Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead - A Review

Frank Meeink’s story is one that shocks and inspires in equal measure. A boy who joined the skinhead movement at the age of 13, he grew up to become a white supremacist of national notoriety, serving three years in prison at the age of 18 for kidnapping and a violent assault. What followed was a change in attitude that led to his severing of ties with the movement and a resolve to change his ways. Unfortunately this was accompanied by a slide into habitual drug use as a way of coping with his violent past. Clean now, and lecturing across the US speaking out against hate and racism, Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead is Meeink’s first attempt at telling his story, using it as a cautionary tale highlighting the flaws in the white supremacist way of thinking, and also examining the psychological and social conditions that can breed hate.

It is this second point at which the book excels. Meeink details his early life and the characteristics of his neighbourhood and family in a way that does not diminish his responsibility for his actions, but that allows the reader an insight into the environment in which he survived. South Philadelphia, both in the 1980s and today, is an area stricken by gang crime and violence (as documented in Louis Theroux’s 2008 documentary Law and Disorder in Philadephia – which provides a very useful and candid look at crime in the streets where Meeink grew up, though without discussion of the white supremacy movement of which Meeink was a part) and it is in this context that Meeink frames his early childhood experience. Both of his parents were alcoholics and drug addicts and his stepfather was also an abusive alcoholic. His main interaction with other races was at school, where he was victimised by black gangs and eventually expelled for fighting back. The one issue that is highlighted throughout his youth is the lack of structure that allowed him to learn and develop effectively.

The white supremacy movement provided a structure. The ideology made sense when viewed in the context of 1980s Philadelphia and the people, in Meeink’s own words, provided a family that he had always felt he lacked. The transition from petty criminal schoolboy to skinhead was an easy one, and largely unremarkable as described in the book. Meeink describes his own story as largely universal among the ranks of skinheads that he knew during his time in the movement, and it is certainly remarkable in its similarity to the plot of the 1998 film American History X, which describes the journey of a man from skinhead to reform. Meeink suggests that the plot of American History X was not copied from his own story, despite having shown interest in making a film about his experience, but rather was an accurate portrayal of the journey of every young person that joins the white supremacy movement. With the vast majority of those in skinhead gangs aging between 18 and 25 it appears that many “grow out” of their ideology, or at least ties to the movement. What he suggests is that the movement itself is sustained only because of what it appears to be able to offer to young people who are vulnerable, not on the merit of its ideology. You can teach people time and again why racism does not make sense, but they will not listen while they are getting something they desire from the movement itself – a sense of belonging.

In Meeink’s case, the loss of his white supremacist “family” resulted in his resorting to drug use to fill the void left behind, even when he had a real family to care for. This second half of his story highlights the most important benefit that being in the movement provides kids with nowhere else to go; it makes them feel like they are wanted and that they are special. It explains away the complex social issues that led to their disenfranchisement in a way that is easy to understand and accept. It is an answer to a question they cannot quite articulate. Meeink now dedicates some of his time to challenging hatred through sport, with his Harmony through Hockey initiative bringing black and white kids together to learn and play ice hockey in a safe an inclusive environment. These children are brought together and identify with each other through a shared interest in sport, rather than a shared prejudice. Finding these ties helps to prevent the toxic atmosphere of racist culture from developing as people identify with other races and ethnicities and find common interests. It took Meeink his entire adolescence and young adulthood to learn that non-white, non-skinheads could share the same feelings, interests and experiences as him. This book, and his subsequent work lecturing and running Harmony through Hockey is his attempt at explaining that to others and preventing them from following in his violent footsteps.

As a no-holds-barred revealing of his traumatic youth, Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead is amongst the most honest of autobiographical materials I’ve read. At times it is brutal and shocking, bordering on too much to handle, but for that reason it is an important read for understanding exactly what goes on in the mind of a young skinhead. Psychologically speaking, it is invaluable in shedding light on a phenomenon that is becoming all too common in modern culture, not necessarily in the skinhead movement but in other violent youth movements and white supremacist organisations across the world. Meeink sums it up best in his own words in a 2014 interview with Cracked.com, in which he stated 'Hate is just repackaged fear, and if you tear away the layers of a hateful person, you'll usually find a scared little kid in there'. Rather than using this as a way to absolve himself of his crimes, Meeink accepts that he made terrible mistakes and is trying to atone for them. At the time of the writing of this book he had only been clean of drugs for a few months (after several relapses) and was cautious about considering his future. He acknowledged that he was still in recovery, and far from cured. As the title of the book suggests he is also aware that the same psychological conditions that predisposed him to drug abuse also led him to join the neo-Nazi movement, and so in that sense he is still very much a skinhead in recovery. Here’s hoping he continues to recover, because works like this are vital in helping ordinary people to understand the politics of hate and, as we so often hear, understanding is the first step to prevention.