I simply love this post…. Not only because it is very much true, but, also, because while reading it , at times, it seemed like we grew up at the same time, in the same circles…. even the parts about skinheads having some sort of hierarchy and organization while we simply reacted to what they were doing is the same….

During the late 80-s, early 90-s, I was also a metal-head teen ( of almost the exact same age as the author of the text) who had shitload of run-inns with the Skinheads and there was usually only one way those encounters ended up…

There are a few differences, of course. Down here, the Nazi ideology was also combined with the nationalistic tendencies of the period, so the break went along the ethnic lines ( usually)- Most of the Skinheads were Serbs, Albanians were the Metalheads- meaning the fights had an extra “national pride” element to them… Plus, the fact that, at the time, we were under Serbian occupation- meant that you could not count on the police or structures of the law to keep you safe, or punish the SKins for doing what they did- if anything, the Serbian police supported the violence the skinheads were exercising upon Albanians.

But, the point is the same.

From my experiences, the rule was the same everywhere- Skinheads identify one or two characters they dislike, wait until there is enough of them ( a ratio of 7 to 1 preferred) and then get them isolated and kick the living shit out of the poor souls.

So, by having the dubious honor of being a magnet to every idiot wanting to start a fight ( really now — for some reason these fools always pick me, ) , as well as having my friends targeted, I quickly learned one thing: YOU can not talk or reason with these characters, especially if they are under the influence and in a group.

since neither me, nor my friends like the idea of having to hide, run away, or avoid someone, we figured that the only way to have these idiots off our backs is to make them fear the consequences of attacking one of us..

SO, fight after fight ( and again, the same scenario — Skinheads were the idiots in their 20-s who were picking 13–14 year old kids to show off their “strength” ) both my martial arts and my street skills — as well as pure strength- grew. So, we went from having to move in groups in hope we wont run into these characters- to having the Skinheads avoid us whenever possible. I am not very proud to say that it did take a several crashed jaws, broken ribs , and fractured skulls until the Skinheads got the message, but they did-

since, in a very unfortunate way, they respect nothing but sheer force and, ( preferably) brutality… Simply put, if you “make an example” out of one or two of these, or, if they know- for a fact- that attacking you will come with a price- they leave you alone and look for another defenseless kid …

And that, in short, is everything there is to know about these kind of characters, the “modern day Nazis”…. They are nothing more than a bunch of cowards who find both meaning and safety within a group of people who are as weak and lost as themselves. You only have to look at the way all of their groups develop their hierarchy to figure out the way they function. They are always “lead” by one person- almost always twice the age of most of the group, who has one or two “deputies”- always the toughest and most brutal of the bunch. SO, “the head” keeps order in the group through his “deputies” while the rest find their place depending on their fighting skills … They are like packs of street dogs — generally weak, afraid and harmless- but, once they are in a pack- they can become dangerous, especially when their numbers make them feel safe and they manage to smell fear…

One thing I never understood is the women… the girls who willingly become partrs of these groups- I have seen several bunches of nazi skinheads all over Europe, and they always had with them women who were attracted to that, exact, kind of violent displays…. some of them even take part iof the fights and can be dangerous since they often use blades of all sorts..

But, now I am over-expanding..

All I wanted to say is that you are right…. Punching Nazis not only works, but it is the only way to get those Shits out of your way