Thursday, January 13, 2011

Day 8

Subject That Fascinates Me

Skinheads: portrayed as racist ignorant white people. They rock suspenders, short jeans, Doc Martens, army jackets, Ben Shermans, shaved heads, and tattoos such as Swastikas, 14/88, and other nazi related items. But they weren't always like that. These "people", these assholes, these ignorant bigots, they're not skinheads. They're "boneheads", a term original skinheads like to call them.

See, the skinhead was not always portrayed as annoying racist pricks you just want to curb stomp. It all came together in England. They were nice people. Some skinheads were black. They protected rude boys. Skinheads were heavily by ska and reggae. It was not about hate or a master race. It was about unity. They were apolitical. They were the working class. They knew how hard it was to live. But as time went on, the different gangs and groups of skinheads were influenced by different things, both negative and positive. Some skinheads joined forces with punks. Unfortunately other skinheads joined forces with the National Front or other white nationalist groups, and that's where we find the image of the skinhead being confused with boneheads.

One of my favorite movies is This is England. It's about a boy named Shaun who has no friends, gets picked on, kind of a loner, finds a group of people to hang out with. These people are original skinheads. They're not racist. One of them is black, a dude named Milky. The skinheads take him under their wing. An old member of their gang comes back from prison, but with a new attitude. It's a fun film, has great music, and shows influences that made the skinhead. Check it out!

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