June of 1943 found literally thousands of servicemen roaming the streets of the barrio, beating any and every young Latino they saw.  Mobs went into movie theaters, pulled out Chicanos and beat them.  Police intervened – to arrest the Chicanos on charges of vagrancy and delinquency.

…

Eleanor Roosevelt had the temerity to describe the violence as race rioting, and the Los Angeles Times published an editorial accusing her of communist sympathies.

But what exactly did ER have to say about it all?

On June 16th, 1943, Eleanor Roosevelt commented in her column that, “The question goes deeper than just suits. It is a racial protest. I have been worried for a long time about the Mexican racial situation. It is a problem with roots going a long way back, and we do not always face these problems as we should.” Los Angeles’ response was typified by the June 18th headlines of the Los Angeles Times, “Mrs. Roosevelt Blindly Stirs Race Discord,” and she was accused of communist leanings in the accompanying editorial. Governor Earl Warren (later Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court during their landmark desegregation cases) convened a committee to investigate the riots and recommended punishment for all involved in the riots, servicemen and civilians. Other than the charges filed against the Mexican American victims, no punishment was ever meted out. Via.

This dating guide is pretty much 13 different ways to say “shut up and look pretty.” Ho-hum.

And ya’ll should check out Needles and Sins while you’re at it. It’s probably the best tattoo blog on the Internet.

2.) I just sort of think this is hilarious.

XOsb

Webcomics: The New Female Geekdom

Comic books have long been a province of male geekdom. From Frank Miller’s tortured noir heroes to R. Crumb’s psychedelic underground scribblings, the canonical writers, artists, and producers of American comics have historically been men.

…Though comics have been published online since the mid-1980s using early subscription services such as CompuServe, in the last five or six years the number of female webcomic producers has grown exponentially. Artists are no longer limited by syndicates, newspapers’ editorial pages, or the boys club typically associated with comics. With the Internet, artists can convey an image how they want to, using any idea, for as long as they need to tell the story.

I Need a Heroine

The new Spider-Woman is a secret agent, alien hunter, member of the New Avengers, and is the title character of Marvel’s first foray into Motion Comics. Today’s Batwoman, a lesbian of Jewish descent, has taken over for the now-deceased Bruce Wayne and is leading a 12-issue run in DC’s longest running title, Detective Comics. …

In many ways, heroines have mirrored the feminist movement and are excellent artifacts of popular opinion. Recent industry developments are encouraging because they mirror a new wave of women—and also tell a powerful story about the impact that online activism and community-building can have upon entrenched industries.