Can Skanks Bring Trouble?

  • Thread starter Thread starter James Huxley
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James Huxley

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I met this pretty cool dude yesterday who said that I ought to keep from washing my bandannas (a black one and a camo one) if I'm gonna wear them. I hitchhike, so I'm not too read up on hobo culture. Is it seriously something that people would get pissy over? I'm not in the business of offending people, but come on. Bandanas are a pretty common clothing article.
 
Skanks are one of the first things i look for, for a quick idea about a person. The dirt, color, wear, and way its worn can give you a clue about someone. It doesn't let you know a lot, but enough to tell a few details about them. Yes they can possibly bring trouble if its the wrong color in certain circles.
 
Years ago in ftra culture what color rag your wore was a reference to what line you where riding. Red for the sunset, blue for the mid-line and black for the high line if I'm not mistaken. Ftra guys also tended to rock it boy scout style (tied in front) unlike the punks of today who believe that draping a filthy piece of cloth over your face will somehow protect you from carbon monoxide poisoning when you roll through a tunnel (it won't). These days the filthy black skank has become part of the traveler kid / hipster uniform. As far as having it dirty, fuck that, especially while hitching. I'm sure there's people out there who will look at a clean rag as a sign of being an oogle housey, but fuck that, those kids probably haven't left nola since last halloween .
 
its more dangerous in the ghetto / the hood you might get a gang pissed off at you and you might never know what colors will make them mad. I know a kid who wore a red and a blue rag at all times in California to avoid confrontation. hahahaha....
 
I wore one for a year or so till I lost it, now I just keep one in my back pocket because of how useful they are. I quit wearing it simply because it's an identifying mark and I prefer to go unnoticed or unremembered. Black never brought me any trouble but made me a few traveler friends, I can't see camo being more of an issue than black but anyone looking for a fight will find one. I just recommend not wearing one if you gives you discomfort in the area you're in. No reason to wear a piece of cloth if you think it can cost you more than it's worth.
 
elioayla said:
its more dangerous in the ghetto / the hood you might get a gang pissed off at you and you might never know what colors will make them mad. I know a kid who wore a red and a blue rag at all times in California to avoid confrontation. hahahaha....
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Any "gang" member that gets pissed about a bandanna is stuck in the early 90's. Gangs, cops, and the general public in these areas know that no one is stupid enough to fly colors so blatantly. I have lived in a lot of "ghetto/hoods", and know this for a fact. If someone gets pissy at you for flying a color, they are total posers. One time it happened to me, and the kid was maybe 15, in a suburb.
 
Skanks are more apt to locate each other in common areas or are common in their attitude and demeanors as opposed to worrying about identifying specific 'sects' with a fucking do-rag or bandana. If you have a kickass Grateful Dead headpiece, or wanna fly pink to support breast cancer, fuck it - do what you want.

Unless they're wiping it or offering a friendly salad toss, tell the fucktards to get off your ass.
 
Thats the best line ever... honest injun.

Sweet sweet skanks. Taste like cotton candy and sourdough.
 
Cardboard said:
Any "gang" member that gets pissed about a bandanna is stuck in the early 90's. Gangs, cops, and the general public in these areas know that no one is stupid enough to fly colors so blatantly. I have lived in a lot of "ghetto/hoods", and know this for a fact. If someone gets pissy at you for flying a color, they are total posers. One time it happened to me, and the kid was maybe 15, in a suburb.
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I told my good friend this today. She was going on about gangs here (suburban fucking Idaho) and how I can get shot for having my red bandana hanging out for when my allergies flare up. I told her I lived in ghettos as well as suburbs and that the only people worried about bandanas are those in the suburbs with no idea of what's happening.
 
Every circle of bikers/hobos/dirty kids in this country seem to have a hilarious origin-story of "what color skanks mean what".

"I hear wearing a black skank on the high line will get the bulls to leave you alone."
Yeahgoodluck.
 
Never hadcany problems wearing my black rag... had a bunch of people tell me "Oh, if someone in FTRA sees you eearing thst, they'll stab you and throw you off the trsin." By the time I did meet an actual FTRA oldschooler ( the only one I ever believed who told me that; lots of posers), he didn't give a shit what color I was wearing. He just wanted to get drunk and hop a few trains. Dude knew the routes like the back of his hand, too. Ended up going about a thousand miles with him from Texas through Cali.
 
I have walked through many ghetto neighborhoods and never had anybody say shit. Never had anybody say anything hostile about any rag I've ever worn.

They do have practical purposes, even though they're useless against monoxide poisoning. Keeping the face warm in cold weather, keeping the brow dry in hot weather, soaking in cold water and applying to the forehead when it's hot, dust storms (seriously used a skank in several dust storms), emergency shit tickets, wiping the beard, towel, and the list goes on...

And sometimes it's even okay to wash it.
 
I wear a bandana more because of work than because of travelers. I have been confronted for wearing a bandana on my head. The guy said I shouldn't ever take my skank off. I was like "what'd you call me?" he was the first one to inform me what a skank was and that it must be as dirty as possible. He later played a game of catch with a dirty girl, using their own loogies. He said I should never take it off and that he would teach me to hop freight so that I deserve to wear a skank. I took it off and threw it in the fire and said "nah, I wear a bandana because I worked a sweaty job." The last time I used a bandana to save me from hazardous conditions, it was -15F before windchill while riding a snowmobile and that silly rag didn't do anything so I almost got frostbite. Bandana isn't about representing anything, it's about comfort and luxery. If anybody sees a bandana as a status symbol for anything, they are seeing the wrong meaning in slightly useful piece of cloth. That train hopper, wasn't very smart either. He got drunk and hopped on a train going in the wrong direction and it took him weeks to get back.

So what can be said to these confused, misdirected, elitist people? I really don't want to burn anymore bandanas to convey the message of "f*** off". I don't want some guy named knuckles to get in my face and flip me s*** because of a piece of cloth. If they're trying to knock me down to make themselves feel better, then what do I say? they could kick my ass to further their conquest, and anything I might say could set them off. Is there any bandana jokes that could be told to lighten their mood?
 
My friend, the same one I mentioned earlier, was with a guy who said they mean this that and the other. I told him he and anyone else who thinks there's a deep message to them other than what they themselves think are idiots. He looked like he wanted to hit me but I think he knew better. My friend would have gutted him.
 
Cardboard said:
Any "gang" member that gets pissed about a bandanna is stuck in the early 90's. Gangs, cops, and the general public in these areas know that no one is stupid enough to fly colors so blatantly. I have lived in a lot of "ghetto/hoods", and know this for a fact. If someone gets pissy at you for flying a color, they are total posers. One time it happened to me, and the kid was maybe 15, in a suburb.
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Idk what ghetto you lived in (WI?) but in toronto you can get shot for having the wrong colors on. People fly flags all over t.o. but theyre flying as a representation of the gang they belong to and itll be on a persons head or, most commonly neatly folded and hanging out of theback pocket. The side it hangs from and the color are to let yoy know which gang they belong to. Example: crips wear blue flags on the left and-you guessed it bloods wear red on the right.
That aside, if you wear it around your neck you are safe. Color wont matter.
Just dont be posing as a gangbanger.. thatll definitely get you fucked up at the least or worse-shot.
 
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