From: nlns@igc.apc.org (New Liberation News Service)
Subject: NLNS: ANTI-RACIST SKINHEADS
Organization: The Ohio State University Department of Computer and Information Science
Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1992 14:39:51 GMT

/* Written  6:19 pm  Sep 29, 1992 by nlns in cdp:nlns.news */
/* ---------- "NLNS Packet 3.2 *** 9/28/92" ---------- */

Anti-Racist Skinheads Smash Stereotypes John Barkdull, The 
Madison Edge

(NLNS)--Tim and Brian are friends--intelligent, politically aware 
and committed, they have consciously devoted themselves to the 
task of combatting racism.
	Tim and Brian are skinheads.
	Tim and Brian call themselves anti-racist skinheads, saying 
that they believe that street-level "skinhead justice" is the best 
means of combatting racism and of fighting for the underdog. They 
are willing to put their bodies on the line, to "kick ass." as they put 
it, to silence and disempower racists, including other skinheads. 
They accepts that this means they risk injury, life, and 
imprisonment for what they believe. Tim says, "You have to be a man, 
stand up for yourself." Brian agrees.
	Tim has spent time in jail, been assaulted verbally, with 
blows, and even once with a knife. He has seen his complaints 
ignored by the police. He has been left bleeding and unconscious in 
the street after a confrontation with some "jocks" who had been too 
outspoken in their bigotry; he woke up in the hospital. He has done 
his share of damage, too--not surprising given his impressive size 
and build.
	Brian is younger, still in high school. He tells fewer war 
stories, but he is sharp, articulate, and committed as Tim. Both 
young men express a well-developed understanding of the historical 
roots of racism in America, of its pervasiveness, and of the political 
choice they have made. The sophistication comes unexpectedly from 
two so young, and all the more so because of the image skinheads 
have been given in the mass mind.
	Their view is that the racist hate groups have been around for 
a long time, always willing to use terror and violence. Tim and Brian 
argue matter-of-factly that such tactics require a commensurate 
response. They are committed to a street-level fight against racism, 
one seeking equality for all minoritiees, "by any means necessary." 
The means are simple: if someone expresses racist opinions, "we 
kick his ass."
	The skinheads, they say, began as a working-class lifestyle in 
England, marked by short hair, boots, and rugged clothing. The dress 
is intended to prepare in a most visible way for street-level combat. 
The genre migrated to the United States, where the skinheads split 
into two warring factions by 1988. Around this time, the Klan and 
neo-Nazis--some associated with Tom Metzger, the notorious leader 
of White Aryan Nation--found a few adherents among the skinheads. 
Previously, all of the skinheads had considered themselves 
defenders of the disadvantaged, and the arrival of such haters 
became cause for open struggle.
	Tim and Brian claim that the anti-racist skinheads far 
outnumber the Nazis and the Klan members. They consider the few 
who do associate with the white supremacists to be pawns in the 
racist game, the foot soldiers who dish out and take the knocks for 
others. The Klan, behind various fronts, now seek respectibility, but 
relies on right-wing skinheads to do its dirty work. What keeps the 
connection alive, despite the opposition of other skinheads, is 
money, including funds for legal help when foul deeds bring the 
police. The skinhead with links to the Nazis and the Klan also get 
more attention than the anti-racist skinheads, Tim says, because 
"hate sells,"  a blunt statement to which David Duke gives 
considerable credence.
	Adopting the anti-racist skinhead identity allows entry to a 
social network spanning the country. A skinhead can expect to find in 
most major towns and cities a place to stay and friends who will 
help. In the Midwest, this social network has a name: The Syndicate. 
It reaches from Detroit to Nebraska, including Madison, Milwaukee, 
and LaCrosse. The skinheads, says Tim, are "like family," of which 15 
to 20 serious members live in Madison.
	Certain signs are used to differentiate Nazi from anti-racist 
skinheads. "Laces and Braces," or shoelaces and suspenders of 
certain colors, are identifiers: White laces and red suspenders 
indicate a Nazi, yellow laces a cop-hater. Patches are used to signal 
an anti-racist skinhead.
	What effect do the anti-racist skinheads have? Tim and Brian 
believe that they are especially good at persuading Nazi skinheads to 
change their way. They find that most of the right-wingers join up 
out of a desire to belong to a group of toughs, or due to the noteriety 
arising from attention from such shows as Geraldo. This is far from 
a deep-seated committment, say the two. The Nazi skinheads, they 
say, will accept anyone who will go along with their ideas, however 
superficially. Yet, "if they are lying on the ground bleeding," they 
often change their minds, says Tim. "They wont fight for it. Beat 
them up and they aren't what they think they are."
	Brian says anti-racist skinheads are made of different stuff. 
"I'd rather stand my ground and not lose my pride or self-respect," he 
says.
	Sexism or sexual assault also bring out the crusader in these 
young men. They tell of a compatriot whi is now in jail for defending 
a woman subjected to rape. The rapist, they say, bragged of his 
exploit, gaining him a sound beating. This, Tim and Brian say, is an 
example of skinhead justice. (Learning the details of the story, the 
judge sentenced the skinhead to one year in the county jail rather 
than three in a state prison.)
	Tim and Brian emphasize that they do not pick fights, that they 
are not bullies or vigilantes. They do intend to finish fights thrust 
upon them, and they will initiate confrontations if in a good cause. 
Further, they expect their activity to increase when a prominent 
Madison Nazi skinhead leaves jail. "We'll be brawling a lot when he 
gets out," says Tim. They see this as merely a continuation of a long 
struggle. They've read widely on the history of racism in America, on 
the Black Panthers, on Malcolm X, an Bobby Seale, and this literature 
has helped to shape their committment.
	Some form of revolution is needed to eradicate racism, they 
say. The Klan has been here for over a hundred years, and racism for 
longer yet. Such groups are more than willing to use violence, so, 
they say, "we need to use violence and we need to use it now to stop 
racism."

The Madison Edge can be reached at PO Box 845, Madison WI 53701-
0845; (608) 255-4460.

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