Yurt
Gold Member
- Jun 15, 2004
- 25,603
- 3,614
Six weeks after a white supremacist gunned down Pardeep Kaleka's father and five others at a Sikh temple last year, Kaleka was skeptical when a former skinhead reached out and invited him to dinner.
But Kaleka accepted, and he's grateful he did. Since then, the grieving son and repentant racist have formed an unlikely alliance, teaming up to preach a message of peace throughout Milwaukee. In fact, they've grown so close that they got matching tattoos on their palms the numbers 8-5-12, the date the gunman opened fire at a Milwaukee-area Sikh temple before killing himself minutes later.
It wasn't easy for Kaleka to meet Arno Michaelis, a 42-year-old who admits he contributed so heavily to the white-power movement that he might have helped influence the shooter. Kaleka knows Michaelis' history his lead singing in a white supremacist band, the white-power and swastika tattoos, the countless fights and more than a dozen arrests.
But he also saw the good work Michaelis has done since he quit the racist movement in the mid-1990s. Kaleka, 37, wanted his father's death to be a catalyst for peace, and he saw in Michaelis a partner whose story could reinforce the message that it's possible to turn hate into love.
Sikh temple attack united victim's son, ex-racist
it can happen, we just all need to be open to the idea that racism can be contained, if not eradicated to the point where it has virtually no effect on our society.
But Kaleka accepted, and he's grateful he did. Since then, the grieving son and repentant racist have formed an unlikely alliance, teaming up to preach a message of peace throughout Milwaukee. In fact, they've grown so close that they got matching tattoos on their palms the numbers 8-5-12, the date the gunman opened fire at a Milwaukee-area Sikh temple before killing himself minutes later.
It wasn't easy for Kaleka to meet Arno Michaelis, a 42-year-old who admits he contributed so heavily to the white-power movement that he might have helped influence the shooter. Kaleka knows Michaelis' history his lead singing in a white supremacist band, the white-power and swastika tattoos, the countless fights and more than a dozen arrests.
But he also saw the good work Michaelis has done since he quit the racist movement in the mid-1990s. Kaleka, 37, wanted his father's death to be a catalyst for peace, and he saw in Michaelis a partner whose story could reinforce the message that it's possible to turn hate into love.
Sikh temple attack united victim's son, ex-racist
it can happen, we just all need to be open to the idea that racism can be contained, if not eradicated to the point where it has virtually no effect on our society.
