ABSTRACT
It was suggested earlier that at the beginning of the 1960s,1 and before the process of integration was properly under way, there was little or no common ground among any of the three youth subcultures outlined above. However, this was not quite true, for a degree of overlap did exist. This was especially true of the Beat-bohemian and teenage delinquent subcultures, which were much closer to each other in both spirit and content than were either to the outlook of the moral protesters, and it was the existence of this common ground that helped to facilitate their subsequent coming together. One rather obvious feature these two had in common was that both were characterized by a thoroughly apolitical form of rebellion or protest. In that respect both were scornful of politics in general as well as the crusading activity of the kind undertaken by the moral protesters, preferring to act out their rejection-or at least their resentment-of the dominant culture rather than work toward its reform. It was this latter point that led to one of the most noticeable points of similarity between them, the common possession of an identifiable subcultural style. For this meant that both groups were characterized by highly distinctive marks of identity, such as dress, appearance, and language. One could identify both a teenage rebel and a Beat-bohemian at first glance, simply because of their appearance, while the fact that both groups were highly visible in this way led to another point of similarity. They were both frequently the object of
harassment by the representatives of authority, and especially the police. One consequence of this was that members of both subcultures frequently felt that they were being victimized. That is to say, they believed they were being picked on, or targeted for special treatment, simply because they were different, or looked different, from ordinary citizens. Naturally enough this tended to breed a strong sense of resentment as well as an associated us-them mentality; whilst the fact that members of both subcultures were similarly likely to be targeted by a common enemy helped to create a certain degree of fellow feeling.2
