Alternate Subcultures

Watchmen had the knot-tops. They have their own distinguishing hairstyle like skinheads, and a lot of them seem to like the band Pale Horse.

I kinda like their style actually! It's not really clear what their political leanings are, though some of them do wear swastika tattoos. The lack of the counterculture, and the police vs. vigilante political cleavage (no tittering at the back), and everything else means things are going to be so distorted anyway.

knot-tops.gif
 
I will attest thet there have been bicycle gangs. One day back in the mid-90's I undertook to hike from the Montrose area of Houston to downtown. Rather taking the obvious route along Richmond to Main, I decided to snake up the narrow back streets of 4th Ward. 4th has about 40 thousand residents now, but at the time it was something of a wasteland. I was confronted by six drug dealers on mountain bikes and their posses were also on bikes. Bikes were perfect for them. Narrow badly paved streets, underused buildings, and quite a few brownfields and alleys. Good terrain for a dealer to get away from a cop car. Cops responded with bike police and the 4th is now a haven for yuppies, buppies, and dinks.

But please, let's not see this happen to the more well-ordered third ward. These folks are fighing back effectively against gentrification. And Eastwood needs to stay funky, Mexicans north and real bohemians to the south of the HBT.
 

Warsie

Banned
^That is a bit different, I meant a group more like this - as in a 'family' of gang members who use the bikes as an integral part of their lives, as opposed to drug dealers or ghetto guys who bmx or whatnot. It's closer to the gutter punk scene I would say.

EDIT: Rat Patrol, a similar in Chicago does similar things - 'frankenbikes' or whatever term you all prefer. Though I dont think they're quite -that- hardcore...though ive heard....things about them.

EDIT 2: since Fridge is posting watchmen comics, Transmetropolitan might also be a good example to see and use.
 
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It'd be interesting to see how the hippie culture would've developed if the early groups in New York or California didn't get into drugs (or at least psychedlia).

A rather forced alternative would be (perhaps not till the 70s) a subculture similar to the Green movement of the 70s onwards but with a much more culture and communal base rather than NGOs and international treaties.

Alternatively the Greens of the 70s do form a subculture, crossing with punks and other "anti authoritarian" groups and you end up with a much less traditional, conservationist green movement and one thats more anti-consumer (as perhaps you see more these days) and perhaps more open to groups like ELF. It'd probably lack the staying power of OTL's greens but still be quite intersting to see.

</greenwank>
 

Warsie

Banned
lesbian gangs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t3a7fXjgKI&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CnSYY4Z994

This looks like something out of The Warriors (the Lizzie gang) and there is the past aspects of Stonewall as well as other things.

Any of you heard of these sorts of things happening before? I remember this person discussing some rumors of the wrestling team in his suburban high school raping new wrestlers by the 'senior' wrestlers. OF course, how true that is I dunno but Ive heard others collaborate that story. Granted "gay rapist wrestlers" is a bit different than the "gays taking over" gangs as the wrestlers have a different motivation/purpose/history.


EDIT: also for those unaware 'pink pistols' is a LGBT gun rights group. They practice gun targeting together etc etc
 
Historically the "bucaneers" (who often weren't pirates) lived on tropical islands in the Caribbean, selling meat from feral cattle to passing ships and doing their own thing. Many were runaway slaves or deserters from cruel militaries.

Perhaps being a "beach bum" as a way of life, doing odd jobs to get by, as modern-day successors?

I smell a Jimmy Buffet song here...
 
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