Hate Group Paper - The Skinheads Movement (Research Paper Sample)

Hate Group Paper: The Skinheads Movement
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Hate Group Paper: The Skinheads Movement
With their origins in Great Britain in 1960’s, the Skinheads movement was founded and got its strong influence from hippies called the Hard Mods whose main members were youths from the ruling or middleclass Britons. Skinheads were also partly founded through reggae listening Jamaican immigrants known as Rudeboys. With the former concern focused on spiritual matters and mystical experiences while the latter on soul and reggae music and culture the current Skinhead emerged when the two groups merged living and interacting among the working class areas of Britain. This movement was started by poor youth getting their influence through punk culture and using their dress code such as wearing boots to make them associated with the lower class and irritate the ruling class’ youth (O.P.P HQ 2010). During the time they were less focused on protesting and racial prejudice was not their concern.
The skin heads gained popularity around 1970s to ‘80s through political affiliations getting the youth on their side especially those who were against exploitation often intent to use and control the working class. With extremists’ invasion on the rise, a lot of Skinheads were radicalised and sparked another sub-movement Ska introduced by Ska music (Ska 2-TONE). Skin head groups were quickly on the rise with this music type and they were anti-racists, anarchist, communist and anti-fascist affiliated focused on fighting capitalism to its end. They were against all systems of exploitations of the poor and low class edging for equalitarian and fair systems. This was observed through the groups like SHARP – Skinheads against Racial Prejudice and RASH – Red Anarchisit Skinheads. The Ska skinheads built their culture movement choosing this Jamaican music cultured form basing their black and white Ska non-racism symbol that meant blacks and whites racial unity (O.P.P HQ 2010). The sub-movements that had emerged during the period were the Suedeheads and the Smoothie and the Boot boy. They existed during the 70s and were absorbed into the larger sub-movements like when the Punks united with the Skinheads.
Skinheads’ movement short history highlights that their origins are neither fascists nor racists in nature with its earliest beginners were poor youth who were non-political but anti-system oriented. It’s evident that this political involvement was in order to shun fascists or racial prejudice and so Skinheads had very little against the multi-cultural and multi-cultural society then in UK. This rebellious subculture however is not what is projected by the Skinhead groups since the 1980s. Year after year since then, the racist skinheads have turned to violence to project their racial statement though the media and constantly making the headlines on news with their many forms of crime. Skinhead gangs in the United States have very different principles from their European founders and early Skinheads in the US, refocusing their target from rebelling against the system, the ruling or upper class to violence and racism.
With many racist skinhead groups on the rise, the message that they have relayed has become very clear where white youths with their shaved-heads and boots on have targeted the immigrants with criminal attacks that range from vandalism to as far as murder. Such are the "Boot Party skin" heads and "Curbing" or "curb job" that are known to attack the victim’s jaw or neck also stomp and kick their victims with steel-toed boots after beating them to the ground. Aggravated assaults have been reported like when a Confederate HammerSkins (CHS) organizing coordinator was behind the killings at a Sikh temple. The information was publicised to notify the public of their ideologies of hate which deny the rights to dignity, freedom and life to humans in America and those in any part of the world. the white supremacist group (CHS) with the help of the terrorist event organizing coordinator hold all white hate concerts to preach messages of pure hate through white supremacist bands like "Define Hate" and "Open season Australia." (R.E.A.L. Organization 2012),
In Tennessee, racist Skinheads have embraced technology spreading their racial influence to other unsuspecting youths. This was evident when there was an attempt by two Supreme White Alliance Skinheads to kill the then presidential candidate of the United States, Barrack Obama after attempting to go on a deadly shooting spree to kill eighty eight people and behead some fourteen African-Americans (S.P.L.C. 2013). Daniel cowart and Paul Schlesselman confessed of this attempt when they were arrested with possession of unregistered firearms that they were planning to perform their murderous acts. The agents of ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) and Crockett County were answering to a call to firearms violation incidence when they uncovered what could have resulted into the deadliest shooting spree ever (Heidi Beirich, 2008).
However, many of these Skinhead groups have no direct connection to less organized xenophobic youth groups, their networks are immerse all over the US and the smaller groups act as an important pool of ready recruits transforming them into more ideological groups in the process. The Southern Poverty Law Centre involved in the fight against the extremist organizations is already one of the means the US government is intervening to win the fight against the white supremacist groups by assisting the victims of violence and racism and also by offering programs aimed at educating and promoting tolerance (S.P.L.C. 2013). It has become vital to address and take action in the escalation of violence and racism and ways through which the number of racist youth groups could be controlled. Many of these youths join the groups against their wish or by peer influence and do not have the stomach for such violence (Tore Bjørgo et al., 2005). These youths could be aided by H...