skinhead

What is a Skinhead?

Following on the heels of their older brothers and sisters, the Mods,
In the 1960's British working class youths adopted a
shorter hairstyle and a more serious attitude towards life and play.

The Skinheads tended towards physical labor and veered away from the
overly flamboyant Mod style of dress as spoken of in the Kinks' song
"Dedicated Follower of Fashion". The shaved head and steel-toed boots has
been said to originate amongst dockworkers who required the safety
of the steel toes and who shaved their heads as a precaution against head
lice.

It is the Skinheads predeliction towards manual labour rather than more
intellectual pursuits which has lead to the characterization of Skinheads
as being "unintelligent", "Cro-Magnons", "cannon-fodder for the military"
and other more or less polite references. This stereotype is just as
abhorent as any other stereotype that 'rights' activists campaign against
and it is a perfect example of the hypocrisy of these same activists that
they are the ones who perpetuate it the most.

After a hard days work the original Skinheads tended to dress in their most
respectable clothing and congregate at the mostly Jamaican run dancehalls
where they mingled with the West Indian community,
many of whose members would be their workmates from the docks, and adopted
Ska as the musical sound of choice.

Other staples of the Skinhead culture are a love of generous quantities of
beer and soccer

The early Skins were not necessarily a racist bunch, as shown by the
melding of the two cultures and the existence of numerous West Indian
Skins. With the continued immigration from Pakistan things changed and a
number of Skinheads, both black and white who felt that their jobs were
being threatened turned against the Pakistani community while others
continued to enjoy the fine curries and other Indian/Pakistani foods.

The high point of the original Skins, sometimes identified as Trojan Skins
was the Summer of '69. The passage of time saw many Skins settling down,
growing their hair out, and starting families with their girlfriends

The mid and late 1970's witnessed a resurgence of the Skinhead culture with
a violent turn as teens adopted the Skinhead look and took their love of
soccer to a fanatical point. These "Football Hooligans" were devoted to
their chosen Football (Soccer to the rest of the world) teams and would
engage in physical confrontations with the supporters of opposing teams.
Often enough innocent bystanders ended up taking the brunt of the
aggression.

During this time the British Nazi Party and other minor racist
organizations began recruiting their followers from the ranks of these
football thugs and skinhead poseurs and thus the Boneheads came into being.

    Being a skinhead is alot in your heart. I mean the fashion is all part
    of it but you have to have the belief as well. Some kids can dress the
    part but not have the heart, sorry for that rhyme. But I have friends
    that have grown out there hair because of jobs or whatever, I know
    guys that are too old to bother with alot of the BS around the scene.
    They still dress in a manner condusive to the skinhead fashion.
    For years I just had short hair. Never bald, only as short as a number
    two. People didn't even know I was a skin. Skins knew, punks knew,
    mods and other people that are familair with the subculture knew. You
    don't have to show the world what you are about unless you feel that
    it is necessary.

    Hey you don't gotta claim anything unless you are in a crew. I mean if
    you are a proud working class kid who knows your roots and believes in
    yourself you are just as much a skin as the next man. It's not all
    about what you wear or how close you shave the scalp. If I grew out my
    hair again I'm no less of a skinhead. Some people look shitty bald, do
    the world a favor leave your crew cut if you have a funky head. I mean
    just look at all those bald head NBA players, half of those guys need
    to grow it back. Skinhead is more than a fashion statement, it's a way
    of life.

    Being a SKINHEAD is not about being violent and hating everyone but
    about perserving a race and nation. Hate is a word commonly associated
    with SKINHEADs but it's not about hate. We are called hate mongers and
    bigoted bastards because we want to keep our bloodline clean. IN a
    world of impurity we struggle to purify. SKINHEAD means self-sacrifice
    and oppression by those who view our cause as unjust. To be called a
    racist is not a put down for the actual definition of a racist is
    person who supports and promotes their race. This means that if you
    have any pride in your ethnical background you are a racist. SKINHEADs
    do not roam the streets looking for a fight but work as lawyers
    doctors and prominent business men. So don't be fooled by media
    brainwashing we are not out looking for a fight. Although things can
    turn violent, we do not tolerate anyone trying to desicrate our race
    by race trading, homosexual marriages, and anti-white believers.
    People hate us because we are proud. Pride by other races is
    encouraged and so is race preservation by any others so long as it
    does not interfere with our beliefs. Now I ask you this do you deem it
    fair for a person to be hated because they have pride and want to keep
    something in this God forsaken world clean?

TRUE SKINHEADS ARE
   ANTI-RACIST. IT STARTED, BEFORE RACISTS CAME INTO PLAY, IN BRITAIN
    WITH THE FRIENDSHIP OF JAMAICAN IMMIGRANTS AND LOCAL BRITISH YOUTH.

It is true that some of the first skins were from Jamaica and they were
involved in crews with white English skins. Equally, however, some of the
first skins were involved in what was loosely called the "APL" (Anti-Paki
League) and it cannot be denied that both some West Indian and English
skins were involved in - to use the term of the time - "Paki bashing".
These combined crews of English and Jamaicans objected to what they saw as
the influx of alien cultures and beliefs to the UK which was damaging their
job prospects and (for want of a better word) personal values.

The organised racism where racists hijacked the skinhead image came about
during the late 60s and into the 70s and still exists.

Equally with sharp it came about during the 80s. It's ideals were honest
and whether or not most skins accepted what it stood for it was respected.
However, in the 1990s it seems to have been hijacked. It now seems more
about a society for trendy stereotype challenging more than anything else.

    THEY FOLLOWED THEIR FAVORITE FOOTBALL TEAMS, AND FOUGHT OPPOSING
    TEAMS. IT MADE NO DIFFERENCE OF COLOR, AND IT WAS ABOUT UNITY!!!!

In the early days most crews consisted of a cross-range of political /
cultural / nationalistic beliefs that included both racist and anti-racist
views. However, most were skinheads first and political second and hence
respected each other. I remember this being the case even during the mid /
late 80s. I can't say that it is so obvious today. Primarily, I think this
comes down to the right wing becoming more extreme and the left wing
becoming more silly.

It is true what you say that with the first skins, colour was not the
defining factor as to whether someone would or would not be accepted. The
fact that Afro-Caribbean skins existed alongside and together with white
English skins proves that point. However, equally, it is true that racism
was there from the outset against certain foreign nationals and cultures,
as in the APL example above. With the original skins the racial issue was
not a case of all (as bonehead skins would have you believe) or a case of
nothing at all (as sharp skins would have you believe).

In reality it was there but aimed at specific groups, not non-white
English/British nationals per se.