions to appear in their columns is a clear sign that Mexican Americans, some of whom had been in America for generations, were still not an accepted part of the society. Despite the fact that most Mexican Americans had proven themselves to be hardworking folks, whose only motivation in life was to be successful, the common stereotype concerning them played a role in the entire population being victimised by the servicemen (Hondagneu-Sotelo, 114). The fact that the servicemen, most of whom were not native to Los Angeles, let alone California, got involved in the riots may have been based on the general feelings in American society, at the time, that Mexican American were not wanted (Daniels, 68). One of the theories that have been developed concerning the origins of the riots is that a serviceman had been murdered by a gang and the reaction of the other servicemen may have been a response to the killing. Most Mexican Americans, especially the men, preferred to wear zoot suits, which were at the time the most fashionable items of clothing among them. The zoot suit was considered to be a sign of prosperity; that the person wearing it had made it in American society. It has been stated that the zoot suit may also have played another role; that of showing defiance to the white Americans despite the discrimination that they went through. The fact that these items of clothing were considered to be a sign of defiance may have been the reason why the white American servicemen chose to attack anybody they met who wore a zoot suit. These attacks were meant to show the Mexican Americans that despite their growing confidence in being Americans, their presence and increasing influence would not be tolerated by the white establishment. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that even before the riots, Mexican Americans were completely excluded from the majority of economic activities in the United States except for those which were considered labor intensive. Moreover, these people were rarely ever accepted in the mainstream American life and had to find their own means of surviving, mostly in communities of their own. From the very beginning, there had always been opposition towards Mexicans coming to the United States, with some stating that they were taking advantage of American society without contributing anything to it. The zoot suit riots, while having been among the most deplorable actions ever committed by the American military was also a manifestation of white American feelings towards Mexican Americans. It was also a manifestation of the abject racism that still pervaded American society, despite the fact that American society was not made up of only white Americans, but also of people of other races from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Therefore, the zoot suit riots can be considered to have been a demonstration of the deep rooted belief in white supremacy, despite some researchers saying otherwise. The fact, however, remains that despite the events of the zoot suit riots, the Mexican American population in Los Angeles has retained its presence in the city and has continued to have a great influence on its society. Works Cited Acuna, Rodolpho F. "Zoot Suit Riots." The Journal of American History 89.3 (2002): 1168-9. Bottoms, Michael. "The Power of the Zoot: Youth Culture and Resistance during World War II." Journal of Social History 44.2 (2010): 599-600. Daniels, Douglas Henry. "Los Angeles Zoot: Race "Riot," the Pachuco, and Black Music Culture." The Journal of African American History 87 (2002): 98-118. Hondagneu-Sotelo, Pierrette. Doméstica: Immigrant Workers Cleaning and Caring in the Shadows of Affluence. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. Orfalea, Gregory. Angeleno Days: An Arab American Writer on Family, Place, and Politics. Tucson: University of Arizona, 2009. Revoyr, Nina. Southland. New York: Akashic Books, 2003. Sanchez, George J. Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Villa, Raul and Sanchez, George J. Los Angeles and the Future of Urban Cultures. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. 47 Read More