Seventy-one
years ago this month -- during the reign of liberal (sic) hero, Franklin
Delano Roosevelt -- the Land of the Free™ was yet again cynically
exploiting the standard good vs. evil rhetoric in the name of furthering
its global agenda.
Translation: It was not the safest time for a non-white human to own a zoot suit…
As the Good (sic) War progressed, young
Mexican workers entered the U.S. en masse in response to a worker
shortage on the Pacific coast. At the same time, some Latino youths
began to dress almost exclusively in zoot suits.
A zoot suit has described as such: "A
very long jacket, flared at the bottom, with exaggeratedly padded, boxy
shoulders, and pegged sleeves. The trousers are pleated at the
waistline, cut very wide over the hips, and taper to such narrow bottoms
that men with big feet have trouble slipping the pants on."
While the zoot suit eventually attained
widespread popularity in the mainstream, it also became a pejorative
synonym for "Mexican" on the West Coast as some Americans took umbrage
at what they choose to perceive as able-bodied young men not "helping to
win the war."
To the local white population of Los
Angeles, the manufacturing of zoot suits was a glaring example of waste
in a time that -- they were programmed to believe -- demanded sacrifice
in the name of defending democracy (sic). This skewed perception
inevitably led to racist violence -- sparked by angry white soldiers on
leave.
"In June 1943, the ‘zoot suit’ riots
exploded in Los Angeles," explains historian Michael C.C. Adams. "For
almost a week, off-duty white enlisted personnel roamed the streets,
assaulting Hispanics."
Not just Hispanics.
Blacks were also dragged into the streets
by soldiers and civilians, where they were stripped and beaten. The
response of the Los Angeles City Council was classic Home of the Brave™
stuff. Rather than address the issues of racism and exploited labor, it
became a misdemeanor offense to wear a zoot suit. (insert rimshot here)
Lest anyone get the impression I’m cherry
picking, please keep in mind that the racial climate during the
Greatest Generation years was one of institutional intolerance even for
those who “served” in battle.
For example, blood plasma collected from
black soldiers was separated from that of white soldiers to avoid the
“mongrolization of the white race.” This was openly done by the Red
Cross with the full approval of the U.S. government. Ironically, the
blood bank system was developed by a black physician, Charles Drew, who
was initially put in charge of wartime donations but later fired when he
spoke out against blood segregation.
Of course, as historian Howard Zinn
reminded us, WWII was allegedly being fought to prove that Hitler “was
wrong in his ideas of white Nordic supremacy over ‘inferior’ races” yet
the United States’ armed forces were (wait for it) segregated by race.
“When troops were jammed onto the Queen
Mary in early 1945 to go to combat duty in the European theater,” Zinn
added, “the blacks were stowed down in the depths of the ship near the
engine room, as far as possible from the fresh air of the deck, in a
bizarre reminder of the slave voyages of old.”
The men that devised and carried out the
despicable behavior described above (and so much more) are widely
considered to be part of this country’s “greatest generation.” By any
rational definition, these men are terrorists.
Never forget, comrades: This is what we're up against.
A few take home messages:
>> Racist scapegoating is an enduring American tradition.
>> White supremacy is a dangerous reality and continues to be a dangerous reality.
>> Harking back to the “good old days” is neither a helpful nor revolutionary choice.
>> It’s long overdue for those who
benefit from this oppressive and corrupt system to recognize and reject
the normalization of their subsequent privilege.
by Mickey Z from here
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