The fall 2011 SPLC Report (Southern Poverty Law Center) presents the great story of a violent skinhead who rejected his racist past. Byron Widner not only worked to organize skinhead groups during his sixteen years in the movement but also had his face tattooed with insignias of hate.
The great literary theorist and philosopher Kenneth Burke develops a scheme that looks at human being as going through stages of pollution, guilt, purification, and redemption. Thankfully, Mr. Widner has entered the redemption phase, not only renouncing his racist past, but seeking redemption by undergoing painful surgeries over two years to remove the symbols of hate that covered his face. Widner's story was told by MSNBC over the summer in the documentary Erasing Hate. The Southern Poverty Law Center aided Mr. Widner in his quest for redemption.
Mark Fallon, writing on a web site of The Berkshire Company, presents a wonderful recount of Widner's story in "Real Change is Always Possible." Click here to see the article.
To see a promo for Erasing Hate on YouTube click here. Caution: the images are disturbing.
Learn more about the Southern Poverty Law Center by visiting their web site.
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