i m skin
Following on the heels of their older brothers and sisters, the Mods, in the 1960's British working
class youths adopted a shorter hair style and a more serious
attitude towards life and play.
The Skinheads tended towards physical labour 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 have
originated amongst dock workers who required the safety of
the steel toes and who shaved their heads as a precaution
aginst 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.
Hate is a word commonly associated with
SKINHEADs but it's not about hate. Being a
SKINHEAD is not about being violent and hating
everyone but about just plain living and enjoying life
(Beer, Chelseas and Ska anyone?). We are called hate
mongers and bigoted bastards by those who are as
ignorant as they claim us to be.
SKINHEADs do not roam the streets looking for a fight
but work as tradesmen, shopkeepers, and even [sinking
as low as] lawyers. Don't be fooled by media
brainwashing. We are not out looking for a fight. Things
can turn violent but we do not tolerate anyone trying to
attack us and will defend ourselves.
People hate us because we are proud, we have respect
and honour for ourselves, and for the people who
deserve it (remembering when our institutions were
something to be proud of, when there was more
civilization around us), and they often mistake this pride
for hatred of anything that is *non-skinhead*.
We really just don't care. We, as individuals, are proud
to be who we are, and if someone else is proud of who
they are, why should it be a problem?
I ask you this, do you deem it fair for a person to be
hated because they have pride in themselves and want
to keep something in this God forsaken world clean?
Does it make sense to you to assume that if a person is
proud to be a Fireman they don't have equal respect for
the Police or Ambulance Attendants, Construction
Workers, etc.? Is it really any different than assuming
that anyone who is proud of their sub)culture has
nothing but disdain and hatred for other (sub)cultures?
Just like there are non-skinheads who are racist and anti-racist,
equally there are skinheads who hold racist and anti-racist
beliefs. If anything precludes someone from being a "real"
skinhead it is someone who becomes skin believing that "real"
skins are either specifically racist or anti-racist (bonhead or
sharp). Most skins I know- and it works in both directions- can
respect, although they may not agree with a skinhead who is a
bonehead or a skinhead who is sharp. Someone who is skin
first, politics second (whether it be left or right) most skins
can accept. There is an important distinction between a skinhead who is a
bonehead and a bonhead skinhead in the same way there is a
distinction between a skin who is sharp and a sharp skinhead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
class youths adopted a shorter hair style and a more serious
attitude towards life and play.
The Skinheads tended towards physical labour 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 have
originated amongst dock workers who required the safety of
the steel toes and who shaved their heads as a precaution
aginst 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.
Hate is a word commonly associated with
SKINHEADs but it's not about hate. Being a
SKINHEAD is not about being violent and hating
everyone but about just plain living and enjoying life
(Beer, Chelseas and Ska anyone?). We are called hate
mongers and bigoted bastards by those who are as
ignorant as they claim us to be.
SKINHEADs do not roam the streets looking for a fight
but work as tradesmen, shopkeepers, and even [sinking
as low as] lawyers. Don't be fooled by media
brainwashing. We are not out looking for a fight. Things
can turn violent but we do not tolerate anyone trying to
attack us and will defend ourselves.
People hate us because we are proud, we have respect
and honour for ourselves, and for the people who
deserve it (remembering when our institutions were
something to be proud of, when there was more
civilization around us), and they often mistake this pride
for hatred of anything that is *non-skinhead*.
We really just don't care. We, as individuals, are proud
to be who we are, and if someone else is proud of who
they are, why should it be a problem?
I ask you this, do you deem it fair for a person to be
hated because they have pride in themselves and want
to keep something in this God forsaken world clean?
Does it make sense to you to assume that if a person is
proud to be a Fireman they don't have equal respect for
the Police or Ambulance Attendants, Construction
Workers, etc.? Is it really any different than assuming
that anyone who is proud of their sub)culture has
nothing but disdain and hatred for other (sub)cultures?
Just like there are non-skinheads who are racist and anti-racist,
equally there are skinheads who hold racist and anti-racist
beliefs. If anything precludes someone from being a "real"
skinhead it is someone who becomes skin believing that "real"
skins are either specifically racist or anti-racist (bonhead or
sharp). Most skins I know- and it works in both directions- can
respect, although they may not agree with a skinhead who is a
bonehead or a skinhead who is sharp. Someone who is skin
first, politics second (whether it be left or right) most skins
can accept. There is an important distinction between a skinhead who is a
bonehead and a bonhead skinhead in the same way there is a
distinction between a skin who is sharp and a sharp skinhead.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------