ghost skin

English

Noun

ghost skin (plural ghost skins)

1. (white supremacy, slang) A white supremacist who hides his/her views in order to blend in with society.
   • 2006 October 17, “White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement”, in Federal Bureau of Investigation Intelligence Assessment, page 5:

     At least one white supremacist group has reportedly encouraged ghost skins to seek positions in law enforcement for the capability of alerting skinhead crews of pending investigative action against them.

   • 2016, Carmen M. Cusack, Hair and Justice: Sociolegal Significance of Hair in Criminal Justice, Constitutional Law, and Public Policy, Charles C Thomas (publ.), →ISBN, page 84.

     Enlistment throughout the war was low, so the military willfully overlooked neo-Nazi recruits, who were encouraged by neo-Nazi group leaders to enlist as ghost skins.

   • 2017 January 31, Alice Speri, “The FBI Has Quietly Investigated White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement”, in The Intercept:

     The memo also states that law enforcement had recently become aware of the term “ghost skins,” used among white supremacists to describe “those who avoid overt displays of their beliefs to blend into society and covertly advance white supremacist causes.” In at least one case, the FBI learned of a skinhead group encouraging ghost skins to seek employment with law enforcement agencies in order to warn crews of any investigations.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see ghost,‎ skin.
   • 2000, Edwin Wise, Animatronics: A Guide to Animated Holiday Displays, Cengage Learning, →ISBN, page 94:

     The ghost skin (yes, ghosts have skin) can be made from white plastic trash bags, ...