Skinheads (Sort Of)
When I originally had the idea for this article, it was about skinheads. But as I thought more and more about it, I realized that wasn't the point. This may seem a little confusing, so let me start at the beginning.
The beginning was eight days ago at Quaker meeting. One lady at the meeting had a leading (that's what Quakers call it when they are moved to speak in meeting), one that she was trying unsuccessfully to hold back. She had recently built up the courage to see American History X, which is apparently about racist skinheads. It brought forth a lot of feelings she'd had about racism, about her experiences as a black woman in the US, and about many of the prejudiced-based problems we still face here in the States. It was a very powerful message, and it evoked so much response from the other friends that the meeting ran well past the scheduled end. There was one slight problem with it.
She equated skinheads with racists.
A lot of you are probably thinking "Yeah, so?" That's the problem. The media in the US focuses on racist skinheads, to the total exclusion of non-racist skinheads. Most people who haven't known many skinheads think all skinheads are racist. So while racists skinheads grab all the headlines, groups like SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice and Racially United SkinHeads are completely ignored. This little prejudice crops up a good bit in anti-racist efforts, which is a bit ironic.
So why do I care? Because I'm a white punker who was left bald by cancer. Sure, I'm getting old and don't hang out with the "scene" anymore, if there even is one. I've still got my spiked leather jacket, combat boots, and chains. A lot of people see me and think I'm a skinhead, and because of shoddy media coverage assume I'm racist. There have even been one or two times it has come close to violence because people thought (erroneously) that I was a racist.
Back to the meeting. I spent the whole meeting after the leading on racism trying to figure out how to point out the prejudicial statement about skinheads, without reducing the power of what had been said. I didn't want to reduce that power, because it is desperately needed. Anyone who doesn't think we have serious racial problems to solve in the US has their head so far up their ass that they're still trying to figure out who turned out the lights and took a dump on the floor.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there was no way to say it without hurting the power. I slowly began to realize what a minor issue it is. It hasn't even personally bothered me in a couple of years. But there I was, about to sidetrack the meeting with a minor issue about skinheads. Not that it shouldn't be dealt with, but we have bigger problems to deal with first.
If you look at racial politics in the US, you see that this is not an isolated incident. Frequently attempts to bridge the racial divide are sidetracked by minor issues, which only serve to get in the way of real progress. If we don't stay on target, we will never fix the racial problems in the US, or any of the other prejudicial problems we face.
So the next time your pet racial issue comes up, look at it closely.
Is it really that big a deal? If not, perhaps it can be put aside, to be
dealt with after the bigger problems are faced.
Last Modified 10/17/99
Created 10/17/99