Post by marveloushagler on Aug 28, 2005 22:27:46 GMT -5
It seems R.A.C. (Rock Against Communism) is all the rage these days in the skinhead scene in North America. Bands like SKREWDRIVER, BRUTAL ATTACK, NO REMORSE, SKULLHEAD, PUBLIC ENEMY (UK), etc.
Well, it’s time to set the record straight. For those who are not aware, we’re here to fill you in.
R.A.C. = racist, white supremacist bullshit!
Where the fuck did this term R.A.C. come from?
It’s use dates back to the UK in the early 80’s, originating with bands based around SKREWDRIVER and the neo-nazi NATIONAL FRONT. R.A.C. was an organizing tool that was supposed to counter the success of the Anti-Nazi League’s ROCK AGAINST RACISM (R.A.R.). You know, the one that attracted all the GOOD skinhead, punk and reggae bands like the CLASH, SHAM 69, THE RUTS, X-RAY SPEX, STEEL PULSE, etc.?
While ROCK AGAINST RACISM succeeded in uniting hundreds of thousands of black and white music fans, R.A.C. failed miserably and was quickly heard from no more. People figured out it was a front for neo-nazism, and all those left in the R.A.C. camp were the same pathetic boneheads that always liked crap music and homoerotic Third Reich regalia. The term died then and there.
Fast forward to 1986 when we first came around the skinhead scene- we NEVER heard the term “R.A.C.” used back then. That’s because we called that music what it was: white-power bullshit! If you liked SKREWDRIVER you said “I like white power music”. At least spineless middle-of-the-road skinheads back then were honest about their musical tastes.
True, there were always stupid motherfuckers like the editors of BOOT PARTY zine out of Chicago that use to run interviews with white-power bands even though the editor was black! Can’t explain that one…we’ll leave it up to you.
We did see the R.A.C. logo used twice back in the late 80’s. The first time was in 1987 on YOUTH DEFENSE LEAGUE’s page of the “New York Hardcore: The Way It Is” comp. The graphic was also used on a CB’s matinee flier for a YDL, WARZONE and REST IN PIECES show. It’s no wonder that YDL used that graphic. They were also interviewed in the white-supremacist BLOOD AND HONOUR magazine (UK) and they thank Ian Stuart, SKREWDRIVER and BRUTAL ATTACK in their write-up. It’s obvious. YDL were stupid fucking boneheads.
We then remember hearing the term R.A.C. used again in New York sometime around 1993 or 1994. If we’re not mistaken, we first saw it used in the zine NO ESCAPE out of Bayshore, Long Island. Apparently, the term R.A.C. was all the rage in France at the time, used by groups like BRUTAL COMBAT and the dodgy skinhead shop “LONDON STYLE”. No wonder French boneheads had to disguise what they were into, considering that France has always had a strong anti-fascist skinhead scene that used to beat the shit out of nazis (anyone remember the RED WARRIORS? Big ups!).
Then the term ran wild. Within a year, it became the in skinhead thing to admit you liked COMBAT 84, CONDEMNED 84, SKREWDRIVER, CELTIC WARRIOR, ENGLISH ROSE, early ULTIMA THULE, early BOHSE ONKELZ, all those crappy German ROCK-A-RAMA bands we can’t pronounce, etc.
The worst part about it is that MOST OF THE SKINHEADS LISTENING TO R.A.C. AT THE TIME WERE BLACK, HISPANIC OR ASIAN!!! How fucking stupid is that! Some skinhead bands with black members even started covering white-power bands like SKREWDRIVER and NO REMORSE!
We think that’s why a lot of white skinheads started getting comfortable listening to R.A.C. again (“if they’re doing it, why can’t we?”). But when white skinheads start listening to SKREWDRIVER, you know what comes next…(insert goose-stepping here)
Now R.A.C. is a fucking cancer in our scene, dulling the line between true skinheads and boneheads. The public still thinks all skinheads are nazis, everyone still disses SHARP and yells “no politics”, and instead of skinhead being a way for tens of thousands of multi-racial working-class kids to “have a laugh and have a say”, the scene has become a fucking joke about nothing more than expensive imported beers and designer clothes. It’s sad, but it’s the fucking truth.
Well, it’s time for real skinheads to take a stand. If you love skinhead reggae, soul, street hardcore and real Oi!, then stop using the term R.A.C. and call it what it is: racist, white-supremacist bullshit!
Every time you hear some dumb-ass say “I like R.A.C.” say “No, you like racist, white-supremacist bullshit”. Then dump a beer over their head.
Better yet, every time you see someone wearing an R.A.C. patch, go over to the biggest black guy you can find and let them know “R.A.C. = racist, supremacist bullshit”. Then join in the ass-kicking.
It’s fine for a person to not like authoritarian Communism. We’re no fans of dictators ourselves, whatever their political affiliation. But it’s a sad day when skinheads disguise what they’re into to hide the fact that they like crappy white-power rock ‘n’ roll.
We are going to change the public’s mind about skinheads and reclaim our good name if it’s the last thing we do! Laurel Aitken, Judge Dread and Clancy Eccles would have wanted it that way!
Smash, Smash, Smash R.A.C.!
-RASH Northeast-
Summer 2005
(Any skinhead crew or band interested in joining this campaign should get in touch. Punks, mods, rudies and hardcore kids, too!)
--------------------------------------------------------
R.A.C. = Racist, White Supremacist Bullshit!
Don’t buy it!
Don’t cover it!
Don’t DJ it!
Don’t wear it!
Don’t listen to it!
Well, it’s time to set the record straight. For those who are not aware, we’re here to fill you in.
R.A.C. = racist, white supremacist bullshit!
Where the fuck did this term R.A.C. come from?
It’s use dates back to the UK in the early 80’s, originating with bands based around SKREWDRIVER and the neo-nazi NATIONAL FRONT. R.A.C. was an organizing tool that was supposed to counter the success of the Anti-Nazi League’s ROCK AGAINST RACISM (R.A.R.). You know, the one that attracted all the GOOD skinhead, punk and reggae bands like the CLASH, SHAM 69, THE RUTS, X-RAY SPEX, STEEL PULSE, etc.?
While ROCK AGAINST RACISM succeeded in uniting hundreds of thousands of black and white music fans, R.A.C. failed miserably and was quickly heard from no more. People figured out it was a front for neo-nazism, and all those left in the R.A.C. camp were the same pathetic boneheads that always liked crap music and homoerotic Third Reich regalia. The term died then and there.
Fast forward to 1986 when we first came around the skinhead scene- we NEVER heard the term “R.A.C.” used back then. That’s because we called that music what it was: white-power bullshit! If you liked SKREWDRIVER you said “I like white power music”. At least spineless middle-of-the-road skinheads back then were honest about their musical tastes.
True, there were always stupid motherfuckers like the editors of BOOT PARTY zine out of Chicago that use to run interviews with white-power bands even though the editor was black! Can’t explain that one…we’ll leave it up to you.
We did see the R.A.C. logo used twice back in the late 80’s. The first time was in 1987 on YOUTH DEFENSE LEAGUE’s page of the “New York Hardcore: The Way It Is” comp. The graphic was also used on a CB’s matinee flier for a YDL, WARZONE and REST IN PIECES show. It’s no wonder that YDL used that graphic. They were also interviewed in the white-supremacist BLOOD AND HONOUR magazine (UK) and they thank Ian Stuart, SKREWDRIVER and BRUTAL ATTACK in their write-up. It’s obvious. YDL were stupid fucking boneheads.
We then remember hearing the term R.A.C. used again in New York sometime around 1993 or 1994. If we’re not mistaken, we first saw it used in the zine NO ESCAPE out of Bayshore, Long Island. Apparently, the term R.A.C. was all the rage in France at the time, used by groups like BRUTAL COMBAT and the dodgy skinhead shop “LONDON STYLE”. No wonder French boneheads had to disguise what they were into, considering that France has always had a strong anti-fascist skinhead scene that used to beat the shit out of nazis (anyone remember the RED WARRIORS? Big ups!).
Then the term ran wild. Within a year, it became the in skinhead thing to admit you liked COMBAT 84, CONDEMNED 84, SKREWDRIVER, CELTIC WARRIOR, ENGLISH ROSE, early ULTIMA THULE, early BOHSE ONKELZ, all those crappy German ROCK-A-RAMA bands we can’t pronounce, etc.
The worst part about it is that MOST OF THE SKINHEADS LISTENING TO R.A.C. AT THE TIME WERE BLACK, HISPANIC OR ASIAN!!! How fucking stupid is that! Some skinhead bands with black members even started covering white-power bands like SKREWDRIVER and NO REMORSE!
We think that’s why a lot of white skinheads started getting comfortable listening to R.A.C. again (“if they’re doing it, why can’t we?”). But when white skinheads start listening to SKREWDRIVER, you know what comes next…(insert goose-stepping here)
Now R.A.C. is a fucking cancer in our scene, dulling the line between true skinheads and boneheads. The public still thinks all skinheads are nazis, everyone still disses SHARP and yells “no politics”, and instead of skinhead being a way for tens of thousands of multi-racial working-class kids to “have a laugh and have a say”, the scene has become a fucking joke about nothing more than expensive imported beers and designer clothes. It’s sad, but it’s the fucking truth.
Well, it’s time for real skinheads to take a stand. If you love skinhead reggae, soul, street hardcore and real Oi!, then stop using the term R.A.C. and call it what it is: racist, white-supremacist bullshit!
Every time you hear some dumb-ass say “I like R.A.C.” say “No, you like racist, white-supremacist bullshit”. Then dump a beer over their head.
Better yet, every time you see someone wearing an R.A.C. patch, go over to the biggest black guy you can find and let them know “R.A.C. = racist, supremacist bullshit”. Then join in the ass-kicking.
It’s fine for a person to not like authoritarian Communism. We’re no fans of dictators ourselves, whatever their political affiliation. But it’s a sad day when skinheads disguise what they’re into to hide the fact that they like crappy white-power rock ‘n’ roll.
We are going to change the public’s mind about skinheads and reclaim our good name if it’s the last thing we do! Laurel Aitken, Judge Dread and Clancy Eccles would have wanted it that way!
Smash, Smash, Smash R.A.C.!
-RASH Northeast-
Summer 2005
(Any skinhead crew or band interested in joining this campaign should get in touch. Punks, mods, rudies and hardcore kids, too!)
--------------------------------------------------------
R.A.C. = Racist, White Supremacist Bullshit!
Don’t buy it!
Don’t cover it!
Don’t DJ it!
Don’t wear it!
Don’t listen to it!
