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Brixton news, rumours and general chat - May 2017

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20170529_161455.jpg Few more photos. From south London. 20170529_161910.jpg

Anti racist demo. Skinheads were not racist. I was chatting to an old guy. He was a skinhead then. Said they were into Ska. He got on well with the black guys on his estate.
 
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Gramsci said:
Anti racist demo. Skinheads were not racist. I was chatting to an old guy. He was a skinhead then. Said they were into Ska. He got on well with the black guys on his estate.
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I would be caution romanticising skinheads however. I lived in Manchester in the 70s where they were more noted for "Paki bashing" and "Queer Bashing".
I guess gays and Asians were perceived as weak as well as "alien".

Really (IMHO) the whole skinhead thing is to do with what happens when people behave in a large group - where a perfectly innocuous person could become a murderer in a twinkling of an eye.

As we read every day in the Evening Standard regarding gang culture.

Interesting photos by the way.
 
editor said:
Any idea what this was all about? It was taking place around 8pm last night opp the tube.
View attachment 108008
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I don't KNOW - but at a guess it could be Lambeth for Europe who seem to have adopted Helen Hayes as their "community champion" for Brixton - which is a bit rough on the Greens and Lib Dems (and possibly the Chinese Plumber). Still she is the most unequivocally pro EU Labour candidate in Lambeth.
 
I guess they pick whoever they think is most likely to win out of the pro EU candidates. Although tbh it seems pointless them saying much outside of Vauxhall.
 
CH1 said:
I would be caution romanticising skinheads however. I lived in Manchester in the 70s where they were more noted for "Paki bashing" and "Queer Bashing".
I guess gays and Asians were perceived as weak as well as "alien".

Really (IMHO) the whole skinhead thing is to do with what happens when people behave in a large group - where a perfectly innocuous person could become a murderer in a twinkling of an eye.

As we read every day in the Evening Standard regarding gang culture.

Interesting photos by the way.
Click to expand...

The Skinhead subculture is complicated. A good film on this is Shane Meadows film This is England.

This Is England - Wikipedia


This Is England is a 2006 British drama film written and directed by Shane Meadows. The story centres on young skinheads in England in 1983. The film illustrates how their subculture, which has its roots in 1960s West Indies culture, especially ska, soul, and reggae music,[4][5] became adopted by the far-right, especially white nationalists and white supremacists, which led to divisions within the skinhead scene. The film's title is a direct reference to a scene where the character Combo explains his nationalist views using the phrase "this is England" during his speech.
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Based on his early life.

The guy I mentioned in my post had similar experience. He grew up on North London estate. Where he still lives. Born and bred white Londoner. He was descended from Irish who came here to build the railway stations in Victorian times. Ending up never going back. Post war the poor housing they lived in was demolished and they got housing in the new estates. Then came Windrush and Afro Carribbean people on the estate. He was a Skinhead. He liked the clothes. He is big on music. Ska etc. I asked him about NF. He had no time for them. They came along later. On his Estate they didn't get anywhere. So Skinhead subculture could go one way or the other. His long term partner is Black. He goes to Carribbean with her to visit relatives. Loves it.

So stereotype of Skinheads all being racist or all white born and bred Londoners being racist is not necessarily correct.

I'm usually wary around older born and bred Londoners. Ive worked with him several times so got to know him.He is old school ducking and diving Londoner who talks and acts like one but who also interested in other people's culture and history. Not a racist in any way.

It's not a matter of being romantic. The question I have is why some people of his generation aren't racist but some are.
 
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CH1 said:
I would be caution romanticising skinheads however. I lived in Manchester in the 70s where they were more noted for "Paki bashing" and "Queer Bashing".
I guess gays and Asians were perceived as weak as well as "alien".

Really (IMHO) the whole skinhead thing is to do with what happens when people behave in a large group - where a perfectly innocuous person could become a murderer in a twinkling of an eye.

As we read every day in the Evening Standard regarding gang culture.

Interesting photos by the way.
Click to expand...
I saw quite a bit of similar trouble growing up in Shepherd's Bush.
Skinheads with massive Alsatians. Some of them used to beat up the family in our local corner shop. I know they weren't all racist, just some.
I had hoped that we were done with it all.
 
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Gramsci I know there was this "Specials" type culture - particularly out of London - one of black white integration in the face of hopeless jobless Thatcherism etc. But Skinhead collective behaviour also had its down side - as Lizzy Mac mentioned there was group bullying of minorities as well as violence.

There seems to be a whole branch of sociology devoted to studying how groups and crowds behave in a more extreme ways.
I was not suggesting skinhead violence had returned - rather drawing a comparison between skinhead violence of years ago with the current spate of gang related violence, which seems to be around black youths being forced into gangs which intimidate and attack individuals singled out as being in the wrong group - often leading to fatal attacks.

Interestingly this type of situation seems to go along with a very "born again Christian" response. There are memoirs of American evangelists going back to the 1950s of people working to convert gang members - or being converted gang members. In Brixton Pastor Mimi from Angel Town has been influential in the local community around this issue.

I guess what I'm saying about the problem of violence in youth subculture is that apart from ASBOs there has always been an attempt by evangelicals to focus on transforming anti social behaviour. Of course to some extent people grow out of this delinquent behaviour - especially skinheads who could after all grow their hair back if they felt more integrated into society.
 
Sad scenes on Station Road.

fire-unity-unisex-salon-01.jpg


Devastating fire hits Unity Unisex Salon in Brixton Station Road
 
CH1 said:
Gramsci I know there was this "Specials" type culture - particularly out of London - one of black white integration in the face of hopeless jobless Thatcherism etc. But Skinhead collective behaviour also had its down side - as Lizzy Mac mentioned there was group bullying of minorities as well as violence.

There seems to be a whole branch of sociology devoted to studying how groups and crowds behave in a more extreme ways.
I was not suggesting skinhead violence had returned - rather drawing a comparison between skinhead violence of years ago with the current spate of gang related violence, which seems to be around black youths being forced into gangs which intimidate and attack individuals singled out as being in the wrong group - often leading to fatal attacks.

Interestingly this type of situation seems to go along with a very "born again Christian" response. There are memoirs of American evangelists going back to the 1950s of people working to convert gang members - or being converted gang members. In Brixton Pastor Mimi from Angel Town has been influential in the local community around this issue.

I guess what I'm saying about the problem of violence in youth subculture is that apart from ASBOs there has always been an attempt by evangelicals to focus on transforming anti social behaviour. Of course to some extent people grow out of this delinquent behaviour - especially skinheads who could after all grow their hair back if they felt more integrated into society.
Click to expand...

We are going to have to disagree on this. I don't think a comparison with recent gang violence and Skinhead subculture is valid. Skinhead subculture related to the earlier Mods has long history from 60s to late 70s. It has a mixed history. My friend was Skinhead in 60s. It was Skinhead reincarnation in late 70s where far right infiltrated some of it that led to overt racism. Even then some skinheads contested this.
 
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