Sikh temple attack united victim's son, ex-racist
brianlux
Posts: 42,055
This is such a great story. With so much hatred and strife in the world, it is heartening to read something like this.
http://news.yahoo.com/sikh-temple-attac ... 39382.html
Sikh temple attack united victim's son, ex-racist
OAK CREEK, Wis. (AP) — 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.
(more at link)
http://news.yahoo.com/sikh-temple-attac ... 39382.html
Sikh temple attack united victim's son, ex-racist
OAK CREEK, Wis. (AP) — 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.
(more at link)
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Variously credited to Mark Twain or Edward Abbey.
Post edited by Unknown User on
0
Comments
Comes across to me as a means of preventing healing? Kinda like to keep the revenge minded fires burning? That's the sense I get anyway which runs counter to what I've understood that religious body to be about.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14