I genuinely don’t remember the last time I wrote one of my longer, history of punk posts. To be honest, I haven’t had the motivation or energy over the last year or so. But I’m back, at least for now, and we are going to tackle a topic that is not necessarily a fun one, but an extremely important one. A chapter in punk history that is as relevant today as it was when it was written. Fair warning, this one is LONG.
Punk 101: Nazi Punks Fuck Off
Todays topics include: the history of nazis and fascism in punk scenes, the phrase ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’, the evolution of punk neo-nazis, and the branches of the skinhead subculture.
The History of Nazis and Fascism in Punk Scenes
Punk music and politics have a long and convoluted history with one another, but it's no secret that in the early days of punk, fascists were all around. Punk music really took off and made a name for itself in the 1970s, and the 60s were full of proto-punk sounds with the garage rock genre. I know, right now you’re thinking “What do the 60s and 70s music genres have to do with Fascists?”. Well. Everything.
1960 was only 15 years after the end of World War II. And 1970 was only 25 years after it. I’m sure for those of you reading this, that's within your lifetime. Now imagine someone in the year 2000, and that person is a super racist piece of shit. Do you really think that 15 or 25 years is going to make a difference in their world view? Probably not, especially in a world that had less technology and access to information than we do now.
So now we know where our 60’s and 70’s nazis come from. That's great and all, but why were they so interested in punk? Or rather, why was punk so interested in them?
Without getting into the depths too much here, the punk culture was built on anti-conformity. Anti-normalcy if you will. Societal norms went out the windows. The original punks were here for the shock value. And what's more shocking than outwardly proclaiming your love for fascism after World War II? Not much, that's for sure.
Examples of this include: Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols often being seen wearing a t-shirt with a swastika, and Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees sometimes wearing a Swastika armband. Few examples of many.
And when you want to be one of the cool kids, it's really easy to join the bandwagon of “If you don't look and act like us, you can’t be a part of us.” Of course, we sit here and go “That sounds antithetical to the part of punk where we don’t let anyone tell us what to do??” But I raise you. We certainly still have a gate keeping problem in this community, especially online.
The Phrase ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’
Well we all know the phrase. We’ve seen it everywhere. But ‘Nazi Punks Fuck Off’ has a history. It didn’t just appear out of thin air one day. It was the title of a song by the Dead Kennedys. Later released as part of an album, it came with an armband that had a crossed out swastika, a symbol that has since become a part of the anti-racist punk movement. Though it’s come with criticism of its own. That's a topic for another day though.
Jello Biafra (lead singer and song writer) has stated that the song was about violence at punk shows, summarizing it as “You violent people at shows are acting like a bunch of Nazis”. But of course, this became the leading phrase in the fight against the white power punks.
This resulted in a gradual decline of the Nazi culture within the punk movement. Nazi bands struggled to get gigs that weren’t organized by the far right. They got kicked out of shows when they got violent. And often were simply ignored. Other punks wanted no part of them. With the influence of ska and reggae, a lot of times white punks and black reggae bands would share a stage. Of course, far left groups formed during this time as well, but we’ll talk about that in the last section.
The Evolution of Punk Neo-Nazis
No one knows the exact number of neo-nazi bands currently in existence. But it's a definite that Wikipedia’s list of them is far from complete. As recent as the last decade Spotify had gone and removed white supremacist music from the platform (report it if you see it), Micetrap Distribution (a store known for selling white supremacist music) shut down, and a lawyer from Minneapolis lost his job after his hobby of operating a neo-nazi music label came to light.
My point is, everyone wants to talk about the evolution of neo-nazis in punk. As if the Nazis ever really fully went away. They didn’t! They got quiet, they kept to themselves. But they never fully left.
So why have they stopped being quiet then? Is that the real question? Why are they so brave now? Well, I think we easily find the answer to that question by looking at our society. Unfortunately, the internet and punk culture are both very USA-centric nowadays. And when you exist in a place that elected a wanna be dictator as their representative. Well. The nazis start coming out of their hiding places. Including the punk ones. They see less consequences from society.
So what do we do about them? How do we fight the rise of Neo-Nazis? My answer would be to do the same thing that the punks of the old days did. Refuse to platform them, work against them, ignore them, and when they start getting loud? Well, it's never a moral crime to punch a nazi.
Make them think about their actions. Not in the “we can fix them” way. But in the “will I get hurt if I open my mouth about my opinions” way. Make them scared to be loud again. Make them realize they aren’t welcomed. GIVE THEM SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES. Remember, no stance is the same as a supporting stance. Stand against them or don’t bother standing at all.
Types of Skinheads and Why They are Associated with Nazis
Okay, okay. Yes I will talk about skinheads now. I suppose you can’t write anything pertaining to nazism in punk without touching on the topic. However, I want to start this with two statements:
Not every bald punk is a skinhead.
Not every skinhead is a nazi and not every nazi is a skinhead
Okay, so what the hell is a skinhead? Skins were a subculture started in the UK in the 60s. They were working class youth, often had shaved heads, and wore working class boots like Dr Martens. (Yes folks, the skins were a MAJOR influence in punk fashion).
Early skinheads were non-political, but as the 70s progressed, the group saw a lot of racially motivated violence and far right groups saw a rise in white power skinheads in their ranks. Essentially, the early nazi punks found a home in the skinhead culture for one reason or another. By the late 1970s, the terms skinhead, racism, and nazism were virtually inseparable.
To note, through this time, not every skinhead turned towards nazism. Two notable groups that spoke against it were the Glasgow Spy Kids and the publishers of a zine called Hard As Nails.
By the 1980s, a number of left leaning skinhead groups started to rise up as well. Redskins (Marxist and Anarchist view) and other anarchist skinheads were associated with the RASH organization. During this time was also when the phrase “all cops are bastards” was popularized by leftist skins. Other groups with a significant number of leftist skinheads were Red Action, Anti-Fascist Action, and most notably, the SHARPs.
SHARPs stands for Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice. They opposed white power skinheads, neo-fascism, and claim to have re-claimed the the original identity of the skinhead movement. And while they have no political affiliation beyond an opposition to racism, they have given a name to fascist skinheads (which I find rather funny), ‘boneheads’.
So while there are certainly left leaning skins, even nowadays, the white supremacists are still out there. Still in punk culture. And still grab hold of the skinhead legacy. So is every skin a nazi? No, of course not. But are skins still heavily associated with the nazism that plagued their group decades ago? Absolutely they are.
This is the end of my essay. A history lesson that every new, young, or uneducated punk should read before the history is lost.
