As we said in a previous article (see), in the sixties, the youth of Great Britain was captivated by the image of fashion - a young esthete, hedonist and dandy. In the second half of the decade, several ways of developing this image were outlined. The world of music was captured by a wave of psychedelia, and fashion could not stand aside. Parties became a real kaleidoscope of surreal patterns and bright colors. A completely different style was developed for themselves by young people who became known as “hard mods” (English “hard mods”). It was simpler, more practical and contrasted strongly with the images of Bohemia. It cannot be argued that this was a deliberate opposition to fashion. The differences between hard-modes and representatives of the “golden youth” and creative intelligentsia were natural: the difference at the level of the social environment led to a divergence in tastes and outlook on life. However, by the end of the 60s, it became more noticeable within the subculture itself. Those mods that rampaged during the famous pogroms in the south of Great Britain in the mid-60s can be safely considered hard mods. They loved to fight, were engaged in theft and robbery, carried edged weapons and often united in real gangs. They were young people born after the war.
The media often uses the word "skinheads", and in the vast majority of cases it carries a negative connotation. Let's not allow ourselves superficial judgments and figure out who they are, and why in the minds of the British the skinhead is still more often dressed in Crombie or Harrington than in the usual bomber jacket.
The adolescence of this generation came at a time when the difficulties of the war and post-war years were left behind: it was possible to live without thinking only about how to feed yourself and restore the country. The fashion revolution of the sixties, aimed at teenagers, began. Everyone wanted to keep up with the times. A lot of music, clubs and stylish clothes appeared around, and all this could become yours - if only there was money!
The British economy, gaining momentum, provided jobs, making it possible to honestly save up for a stylish suit and a motor scooter. It was possible to go an easier way - crime in all its manifestations helped to get money for new clothes, drugs and trips to the most fashionable clubs in the city. On Friday night, the mods acted like playboys, pop idols and high society people, but the day came and many of them had to go back to work or look for illegal earnings.
“They called me a hard mod… the media seized on the pogrom story [the famous clash of mods with rockers in the south of England in 1964] and described the mods as a crazy mob of drug addicts prone to violence and unrest. Of course, there was a grain of truth in the nonsense that the newspapers scribbled. Among the mods were those who went to Brighton, Margaret and other cities only to arrange complete chaos there. I must confess I was one of them.
Reputation was everything. I started carrying a weapon (an axe) with me and was ready to use it if necessary ... Appearance was very important - everyone around was literally required to wear a woolen suit"
John Leo Waters
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British hard fashion late 60s, London |
The fact is that, despite the desire for elitism, the origins of the fashion movement largely lay in the working environment. The poor and disadvantaged areas of south London were home to many mods and ordinary teenagers who soaked up urban culture with their age.
Brixton, one such area, included a large Jamaican diaspora. A declining economy, a wave of crime, a hurricane that devastated the east of Jamaica in 1944, and the promise of jobs from the British government attracted immigrants from the Caribbean to London. The sharp influx of foreigners from a distant land played a major role in the transformation of hard mods into skinheads. In 1962, the former British colony gained independence, but such a large-scale political event could not but have negative consequences for the population. Many Jamaicans continued to emigrate to the former metropolis.
At the new location, Jamaican youth introduced their London peers to their culture. The island had its own subculture: rude boys are literally “rough guys”, but in Jamaican English they are rather “tough”, “severe”. Rudboys were from the working class and often showed violence towards each other and those around them. Their life was not easy, because they often grew up in the most disadvantaged areas of Kingston, the capital of not the most peaceful country. Like many young people, all the more daring and often involved in crime, rudboys strove to dress brand-new: suits, tight ties, trilby hats and “pork pie”. Perhaps this style was inspired by jazz musicians in the United States. Roodboys preferred the freshest and most modern local music: ska, and later rocksteady.
Ska is a musical genre that originated in Jamaica at the turn of the fifties and sixties. The combination of American rhythm and blues with the Caribbean styles of mento and calypso resulted in a completely new and very distinctive sound.
In the second half of the sixties, ska music evolved into rocksteady. Compared to its predecessor, this style features a slower tempo, syncopated bass, and the use of small bands with electric bass guitar (early ska bands were large ensembles and mostly used double bass). The most important ska bands and performers were and remain Toots and The Maytals, The Skatalites, Bob Marley and the Wailers (the leader of the latter became one of the most recognizable musicians in history), The Upsetters (the group of the famous producer Lee "Scratch" Perry), Derrick Morgan , Max Romeo, Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker and many others.
So, on the wave of emigration, the youth culture of Jamaica came to the shores of Foggy Albion. It is not surprising that due to their close age, love for music and the desire to look interesting, the English guys began to adopt the style of ore fighting. The Mods have traditionally been fond of American soul and rhythm and blues, but also quite interested in Jamaican music. A huge merit in this belongs to the English label Melodisc Records, founded in 1949 and releasing Afro-Caribbean music. The company began recording Jamaican musicians in London and, building on the success of these recordings, founded the Blue Beat Records division. It specialized in ska and rocksteady music, beloved by oreboys, mods, and later by skinheads.
One of the brightest musicians with whom the label collaborated was Prince Buster, a man who made a huge contribution to the formation of ska and the popularization of the genre in the UK.
The youth of south London attended clubs designed for Jamaicans called "ska bars" with great interest, learned to dance ska and adopted elements of style. Records of African-American and Caribbean music sold like hot cakes in stores.
Thus, when mods began to gravitate towards psychedelic music in the late sixties, south London mods already had a special connection with Jamaican music, and the hard mods did not follow the bohemians. Indigenous Londoners and immigrants, hard fashion and rude boi merged into a subculture that came to be called skinheads (English - “skinheads”). The name of the subculture is made up of two words: "skin" - "skin" and "head" - "head". There is a version that this word was taken from the lexicon of American infantrymen.
“… Fashion and music changed. The clubs started playing strange music like The Byrds and Jimi Hendrix, and the mods had no choice but to go to Jamaican clubs - only they did not stop playing black music. So mods went to ska clubs and adopted the style of rudboys, but since they weren't black they couldn't call themselves that, so they borrowed the word "skinheads", which was the name given to USMC recruits who had their heads shaved when they went to army. In the Marine Corps, only officers called a recruit "skinhead", like: "Hey, you skinhead, come here!" So originally the skinhead style was a white variant of the rudboy style."
Dick Coomes
These people moved further and further away from the refinement of mods, and after a few decades, the connection between the two subcultures was barely traced. But let us dwell in more detail on the skinheads of the first generation, the so-called traditional skinheads (Traditional Skinheads).
What did they look like? In addition to the usual for mods (English “Sta-Prest”), which kept their shape perfectly, a few more no less practical elements were added: jeans, suspenders and heavy work boots. Haircuts have become shorter and simpler. Some, in the fashion of the ore battles or out of the practicality of the workers, shaved almost bald. Skinheads wore mohair, favored by mods and hard mods, but with a slightly elongated cut, and plaid button-down shirts, the collar of which was fixed with buttons.
The classic and famous MA-1 bomber jacket, which later became an icon of the image of the subculture and, in fact, its synonym, enjoyed great popularity. Jackets have not disappeared from the wardrobe of hard mod skinheads. Among the outerwear, the windbreaker was also a success - a cotton semi-sports bomber jacket with fringing stripes on the collar, sleeves and elasticated bottom, as well as a British dockers work jacket.
A curious detail was the manner in which the pants were rolled up. Lightly at first to show the boots, then harder to show off the colored socks taken from the ore fighting style. According to the memoirs of those years, once the organizers of the concert gave the famous reggae singer Desmond Dekker a suit, and he asked to shorten his trousers by fifteen centimeters. In imitation of their idol, teenagers began to roll up their trousers. Not to mention the fact that, to a certain extent, Mr. Dekker also contributed to the fashion for short haircuts among the future skinheads who admired him.
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Their actions are condemned by society around the world. They are feared and despised, called "democracy killers" and "Nazi bastards." They are tried and imprisoned for the murders. Many programs have been made about them and countless books have been written. Skinheads - who are they? Let's try to understand in detail.
The history of skinheads
First of all, let's make one point. Skinheads are a subculture. Yes, yes, the same subculture as the punk movement, goths, emo and so on. But do not confuse "skins" with everyone else. The skinhead subculture is radically different from any other music-influenced culture. It all started, of course, in England, in good old London. Which is not surprising - the calm and arrogant English are famous for their ability to found wild and violent youth movements. Maybe they just got tired of being stiff and cold? Who knows. But it is not important. So, the skinhead movement (skinheads, leather heads - English) started in the 60s of the twentieth century in poor working-class neighborhoods. And it came from the very popular movement of mods (modernist, or, as they were also called, dudes), the movement of teddy boys (and in Russian gopniks) and football hooligans. They wore heavy construction boots, heavy docker jackets - donks, army T-shirts and jeans with suspenders. Doesn't it remind you of anything? Quite right, the clothing style of the modern skin was formed at the dawn of the movement. It was the typical clothing of a London hard worker who earned his bread by hard physical labor. The shaved head, the classic hallmark of the skin, served as protection against excess dirt and dust accumulating on the docks, as well as harmful insects such as lice. In general, the heads were often not shaved, but only trimmed under the “hedgehog”. The nickname "skinhead" in those days was offensive, humiliating, as hard workers were called.The first skins respected (!) blacks and mulattos. Not surprisingly, there were many immigrants among the workers of that time. Skins and visitors from Jamaica had common views, listened to the same music, in particular reggae and ska. The current of football hooligans had a very great influence on the skin movement. In many ways, it was to him that the skins were due to bomber jackets, which made it easy to slip out of the hands of an opponent during a street brawl, a shaved head, thanks to which it was impossible to grab a bully by the hair. Of course, the skin youth had a lot of trouble with the police. Tellingly, both boys and girls participated in the movement. It would not be superfluous to note that, like all football fans, skinheads liked to spend time in the pub over a glass of foam.
But time passes, people grow up, and the first wave of skins by the beginning of the 70s began to wane. The skinheads began to start families and slowly forget about their former violent way of life. However, nothing goes unnoticed, and now England is already exploding with a wave of wild and aggressive music - punk rock. This style was ideally suited to working-class youth who were looking for harder music for their movement. Street punk appeared - a great solution for skins, which, with the light hand of one English newspaper scribbler, was given the name "Oi!". The style was different from punk - it was classic guitar riffs overlaid on a distinctly audible bass guitar and drums line. The choruses were like the screams of the fans in the stands (hello hooligans!). With the music came additions to clothing - skins of the second wave began to wear army t-shirts more often. All this was alien to the old skins who grumbled at the youth of the 70s for their music and clothes. At that time, among the skinheads of the first wave, there was a slogan "stay loyal to the 69th." It is believed that it was in 1969 that the peak of the popularity of the skinhead movement occurred. So, the English youth began to get more and more interested in punk music, and the working class got its own movement. Since the skins already had their own musical style and clothing style, their views turned to politics. Many skinheads began to support the struggle of the right-wing parties, merging with British neo-fascism, while others defended the ideas of the left, promoting the working class and the ideas of communism. Basically, the left was first-wave skins who opposed racism. There were also apolitical groups that preferred their own subcultural politics.
The impetus for the development of the Nazi skinhead movement, that is, the skins as they look now, was the transition of the punk band Skrewdriver from street punk directly to skinhead music. It was the first street punk band to publicly declare their neo-Nazi views. They opposed communism and sympathized with the National Front. By the end of the 70s, the right-wing movement intensified, and a racist skinhead appeared on the streets of London. It needed to be seen! All the media sounded the alarm, the English society, not yet recovering from the Second World War, looked with horror at any skinhead, seeing him as a fascist. The misconception about the "racist" nature of each skin was reinforced by the National Front and the Skrewdriver group. Politicians skillfully watered the skins with the terms fascism and racism. Such actions had a result - skinheads began to be treated extremely negatively.
Finally, by the mid-1990s, a third wave of skinheads was being formed. 17-18 - summer punks shave off their mohawks and join the ranks of skins. Old skinhead ideas are being revived and classic skinhead groups are being formed in most countries of Europe and the West. Now it's basically a mixture of classic football hooligans and hardcore punk skins. In Russia, unfortunately, 99 percent of skinheads are supporters of neo-Nazi views. Modern Russian society firmly believes that any skinhead is a racist.
The history of skinheads
Skinhead clothing style
How to single out a representative of a particular subculture in a crowd? Of course, according to his (her) clothes. Skinheads are no exception. Their paraphernalia and clothes differ from the general fashion, and, for the most part, are unified. Consider the general appearance of a modern skin. Let's confine ourselves to Russian skinheads as the trend most familiar to us - the look of the Russian skin is almost the same as the Western one, the difference is only in the Nazi symbols used by our skins.So, clothes. The "uniform" of skinheads is taken from the very origins of the movement, namely from the London port workers. These are heavy boots, camouflage pants and T-shirts. The classic look of the skin is a black “bomber” (wide heavy jacket), blue or black jeans with rolled up trousers, suspenders and black “boots”. Naturally shaved head. The ideal shoes for the skin are the so-called “grinders” (Grinders boots). However, they are not cheap, so they are mainly limited to military shoes. Laces are a separate issue in the skin's outfit. By the color of the laces, you can determine its belonging to a particular movement group. For example, white laces are worn by those who killed or participated in the murder of a “non-Russian” person, red laces are worn by antifa, and brown laces are worn by neo-Nazis. You can, of course, wear shoelaces of any color without belonging to one group or another, but in this case, it is better not to catch the eye of skins that honor traditions. In general, skinhead clothing is very practical - it helps to protect yourself in a fight and significantly makes the blows heavier. Attributes serve the same purpose - metal chains, carbines, and so on. Some skins like German cross patches, swastikas and the like. True, they are used very rarely, because in this case the skin becomes an easy prey for the police, revealing its ultra-right views.
Many skinheads love tattoos. They are usually applied to covered parts of the body that are not visible under a jacket on the street, since it is easy to spot a supporter of the movement from them. The theme of the tattoo is mostly monotonous - these are political far-right slogans, swastika symbols, German and Celtic crosses, images of the skins themselves in various poses, various inscriptions like “Skinhead”, “White Power”, “Working class”, “National Front” and so on. . For such tattoos, skinheads are often harassed and abused by law enforcement agencies, as they directly scream about Nazi beliefs, so some prefer to apply less obvious images like pagan gods, weapons, animals, and so on. Letter ciphers are often pricked, for example, "88", "14/88", "18". Here the number indicates the serial number of the letter in the Latin alphabet, that is, 88 - Heil Hitler, 18 - Adolf Hitler. 14 is not a letter cipher, these are 14 words of the motto of the White Struggle, formulated by one of the ideologists of the skinhead movement, David Lane, who has been in a closed American prison for life: “we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children” (“we must protect the present of our people and the future of our white children”). Often there are double runes in lightning "zig" (SS), rune "otal" and other runic combinations.
Such is the style of the modern skinhead. Of course, you should not assume that it is typical for everyone - many skins today dress like most ordinary people, since it is more difficult to identify them that way. Authentic Skin clothing is a tribute to the traditions of the movement.
Skinhead clothing style
Skinhead ideology
Here we come to the main point. The ideology of the skinhead movement. Since the propaganda of Nazi skinheads and the ideology of racial superiority have done their job, it is difficult to find the ideology of true, "classic" skins on the Internet today. Let's try to correct this shortcoming and open the reader's eyes to the true state of things. For convenience, we will divide the skin movement into three main trends - classic skinheads, Nazi skinheads and red skinheads.Go. Classic skinheads. They stood at the origins of the entire movement, therefore they are honored veterans. Their ideology is the opposition of the simple working class to the bourgeoisie, the opposition of young people to their parents. This is a rebuff of power over the poor and parental prohibitions. This is pride for simple hard workers and hatred for the rich. Classic skins are apolitical. They drink beer and love football, a nod to the football hooligans who have had a major impact on the current. Not a single classic skinhead can do without a good fight - again, the influence of hooligans is noticeable. Actually, nothing more can be said about this current. They love ska music, reggae, Oi! and so on.
Nazi skins. And here there is something to stop at: racist skinheads are the scourge of modern society. They constantly arrange fights, beatings of foreign citizens, protests. They are arrested, convicted, imprisoned, but they remain true to their ideals. The idea is simple - the superiority of the white race and the cleansing of the country from alien elements. Taking advantage of popular hostility towards foreigners, skinheads often recruit an impressive number of young people into their ranks. In Russia, the Nazi skinhead movement is outrageously popular. Recently, things have come to the point that foreigners are simply afraid to be in the country and prefer to live where the problem of Nazism is not so acute. On the one hand, the ideology of the Nazis seems cruel and inhumane. The actions of skins find a huge resonance in modern society - they are hated, despised, trying to catch and punish them. Killing people is certainly not the best thing to do. On the other hand, it is impossible not to notice that the actions of skinheads have had an effect - foreigners do not feel as free in the country as before. Objectively, we can say that skinheads are a way to protect society from overly insolent immigrants. True, it is a pity that the killings of blacks and other citizens are often unjustified and do not bear the nature of retribution, which could be explained. Shares of Russian skins are usually an attack on innocent black students, entrepreneurs and so on.
Nazi skins are divided into two groups - these are ordinary skins and ideological leaders. The first, respectively, participate in brawls and actions, play an executive role. The latter deal with the political side of the issue, promote the ideas of Nazism in society, plan actions, and so on. Their sphere is the struggle for power in the country. Theoretically, the victory of such leaders in the political arena should mean a peaceful, political settlement of the issue of the growing number of immigrants. Agree, patriotism is not alien to any of us, and we don’t want to wake up one fine day in a country no longer in our own. Many skinheads follow the straight edge (straight edge from English - “clear line”, abbreviated as sXe), that is, they lead a healthy lifestyle. Such behavior, of course, ennobles the skin, so plentifully watered with mud by modern media and politicians. However, how to treat the nationalists is a moot point, in their movement there are both positive and negative sides. The decision must be made by everyone for himself.
And finally, antifa. Red skins, redskins, as they are also called. For every action there is a reaction, as Uncle Newton used to say. Supporters of the red movement oppose racial prejudice and promote left-wing views - communism, class struggle, "factories for workers" and so on. There are two antifa movements: S.H.A.R.P. (SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice) and R.A.S.H. (Red and Anarchist SkinHeads). In addition to the "left" views, antifa have another feature. They hate skins and carry out actions aimed at suppressing them. Fights between skinheads and antifa are not uncommon today. And again, the controversial question is how to treat anti-fascists to a modern person. On the one hand, opposition to racial killings is, of course, good. On the other hand, fighting with the methods of the enemy is meaningless. It can be said that antifa create as many problems as skinheads create. Moreover, the struggle of the Redskins is similar to the opening of a "second front" during the Second World War - late and ineffective. Skinheads have time to fight off antifa attacks and plan their own racist actions. The fight against illegal activities should be carried out by law enforcement agencies, and not by a group of young people who are as aggressive as the Nazis.
These are the directions of skin movement. There are a huge number of nuances in them, and you can argue on each issue indefinitely.
Skinhead ideology
Conclusion
A swastika on the sleeve, a shaved skull, impressive berets, a black bomber jacket and a menacing look. Skinhead? As we now understand, a stereotype. The skinhead movement initially promoted concepts that were directly opposite to modern Nazis. Nevertheless, the Nazi skinheads took place as an independent movement and acquired their own music and views, laid down by each subculture. The question of their attitude is, of course, debatable. But their actions are undeniably illegal and unethical. It is possible that the skins will change the method of fighting against alien elements in the near future. As for Russia, modern society for the most part expresses a negative attitude towards Russian skinheads. That does not prevent them from carrying out their actions to destroy and humiliate the "non-white" races with virtually impunity.And now that you have read this article, I will ask you to answer one question. So, what do you think now, so who are skinheads: neo-Nazis, or an ordinary teenage subculture?
3/28/2017, 23:18 0 comments views
In our country, such a large and well-known youth movement as skinheads, unfortunately, is associated only with something negative - with fascism and nationalism. The fact is that this movement came to Russia not at the most successful period - in the 90s and almost completely lost its original essence.
Initially, the skinhead subculture was in no way connected with politics, the national bias appeared only at the end of the 70s (skinheads of the "second wave"). The skinhead movement of the "first wave" was born from another subculture - mods and was originally called "HardMods".
It all happened in the same good old England, in the late 60s of the XX century. And what united people, boys and girls, in this community was not hostility to other nationalities, but certain music (ska, street punk and reggae), sports (football or hockey), their own slang, violent temper and, of course, a certain manner of dressing . The skinhead subculture left a big mark in the fashion world, even forming a whole trend of the same name.
At the very beginning, the skinhead style was a cross between the style of mods, taking some details from the style of ore-boys: Sta-prest straight trousers, button down shirts with plaid print (sometimes just plain white shirts), thin suspenders, polos, bleached jeans with turn-ups at the bottom, “Tonic Suit” suits made of mohair fabric.
Many elements of style appeared among skinheads due to the strong passion for football among representatives of this subculture. Young people often gathered at football stadiums, where passions were burning in truth - not a single game was held without brawls, fights and showdowns with the police. Although the skins were simply not averse to fighting, not only with football fans, but also with representatives of other subcultures (hippies, for example) or even with each other. Then skinheads began to shave their heads bald (so that during the fight it was impossible to grab the hair), they began to wear berets or army boots, windbreakers, short denim jackets and Harrington jackets or bombers. To short haircuts or a smooth bald head, neat sideburns were sometimes left, which were carefully looked after.
Particularly popular, especially among the skinheads of the 70s, were the classic polo and bomber jackets M-1. And an integral part of the image were trousers or jeans with a turn-up, which at first tucked slightly to reveal the shoes, and then more strongly to reveal the colored socks. By the way, in addition to army boots, skinheads wore loafers or brogues, but no matter what they were shod with, the shoes were always polished to a shine so that you could see your reflection in it. Then, V-neck sweaters appeared in the skinhead wardrobe, which they combined with the same checkered button down shirts, cardigans, V-neck tank tops, Crombie coats, Glen check or houndstooth print jackets. One way or another, skinhead clothes were distinguished by practicality, functionality and convenience, which was important for the representatives of this movement, because if they did not fight, they did hard manual work, danced until they dropped at parties or cut through the city streets on scooters.
Skinhead girls did not lag behind the guys and mostly adhered to the general style, that is, they looked like “tomboys”. From girlish they could be seen in bold mini-skirts combined with stockings, skirt suits and monkey boots.
Skinheads' favorite brands were and still are Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, Brutus, Warrior, Jaytex, Lonsdale, Everlast, Levi's, Lee, Wrangler, Solovair ”, “Gola”, “Adidas”, “Tredair” and, of course, “Dr. Martens. Skinhead style elements are periodically used by world fashion designers for their collections and fashion shows. Many brands of youth streetwear produce things traditional for this subculture.
The skinhead style has been adopted by many other movements, such as sweetheads, smoothies or bootboys, but even today in England there are still people who consider themselves to be classic "first wave" skinheads, know and remember their roots and adhere to the traditional skinhead style in everything. And there are just those who are impressed by their appearance and they transfer it to their everyday wardrobe.
Alas, for obvious reasons, in Russia you just can’t go out on the streets of the city dressed in the style of skinheads. When politics interferes, everything goes downhill, so we will also remember this subculture as an integral and important part of the culture and trend in fashion.
The author continues a series of publications designed to highlight some of the problems associated with the study of the phenomenon of mind control. In his latest article “Psychological characteristics of members of destructive and terrorist (radical) groups”, the author came to the conclusion that for a deeper scientific analysis of the phenomenon of mind control, it is worth referring to the activities of “destructive organizations” the activities of groups (mini-societies), such as anti-globalists, radical ecologists, terrorists, criminal, some "gaming" communities, etc. The study of the activities of these subjects in the aggregate will help to better understand the nature of radicalism and the increase in the use of thought reforming techniques (mind control) in society.
The activities of "destructive organizations" in Russian society and the world have not yet been sufficiently considered in the context of radical asocial groups. Radicalism in all its forms and manifestations, in its scope and intensity, in its cruelty, has become one of the most acute and topical problems of states today. One of the aspects of this problem, according to the author, is undoubtedly "misconceptions" about the role of youth groups in the destabilization of modern society. The author will try to consider the activities of radical representatives of "youth subcultures" from different angles.
In contrast to the opinion of the majority of the inhabitants, modern subcultures, especially youth ones, are not amorphous and monotonous phenomena, but are active "foci of resistance" to modern society with its Christian morality. These "hot spots" represent different types of escape from the "imposed" culture, and in themselves are neither bad nor good. The peculiarity of subcultures in Russia is expressed in the fact that most of the "youth subcultures", and in this article we mainly consider them, are borrowed from Western culture and are not historically established "centers" of subculture in our country.
The paradox is that the more we try to resist globalization, the more we integrate into it. We do not want to become part of the global and lose our “national” advantages, but at the same time we are actively introducing an international (international) system of subcultures in society, whose true calling (“in its purest form”) is to serve as a counterbalance or slower to globalization. "Skinheads", "neo-Nazis", "reds", "anarchists", "anti-globalists", "rappers" - they are all representatives of European and American culture.
Welcome to globalization.
Major misconceptions about the skinhead culture movement
1. Skinheads are a movement associated with fascism
2. Skinheads are a criminal group and there is no culture there
3. The problem of "violence" of skinheads is impossible to solve
In our article, we will try to refute these misconceptions, for which we will consider the current state of the "radical centers".
Evidence that there is nothing in common between the classic skinhead movement and the “neo-fascist” organizations mimicking it, except for some elements of clothing, we will consider below (“three waves of classical skinhead culture”).
History: three waves of classic skinhead culture
First wave.
The "skinheads" of the late 60s were, one might say, a product of the "mod culture" that was cultivated under the influence of Jamaican culture brought to England by immigrant rudeboys. "Mods" (mods) is not only a musical style, but also a certain movement, lifestyle and manner of dressing, generated by the teenage culture of Britain in the early 60s. The eternal confrontation between "fathers and sons" flared up with renewed vigor with the advent of rock and roll (mid-50s): the young generation of Americans, who received their music, their idols and their fashion, began to realize themselves as an independent social class that did not want to obey laws of adults and trying to self-determine. English teenagers also wanted to listen and play rhythm and blues and rock and roll. This is how the fashion movement was born. Britain in the 60s was particularly affected by the economic problems caused by the post-war crisis: it was necessary to restore the industry and destroyed houses, workers and employees were needed, but there were not enough people. This forced teenagers even from good families to get a job, more often in offices and offices (clerks, typists, etc.). Getting their personal income, young Britons could buy outfits, spend money on entertainment. The "mods" dressed very neatly, usually wearing expensive suits. "Fred Perry", "Ben Sherman", "Lonsdale" - these clothing and footwear companies were very popular among the "mods".
This is how Teddy Boys fashion was born. Boys wear corduroy jackets with large lapels, leather ties, trousers with lapels, boots with corrugated soles; hairstyles - elongated, with hair framing the face. The girls wore skirts above the knees and sweaters with blind necks, long and straight hair. Because of this passion (dressing well), they were often accused of betraying the working class, because. The "mods" were not much different socially from the youth of the working class, but spent large amounts of money on clothing. Fashion girls loved heavy makeup and soft lipstick. Scooters (motor scooters) have become favorite entertainment. At the same time, the Teddy Boys were distinguished by a very hooligan disposition: they formed gangs that rode scooters, fought with rockers (who drove motorcycles), smashed shop windows and frightened the townsfolk.
By the way, unlike rockers, the then popular culture of youth, "mods" had representatives of both sexes in their ranks. In addition to civilian clothes, "fashion" could be recognized by a scooter (Scooter). Many who rode them called themselves "Scooterist". Scooters can also be considered a product of “mod culture”. Usually they decorated scooters with mirrors and other spectacular things. Football fans ("hooligans"), who also came out of the "mods", were also fond of scooters. Being a "mod" meant having everything new and original that existed at the moment, standing out from the rest. All of London was flooded with scooters.
Music was a less important part of the movement than fashion and demeanor. Basically "mod bands" started by copying American rhythm and blues standards and creating their own musical material in the same vein. The Mods played rhythm and blues and rock and roll faster, harder and dirtier than their predecessors. By 1968, the mod movement had almost died out, reborn into other movements.
Already in the early 60s, the so-called Rudies appeared - young immigrants from Jamaica who worked in low-paid jobs (shops, bars, docks, factories). They had their own fashion. And most importantly, their own music - "ska", which the British also liked. At the same time, the movement of "mods" also started.
At the same time, the first "hard-mods" (hard-mod) or "skinheads" appeared. Every Saturday, these new progressive youths went to stadiums to cheer on their favorite teams. Deadly support for football teams often led to brawls between opposing fans, leading to the legendary British "football violence". Since representatives of the "hard-mode" (hard-mod) often participated in brawls, they began to shave their heads so that in a fight the enemy could not use the hair grab. It is worth noting that the "skinheads" did not immediately separate from the "mods": everything happened gradually.
Not everyone called themselves "skinheads" (skinheads). There were names like “herberts” (from Herbert Street in Glasgow (UK)), “street kids” (that is, “children of the streets”), “spy kids” (approximate translation is “hunters”), “peanuts” (then there are "nut crushers"; they got this name for the rumble of their scooters) and others.
Contrary to popular belief, most "skinheads" around the world have never been "shaven" or "skinhead". Those who worked at the river docks kept a short "cut" on their heads, and cut their hair like that only to protect themselves from dust, dirt and lice. For this reason, "skinhead" in the mid-sixties is a derogatory nickname, something like "horned". They didn't call themselves that. They were so scolded.
When night fell, the "skinheads" dressed in the best they could afford (usually a cheap men's suit) and went to the dance halls. Here they danced to the sounds of the new music brought to England by Jamaican immigrants. Many names have been attributed to this music, including: "ska" (later called "first wave ska"), "jamaican blues", "blue beat", "rocksteady", and "reggae".
By the way, about "ryudiz-skins". Once upon a time, before joining the "reggae", very young Bob Marley was a skinhead. Bob Marley wore high combat boots, camouflage, and a clean cut.
The first "skinheads" later began to prefer American clothes "Levi Jeans" and "Alpha Flight Jackets" and narrow suspenders (braces) with boots "Doc Marten". With the rise of football hooliganism, the dark green Alpha Flight Jackets (also called the MA1, Flight Jacket, or Bomber Jacket) came into use, allowing them to easily slip out of the hands of opponents. This is how they dressed on football days, and at concerts and on the street they wore ordinary jackets, often jeans, black suspenders and black laces. This tightening of the style of dress markedly influenced the interest of the working class in "skinheads".
Skinheads loved beer, unlike amphetamine-drinking Mods and marijuana-smoking rudeboys. The "skinhead girls" dressed like boys, cut their hair short, and also had a lot of trouble and problems with the police and other youth groups. The Rudigers, Skinhead Girls, and Mod Girls wore miniskirts, which were very popular at the time and were seen as shocking to conservative parents.
In the early 70s, "skinheads" were gaining strength compared to other youth subcultural movements. The “skinheads” of the first wave matured: they appeared less and less on the street, started families, settled down, raised children, but still remained faithful to their roots.
Second wave of skin movement
was marked by the rise of "punk rock" in the UK. "Punk rock" blew up stiff and cold England. "Punk rock" looked wild, rough, aggressive. He frightened housewives, respectable citizens and other gentlemen. But the working youth were looking for and wanting a harder and faster sound for their culture. In addition, "punk rock" became just student rebellious music, college music. And the resulting synthesis of bright, fast and rough sound became "streetpunk" (street punk), later called Sun journalist Gary Bushell as "Oi!". It was "punk", but it was "punk", oriented towards the working class. Because the roots of "Oi!" music was in the working class, the media was negative about this musical offshoot, going "punk rock" itself, as middle class music, they welcomed. The sound of "Oi!" differs from punk: simple guitar melodies are superimposed on a distinctly audible bass guitar and drums line and are accompanied by choruses similar to the screams of the football stands. Along with "street punk", the "skinhead" movement revived. Traits such as toughness and pride in the working class began to take root in "punk". Basically, the second wave of "skinheads" knew nothing about the heritage and their roots, "fashions", "ska", "rudeboys".
The old "skinheads" constantly criticized and scolded the new growth for innovation. For example, the '69 skins still wore Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, and the new '79 skins mostly wore blue Levi jeans, work boots, suspenders, and American pilot jackets. They called themselves "Bald Punks". During the 70s there were many changes in the classic "skinheads". The fashion moved from a washed-out style to better clothes than what the workers could afford - "blue collars". In the 70s, a "military" style of clothing appeared among skinheads. Other "skins" were strongly influenced by the "disco" of the seventies: they "put up their hair", put on frilly pants and boots in the style of the 70s.
With the formation of their own musical groups among the "skinheads", their political ideas began to lean towards the struggle of the right and left parties, and even apoliticality. The political right-wing groups leaned toward relations with the National Front (neo-fascists in England) and had similar ideas. The left groups were guided by the struggle of the working class, they used the communist policy. Apolitical groups often shunned both sides as they wanted to choose their own subcultural politics.
A group of representatives of the punk movement formed the “Skrewdriver” (“Screwdriver”) collective, which largely influenced “street punk” and after a while transformed into a “skinhead group”. Skrewdriver became the first band to make their neo-Nazi views known to the skinhead culture by holding a concert under the slogan "Rock Against Communism". Sympathizing with the National Front, they took a racist stance and began to create the right wing of the "skinhead movement" subculture.
"Skinheads" of the 69th model, on the contrary, remained on anti-racist positions, like most of the "skins" of those years, they were fond of "reggae" and "ska". They attended "color discos", but still called "blacks" - "darkies". They supported the ideals of the working class and left-wing politicians. England still remembered the Second World War, and therefore it was considered an honor for every patriotic citizen to remain on the positions of anti-racism.
By the end of the 70s, the National Front and the British National Socialist Party infiltrated the skinhead movement. By that time, the "skinheads" were already a strong generation. The National Front decided that "skinheads" would serve as an excellent source of new members and enhance its reputation and image. The youth were recruited as street soldiers of the National Front. A “racist skinhead” appeared on the Donahuue “show” (a popular show in England). This was a shock and a blow to the entire “skinhead movement.” Together with the media, the myth of “racist skinheads” was inflated by the National Front and Skrewdriver "("screwdriver"). Due to erroneous propaganda, society saw every "skinhead" racist. In our country, these consequences are especially evident. Most journalists, officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and ordinary people reinforce the misconception that "skinheads" are neo-Nazis and racists.
The bad reputation only played into the hands of right-wing parties. Many young neo-Nazis, always far away from the working class and the "skinhead culture", began to call themselves "skinheads". This is how "Nazism" began to penetrate the culture of "skinheads".
In the US, "skins" were even more distant from their roots and gravitated toward the incipient "hard-core" wave that originated in New York. "Street punk" for England was akin to "hardcore" in the US. For example, the "skins" of the early 80s knew almost nothing and had not heard about "ska" or "Oi!". But like their counterparts in England, they wore work boots, jeans, borrowing this style of clothing from the punks. The Hardcore Skins were stronger and more violent than their Punk Skins contemporaries in England. In criminal reports, they flashed more often than in the 69th. The parties, like the National Front, created the image of "footsoldiers" (stormtroopers) from "skinheads".
In the 80s, no one liked "skinheads" for their aggressiveness, society considered them radicals and hooligans. But no one called them racists until that ill-fated interview on the popular show.
The subculture of "skinheads" has spread to all countries of the world. Each of them maintains an independent history of the skinheads' goals, their values, and their origin story. The definition of "skinhead" varies from country to country.
In the mid-1980s, Europe was shaken by a severe crisis, which can be considered a consequence of the "crisis of the 70s" that had erupted earlier in America. Governments played the Cold War; businesses closed; there was no money, and the standard of living fell more and more. This was reflected in the music: 84 year old bands began to compose more evil songs than those that sounded before. The musical subculture reflected the mood in society - tension and distrust of governments and their policies.
Politicians of various states have carried out a successful campaign to "advertise" the "skinhead atrocities" among the population of Europe, about their fascist "essence", and so on. As a result, the attitude of society towards the "skinhead" movement changed to a very negative one, and the movement began to wane. In the eyes of the townsfolk, "neo-Nazi" organizations have increasingly become associated with the "skinhead" movement. This continued until the end of the 80s.
In the late 80s and to this day, a new big manifestation of the "traditional" skinhead values of the 60s began. It happened in England, America and most of Europe. It entailed a new confrontation between classical (traditional) and non-traditional (neo-fascist, anarchist and communist) skins.
The third wave was the skinheads of the mid-90s. There was a sign of "Civil War" in the "skinhead movement". Many of those who became "skinhead" more than 15 years ago began to appear on the streets, to participate in the development of "skinhead culture". 17-18 year old "punks" began to shave their heads, getting rid of the "Iroquois" and "garbage heaps".
Modern "skinheads" of Europe and the West are a mixture of "hard-mod / rudeboys" (hard mods / rudeboys) of the late 60s, and "punk / hard-core" (punk / hardcore) skins of the early 80s . Their musical tastes range from "reggae" to modern "hardcore", as well as "ska", "rocksteady", "rockabilly", "punk", "Oh!". Some only listen to "reggae", some only listen to "Oh!" or "punk". Of course, they are interested in their roots, the culture of “mods”, “scooters”, etc., but still, for most skinheads of the late 90s, this is an example from history.
In our country, the situation at the moment is as follows: we have few "red skins" (communist), SHARP skins, classic (traditional) skins. In Russia, the word "bonhead" is almost never used. "Bonehead" (bone head) is a term used by classic and other skins to refer to any "were-skinheads" who hold racist or neo-fascist views. The concept of "skinhead" in 99 cases out of 100 in Russia is associated with neo-Nazism and racism
.
For reference:
1. SHARP-skins are "skinheads against racial prejudice" (SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice), they appeared in New York (USA) in the late 80s. Movements that share the ideology of "skinheads against racial prejudice" are SCAR, SPAR, RASH, HARP and others. There are Chinese, Hawaiian, Japanese movements from other countries, whose ideology is similar to SHARP skins. They wore "S.H.A.R.P." with a Trojan helmet - the same orange badge that Trojan Records put on their records thirty years ago. The Sharps were proud of the fact that the fire lit by skinheads back in 1969 burns in their hearts.
2. "Redskins" or "RASH" - "Skinheads against Nazism and the power of capital" or "Red and Anarchist Skinheads". They appeared independently of the "sharps" a few years after them. RASH are leftist, have no nationality, are against racial purity and support anyone who needs their support. Their very name suggests that they are anarchists - they want freedom of action for everyone and everyone and strive to eliminate any pressure on people.
If we consider schematically the history of the "skinhead movement", then we can come to the conclusion that neo-fascist organizations that use elements of the culture of the "skinhead movement" are by definition not.
Developing over the three stages we have discussed above, the contemporary skinhead culture movement has been forced to remain a non-political (apolitical) and non-racist movement. However, this position led to the emergence of two “twin movements”, which use elements of the classical (traditional) “skinhead culture”, but are not them.
The red skinhead movement is a group of organizations representing different political and social groups, with different goals, but having one common and important goal - the destruction of the bonhead movement. Even 15 years ago, the “red skinhead” movement could be described as a radical wing of the classic “skinhead movement”. But during this time, the “red movement” has gone too far from being apolitical, and every year it grows more and more closely with youth organizations of the communist and anarchist persuasion. Representatives of the "Reds" criticize the representatives of the classical (traditional) "skinhead movement" for their apathy.
The bonhead movement is an artificially created neo-fascist organization of the late 60s. Over the past decades, this movement, with elements of the skinhead movement fashion, has transformed into an active radical wing of neo-Nazi and racist organizations. At the moment, apart from the common fashion elements of "boneheads" and "skinheads", there is practically nothing in common.
It is worth noting that the movement of classical (traditional) skinheads promotes apoliticality, are not racist organizations and are more transformed into their initial stage - into an informal musical movement with their own attributes, culture of behavior and consumption. However, "classic skinheads" continue to be adherents of certain values:
You must be a patriot of your country;
- You have to work;
- you have to study;
- you can't be a racist;
Misconception #1 “Skinheads are a movement associated with fascism”
As we have established, having examined the history of the emergence and development of the "skinhead" subculture, the "skinhead movement" has nothing to do with neo-Nazi movements and neo-fascist organizations.
It is safe to say that "skinheads" fell victim to political intrigues in the late 70s, where neo-fascist parties successfully used the popularity of the movement among young people to increase the number of their adherents. "Traditionalists" became a victim of their absolute apoliticality and failed to promptly respond to the political provocation properly at the necessary moment. This situation repeated itself at the end of the 80s, when the state politicians of European countries launched a campaign against the "skinhead movement" as the culprit of all problems. It is worth noting that these are standard political tools that are very often used in politics in order to distract voters from the question "Where do our taxes go?" the question "Who is to blame for all the problems?".
Continuing to be an apolitical and youth subculture, the "skinhead movement" will be constantly considered by the media and the townsfolk as part of neo-fascism.
In order to refute the misconception that "skinheads are a criminal group and there is no culture there", let's look at music, fashion and tattooing in all the movements discussed in this article.
Music
We will not consider this direction in depth, because. We talked about it in the previous part of our article. Here are the differences in the musical preferences of "bonheads" and "skinheads".
It can be seen from the table that there are no common musical preferences for these two movements. It makes no sense to specifically consider the musical culture of the “skinhead movement”, because our work pursues other goals.
Fashion
"Suspenders" are an integral part of skinhead clothing. Suspenders were already worn by "hard mods" in the mid-60s, along with high boots and cropped jeans, even before the nickname "skinhead" (skinhead) was born. Such clothes were called "working class style". The presence of suspenders has always meant belonging to the working class.
Workers and laborers at the river docks dressed this way as early as the beginning of the 20th century. Suspenders were needed so that the shirt would not catch on anything. The word "braces" is translated from English as "fasteners", and in relation to clothing it can be translated as "construction fasteners".
Most of the "skinheads" of the first wave were engaged in heavy manual labor. The further they went, the more they moved away from the "always new and sophisticated clothes" worn by their predecessors - "fashions". Those who worked with hand winches on the docks needed durable and comfortable clothing that could, above all, ensure their safety. Boots with a strong steel toe could protect the legs from falling boxes or other heavy objects, braces pressed the clothes to the body and did not give her the opportunity to catch on anything or get into the screw winches. Jeans or simple canvas trousers made of strong fabric had strong double seams, and, finally, the shirt and jacket had pads on the shoulders that protected workers from rain and damp sea wind.
The names for clothing are notable, for example, a coat or jacket with an overlay on the shoulders was called a "donkey Jacket". The word "donkey" is translated as "winch", and the combination of these words means "winch jacket". Thin suspenders were not called "suspenders", as usual, but "braces" - this word had the additional meanings of "brackets" and "construction fasteners". The boots were called "boots", not "shoes", and so on. Skinheads wear solid-colored, unpatterned suspenders, usually black or dark red; brightly colored suspenders are less common. They are always thin, no more than two fingers wide, folded together. It's good if they have shiny locks and crocodiles.
By the way the suspenders are fastened on the back, there are two varieties - X and Y. Suspenders in the 60s looked like "X", today "Y" is more common. But it doesn't matter: someone wears X, and someone wears Y. Sometimes they make X turn into Y by fastening ribbons on the back nearby.
For the first time, a detailed description of the clothes of traditional skinheads was given by Hard as Nails and Zoot magazines in Scotland. They drew the attention of readers to the fact that skinheads at all times dressed differently. They had different clothes for the street and weekends. Meeting each other, they sometimes could not understand who they were dealing with, the differences were so strong. But there was nothing strange - no two people are the same. And no two skinheads are the same.
Other skinhead clothing, dating back to the days of mods, is meant to go to a concert or make a good impression. This is an English suit, with which you can wear all the same boots and suspenders, and with which a long coat is required in cold weather. Sometimes a hat is worn on the head, like those worn by the Rudie Boys.
At various times, skinheads have laughed at themselves by drawing monkeys in Ben Sherman shirts and Doctor Martens boots, blue work jeans and docker suspenders. Thus, they tried to show that it was not only about clothes. There must be something else in your head.
The skinhead community loves tattoos, but there are a limited number of images on this topic. Here are the most common ones.
A flying swallow tattoo means freedom. Often there are laurel wreaths of glory and glowing inscriptions "Oi!" - such drawings mean a lot to those who wear them. Sometimes drawings well known to other skinheads or record covers are reproduced.
Here is another example: this is the legend of the crucifixion of Christ, portrayed in this way. It means suffering, its original meaning is "crucified by capitalism". This drawing reflects the beliefs of the first wave of skinheads.
Its continuation is a "skin" rising from the grave, on the stone above which the inscription "Oi!" or a laurel wreath of glory. This drawing means that there is no death, and that the tradition will never be stopped.
The birthplace of these two drawings is Scotland, the city of Edinburgh. In the Middle Ages, Catholic "myths" about ghosts and spirits were widespread there, as now about skinheads. The inhabitants were so sure of their existence that they even covered the graves with stone slabs. In the twentieth century, when hypocrisy became clear, these drawings appeared.
Quote: “Killed by modernity, he will return” is a protest against Catholic morality, where everything is controlled by external forces: a good god, a carrot stick and money. Against a world in which no one owes you anything from the start. And where no one cares about you. This only applies to traditional skinheads and only matters to some of us. As a rule, we do not like to talk about it. And let's not discuss it now." .
Most skinheads have a negative attitude towards patches. It is considered indecent to demonstrate one's belonging to the movement with stripes. Quote: “Most of us do not need patches - if you are aware of your belonging to us and know how to dress, your appearance will be more than enough. Sparkling boots, rolled up jeans, a plaid shirt and suspenders - what could be better than such clothes in the world? Why even stripes?
The bonhead movement adopted some of the fashion elements of the skinhead movement, such as shoes, jeans, suspenders, hairstyles, and jackets (usually leather). In addition, various stripes with Nazi swastikas, etc. are welcomed in the bonhead movement. (rice.)
Bonheads have a very obsessive attitude towards tattoos, as a rule, they try to make them a lot and of an aggressive fascist nature. Neo-Nazis have a definition of an “enemy” in terms of fashion (clothes and style), which must be destroyed. According to this scheme, it is necessary to search for and destroy the "enemy of the race." The movement of the traditional "skinheads" never had such a "portrait" and most likely never will. Among the "red skinheads" such an "enemy" is the "bonehead".
The traditional drink of the "skinhead culture" is "beer" ("ale"), the use of strong drinks is not welcome.
В движении «бонхэд» не существует какой-либо культуры употребления напитков, кроме запрета употребления «ниггерских» напитков. Russian "bonehead" prefers to use a true Slavic drink - vodka.
Misconception No. 2 “Skinheads are a criminal group and there is no culture there”
Consider the concepts of culture and subculture. Subculture- a system of values, behavior patterns, life style of any social group, which is an independent holistic formation within the framework of the dominant culture.
culture- a set of material and spiritual values, life ideas, patterns of behavior, norms, methods and techniques of human activity:
Reflecting a certain level of historical development of society and man;
embodied in subject, material carriers and transmitted to subsequent generations
Note that the skinhead movement has all the necessary subcultural elements. It is impossible to call a subculture a criminal group, just as it is impossible to call the activities of a criminal group a manifestation of a subculture. The bonhead movement is also a youth subculture, but it has nothing in common, except for suspenders, boots and hairstyles, with the skinhead movement.
The situation is frightening when hundreds of crimes are committed by "boneheads", and for them there are all the necessary articles in the administrative and criminal code of the Russian Federation, and law enforcement agencies shrug their shoulders and say: "So these are skinheads - what can we do ?!".
One can argue about the responsibility of the state to citizens for a very long time, but only the state has the monopoly right to use force (violence) to protect citizens. When officials refuse to fulfill their duties and offer citizens to cope with their problems themselves (without violating laws), this spurs a wave of myths and fears about the impossibility of solving the problem of “riot of skins”. After all, if the state cannot, what can a citizen do? Everyone has the right to be afraid.... And it's scary. After a while, philistine myths and fears increase the problem and complicate it.
Let's try to consider delusion No. 3 "The problem of skinheads' rampage is impossible to solve."
Misconception No. 3 "The problem of the" rampage "of skinheads is impossible to solve"
We agree that the problem of growing radicalism and illegal behavior cannot be solved. Moreover, it is impossible to decide: if you do nothing and do not understand what you are facing. Let's try to analyze what we are faced with and what can be done.
Let's try to look at the problem from different points of view. Let us quote officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (//News.ru, February 4, 2003). “The tactics and methods of their [bonhead] actions have changed. Skinheads switched to tactics, as we call it, "point strikes." According to the representative of the GUUR, skinheads do not have a single organization. “There are many varieties in the movement itself - Nazi skins, privateer skins and others. The only thing that unites them is the incitement of ethnic hatred by calling for violence.”
“There are between 15,000 and 20,000 skinheads in Russia. The movement includes disparate groups whose numbers fluctuate. Thus, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, there are about 5,000 active participants in this movement and about 100 leaders of various levels in the capital region. In St. Petersburg, there are about 3,000 skinheads and 17 neo-fascist organizations on the preventive list. ...According to him, various media provide them with considerable support in this. And, as a rule, agitation acts on 13-17-year-olds. That is why, according to Komarov, the Ministry of Internal Affairs concentrates its work "not on bringing the maximum number of extremists to criminal responsibility," but on operational and preventive activities. In particular, last November an attempt by neo-fascists to hold a congress dedicated to the birthday of the organizer of the skinhead movement, Ian Stuart, was thwarted, in which about 400 people wanted to take part.
According to RIA Novosti, in total in 2002, under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (inciting ethnic, racial or religious hatred), 71 criminal cases were initiated, 31 of them were sent to court, 16 people have already been punished.”
Let's look at some facts. Here are the titles of books and manuals "Hooligan style of hand-to-hand combat", "Use what is at hand", "Fight as it is", etc. All of these are detailed guides on how to conduct street fights, how to use improvised means, how to inflict maximum injury and much more. These reference books are studied and intensively studied. These guides are openly sold. Let's give some examples as an example: "You should wear a razor so as not to injure yourself ... ... it is better if the blade is fixed with tight-fitting pieces of clothing ... ... removing the weapon should not take much time ... ".
“...The razor strikes along their trajectory resemble glancing fist strikes .... ... eyes, forehead skin (bleeds heavily - blinds), neck, large arteries of the arms and legs, stomach .... ... the muscles of the peritoneum, often covered with a thick layer of fat, break through with a powerful circular blow ... ... there are no invulnerable places for a razor ... ... but it heals slowly, unlike wounds inflicted by a blunt weapon ... ".
“A headbutt to the face is much more dangerous than the previous blows - delivered quickly and at close range, it is almost irresistible. ... make a throw with a foot in the stomach ... ... keep the enemy at a distance convenient for such an attack ... ".
Neo-fascist groups study and constantly practice these tips. If we generalize the experience of creating radical groups, for example, blackshirts in Germany, brownshirts in Italy in the 30s, and modern youth groups, we can find a lot of identical signs. In the process of turning ordinary people into "stormtroopers" in the 30s and at present, the transformation of young people into members of organized criminal gangs has a lot in common.
According to Lifton's "doubling" concept, the best way to reinforce a new role model of behavior is to put it into practice and recruit new members. Based on this, it can be assumed with great confidence that every year the neo-fascist movement is becoming more cohesive and coordinated, and the number of attacks and crimes against "racial enemies" is also growing. The statistics of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and human rights organizations prove this.
It is worth noting that "bonheads" and "red skinheads" are actively fighting for an important resource to replenish their ranks. Football fans, mostly young people, are the best source for replenishing the ranks of their group. Practically at all major football matches, well-planned and prepared actions take place - beating and attacking the fans of the other team. Perhaps someone will say that the author exaggerates the problem of football fights, but then how to explain that every year the number of law enforcement forces at football matches is increasing (including riot police)?! How to explain the fact that the fans of the other team are taken out on special buses, accompanied by enhanced police protection?! “Security measures,” you say, and you will be right.
I can object that only by protecting and allowing the activities of criminal youth groups under the guise of certain subcultures, the state deepens the problem of the growth of radicalism in youth subcultures.
Football massacres are a phenomenon of recent years, and this problem did not exist before. What are officials doing wrong? What allows the problem to take on a larger scale? Misunderstanding and struggle not with the source of the problem, but with the consequences. At the moment, methods of misleading society are being used. We are offered a new brand of evil - "skinheads", equating it with an incurable disease, such as "AIDS".
In this article, the author set the goal of explaining the brand "skinheads" not from the position from which it is offered to us by officials and many media outlets, but from the position of a youth subculture that is not directly related to the lawlessness being committed. "Skinheads" is a youth subculture that arose as a protest against public morality and which is focused on its values. I note - on civic values, among which there will once be no place for racial intolerance.
There is a problem of the lack of control over the existence of illegal radical, often criminal groups that call themselves "Aryan skinheads", but, in fact, are neo-Nazi groups. Perhaps officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation should turn their attention to the principle of "justice and irreversibility of punishment", and perhaps in the near future our country will stop beating people of a different, dissimilar culture.
With hope for the best
Vershinin Mikhail Valerievich
Psychologist, exit consultant
[email protected]
09.01.2004
By publishing this article, the Author does not pursue commercial purposes, but acts solely within the framework of scientific research, expressing a subjective opinion without the purpose of discrediting the mentioned legal (individual) persons, and reporting deliberately false results. The author does not pursue the goal of popularizing his ideas in the light of the consequences of the terrorist acts that took place in Russia and the world.
Note. Author: J. Lifton is an American psychologist who developed the concept of personality duplication in his book Nazi Doctors: Medical Murder and the Psychology of Genocide. This research led to a more accurate understanding of how people who are mentally and physically healthy, educated and idealistic can quickly become fanatics of movements whose entire ideology and activities directly contradict their original views of the world. Such a sharp and deep resocialization of the individual is the result of a specific adaptive reaction under conditions of extreme group pressure and manipulation of basic human needs. Lifton called it "a doubling". Doubling consists in dividing the system of one's own "I" into two independently functioning wholes. The separation occurs because at some point the member of the group is confronted with the fact that his new behavior is incompatible with the pre-group self. The behavior demanded and rewarded by the totalitarian group is so different from the "old self" that the usual psychological defenses (rationalization, repression, etc.) are not enough for life functioning. All thoughts, beliefs, actions, feelings and roles associated with being in a destructive cult are organized into an independent system, a partial "I", which is fully consistent with the requirements of this group, but this does not happen by the free choice of the individual, but as an instinctive reaction of self-preservation in almost unbearable - psychologically - conditions. The new partial "I" acts as a whole "I", eliminating internal psychological conflicts.
Recently, more and more often we hear about skinheads. They are talked about on TV screens, described in newspapers and magazines. And in such a huge amount of information it is very difficult to understand, to find a real answer to the question "skinheads - who are they?". Are they dangerous to society? What are their main ones Let's try to answer these questions together today.
What is a subculture
Representatives of a certain youth subculture are teenagers who dress in a peculiar way, listen to certain music, and have their own jargon. They have their own pattern of behavior. They always arise spontaneously and, most often, they try to oppose themselves to the older generation.
Representatives of subcultures are far from always aggressive, cruel, etc. The fact is that with a closer acquaintance with serious publications and books about skinheads, there is an understanding that the picture drawn in our imagination by the media representatives is very far from reality.
Skinheads - a subculture that arose spontaneously
The very word "skinhead" came to us from the English language. Translated, it means "bald head" ("skin head"). At first, Western youth became interested in this direction. Over time, teenagers from other countries also joined the movement, as a result, it spread throughout the world. Already in the sixties of the last century, everyone knew Subculture continues to exist to this day. It is worth noting that the subculture, as such, is neither an ideological nor a political organization. Only in rare cases can it be associated with any movement or party.
Russian skinheads
Today, this subculture is very popular in our country. Skinheads first appeared in Russia in 1991. They were students of Moscow technical schools and vocational schools, teenagers living in the capital and Leningrad.
Are Russian skinheads different from Western ones? Who is this? Ordinary youth united spontaneously? Not really. Despite the fact that in our country the economic crisis was even worse than in England after the war, the skinhead movement in Russia did not appear naturally. Our teenagers were greatly influenced by Western mass culture. This just explains that the offspring of ordinary locksmiths and electricians sported suspenders and dockers' boots from England.
Russian skinheads are somewhat different. The Western-influenced subculture has them shouting about their people and country in foreign languages, waving American Confederate and German flags. True, this is done by representatives of one of the subspecies of this subculture - bonheads.
Skin directions
Like any other, this youth subculture has several directions. Skinheads are different. There are red skins that have their own website and even have their own magazine called Blasted Sky. A separate direction is anti-fascist skins. Representatives of this movement even guarded the concerts of rap artists, who are considered their sworn enemies by neo-Nazis. Such an event is called skin security.
However, very little is said about the various directions of this subculture to almost anyone. Television announcers, journalists, publicists, everyone who likes to discuss fascism, neo-Nazism and racism, prefer not to mention that there are anti-fascist skins. Therefore, in Russia (and in the West too), bonheads are the most famous.
Bonheads in Russia
So, everyone knows skinheads. Who are they and why are they being talked about in all the media? The whole demeanor and style of their life is copied from Western models. They dress and look at life the same as their Western counterparts, listen to the same music and prioritize the same values in life. However, there is still a difference. Skinheads (bonheads) in Russia refer to the Aryan nations not only the American Anglo-Saxon white people and European peoples, but also the Slavic peoples (primarily Russians).
It should be noted that Russian skinheads are seriously mistaken. The subculture in Europe is different from ours. In other countries, skinheads do not at all agree that Russians can be attributed to the Aryan nation. After all, we are “racially inferior” to them.
However, both Western and Russian bonheads are under the tutelage of other, "adult" organizations. They are skillfully controlled by representatives of the ultra-right and neo-Nazi movements.
Appearance
Every subculture has its own external differences. Skinheads, who are sometimes scared away, just follow certain traditions. This is how, by their standards, a real skin should look like:
- A real Aryan with blond hair, a straight thin nose and gray eyes. Of course, there may be slight deviations from the main type. For example, the eyes can be light brown or blue, or the hair is slightly darker than light blond. However, the general background must be preserved.
- The head must be completely shaved or cut very short. Their hairstyles are not like the hairstyles of bandits or policemen. The skinhead has the same length of hair all over the head. Bangs, strands, etc. are not allowed. The main purpose of such a hairstyle is to prevent the enemy from grabbing your hair in a fight.
- Almost 100% of skinheads have a lean physique. It is simply impossible to meet a representative of this subculture who is obese.
- Wear only functional clothing. First of all, skinheads are recognized by army high boots. Preference is given to the famous "Grinders". Such shoes serve as a kind of weapon. Sometimes they wear but more often they prefer black skinny jeans tucked up to their boots. The belts have heavy buckles. Some guys wear suspenders. The jackets are black, made of slippery fabric, without a collar.
- You will never see baubles, chains on the neck, piercings on a skinhead. Even if a guy puts on a swastika pendant, you should know that this is not a real representative of the skinhead subculture. In this form, he is no longer a fighter. Not to mention, it's hard to get into a fight when your ears, lips, nose, etc. are pierced.
- A real skinhead doesn't drink, doesn't smoke and will never use drugs. Meanwhile, skinheads often adorn bare skulls and whiskey with aggressive tattoos.
These are the main signs of a representative of this subculture. Something may vary, but in small, insignificant details.
