This episode explores how the leader of America’s deadliest neo-Nazi gang, Christian Picciolini, became the co-founder of a nonprofit, Life After Hate. His nonprofit is dedicated to peace, inclusion, and racial diversity. In this show, we talk about how in owning a record store that sold not only white power music but music that was popular with groups he was taught to hate, he unintentionally befriended people who were supposed to be his enemy. Christian is a testament to people’s capacity for deep change.
After the interview with Christian, three things stood out for me. Christian explains that we are all born with compassion and somewhere along our journey some of us lose that. The second thing that stood out for me, Christian described his favourite quote as being “find a way or make one”. The third came when I asked him what was his guiding compass and he responded, treat others better than we want to be treated. These moments in the show are a testament to people’s capacity to change. When the former leader of a neo-Nazi group speaks with great optimism and hope or uses words like empathy and compassion, it demonstrates just how much people can change.
Christian has written a book, Romantic Violence: Memoirs of an American Skinhead and has cofounded a nonprofit called Life After Hate. The nonprofit is wholly run by former extremists who work with members of white power extremist groups to help them transition away from these hate groups. Their approach is to two-pronged. First, they are all former members of these extremist groups. Second, they take an approach of listening first. They do not to try to talk about ideology. The thinking behind their approach is that most people join these groups because they are insecure, lonely or marginalised I some way. They address those needs first, and in addressing those primary needs, they can then begin to address different ideologies.
Later in the show, Christian tells a powerful story of how he introduces a man who hates Muslims to an Imam. In their first meeting they have a three-hour conversation and have continued to meet up regularly. Christian has disruptive conversations every day and the story of how this former leader of a neo-Nazi group became an advocate for peace and diversity is a powerful testament to people’s capacity for change.