bandana thing.

[genghis braun]

bandanas are the most useful multi-tools on the fucking planet. I have four of them, and each serve their purpose. one around my neck for blowing my nose, wiping my face, cooling me down in the sweltering southern heat, avoiding really bad smells etc, etc. one in my pocket for the 1 billion uses that it's good for, one around my water bottle to help me get a grip to open it, act as a kind of coozy, and keep the lid to it in one place. the other one's part of my smiley.

as for colors, I stick with neutral colors, or really dark colors so as to not get caught up in some stupid gang bulllshit. olive green, black, light brown, and a pretty dark blood red

 

[keg]

xxxxxx

 

[thunderson5]

captian morgan or apache thang.haha

 

[Whiteyisacommiefaggot]

Where did it all start I really wonder? I know its use in black blocs. But where did the whole thing come from.

Post edited by: Exile, at: 2007/09/02 13:59

I don't know much about the train riding symbolism, but in a large protest/riot everyone wearing black makes everyone look anonymous and harder to point out later.

 

[Whiteyisacommiefaggot]

Another thing: People are way to fucking anal-retentive about bandannas. It's ONLY a fucking article of clothing. It's ONLY a tool to make life a little easier when you are in a jam.
If you are really that fucking caught up in this whole gang mentality/tough guy I gotta stand for something I don't really know shit about bullshit, your rag can also be a great tool for suicide.

 

[Street_Siren]

I had this black one I used for some time, eventually lost it though. I met this bitch of a woman who ran this fabric store, so I jacked one of the fabric "swatches" from there, it's light blue with cupcakes on it. About the same size of bandana, does the job.

 

[bote]

apple cider vinegar in the purple bandana is a good way to get through a good amount of teargas (colour optional). ftra is definitely real, met a lot of good old timers and a lot of jackasses claiming shit that probably amounts to them hanging out with somebody legit, one time, long ago.

 

[wartomods]

I must get an arafat scarf, just cause

 

[RnJ]

I must get an arafat scarf, just cause

If that's what they wear over the head and face in the Middle East, I've got one of those. Also, one of their man dresses. It feels like you're walking around naked.

 

[bote]

no offense, but ive seen a lot of 40 dollar haircuts topping the arafat scarf lately so unless youre chucking rocks at the IDF you might want to rethink that.

 

[Whiteyisacommiefaggot]

I've used vinegar for that same purpose, but I still got a mean cough/lost my voice for a while.
Same thing with trains: I'll stick to a gas mask.

 

[RnJ]

bote, if you were talking to me, I don't get it. I don't wear exactly wear my thingy. It's more of a dress-up item.

 

[bote]

the keffiyeh scarf (as in arafat) is strongly linked with Palistenian resistance movements as far back as the 1930s so its kind of weird to me to see people wearing them for fashion, like a kid sporting an indian war bonnet or che guavara tshirts or whatever cultural appropriation . they do look nice

 

[Rash L]

I left my bandana (black) at some boy's house in the bay area... I want it back, even if it does have holes. Now I use a brown one (though people give me a lot of them, I even have 2 from Thailand for some reason) and just acquired a NEW black one and a new dark brown one.. both of which are pieces of crap... and none of them feel quite right... not like the black one I left in Livermore.

Fuck color codes.. it reminds me of in HS when people had those little colored plastic bracelets or boot laces that were supposed to mean something, except the meanings changed from school to school or town to town. What a bunch of bullshit. Wear whatever you wanna wear, and screw everyone else in the bum. (USE CONDOMS!)

/rambling

 

[usuallyonthefloorsomewher]

keeps the brake dust out of my mouth. dont want anything getting in the way of my smoking habit..

 

[Bullet]

I usually wear a black one with a little Kakistocracy "up the short bus punks" pin on it, and carry a brown one. I have a lot of colors, but I just like the dark ones because they get so nasty, and I agree with "never wash a bandanna" unless it's one I've used to mop up blood or something. Also, honestly, I wear the black one to rock the whole circle-a bullshit and to show my bdsm pride. It's conveniently the same color.
I always associate bandanna colors with color codes, specifically bdsm hanky codes (some listed here: Handkerchief code - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Of course, these codes apply to cloth in the back pockets, and not around the neck...but still, I get a chuckle sometimes when I see what people are wearing.

 

[oldmanLee]

The swastica:earliest variation I've seen was a petroglyph on display at the Met,northern China origin,Bronze Age,symbol for the Four Winds.Weirdly can be found on English printings of Rudyard Kipling books befor 1930.Was reversed/perverted by that one -balled paperhanger/draftsman and his cronies.
20th century Bandana colors:Early '50's bike gang affiliaton symbol/sexual conquest symbol(limited use),later excanged for the various color cloth pilots wings seen on riding rags.Co-opted by the early gay heavy leather scene,late '60s-eary '70s(hanky code).Co-opted again as gang affiliation symbol (early '80s).Railfolks/varous radical organizations,grassroots movements symbol from about'95 to present.
ought to get a few folks doing reserch outta this one!

 

[Jack_Skum]

I get asked by Kentucky wanna-be gangbangers all the time about the black bandana I wear bandit style around my neck. They usually call it a flag, so one day the connection between a "black flag" and anarchism dawned on me...
I now say it's a symbol of anarchism and me being an "independant criminal" as opposed to a being Kentucky-born redneck claiming to be a blood (aren't they black supremecists?)

And as far as "earning a black bandana" to any other cultures, I've had that same wrap for 6 years with 2 boils. I got it back in my junky days sleeping at Beach State Park, IL and it kept UV burns off my newly shaved head (lice is a bitch).
I used to even shower with it on at that place. The bandana, a leather vest, a flannel, denim cut-offs and a pair of Red-Wing boots was all I owned. A lot of memories on that rag, but it still has 20 times the number of uses as it does bad nights with it.

 

[cricket]

I know this in old ass post but whatevers. i aggree with genghis, what CANT you use a bandanna for? i carry atleast 5 or 6 with me in my pack. i always have one in my pocket for the million of uses mainly to blow my nose [i dont like the feel of toilet paper on my face] and i wear one sometimes around my face for a air filter, neck warmer/cooler what ever.

 

[plagueship]

the keffiyeh scarf (as in arafat) is strongly linked with Palistenian resistance movements as far back as the 1930s so its kind of weird to me to see people wearing them for fashion, like a kid sporting an indian war bonnet or che guavara tshirts or whatever cultural appropriation . they do look nice

it's kind of more of a political symbol in the west; in palestine/the middle east, certain color schemes refer to specific political groups (ie red and white for fatah). but in general, thin cotton square scarfs with a two-color pattern are just an incredibly popular thing to wear throughout the hot and dusty parts of the world... i think they even issue a variant to u.s.& allied soldiers in iraq/afghanistan now