The term "
Redskin" is an abbreviation of "
Red Skinhead", it is used by
anti-fascist skinheads to differentiate themselves from
racist boneheads and non-political
skinheads. Before being a movement associated to
skinheads, punks, and the alternative scene, the term
redskin referred to the British soul-rock group The
Redskins (1979-1986), several of whom belonged to the Socialist Workers Party.
Redskins are often associated with
communism, but many anarchists and anarcho-
communists identify themselves as
Redskins. The
Redskins are a branch of the
revolutionary left as well as an activist branch of the skinhead movement. This movement was born in
radical opposition to the violence of
racist… Read more boneheads whose scene and groups were developing during the same period. Marked on the left and on the far left, the
Redskin movement is politically oriented towards
radical and street anti-
fascism, anti-
imperialism, anti-
authoritarianism,
anti-sexism and
revolutionary anti-capitalism.
Its members are often actors of
different Marxist, anarchist, anarcho-
communist or
syndicalist-
revolutionary organizations and alternative scenes of which they use the tools, such as concerts, fanzines, radio broadcasts, sound-systems, etc. They are more broadly linked to the
SHARP (
Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice) and above all RASH (Red and Anarchist
Skinheads) movements, which they are largely behind the establishment in
Europe. Even if the appearance of the first
redskins was roughly similar to that of
skinheads, it was differentiated - especially in
France - by the wearing of red laces and badges and/or patches relating to
communism,
anarchism and social struggles. One of the french
redskins bands of the 1980s made a name for themselves as the Red Warriors. The symbol of this band was the sickle and the
baseball bat, a diversion from the
communist symbol of the sickle and the hammer. This band, made up of a hard core of about fifteen people, attacked
racist boneheads around concert halls and in the streets of Paris, sometimes accompanied by other
bands or
anti-fascist groups.
The Red And Anarchist
Skinheads (RASH) is a global movement of
communist and/or anarchist
skinheads who
fight against
fascism,
racism, and capitalism. Far-left
skinheads value
anarchism, libertarian
communism, anti-
nationalism, anti-
patriotism, anti-
fascism,
anti-racism, and alter-mondialism, in many ways ranging from street action to
armed struggle and
direct action
The majority of
skinheads are not
racists. The original skinhead subculture started in the
United Kingdom in the late 1960s and had heavy British mod and Jamaican
rude boy influences, including
love for
ska and soul
music.
Skinheads were not associated with an organized
racist political movement until the late 1970s, when a skinhead revival in the UK included a sizable neo-
nazi faction. Because of this, the mainstream media began to label the whole skinhead identity as neo-
fascist, which is not true.
Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (
SHARP) are
anti-racist skinheads who oppose white power
skinheads, neo-
fascists, and other political
racists, particularly if they identify
… Read more themselves as
skinheads.
SHARPs aim to reclaim the multicultural identity of the original
skinheads, hijacked in their views by white power
skinheads, who they sometimes deride as "boneheads". Many people may
confuse SHARP members with
racists since their appearance is superficially similar. Beyond the common opposition to
racism,
SHARP professes no political
ideology or affiliation, stressing the importance of the black Jamaican influence in the original late-1960s skinhead movement. The second
SHARP logo is based on the logo of
Trojan Records, which originally mainly released black Jamaican
ska,
rocksteady, and
reggae artists. Local
SHARP groups have spread around the world in many countries.
Red and Anarchist
Skinheads (RASH) is a left-wing
anti-racist,
anti-fascist skinhead group, formed in the
United States in 1993. The RASH values
direct action and self-defense against neo-
Nazis. The movement has its origins in the multi-ethnic roots of the skinhead cultural identity. It has multiple chapters on all continents.
RASH and
SHARP define themselves heavily on fashion,
music, and violent opposition to white supremacist organizations. Their style of dress typically incorporates Dr. Martens boots, jeans, suspenders, bomber and Harrington jackets, short hair, and clothing produced by Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, and
Lonsdale. Musically, they are typically associated with
punk,
hardcore, oi,
ska,
reggae, and two-tone
music genres.
Communism is a philosophical, social, political, and economic
ideology and movement whose ultimate goal is the establishment of a
communist society, namely a socioeconomic order structured upon the ideas of common ownership of the means of production and the absence of
social classes,
money, and, in some cases, the state. As such,
communism is a specific form of
socialism.
Communism includes a variety of schools of thought which broadly include Marxism and
anarcho-communism as well as the political ideologies grouped around both, all of which share the analysis that the current order of
society stems from capitalism, its economic system, and mode of production, namely that in this system
… Read more there are two major
social classes, the relationship between these two classes is exploitative, and that this situation can only ultimately be resolved through a social
revolution. The two classes are the
proletariat (the
working class), who make up the majority of the population within
society and must work to survive; and the
bourgeoisie (the capitalist class), a small minority who derives profit from employing the
working class through private ownership of the means of production. According to this analysis,
revolution would put the
working class in power and in turn establish social ownership of the means of production which is the primary element in the transformation of
society towards
communism.
After 1917, a number of states were identified as
communist: these states espoused Marxism?Leninism or a variation of it. Along with social
democracy,
communism became the dominant political tendency within the international socialist movement by the 1920s. In practice, the model under which these nominally
communist states operated was, in fact, a form of state capitalism or a non-planned administrative-command system and not an actual
communist economic model in accordance with most accepted definitions of ?
communism? as an economic theory.
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