To a significant extent, it can be agreed that the attitudes and atrocities committed against young Mexican-Americans in California - "Zoot Suiters", by mainstream groups during the second world war, were discriminatory and partial. Despite Mexican-American involvement in the war effort, they were not accepted. In a time when the US economy was just recovering from the Great Depression and the threat of the Axis powers loomed, the advent of a subculture different from the American one, in terms of dress, attitudes, music and language and the representation of the media of these Zoot Suiters has sparked racial tensions between law enforcement and said ethnicity. However, in the midst of all this, there were also few "mainstream" Americans with Hispanic heritage, who believed in social justice and were willing to support these Zoot Suiters, as they mostly empathized with their experiences. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay With labor shortages triggered by the war, the United States desperately needed workers to meet the economic challenges of the war. Therefore, as a wartime measure, in 1942, as many as 4,000 Mexicans were legally emigrated to the country to work as agricultural laborers. As part of the general provisions, they were to be guaranteed adequate housing, equal pay, health care and were not to suffer any discrimination. However, all provisions were violated as the Mexicans worked in extreme conditions, with inadequate living and sanitation conditions that a typical American worker would not accept. In some parts of California and America, this subculture was banned from public places as signs reading "No dogs, niggers or Mexicans" littered the city, cruelly reminding them that, despite their contributions, they were perceived at best as third class by the Americans. society of that era. As different ethnic groups came together, due to war, conflicts were inevitable. These conflicts found their focus in a new style of clothing called the "zoot suit" that was becoming immensely popular among Mexican-American youth. While Pachucos and Pachucas dominated the dance halls in their zoot suits, with typical American hairstyles and slang (caló), the authorities and the media began to tire of this "alien" culture. Many policemen had cut off these clothes and the zoot suitors were described in some newspapers as "gamin (neglected street children)" with the Pachucas described as "ruthless thugs looking for white women" who apparently hid knives in their hairstyles. After the Sleepy Lagoon murder, these outlandish outfits became associated with gangs, and what initially started as a fashion trend, turned into a political statement and then resulted in some of the worst mass violence in history. On June 4, 1943, tensions between white servicemen and zoot suitors took the form of violence when 200 servicemen entered a Mexican neighborhood, carrying clubs and clubs. Any Mexican or anyone of a "non-white" ethnicity, regardless of age, was labeled a threat. “They got pulled out and started cutting their pants or trousers while the cops just stood there laughing” – as described by the former zoot suitor. The hostility towards these zoot suitors demonstrated that mainstream groups simply had negative social views against a counterculture and were unwilling to be accepted..