Turning Away From Hate

Last night, on campus, Hillel (the Jewish student organization) put on a lecture featuring TJ Leyden, an ex-neo nazi.  The first time I saw the poster on campus I knew I had to go, and it was an amazing experience.  Going into the lecture I knew that I would hear things that would disturb, even scare me. 

After this slide came up the room grew quiet.  TJ Introduced himself and began explaining his life in the movement:

TJ grew up in a middle class Irish-Catholic family and got into the movement as a teenager.  He was a leader in it, recruited other kids, and promoted racism and violence-

TJ is an amazing public speaker.  I thought I knew quite a bit about race history in this country and the rising white-nationalist movement.  He taught me things I had never even heard of, things that literally blew my mind. 

For instance.  TJ exposed the fact that seperatists of all races, i.e. Neo-Nazis and the Nation of Islam have been meeting together for years...

A seperatist is just a p.c. word for racist, and a seperatist is a seperatist no matter what color they are.  Here is a plan that the sepeartists hatched for America:

The catalyst for TJ's change of heart came from his two young sons.  He and his wife and children have since been out of the white power movement for years.  Because of who he is TJ is constantly at risk from attack from Neo-Nazis.  His best friend in the movement wrote a hateful song about him, he has been shot at more times than he can count...

After the presentation I felt compelled to meet this man who I think firmly embodies the word "courage."  He was talking to a woman who asked him, "how have you survived, how are you still alive?"  He replied, "I am a religious person and I firmly believe God has a plan for me, to go around and speak about this issue..."  A girl behind me asked him if he was Jewish.  He said, "I'm actually LDS."  That is when I perked up, and said "me too" and thanked him for coming to the University. 

It was an amazing experience, I continue to marvel at hatred and am humbled by those who say "no more."

Comments

[emily kate]

Wow! What a great experience! That's great you got to meet him.

[Christina]

Thank you for sharing this. Thank you : )
Peace

[Keya]

Sounds like it was an interesting lecture. I've heard about that map before. I couldn't imagine living in a segregated world like that.