Editing Skinhead (section)

==Racism, anti-racism, and politics==
[[File:1. Mai 2013 in Hannover. Gute Arbeit. Sichere Rente. Soziales Europa. Umzug vom Freizeitheim Linden zum Klagesmarkt. Menschen und Aktivitäten (111).jpg|thumb|[[Anarchist]], [[anti-fascist]] and [[anti racism|anti-racist]] skinheads in [[Hannover]], Germany]]

The early skinheads were not necessarily part of any political movement, but as the 1970s progressed, many skinheads became more politically active and acts of [[Racism|racially-motivated]] skinhead violence began to occur in the United Kingdom. As a result of this change within the skinheads, far right groups such as the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]] and the [[British Movement]] saw a rise in the number of [[white power skinhead]]s among their ranks.<ref name="Soundtrack" /> By the late 1970s, the mass media, and subsequently the general public, had largely come to view the skinhead subculture as one that promotes racism and [[neo-Nazism]].<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Skinhead |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/skinhead |date=15 January 2024}}</ref> The white power and neo-Nazi skinhead subculture eventually spread to [[North America]], [[Europe]] and other areas of the world.<ref name="Soundtrack" /> The mainstream media started using the term ''skinhead'' in reports of racist violence (regardless of whether the perpetrator was actually a skinhead); this has played a large role in skewing public perceptions about the subculture.<ref>Osgerby, 1998, 65</ref> Three notable groups that formed in the 1980s and which later became associated with white power skinheads are [[White Aryan Resistance]], [[Blood and Honour]] and [[Hammerskins]].<ref name="Soundtrack" />

[[File:Crucified Skinhead.svg|thumb|A crucified skinhead, a symbol used to convey a sense of societal alienation or persecution against the skinhead subculture. According to the [[Anti-Defamation League]], it is used by both racist skinheads as well as anti-racist skinheads, and it can be considered a hate symbol in certain contexts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Crucified Skinhead, Hate Symbols Database |url=https://www.adl.org/hatesymbolsdatabase |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190908025154/https://www.adl.org/hatesymbolsdatabase |archive-date=8 September 2019 |access-date=2019-12-15 |website=Anti-Defamation League |language=en}}</ref>]]

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, however, many skinheads and [[Suedehead (subculture)|suedeheads]] in the United Kingdom rejected both the far left and the far right. This attitude was musically typified by [[Oi!]] bands such as [[Cockney Rejects]], [[The 4-Skins]], [[Toy Dolls]], and [[The Business (band)|The Business]]. Two notable groups of skinheads that spoke out against neo-Nazism and political extremism—and instead spoke out in support of [[Trojan skinhead|traditional skinhead]] culture—were the Glasgow Spy Kids in Scotland (who coined the phrase ''Spirit of '69''), and the publishers of the ''Hard As Nails'' [[zine]] in England.<ref name="Marshall, George 1996" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ska Party |url=http://www.skinheadheaven.org.uk/index.php/cuttings/49-ska-party-id-magazine-article-1988 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100407072641/http://www.skinheadheaven.org.uk/index.php/cuttings/49-ska-party-id-magazine-article-1988 |archive-date=7 April 2010 |access-date=31 August 2010 |publisher=Skinheadheaven.org.uk}}</ref>

In the late 1960s, some skinheads in the United Kingdom (including [[Black people|black]] skinheads) engaged in violence against [[British Asian|South Asian immigrants]] (an act known as ''[[Paki (slur)|Paki bashing]]'' in common slang).<ref name="autogenerated9" /><ref name="Marshall, George 1996">Marshall, George. ''Skinhead Nation''. ST Publishing, 1996. {{ISBN|1-898927-45-6}}, {{ISBN|978-1-898927-45-7}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Monty Montgomery of the Pyramids/Symarip interview |url=http://www.trojanrecords.net/articles/monty2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050929223759/http://www.trojanrecords.net/articles/monty2.htm |archive-date=29 September 2005 |access-date=31 August 2010}}</ref> There had, however, also been [[Anti-racism|anti-racist]] skinheads since the beginning of the subculture, especially in [[Scotland]] and [[Northern England]].<ref name="Marshall, George 1996" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=REDSKINS&nbsp;— The Interview, 1986 |url=http://www.sozialismus-von-unten.de/archiv/text/redskins.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100226075700/http://www.sozialismus-von-unten.de/archiv/text/redskins.htm |archive-date=26 February 2010 |access-date=31 August 2010 |publisher=Sozialismus-von-unten.de}}</ref>

On the far left of the skinhead subculture, [[Redskin (subculture)|redskins]] and [[Anarchism|anarchist]] skinheads take a militant [[anti-fascism|anti-fascist]] and pro-working class stance.<ref>{{Cite web |title=REVOLUTION TIMES HOMEPAGE – Revolution Times-Interview aus Autonom # 17 |url=http://www.geocities.com/revolutiontimes/rtint2.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027092023/http://www.geocities.com/revolutiontimes/rtint2.htm |archive-date=27 October 2009 |access-date=22 April 2015}}</ref> The phrase "[[all cops are bastards]]" was popularized among some skinheads by [[The 4-Skins]]'s 1982 song "A.C.A.B."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Groundwater |first=Colin |date=June 10, 2020 |title=A brief history of ACAB |url=https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/politics/article/acab-meaning |publisher=[[GQ]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ACAB |url=https://www.adl.org/education/references/hate-symbols/acab |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]]}}</ref> In the United Kingdom, two groups with significant numbers of leftist skinhead members were [[Red Action]], which started in 1981, and [[Anti-Fascist Action]], which started in 1985. Internationally, the most notable skinhead organization is [[Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice]], which formed in the New York City area in 1987 and then spread to other countries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 July 2007 |title=Skinhead Nation: The Big Apple Bites Back |url=http://www.skinheadnation.co.uk/sharpskinheads.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709164353/http://www.skinheadnation.co.uk/sharpskinheads.htm |archive-date=9 July 2007}}</ref>