Because the Nazi skinheads did a great job of co-opting the punk title for most people who weren’t actually interested in punk. The news media were very complicit in pushing that specific image to undermine the punk movement to the general public.
That’s true everywhere. The issue isn’t what they are, the issue is how they were deliberately misrepresented. A whole lot of films and shows made it a point to conflate punks with white supremacists.
Like skinheads and goths, or skinheads and greasers, or skinheads and other skinheads
Labor skinheads and neonazi skinheads.
I was so sad when I discovered the Hammerskins were a thing (a White Power band inspired by Pink Floyd’s Waiting For The Worms, but without the irony, with a corresponding militant movement). The Hammerskins took their logo:
From the Hammers banner from the movie version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall
Which means when I reference the Hammers in parody of white power movements, I risk being associated with an actual white power movement.
If they had balls, they’d call themselves The Worms.
<looking up to make sure The Worms isn’t a social movement yet>
Because the Nazi skinheads did a great job of co-opting the punk title
Nah. They tried REAL hard to infiltrate and take over, but real punks always managed to repel them.
for most people who weren’t actually interested in punk
And/or were just old fogies.
The news media were very complicit in pushing that specific image to undermine the punk movement to the general public.
Corporate news and undermining left wing people by conflating them with far right hate clubs. Name a more iconic duo.
The Nazi skinheads co-opted skinhead. After the Geraldo Rivera episode everyone I knew let their hair grow out because they didn’t want to be associated with that shit. Before that there were only a few isolated scenes where you’d see Nazi skinheads. Cutting off your hair was popular in the hardcore punk scenes because it was contrary to the long feathered hair popular in the 70’s and 80’s plus it was a lot easier than trying to get a Mohawk to stand up straight. That took a whole can of hairspray and we were all broke.
