From rebellion through rivalries to reformation

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They weren't called "Skinheads." Not yet, at least. In the Fifties, they were just the "boys next door," all-American kids with crew-cuts, trying to emulate their dads, who had close-cropped locks from service in the Korean War and World War II and who were seen as honorable, manly and patriotic. "Crew" cut was derived from the "flight-crew," whose bravado, clean-cut appearance and camaraderie had become legendary. In fact, long hair was a military no-no, since nothing was supposed to get in the way of seeing, hearing and fighting. In peacetime, sporting a crew cut and staying fit was a sort of a substitute for serving in uniform. Athletes, in particular, maintained a sleek, close-cropped appearance, which enhanced the image of prowess, self-worth and fraternity. Football players, on occasion, would shave their heads, entirely, as a kind of challenge to win a game or to display cut-above teamwork. In short, such early "Skinheads" had claim to being "the best," "the strongest" and the truest Americans.       The T-shirt was first worn as underwear by French soldiers in World War I, but was quickly adapted by American troops, becoming standard-issue in World War II. Civilians picked up the trend, wearing the T-shirt beneath their regular shirt, until John Wayne popularized wearing a T-shirt as an outer-garment in the Fifties. Those who would become future Skinheads picked up on the "macho" and "Cowboy" image, depicted by Wayne, as the casual, white shirts became a trademark, of sorts, for cutting-edge youth, thrust into street-battles against Negroes, Communists and, later, hippies vying to take over their schools, neighborhoods and government. Fade from Little Rock, with its fight against integration, to London, with its fight against immigration.         Young, post-war Brits were every bit cast from the same mold as their American counterparts, with their T-shirts and crew-cuts, except that London dock-workers had begun to cut their hair even closer, down to the very skin, as well as to wear "braces" or suspenders and boots as they performed the tough tasks of their trade. Since the docks were the arrival-point of non-white aliens and focus of English antagonism, the garb and look of dock-workers became known as an anti-immigrant and anti-integration statement and the workers, themselves, became known as Skinheads. Before long, You Skinhead came to refer to anyone who expressed intensely patriotic sentiments, particularly against incompatible foreigners. By mid-Sixties, as those duking it out against Africanization in America were called "segregationists," those fighting the same battle in England were known as "Skinheads."                The next milestone came as Skinheads began to use emblems, in addition to their basic Skinhead attire, as accouterments to their cause. Joe Pearce, editor of the Bulldog magazine, became a pioneer in popularizing the Cross of Saint George as a Skinhead insignia. The four-pointed ensign began to appear on pins, patches and T-shirts to signify not only "hope and glory" for England but for Skinheads. Flight-jackets were worn, a throw-back to the "flight-crews" which had inspired short-hair and brotherhood, in the first place, soon being covered with badges ranging from symbols of knights and army-units to historical landmarks and political associations. Skinheads had become what some might have considered to be the "consummate" Englishmen, sort of peacetime national guardsmen, patrolling the docks, bashing intruders and defending their turf, as none others could or would.         A Skinhead icon had become Parliamentarian Enoch Powell, who encouraged anti-immigrant sentiment, warning of "rivers of blood" if Africans were admitted to the country. But, just as Powell himself was ostracized by "mainstream" politicians, so were Skinheads. Until the National Front, which came into existence during the Seventies to combat immigration, began to receive Skinheads and elevate them in its ranks. In fact, usually "prim and proper" party-functions began to be dotted with flight-jackets, which soon became quite commonplace and acceptable, next to the most staid of button-down suits. Ian Stuart became a popular
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bandleader, hosting Rock Against Communism concerts and singing stirring, patriotic ballads, which came to be known as Skinhead Music. Since many Skinhead dock-workers also went without shirts on the job, the shirtless motif spilled over into concerts and political rallies, reviving the genre originated by Oswald Mosley, when Parliament banned the wearing of "political uniforms" by the British Union. Some Skinheads even suggested that "your skin is your uniform.”      Skinheads remained a localized phenomenon until 1985, when black-rioting brought droves of Skinheads into the streets at the Broad water Estates housing-project to show what fists and shaved heads could do, ...

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