Skinhead culture today usually brings up images of violent or racist gangs with shaved heads, however skinhead subculture had more humble beginnings. Skinhead roots began in the mid 60’s in Britain, when two other subcultures mingled to create skinheads: ‘Mods’, who were mostly middle class Britons that took much of their fashion tastes from the states. They were deeply influenced by the music scene and for the most part enjoyed R&B, and blues music; The other half of the emergence of the skinhead subculture was the ‘Jamaica rude boys’, who frequently listened to reggae and were also influenced by fashion, in which they wore nice clothes and suits . Self- image was very important to the skinhead subculture. The namesake of the culture came from the shaved head, in which a theory arose that it was done to avoid hair pulling or hair getting in the way during street fights. The look of short hair, collared shirts, jackets and boots gave uniformity to the culture and identity with each other . The Skinhead’s way of dressing represented both a ‘caricature and re-assertion of solid male, working-class toughness’. This was due to many factors linked to a decline in working-class communities. One example was the large scale immigration into these areas, mainly the East End, by poorer immigrants, who were perceived by the skinheads as destroying their communities and taking their jobs. In order to deal with this, the skinheads were involved in reclaiming territory. Many skinheads started to feel undermined by the middle class and decided to rebel against them in a bid to feel accepted . The skinhead culture was revitalized in the 70’s, and was largely influenced by the punk music phenomenon. This was when branches of the skinheads startin...
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...orking-class communities, partly due to large scale immigration into these working class areas . The skinheads were involved in reclaiming territory as many skinheads started to feel undermined by the middle class and decided to rebel against them in a bid to feel accepted. In the 70’s, the skinhead culture remerged largely influenced by punk music. The subculture started branching off into smaller sections some who were involved in soccer hooliganism, racist ideals and other violence or “neo-Nazi” ideas . Today, these are the images of the skinheads that come to the minds of many when they see a group of people with shaved heads, and although popular culture today has labelled skinheads as racist and violent groups with political impact, their history in embedded in a subculture or working class individuals with a taste for soul music, and a desire for identity.
The MS13 is a perfect example of a counterculture. They are a world within themselves. The gang is very organized and structured; there is hierarchy with the gang. There is a significant amount of money flow within the gang. A few ways the gang obtains money is by drug dealing, illegal weapons, vendors pay the gang to work in their territories and for their protection, and drug dealers also pay the gang to earn the right to sell drugs in their territories. There are laws and rules that a gang member must abide by. One very strict rule for a gang member is silence. If a gang member becomes informant and it is found out that they are, it will more than likely result in death for the informant. The breaking of laws and rules are punishable, even by death. They have a law system and law enforcement of their own. Check courting is a punishment served by the gang to gang members who break the laws of the gang. There are initiations one must endure to become a member of the gang. Jumping in is one of the initiations, a brutal thirteen second beating by multiple people at the same time. (World’s Most Dangerous Gang) There is a communication system within the gang. They use stacking to communicate, tattoos, graffiti, and an overall dialect that is unique to the gang. This counterculture exists internationally inside and outside of prison walls. Within the gang there are individual cliques, but when threatened they will come together and fight alongside one another. It is instilled in a gang member to kill to maintain territory and to acquire new territories. T...
William J. Chambliss, a sociologist, wrote an article called The Saints and the Roughnecks. Chambliss discusses the Saints as a group of upper-middle class white kids who society perceived as good because of their social status’ and the fact that they were well dressed and well mannered. The roughnecks on the other hand, were not well mannered, and not- rich, who society recognized as troublemakers, even though they both act similarly. This can be connected to the Crips and the Bloods by the similar treatment the African Americans receive compared to the roughnecks. This recognition as being a roughneck makes it much more difficult to get a job...
People, which are frightened and angry in the slums may belong to gangs in search of a haven They did not find it in a just society. Such a society, it creates a conflict between cultures, Conflict between British white majority and dark skin minority rather than merging and containment.
The Skinheads' neo-Nazi outlook and gang lifestyle give them a sense of power, belonging, and greatness over others, often in troubled environments and at an age when they are trying to find their place in their world.
It is surprisingly difficult to pinpoint the origin of street gangs. This may be because of the inherent nature of gangs: a group of individuals who come together for the same purpose and in the case of str...
Surprisingly, little has been written about the historical significance of black gangs in Los Angeles (LA). Literature and firsthand interviews with Los Angeles residents seem to point to three significant periods relevant to the development of the contemporary black gangs. The first period, which followed WWII and significant black migrations from the South, is when the first major black clubs formed. After the Watts rebellion of 1965, the second period gave way to the civil rights period of Los Angeles where blacks, including those who where former club members who became politically active for the remainder of the 1960s. By the early 1970s black street gangs began to reemerge. By 1972, the Crips were firmly established and the Bloods were beginning to organize. This period saw the rise of LA’s newest gangs, which continued to grow during the 1970s, and later formed in several other cities throughout the United States by the 1990s. While black gangs do not make up the largest or most active gang population in Los Angeles today, their influence on street gang culture nationally has been profound.
The KKK was set up to build an all white society based on Christian beliefs. They claim that
The KKK is a movement that has been very controversial since the Civil War. The Klan as they call themselves was created as a result of the occupation of Federal troops in the South. The KKK's purpose at the time was to provide the people of the south with the leadership to bring back the values of Western Civilization that was taken from them. In the 1920's the Klan had its most popular era. At this time the KKK was the most active politically then it has ever been in history. The KKK still exists today as a brotherhood and a new White racial community that lives and functions by the ideals it promotes. Today the Klan is in its 5th era and continues to be America's oldest and most effective White Christian Fraternal organization.
Many of us know the Ku Klux Klan as a group who used violence and cruelty to daunt former slaves. What people often do not know is that the Ku Klux Klan made its comeback in the early 1920’s. This version of the Ku Klux Klan focused on the moral and ethical wrong doing. Although the terror was still brought on the minorities. Many of the three-million members of the Klan took part in rallies, parades, and they even advocated for republican candidates during elections. Women also played a bigger role in the Klan, considering they began receiving the right to vote. They even went as far as to create the Women’s Ku Klux Klan (WKKK). Their views matched the men of the Klan at most times, but they also sought to fix things in the sphere of education and children. Some parts of the Women’s Ku Klux Klan found homes for youth and raised money for less fortunate families in the Klan. These women mostly took ideas of the men of the Klan and did their own work on that
Cries ring out in the dead of night from the black people of the southern states in Tennessee, as mysterious figures in white robes with hoods ride on their horses. To most they were thought of as the Confederate soldier’s ghosts riding and terrorizing the blacks. People wanted to know who these mysterious riders are and why they are terrorizing the black people of the south. Since they were wearing all white robes they could not tell their identity leading to more confusion. They became known as the Invisible Empire due to the fact that there were hundreds of them but nobody knew who they really were. Later in the Invisible Empires history we find out that these mysterious ghost riders are a part of the Ku Klux Klan. The Ku Klux Klan was an organization meant to preserve the southern way of life. They use forms of intimidation to scare the black people such as riding through the night on horses. It was first started as something for ex-confederate soldiers to do since they were not fighting the war anymore but soon these small threats and intimidation turned into a violent hate group. Through the Ku Klux Klan’s history we see its practices and beliefs evolve from a fun, social organization to a worldwide feared hate group.
Hailer, Julie A. A Loss of Traditions: The Emergence of American Indian Youth Gangs. Petaluma, CA: National Indian Justice Center, 1998. Print. Hazlehurst, Kayleen M., and Cameron Hazlehurst. Gangs and Youth Subcultures: International Explorations.
The Ku Klux Klan, was an extremist group that formed during the 1800’s. They used torture to gain power, especially in the South. They were a group of white men that shared the same political views and goals. They formed between December of 1865, and the Summer of 1866 in Pulaski Tennessee. Their original idea was to be a brotherhood, but that quickly changed. The Klan did not realize their potential at first, but they realized they could have as much power as they wanted if they worked for it, and thats what they did. They met in secret to plot their heart breaking attacks on African Americans, Republicans and many others. Finally, in the 1870’s laws were passed to limit their deadly actions. In 1869 they had earned notoriety and nationwide
Since the war in Britain the most recurrent types of moral panic has been associated with the emergence of various form of youth (originally almost exclusively working class, but often recently middle class or student based) whose behaviour is deviant or delinquent. To a greater or lesser degree, these cultures have been associated with violence. The Teddy Boys, the Mods and Rockers, the Hells Angels, the skinheads and the hippies have all been phenomena of this kind (Cohen, 2002). Youth appeared as an emergent category in post-war Britain, on one of the most striking and visible manifestations of social changes in the period. Youth...
The clothing also represents the breakdown of the society. To begin, most of the boys were wearing school uniforms and some were wearing choir robes. This shows they are educated, civilized young men, who are most likely from, or around the city. As time passes, the boys do not remain fully clad. They shed their shoes and shirts. Their hair grows longer, and they are dirtier. This resembles their civilized ways beginning to fade. They also started using face paint for camouflage, and it eventually becomes a ritual.
One type of racist gangs is the Skinheads. Skinheads take their name and style from British working class gangs from the 1970's. A shaved head is a characteristic of this style. Not all skinheads believe in supremacy of the white race. The skinheads who do believe in white supremacy are believed to be apart of the fastest growing hate group in the United States. The numbers of hate groups seem to be declining. The fastest growing hate group consists mostly of young people from the ages 16 to 25. White racism is a social problem. Membership of the 125-year-old Klu Klux Klan is at an all time low. The Klan was formed in the south after the Civil War. Members of the Klan often hanged or burned blacks. Few skinheads have joined the Klan and many have joined a group called WAR....