Picciolini - Romantic violence: memoirs of an American skinhead

Praise for Romantic Violence: Memoirs of an American Skinhead

Christians journey exemplifies how hate and violence are unsustainable, and tolerance, forgiveness, and love are the only way forward. If Christian can change, there is hope for all humankinda compelling and extraordinary story.

Jane Rosenthal, Co-Founder, Tribeca Film Festival

Romantic Violence takes the reader into the depths of the hate movement and sheds a valuable light on the mindset of those who can be lured into this dark world. Christians astonishing change of heart is a testament to our endless capacity for personal transformation.

Lonnie Nasatir, Regional Director, AntiDefamation League

Romantic Violence is a very hard book to put down. Though the tale often takes the reader into disturbing territory, the storytellers voice is filled with a beautiful, unwavering honesty. There have been countless sociological texts and documentaries devoted to the exploration of American neo-Nazi skinhead culture, but this book starts at the very beginning. Christian Picciolini was one of the first foot soldiers (and eventual leaders) of that movement, and though he has long since renounced those racist beliefs, there is a riveting emotional immediacy to his depiction of the process and mindset that led him down the white power path. The issues and events dominating todays headlines are reminders that the roots Romantic Violence exposes are eminently germane. This memoir is not, however, merely a one-of-a-kind historical account. It is, first and foremost, the story of a human being who looks back on his earlier self with shock and horror, but it is told from the vantage point of one who refused to let his past define him. Though he will be forever haunted by deeds he cannot change, he lives with the joy of one who now understands the preciousness of every lifeincluding his own.

Don De Grazia, author of American Skin

Upon reading Romantic Violence, you will learn and understand how the average personeven your next-door neighborcan be drawn into a hate movement. At the same time, reading this book will make you wish that you were lucky enough to have someone like Christian Picciolini as that neighbor. Romantic Violence by Christian Picciolini is powerful, honest, and insightful. A no-holds-barred look into how nearly a decade of hate transformed a man and allowed him to create a life of strength, love, kindness, and tolerance.

Frank Meeink, author of Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead and Founder, Harmony Through Hockey

Like a skinhead Goodfellas, Romantic Violence takes us along on a young mans journey to the dark heart of a distasteful organization, somehow making the narrators descent every bit as understandable and compellingand all the more tragic. Its a powerful and moving memoir that brought tears to my eyes.

Gerald Brennan, author of Resistance, Zero Phase, and Public Loneliness

Romantic Violence is a coming-of-age story about a relatively average all-American kid who finds himself at the center of organized hate. Christian Picciolinis memoir underscores how the search for universal needs such as identity, excitement, and belonging can influence adolescents to embrace extremism. Maybe most important, Picciolinis transformation from hatemonger to compassion advocate is an essential reminder of the human capacity for change and redemption.

Pete Simi, author of American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movements Hidden Spaces of Hate

If its disturbingly easy to embrace the white power ideology, its not as easy to leave behind. Christians experiences in Romantic Violence will shock you, but its his escape and transformation that will inspire. His honest, often brutal memoir charts a journey from hopelessness to redemption. A profoundly important book, and a riveting read.

John Horgan, author of The Psychology of Terrorism

Christian Picciolinis Romantic Violence is a raw and honest memoir of his life as an early activist and white power singer in the American neo-Nazi skinhead movement. A cautionary tale about how even a smart kid from a stable home can get pulled into a world of violence and hate, it is as much a redemptive story of his journey out of that world and into a new life as co-founder of Life After Hate, an important anti-racist organization.

Mark Potok, Senior Fellow, Southern Poverty Law Center and Editor, Intelligence Report

Picciolini takes us from a lonely childhood spent daydreaming in his Italian immigrant grandparents closet in Blue Island, Illinois, to an early adulthood leading Heil Hitler chants from a stage at a neo-Nazi concert in Weimar, Germany. He pulls no punches in showing how a need to belong and excel can lead a kid so far astray, while also showing a path towards redemption and atonement. A necessary book for our fractious and broken times.

Dmitry Samarov, painter, writer, and author of Hack: Stories from a Chicago Cab and Where To? A Hack Memoir

Published in association with GOLDMILL GROUP LLC

917 W. Washington Boulevard, Suite 213

Chicago, Illinois 60607

Copyright 2015 by Christian Picciolini

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission, write to the publisher at the office address or via the website above.

White Power lyrics by Ian Stuart Donaldson/Skrewdriver. 1983. All rights reserved.

The Way Its Got To Be lyrics by Ian Stuart Donaldson/Skrewdriver. 1985. All rights reserved.

Chicago Gangsters lyrics by Clark Martell/Final Solution. 1985. All rights reserved.

White American Youth lyrics by Christian Picciolini/White American Youth. 1991. All rights reserved.

Ball and Chain lyrics by Samantha Brown and Michael Ness. Sony/ATV Tunes, Rebel Waltz. 1990. All rights reserved.

Vanguard lyrics by Christian Picciolini/Final Solution. 1993. All rights reserved.

White Pride lyrics by Christian Picciolini/White American Youth. 1991. All rights reserved.

Open Your Eyes lyrics by Christian Picciolini/White American Youth. 1991. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from The Turner Diaries by Andrew MacDonald. 1978. All rights reserved.

Excerpts from W.A.R. Newsletter by Clark Martell. 1985. All rights reserved.

Paperback and e-book cover design by James T. Egan / Bookfly Design LLC (www.BookflyDesign.com)

Interior layout by James T. Egan / Bookfly Design LLC

Photography (author headshot) by Mark Seliger (www.MarkSeligerPhotography.com)

Interior Photography (chapter photos) by Various

Edited by Michael Mohr (www.MichaelMohrWriter.com)

ISBN:

978-0-9862404-2-3 (paperback)

978-0-9862404-3-0 (e-book)

First Edition: May 2015

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication data

Romantic violence : memoirs of an American Skinhead / Christian Picciolini.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-9862404-2-3 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-9862404-3-0 (e-book)

1. Picciolini, Christian. 2. SkinheadsUnited StatesBiography. 3. Neo-NazisUnited StatesBiography. 4. White supremacy movementsUnited States. 5. Ex-gang membersUnited States. I. Title.

HV6439.U5 P53 2015

320.5/6dc23 2015900837