{\obeylines Examiner Letters to the Editor Friday, 9 December 1988 \smallskip Tom Jennings 164 Shipley St. San Francisco CA 94107 (415)-882-9832 } \parskip8pt ref: Thursday, 8 December Examiner article (starting on page 1)¨ regarding violent fascist skinheads in the Bay Area. \centerline{* * *} You article on violent fascists in Thursdays Examiner was¨ generally good, in that it illuminated something that's being¨ ignored in our society, but also very misleading, and may even¨ put some of us in danger from would-be do-gooders. People cannot be reduced to clothing or haircuts, just as we¨ cannot be reduced to just skin color. This is dangerous, short­ cut thinking. The ``How to Spot a Skinhead'' drawing was simply wrong: you¨ cannot spot bigots by the way they dress. There are more bigots,¨ racists, anti-semites, fascists, etc. that wear ``normal¨ clothes'', in both numbers and proportion, than there are¨ otherwise. (Besides, fashion-wise, most skinheads wear surplus¨ nylon ``bomber jackets'', not leather or denim.) The drawing as¨ about as useful, and as amusing, as those ``How to Spot a¨ Preppy/Hippy/Whatever'' posters. The same sort of simplistic thinking is at work in many¨ ``Neighborhood Watch'' programs, where neighbors are instructed¨ to report ``suspicious looking persons'' to the police;¨ frequently this means that a black person in a predominantly¨ white neighborhood is reported as ``suspicious looking'', out of¨ fear and ignorance, rather than overt racism. For example, I have very short hair, a black leather jacket,¨ levis and Doc Martens. I am not a skinhead, a bigot or fascist,¨ nor am I a fag-basher; as a matter of fact I am gay. If you had¨ done a bit more research, you would have found that many, if not¨ most, people that wear funny haircuts, leather jackets, levis and¨ boots do more specifically anti-fascist work than many ``normal­ looking'' people; we volunteer for grassroots political groups,¨ support human rights in the US and abroad, do community service,¨ work at Rock Against Racism shows, all ages/drug free shows,¨ political protests, etc. Even if you don't agree with these¨ things, they are hardly bigoted or fascist acts. Also, the nasty¨ skinheads (as opposed to the OK ones) consider us their enemies,¨ too. Fortunately or unfortunately, you have to interact with people in¨ some way to find out what their views are. Fact is, most wars¨ were started by white people who wear suits. These sort of people¨ have also done a large proportion of the atrocities against¨ fellow humans in recorded history. See how useful this process¨ is? \leftskip 3in\obeylines Tom Jennings San Francisco CA \bye