RASH
Encyclopedia
Red and Anarchist Skinheads (RASH) is a left-wing
anti-racist, anti-fascist skinhead
group.
RASH includes redskins and anarchist
skinheads. It was officially launched on January 1, 1993 by members of the Mayday Crew, a left-wing skinhead and punk
group based in the New York City area. The Mayday Crew was formed due to in-fighting between members of New York City
's Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice
(SHARP) chapter, over the murder of a homosexual man by anti-racist, yet right-wing, skinheads. Shortly after the initial call went out for the formation of a network, chapters formed in other countries around the world, mostly from existing left-wing skinhead crews. According to one RASH website, some of the goals of the network were to:
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
anti-racist, anti-fascist skinhead
Skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
group.
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
skinheads. It was officially launched on January 1, 1993 by members of the Mayday Crew, a left-wing skinhead and punk
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
group based in the New York City area. The Mayday Crew was formed due to in-fighting between members of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice
Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice
Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice are anti-racist skinheads who oppose neo-Nazis and other political racists, particularly if those racists identify themselves as skinheads....
(SHARP) chapter, over the murder of a homosexual man by anti-racist, yet right-wing, skinheads. Shortly after the initial call went out for the formation of a network, chapters formed in other countries around the world, mostly from existing left-wing skinhead crews. According to one RASH website, some of the goals of the network were to:
To dispel the myth, in both the media and in mind of the general public, that all skinheads are racist.
To keep alive and expand the true skinhead subculture through means such as music (Oi!, Ska, Reggae, Soul, Hardcore, Street Punk, etc.), fashion, fanzines, fliers, concerts, dancehalls, and gatherings.
To create a space for left-wing ideas to exist in the skinhead scene.
To combat, physically and politically, the existence of far-Right ideas in the skinhead scene.
To win back the good name of our subculture from the boneheads and racists.
To articulate the connection between the young, working-class, multi-racial skinhead subculture and left-wing ideas.
To organize for the physical self-defense of left-wing skinheads from attack by all those who declare themselves our enemies.
To participate as an active, organized force of anti-racist skinheads in the radical Left and anti-fascist movements.
To make sure our vision of the anti-fascist radical Left (working-class, multi-racial, street based and militant) continues to exist.
See also
- AnarchismAnarchismAnarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
- Anarcho-punkAnarcho-punkAnarcho-punk is punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term anarcho-punk is sometimes applied exclusively to bands that were part of the original anarcho-punk movement in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s...
- Anti-fascismAnti-fascismAnti-fascism is the opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals, such as that of the resistance movements during World War II. The related term antifa derives from Antifaschismus, which is German for anti-fascism; it refers to individuals and groups on the left of the political...
- CommunismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
- Insurgence RecordsInsurgence RecordsInsurgence Records is a Toronto-based independent record label specializing in anti-fascist and anti-racist hardcore, Oi! and punk rock. The label is associated with the anti-racist skinhead subculture, including redskins...
- Skinheads Against Racial PrejudiceSkinheads Against Racial PrejudiceSkinheads Against Racial Prejudice are anti-racist skinheads who oppose neo-Nazis and other political racists, particularly if those racists identify themselves as skinheads....
- SocialismSocialismSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
- Redskin (subculture)