‘Boneheads Ruin Everything’: Why We Probably Should Not Concede Pepe to the Nazis

Nazis stole the Swastika and Skinhead Culture. Now they have made an innocent internet meme their own. This is a call to not let them.

Mike Turboschwanz-Wiley

I made this meme to make a point. To all my brothers, current and former Oi boys – Skinheads! You, like I, all of us have rode the edges of political fury, but there’s one thing we never were – Ignorant! We aren’t all Sharps, Rash, Red, Trad, NS or Anti-Fa, etc… We’re diverse politically, socially, racially and sexually, and we have one thing in common beyond the boots…. we all have in our blood, the spirit of 69!

We love a good laugh in the face of political correctness… you can blame the beer! And we’ve all had to face what the appropriation of “Skinhead” by the National Front has done. We’ve had to go through the big annoying education session with people and fucking bow… we’ve had to reiterate our own DNA to teach people that no, we are not Nazis! Our roots, legacy and ethos is in those dance halls with Rock Steady chugging away through speakers. We’re as connected to Jazz and Reggae as we are to Punk or Ska. We’re not Boneheads, but because boneheads stole our identity, we have remained in the shadows of popular culture. We’ve had our legacy appropriated by the loud, furious and hateful, and we have yet to overcome it. Still to this day, in mainstream society, Skinhead = Nazi

So – Pepe… like us, has been appropriated by boneheads and now the public thinks Pepe = Alt.Right. This is the first time since those days in the 70s when the National Front recruited our forefathers into their ranks that a cultural symbol has been so appropriated and misconstrued. Even the swastika, itself was an appropriation that will never be seen the same again. A Buddhist, Hindu, Pagan and Early Christian symbol rooted in the powers of the sun – love and peace, was turned into a symbol of hatred and death.

Let’s nip this in the bud, as best we can… spread this meme, make your own. Make a better one… Boneheads Ruin Everything!