... was derived from sort of a merger between the British Mods and the Jamaican Rude Boys. It was a working class subculture that pretty much cared about partying and music - rock steady, ska, Motown, etc, and then in the later years, punk rock (which has its own fusion of styles, too). Eventually, though, due to Southeast Asian immigration (in England), part of that subculture factionalized off into their own racist/nationalist segments. So, the representatives you see on shows like Geraldo are the racist variety.
In the Skinhead subculture, Racist/Nazi/Nationalist factions are referred to as "Boneheads." Still referred as that to this day.
It should be noted that there are even more subdivisions like just simply non-racist, then you have RASH (Red and Anarchist Skinheads), SHARP (Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice), and TRADS (Traditional Skinheads - which is just simply not political).
And yes, we always need to speak up. Without speaking out, you are passively endorsing such bigotry.
Hope that helps explain the whole scene. 
For more information, here's a Wiki entry on it:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skinhead
It was an honor to be a part of the scene, even though I wasn't a Skinhead (I didn't shave my head) myself - I was more into the Mod/Punk look myself.
Edit to add pictures:
SHARP Logo
RASH Logo
Edit history
Recommendations
0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):
= new reply since forum marked as read