Zoot Suit Riots by Mauricio Mazon - Book Report/Review Example

In the midst of World War II and international and domestic turbulences and crisis, the Zoot Suit riots broke out. For a full ten days, from June 3rd to June 13th, 1943, the rioters expressed their discontent at race relations in Los Angeles. The Zoot Suite riots never attained the levels of violence which the race riots in New York, Texas, Oregon and Philadelphia did around the same time, as none were killed, few were injured and economic damages were insignificant. Its importance, however, is not to be measured in terms of its intensity or violence, as Mazon explains, but in its symbolic meaning. In other words, understanding the importance of the Zoot Suit riots is predicated on the comprehension of its symbolic meaning. The value of Mauricio Mazon's The Zoot-Suit Riots: The Psychology of Symbolic Annihilation, emanates from his explication of the underlying meaning and symbolic representations of the Zoot Suite Riots. Indeed, even while conceding to the fact that Mazon often fails to provide readers with the necessary historical data concerning the events of the riots or with a critical discussion and analysis of its causal factors, his analysis of the riots and his critical discussion of the reasons why the riots attained a status of such historical importance and meaning, invaluably contributes to both an understanding and appreciation of the Zoot Suit riots of Los Angeles in 1943. Mazon's account of the Zoot Suit riots significantly contributes to readers' understanding of the socio-political environment which pervaded in the United States in 1943. In brief, the Zoot Suit riots were instigated by military personnel's attack on a group of Mexican-American youth, distinguished by their clothing. At that time, the phenomenon of zoot suiters, or Mexican American youth who wore unique clothing, referred to as zoot suits, and zoot suit gangs, began to impose itself upon the Californian socio-political landscape. Due to the fact that they set themselves so far apart from societal norms and were shrouded, if not in mystery, then in ambiguity, the Zoot Suiters were increasingly regarded with suspicion by the rest of the population. As Mazon clarifies, their very presence incited psychological discomfort and communicated a sense of social unease. This is not just because the zoot suiters emerged from within an ethnic minority group but because, in their embrace of zoot suitism, Chicano youth were publicly declaring their disassociation from society and rejecting mainstream integration. They were, in other words, and as Mazon clarifes, defying societal norms and the majority culture, quite possible in reaction to the majority's rejection of them and the dominant culture's continued and persistent refusal to give credence to Chicano youth culture. Zoot Suiters were, as Mazon quite clearly explains, Chicano youth gang members who defied popular culture and refused to integrate into Californian society. They symbolised defiance and rejection of Anglo-Saxon culture. Given, however, the fact that the Zoot Suiters were no more violent than other youth gangs and no more a danger to society than were others, the reaction which they instigated is somewhat at odds with that which they actually represented. Mazon concedes to this last point when he writes that "the ritual in the Zoot Suit riots was more important than the reality" (1). In other words, the military personnel and civilians who had participated in the attack against the zoot suiters were not attacking that which this group actually symbolised but that which they were assumed to symbolise. They were assumed to symbolise a rejection of the United States and its founding principles and in their donning of a distinguishable uniform, were somewhat reminiscent of Nazism. Indeed, they became the quintessential bogeyman, inspiring conspiracy theorists to voice their belief that the zoot suiters intended to take over the country. It is irrelevant that none of this was supported by the reality of this group of Chicano youth because, as Mazon explains, the Zoot Suit riots sought the castration and annihilation of that which the group was assumed to represent and not that which it actually symbolised. Indeed, the importance of the riots stems from the fact that it expressed and exposed the extent to which people were willing to embrace the notion of an imaginary enemy and react against it, irrespective of any real provocation. The importance and real value of Mazon's account of the Zoot Suit riots of 1943 cannot be separated from its weakness. Mason does not offer readers a historical account of the riots and, indeed, does not subject the event to a historical critical analysis. It is, thus, that apart from a brief overview of the Sleepy Lagoon Case, he hardly delves into the historical roots of the incident nor does he explore the historical, fact-based, factors which incited it. Needless to say, this can be counted as a weakness in Mazon's account but, paradoxically, this same weakness is also its greatest strength. Quite simply stated, in opting for a psychological, rather than a historical analysis of the events, Mazon better positions himself to explain this somewhat elusive event. It is elusive both as regards its causal factors as the reaction seemed to far exceed the action and as regards its continuing importance. The Zoot Suit riots have lived on for approximately 60 years as a seminal event in southern Californian history despite the fact that they were not a riot in any real sense of the word and, further, in spite of the fact that they pale in comparison to any of the other race riots which took place around the same time. This, in itself, speaks of the somewhat elusive nature of the event; it is elusive in the sense that it is difficult to explain and, indeed, a challenge to correlate military and civilian reaction to that which the Chicano youth actually stood for. In a very real sense, the psychological approach adopted by Mazon captures the event and in so doing, undermines its somewhat elusive nature. The event was inspired by psychological fears; fears which were largely nurtured by the very nature of World War II and the associate Nazi threat and anxieties which were instigated by the race tensions which pervaded throughout the country. Civilian and military reaction was, in this sense, expressive of the psychological fears which characterized the times and, accordingly, an expression of their subjective perceptions of the Zoot Suiters and fear-fed interpretation of their symbolic meaning. In sum, it is evident that Mazon's account of the events cannot be categorized as a traditional historical rendering of the events which unfolded in Los Angeles in 1943. Indeed, if evaluated as a historical account, the book would be found lacking. If, on the other hand, it is treated as an interpretation of the event and the reasons why it unfolded and why it has acquired such importance, Mazon's book attains unique significance. Indeed, if the goal is to understand the Zoot Suit riots, Mazon does just that. Read More