American Skinheads
The closely shaved scalp and spouting white-supremacist beliefs are difficult to miss. Indeed, American skinheads have carved out a niche for their radical and very violent approach to what they deem as social and racial injustice, much the same way the Ku Klux Klan has achieved for its members throughout the twentieth century. As the world continues to spiral toward complete and utter eradication, there exists a select sector of the population that refuses to allow this to happen without at least a good fight. American skinheads have long been at the forefront of controversy in their indignation toward racial intolerance. These ordinary citizens believe the very social bureaucracy that it is supposed to protect is deceiving the entire country – and even the world. They staunchly support the idea of running headlong into the alleged racial problem, wheeling firearms and taking control, just as much as they believe this to be the only way that white supremacy will ever dominate social thought. "Skinheads have a view of the world; it may be coarse, but it is not empty" (Mousavideh 70).
I. LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
While their efforts are born out of a desire to protect their particular race, American skinheads have been credited with scores of violent offenses, often inappropriately representing their ultimate cause. It is with great respect and dedication to their race that these militants work toward defending the world from negative impact of racial integration; however, in spite of their underlying desire to clean up the social wrongdoing, their actions oftentimes prove detrimental to their quest. Indeed, it can readily be argued that American skinheads are no different than any other militia group when...
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A few years ago, my mother told me something thought provoking: we had once lived on the same block as the leader of the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. That had been in Charlotte, North Carolina, around 1994. The Ku Klux Klan, according to Blaine Varney in Lynching in the 1890’s, used to “…set out on nightly ‘terror rides’ to harass ‘uppity Negroes’….” They are far more infamous, however, for their “lynching”—nightly “terror rides” that included murder—of African Americans. Varney tells us lynching levels reached their pinnacle in 1892, with 161 recorded murders that year. In modern times, most Americans would agree that the Klan, along with any form of white supremacy, has no place in society—and pointing out its survival is a good way to imply that we, as a people, are still not perfect.
Hooded Americanism: The First Century of the Ku Klux Klan: 1865 to the Present by David Chalmers records the history of the Ku Klux Klan quite bluntly, all the way from its creation following the civil war, to the early 1960’s. The author starts the book quite strongly by discussing in detail many acts of violence and displays of hatred throughout the United States. He makes a point to show that the Klan rode robustly throughout all of the country, not just in the southern states. The first several chapters of the book focus on the Klan’s creation in 1865. He goes on to discuss the attitude of many Americans following the United State’s Civil War and how the war shaped a new nation. The bulk of the book is used to go through many of the states, and express the Klan’s political influence on both the local and state governments. The author starts with Texas and Oklahoma, and goes through the history of the Klan geographically, finishing with New Jersey and Washington. The author stresses that the KKK did not just commit acts of violence towards minorities, but also carried political power. He continues to discuss the impact of the Klan on Civil Rights movements in the 1960’s, and various other important political controversies between the 1920’s and 1970’s. Towards the middle of the book, David M. Chalmers focuses on portraying the feelings of governments and state legislatures, as well as normal citizens towards the Klan. To do this more effectively, the author uses excerpts and quotes from editorials and newspapers, along with several dozen pictures. The conclusion of the book was used mainly as an overview of all of the major incidents and deaths involving the Klan, and how their persistence has allowed them to still exist today despite a lack of resources and support.
In the Northwest, skin violence became almost routine in the late eighties. Three Portland, Oregon skins beat an Ethiopian immigrant to death in November 2008 And the Portland police said the city was experiencing six or seven skinhead crimes a week during March 2009.
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This week’s readings focus on the pathways through which prejudice comes to manifest as systemic racism as it is distributed across uneven power dynamics. Mark Totten’s (2009) work serves as an example of academic material contributing to culturally accepted, but unproven attitudes, beliefs, and expectations. The issues surrounding Totten’s unfounded association between FASD and gangs are discussed more specifically in “Moving beyond the Simple: Addressing the “Misuse” of the FASD-Gang Link in Public Discourse” (MBTS). Here, I reflect on my own experience reading Totten’s work – addressing issues more broadly, posing relevant questions, and proposing future directions of study.
In 2014, Dr. Wallace Best wrote a candid article for the Huffington Post discussing what he deemed as the irrational fear of black bodies. The context surrounding this critique stemmed from the surge of black men dying by white police officers. In the article, Dr. Best provided historical insight into this deeply rooted, unwarranted anxiety that white Americans have used as probable cause to commit violent acts against blacks, as well as systemic control over black men as a means of protection to maintain societal order. With this assertion, Dr. Best offered a critical analysis in understanding the fanatical need to preserve ownership over black movement due to this ubiquitous threat of black skin and the African American male. However, what
A long-standing issue in America is racism with Caucasians historically being the dominant race. Although racism is not as severe of an issue as it was in the past, even today there is still a population of people, known as White Supremacists, that believe Christian Caucasians are supreme over all other collective groups. There are many White Supremacist groups, which have nuances among them. For example, some are politically focused trying to only have certain officials elected, while others are religiously focused trying to further their religious ideals. Some are even radical as well going so far as to harass and even murder those who are not like them. One of the groups focusing specifically on religion is the Aryan Nations. Aryan Nations, a religiously driven, American white supremacist group, perverts biblical text to rationalize their beliefs for themselves and recruitment of more members. Members of the Aryan Nations believe in racism, segregation, and have acted on their beliefs.
This is not to say that neo-Nazis or skinheads do not partake in criminal hate activities. By far the largest determinant of hate crimes is racial bias, with African Americans the group at greatest risk. In 1996, 60%, were promulgated because of race, with close to two-thirds (62%) targeting African Americans. Furthermore, the type of crime committed against this group has not changed much since the 19th century; it still includes bombing and vandalizing churches, burning crosses on home lawns, and murder. Ethnic minorities often become targets of hate crimes because they are perceived to be new to the country even if their families have been here for generations, or simply because they are seen as different from the mainstream population.
In this world today, hate is becoming increasingly more abundant, especially as it concerns race. Whether it be an unarmed black man shot by a white police officer or the use of racial slurs towards someone, it seems like racism is all around us. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, it shows a little girl named Scout using racial slurs. Racism is so culturally accepted in the town that it’s okay to use racial slurs such as the N-Word that even Atticus, a lawyer representing a black man falsely accused of rape, uses it a couple of times. Earlier this year, the Ku Klux Klan, a group of white supremacists, held a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and proved that racism isn’t a thing of the past. In order to combat racism, groups of like-minded individuals with a common goal of making the world a more accepting place must come together to stand up
Racist and racism are provocative words in American society. To some, they become curse words. They are descriptive words of reality that cannot be denied. Some people believe that race is the primary determinant of human abilities and capacities and behave as if racial differences produce inherent superiorities. People of color are often injured by these judgements and actions whether they are directly or indirectly racist. Just as individuals can act in racist ways, so can institutions. Institutions can be overtly or inherently racist. Institutions can also injure people. The outcome is nonetheless racist, if not intentional (Randall).
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