White American Youth: My Descent into America’s Most Violent Hate Movement--and How I Got Out

235 Pages·2017·4.01 MB·English

by  Christian Picciolini

Copyright
Copyright © 2017 by Christian Picciolini Cover design by Amanda Kain.
Cover photograph courtesy of the author.
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Originally published as Romantic Violence: Memoirs of an American Skinhead
in May of 2015.
First ebook edition: December 2017
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“White Power” lyrics by Ian Stuart Donaldson. © 1983. All rights reserved.
“The Way It’s Got To Be” lyrics by Ian Stuart Donaldson. © 1985. All rights
reserved.
“White American Youth” lyrics by Christian Picciolini. © 1990. All rights
reserved.
“Open Your Eyes” lyrics by Christian Picciolini. © 1990. All rights reserved.
“Final Solution” lyrics by Christian Picciolini. © 1991. All rights reserved.
Many names have been changed, including all participants in the hate
movements who have not already been identified publicly in this regard.
Photography (author headshot) by Dennis Sevilla
Interior Photography (chapter photos) by Various
ISBN 978-0-316-52291-5
E3-20171121-JV-PC
CONTENTS
COVER
TITLE PAGE
COPYRIGHT
DEDICATION
EPIGRAPH
FOREWORD BY JOAN JETT
INTRODUCTION
Prologue
Chapter 1: Goliath
Chapter 2: Miles Apart
Chapter 3: Buddy
Chapter 4: White Power
Chapter 5: Romantic Violence
Chapter 6: Fourteen Words
Chapter 7: Summer of Hate
Chapter 8: Young Hate Mongers
Chapter 9: Hear the Call
Chapter 10: White Pride
Chapter 11: Armed and Dangerous
Chapter 12: W.A.Y.
Chapter 13: Sick Society
Chapter 14: Heavy-Metal Hate Machine
Chapter 15: AKA Pablo
Chapter 16: Martyr
Chapter 17: Happy Death
Chapter 18: Final Solution
Chapter 19: Open Your Eyes
Chapter 20: AmeriKKKa
Chapter 21: Soldiers of the Race War
Chapter 22: Organized Chaos
Chapter 23: White Revolution
Chapter 24: Walk Alone
Chapter 25: Sins of the Brother
Epilogue
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PRAISE FOR WHITE AMERICAN YOUTH: MY DESCENT INTO AMERICA’S MOST
VIOLENT HATE MOVEMENT—AND HOW I GOT OUT
NEWSLETTERS
To my Buddy, my boys, and my Britton
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more
violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the
opposite direction.
—E. F. Schumacher, Small Is Beautiful
Christian Picciolini and Joan Jett, 1996
FOREWORD
T
HE UNIVERSAL STRUGGLE FOR IDENTITY and belonging is what binds all of us
together. It is this search, ultimately, that makes us human; that makes us,
especially as children, vulnerable.
In the 1970s, when I was in the Runaways, the first all-female American rock
band ever, I experienced all types of prejudice and bigotry as a woman.
Sometimes it was all I could do not to give up altogether. But my guitar, along
with my pen and my voice, led me out of that hollow fear and into a long and
successful rock-and-roll career—one that, thankfully, I am still riding the
powerful wave of today.
Thanks in large part to Kenny Laguna, my producer, manager, close friend,
and lifetime confidant, I have arrived at this level of commercial success and
have been able to carve out a life in music. Kenny was then and still is very
much a mentor to me. Without his direction and aid, I would not be where I am
today. He believed in me when most others didn’t.
I met Christian Picciolini in 1996 while on tour in Chicago. I did not know
about Christian then what I know now. We needed an opener, and when I saw
his punk band, Random55, warming up on stage, I saw something special in
their style and knew from some place deep inside that they were the right ones. I
approached Christian, who seemed low and withdrawn, backstage after the set.
He seemed sad for some reason, and I talked with him for a little while, throwing
my arm around his shoulder, trying to assuage his fears. I sensed that Christian
had been like me as a struggling teenager, in a dark place, searching for identity
and belonging—acceptance. He needed someone to believe in him.
Random55 ended up going out with us on the road that year, becoming our
opening act for a string of shows. Christian and I had many more meaningful
conversations, and I like to think that some of what I had to say helped him cope
with whatever he was going through. I will always recall his dedication to music
and his drive. I could tell that, at that time, he was seeking something from life,
from his soul. Now he has written this incredible memoir, detailing and forcing