Christian Picciolini: My descent into America's neo-Nazi movement -- and how I got out
כריסטיאן פיקיוליני: הירידה שלי לתוך התנועה הנאו נאצית האמריקאית - ואיך יצאתי משם
Christian Picciolini is dedicated to helping others counter racism and extremism. Full bio
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began 22 years ago,
התחיל לפני 22 שנה,
supremacist skinhead movement
של גלוחי הראש האמריקאים
from the time I was 14 years old,
and youngest members
והצעירים ביותר
America's most violent hate movement.
האלימה ביותר בארה"ב.
in the mid-1960s
things got a little bit more difficult.
קצת יותר קשים,
a young family and a new business,
גידול משפחה צעירה ועסק חדש,
7 ימים בשבוע,
just to earn a meager living.
ושלישית רק כדי להחזיק מעמד.
was pretty nonexistent.
לא ממש היה קיים.
they loved me very much,
מאוד מאוד לכעוס.
and become very angry.
through my teenage years,
בשנות ההתבגרות שלי,
attention from my parents.
תשומת לב מההורים שלי.
and I was smoking a joint,
with a shaved head and tall black boots,
ראש מגולח ומגפיים גבוהים שחורים,
and he looked me in the eyes,
הסתכל לי בעיניים,
and the Jews want you to do
והיהודים רוצים שתעשה
and watching "Happy Days" --
ולראות טלוויזיה--
was the bad Russian guy
היה הבחור הרוסי הרע
baring my soul with you,
חושף את נשמתי לפניכם,
what the word "docile" meant.
שגם לא הכרתי את המילה "כנוע".
had offered me a lifeline.
הציע לי גלגל הצלה.
marginalized and bullied.
who I was, where I belonged,
had pulled me in,
הכניס אותי פנימה,
with every fiber of my being.
as the leaders of this organization
כשמנהיגי הארגון,
who felt marginalized
with promises of paradise
עם הבטחות לגן עדן,
white-power music.
of that infamous organization
של הארגון הידוע לשמצה,
and who had radicalized me.
ושהקצין אותי.
במשך 8 השנים הבאות,
no evidence of it whatsoever,
every Jewish person in the world
European genocide
של האירופאים הלבנים
through a multiculturalist agenda.
של סובלנות לתרבויות שונות
and the drugs in the city,
that I was committing acts of violence
who were funneling drugs
my parents were hardworking immigrants
היו מהגרים, שעבדו קשה,
from anybody else.
and inflict untold pain
וגורמים כאב בל יתואר
and their families' lives.
from young women in the movement,
they were conditioned to trust,
הורגלו לבטוח בהם.
of violence against people,
was an upcoming race war.
שחשבתי שעומדת לפרוץ.
and performed racist music
והופעתי עם מוזיקה גזענית,
to the internet decades later
הרבה שנים מאוחר יותר
a young white nationalist
South Carolina, church
בצ'רלסטון, צפון קרולינה,
nine innocent people.
תשעה אנשים חפים מפשע.
who was not in the movement,
שלא היתה חלק מהתנועה,
in the delivery room that day,
בחדר הלידה, באותו היום,
with some of the innocence that I had lost
עם חלק מהתמימות שאיבדתי
להעמיד בסימן שאלה
me to the movement to begin with:
שמשכו אותי לתנועה מלכתחילה:
struggling with as a young boy.
of who I was again.
that I had manufactured around me
הקהילה שיצרתי סביבי
and I wanted to project it onto others,
ורציתי שזה יקרין על אחרים,
that I had physically given life to?
להשאיר אחרי אדמה חרוכה
a better place for my family?
יותר, בשביל המשפחה שלי?
who I'd been for the last eight years.
בשמונה השנים האחרונות.
to walk away at that moment,
that was happening inside of me,
could have been averted.
for the benefit of my family,
בשביל המשפחה שלי,
I could go to jail or end up dead,
for themselves.
white-power music in, of course,
מוסיקת כוח-לבן כמובן,
a racist store selling racist music
חנות גזענית שמוכרת רק מוסיקה גזענית
allow me to be there.
stock the shelves with other music,
גם סוגים אחרים של מוסיקה,
that I was selling
from all over the country to buy it
כדי לקנות אותה
to buy the other music.
את המוסיקה האחרת.
to talk to me.
had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
conversation or interaction with,
had been diagnosed with breast cancer,
came in with their son,
that they loved their son
that I loved mine.
or justify the prejudice
את הדעות הקדומות
music from the inventory
to sell it in front of my new friends.
couldn't sustain itself,
nearly everything in my life.
I'd been a part of for eight years,
that I'd really known for most of my life.
היחידות שהכרתי, רוב החיים.
because I closed the store.
with my parents, even though they tried.
למרות שהם ניסו.
and disengaged quickly enough.
was concerned about my well-being,
because I don't want to see you die."
כי אני לא רוצה לראות אותך מת"
apply for a job where she worked,
בחברה בה היא עבדה,
covered in hate tattoos.
מכוסה בקעקועי שנאה,
high schools multiple times.
back at my old high school,
הישן בו למדתי,
where I had committed acts of violence
of the school for equal rights for whites
זכויות שוות ללבנים,
but Mr. Johnny Holmes,
I had gotten in a fistfight with,
years out of the movement,
כבר שנים לא בתנועה,
under the weight of my past,
I had tried to outrun it.
and cover my tattoos with long sleeves,
את הקעקועים בשרוולים ארוכים,
Mr. Holmes out to the parking lot --
אחרי מר הולמס, למגרש החניה--
decision that I made.
he was getting into his car,
and he recognized me,
and all I could think to say was,
כל מה שהצלחתי לחשוב עליו היה:
of some broken go-nowhere kid
של ילד הרוס ללא כיוון
join a gang and go to prison.
of every young person who was vulnerable,
community and purpose,
to whoever would listen.
a hardworking immigrant family
שאנחנו נתקלים בהם
nudge us off our path,
down pretty dark corridors.
ללכת לאיבוד במסדרונות אפלים.
on our journey in life,
or the help to navigate around them
כדי לעקוף אותם
end up doing bad things.
who had potholes is Darrell.
that turned out."
we could certainly do that."
אנחנו ממש יכולים לעשות את זה"
of going back and forth with Darrell,
military veteran who had been injured
not being able to go to Afghanistan
a Muslim man in the park praying,
was kick him in the face.
a Muslim person before?"
anything to do with them."
and I went into the bathroom
from the bathroom,
imam, I need a favor.
about your religion."
for Darrell to go,
15 minutes left for us,
for a prayer service.
we came out after hugging and crying
אחרי חיבוקים ובכי
bonding over Chuck Norris for some reason.
היה נקודת חיבור, מסיבה כלשהי.
that Darrell and the imam,
קרובות בדוכן הפלאפל המקומי,
at the local falafel stand,
from each other.
and isolation is its mother.
we tend to be afraid of it,
אנחנו נוטים לפחד ממנו,
it turns into hatred.
I've helped over a hundred people
עזרתי ליותר ממאה אנשים
from white supremacist groups --
מקבוצות עליונות לבנה--
is not by arguing with them,
for their potholes,
to compete in the marketplace
to blame the other,
with one last thing before I go.
לפני שאני הולך.
they will all tell you the same thing.
כולם יספרו לכם אותו דבר.
not because of ideology or dogma.
לא בגלל אידאולוגיה או רעיון.
they least deserved it from,
to leave you with a challenge:
hopefully every day --
is undeserving of your compassion
שלא ראויים לחמלה שלכם
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Christian Picciolini - Counter-extremism specialistChristian Picciolini is dedicated to helping others counter racism and extremism.
Why you should listen
After leaving the white supremacist skinhead movement he helped build in America during the 1980s and 90s, Christian Picciolini earned a degree in international relations from DePaul University. He launched Goldmill Group, a global media and counter-extremism consulting firm. In 2016, he won an Emmy Award for his role in producing an anti-hate advertising campaign aimed at helping people disengage from violent extremist groups. His life since leaving the white-supremacist movement over two decades ago has been dedicated to helping others counter racism and extremism by founding such organizations as ExitUSA and Life After Hate.
Picciolini has spoken all over the world, sharing his unique and extensive knowledge, teaching all who are willing to learn about building greater peace through empathy and compassion. His involvement in the early American skinhead movement is chronicled in his memoir WHITE AMERICAN YOUTH: My Descent into America’s Most Violent Hate Movement—and How I Got Out (Hachette). He is co-developing a television docu-series based on his work helping people disengage from violent ideologies.
Christian Picciolini | Speaker | TED.com