Daniel Gallant ©
This poem was published in the West Coast Line from Simon Fraser University 2012.
This poem was posted with a narrative on my blog months ago here.
I have broke up the audio into parts for you to listen to. First is the narrative intro, and the second is the actual poem.
In addition to the conspiracy oriented backbone of the white supremacist worldview there is another likewise problematic misconception. This is the notion of racial purity and the links biology has to culture. Eugenics based science/theory, which is archaic in its development, and the belief that biological determinism is one of the crux of white supremacist idealism speaks to the lens of these pseudo-intellectual lenses. We as a collective society now understand that race and biology do not determine socialization. Socio-cultural dynamics which include intelligence, deviance and criminality are referenced throughout much of the right-wing doctrine as being linked directly to physiology and biology. This biologically determined belief structure is not only archaic, but de-bunked as a science. As indicated by UNBC professor and scholar Michelle Bouchard race is a social construct and what people typically refer to as ‘race’ does not actually exist genetically in a solidified and quantitative manner.
Loose connections are the root of white supremacist doctrine and propaganda. Extremists from the right wing agenda, like Arthur Topham, regurgitate distasteful, hurtful and violent messages, which are rooted in half-baked pseudo-intellectualism. These individuals are not tucked away into the corners of society and hidden away. They work in your schools, courtrooms, universities and construction sites. It is my goal to include, in this blog, insight into who some of these people are; and what they are up to. It is my hope to inform those from the extreme-far-right, that there is a way out of the misconceptions of their indoctrination; all while promoting compassion and solidarity amongst our collective human experience in order to decrease the amount of abuse and oppression that occurs in our country, our cities, our streets, our institutions, our homes and most importantly in our minds.
There is a long history of right wing doctrine that is connected to theses legalese claims, from Doug Christie and the people that he is associated with; as well as the fanatical white supremacist clients he often provides legal council and representation too. He has a long history of representing people charged with hate crimes and who are members of, and affiliated with, right-wing-hate groups. Christie is closely affiliated with the pseudo-rights-group, Canadian Association for Free Expression (CAFÉ), which is connected to and run by well known white supremacists. These individuals are linked through social media and real life relationships to other white supremacists, hate groups, and extremist/terrorist organizations and/or movements.
White supremacist groups have a strong hold in Canada and utilize freedom of expression as a shield against prosecution for hate crimes and human rights charges. Groups such as Canadian Association for Free Expression (CAFÉ), which is run by Paul Fromm who encourages violent extremist groups and supports their cause. Although Fromm will deny that he is a white supremacist when facing legal battles, my experience proves to me alone that he is an utter liar.
Paul Fromm often works along with Canadian lawyer Doug Christie who utilizes the human rights as a defensive shield for violent extremists who face charges under Canadian hate law. Both Christie and Fromm supported Ernst Zundel’s high profile case while attempting to build a defense case, by perverting Canadian rights law in Canada. Christie has violated the Law Society of BC’s regulation and fined for professional misconduct in the past and paid violation fees and restitution of more than $20,000.
Now Arthur Topham is said to be accessing Paul Fromm and Doug Christie to defend him against recent criminal hate crime charges that stem from his online news reports. The Radical Press offers anti-Semitic editorials under the guise of providing the public with alternative news sources from the right-wing-agenda. From posting mainstream news reports of systemic issues to writing pro-Nazi propaganda, this online news source has very obvious intentions that support and incite hate speech.
The ‘Zionist’ conspiracy theories utilized by violent extremist groups link communism, world (high) economics, media control, political domination to the half-baked explanations of how and why the Jewish ‘Zionists’ allegedly are controlling the world and seeking to exterminate the apparent ‘white-race’. As described by white supremacist activist/sympathizer Doug Christie, opposition to Zionism should not be illegal, this legal position is definitively in support of the right-wing agenda. The background of this statement does not inform that the half-baked theory of Zionist conspiracy for world domination also incorporates the promotion of genocide, atrocity and harm to those who are implicated in the ‘Zionist conspiracy’; which includes ‘race-mixers’, ‘race-traitors’ and most citizens.
From the 1930s to the 1980s the Social Credit party thrived in Canada. The party had a history of being openly anti-Semitic which was rationalized through half-baked conspiracy propaganda theories that suggested there is a worldwide economic regime led by ‘Zionists’. However, after a split within the Social Credit party the anti-Semitic position was curbed and members who promoted hateful rhetoric were shunned.One of the individuals who was ejected from the party was Doug Collins, a former journalist for several Canadian newspapers and the CBC up to the 1980s. Collins denounced Schindler’s list as the ‘swindler’s list’ propaganda.
One of the central literary pieces that surfaces within anti-Semitist circles is The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. This text is often utilized by a variety of anti-Semitic groups in order to establish claims that Zionists are Jewish supremacists who are out to control and harm other non-Jewish groups. The users of this book include Islamic and white supremacist groups, as well as many other fanatical groups that have religious and/or political ideological positions. This book is said to have first surfaced in Russia in the early 1900s. Nazi Germany referenced this book as a true text; as do many violent extremist groups today. The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is continuously referred to by extremists to solidify their hate mongering against Jewish religion while targeting Jewish people for attack.
Social Credit activist James Keegstra, a high school teacher, and past mayor in Eckville, Alberta, was stripped of his teaching certificate and convicted under Canadian criminal law for promoting hate. He was teaching his social studies class that the Holocaust was a fraud. Keegstra’s teachings are shared by others who promote that the mainstream reports of the Holocaust are not historically correct; which of course is a ridiculous and obnoxious claim. These fictional accounts of revisionism include the likes of Ernst Zundel, who spent a total of seven years in prison in three separate countries for his commitment to public Holocaust denial.
Zundel’s rhetoric is shared by right-wing-extremist-groups such as the group formerly known as The World Church of The Creator (W.C.O.T.C.), now called the Creativity Movement. The founder of the W.C.O.T.C. Ben Klassen, originally from Saskatchewan, developed a rationalization which allegedly ‘proved’ that the Holocaust did not happen the way history dictates. It is referred to as the Holo-Hoax. The very groups that teach and promote these deceptive allegations typically harbor racist ideologies, believe in archaic biological deterministic science, eugenics based perspectives and promote violent extremism, whether direct or indirect in method. The W.C.O.T.C. has been linked and affiliated with promotion of hate, assaults, murders, terrorist cells, and suicidal ideation. Promoting suicide, murder and genocide in Canada is a crime, period. The headquarters for this church was later established in the U.S.A. The latest leader a former lawyer in Illinois is now in prison.
A Letter To Matthew
(for Matthew Vaudreuil, RIP 1992)
Hey Matthew
I lived with my parents. Unlike you I did not die. Although it was a possibility. I had a teacher. Mr. Killer. He told me. The streets, more safe than home. Run away. Get out. Like you. The system failed me. I pleaded. Teachers help me. Abuse. Hate life. I did not want to live. Attempts to take life. Twelve years. One teacher listened. He cared. None else gave a shit.
Hey Matthew
You can relate. A murdered infant. This system sucks. Fucking sucks. Fucking sucks. Guess what? The Ministry of children don’t care. Don’t care. But Mr. Killer did. He made them care. Fucking mad. He swore. Cursed. Belittled. Berated. Finally, that bitch at the counter talked to my parents. Finally, I was going. Stupid home. People I hate so much. Rape. Black eyes. Bruised ribs. Face Kicked. Choked. Molested. Tossed down stairs.
Hey Matthew
My sweet mom. My strong dad. The helpful child welfare. The protective OPP. That cop. A real cunt. “You’re a bad kid. If you were mine, I’d slap you too.” I attack. I rebel. Wrath. Revolution. Threatened. Ministry appeased. Safe home. Wounded child. Cops and parents. Shake hands. “That kid, Insane.”
Hey Matthew
I knew. In that moment, I had to leave. The next time it happened. My dad unleashed a new level of fury. Tired. Depressed. Death. Twelve years. A boy. That was you. That was me. The old prick. Kicked me in the head. I cried. I screamed. I begged. Stop. Rage lifted me. Defense. Offense. The front door slams. Motor revs. Drives away. Safety. The release. Over the fence.
Hey Matthew
I knew. In that moment, Mom didn’t care. That bitch. That bitch sick-ed him on me again.
Sadist. Conducted the hound. Panting. Frothing. Growling. Wolfing. Bones cracking. Children cry. Scream pain. Agony. Despair. Escape. Run. Run. Run. Air Canada. Greyhound. The thumb. Reaching out.
Hey Matthew
Now years later. Thirty six. Apologies. The torture. The sorrow. The guilt. Disappointments. Denial. Thick denial. Ignorance. Her recovery. In the gutter. Silence. Don’t start now. You can relate Matthew. I mean fuck. Your mom killed you. Is your death happiness? A system of punishment. They got away. I got older. They feared me. Age. Mortality. Frailty. Torment.
Hey Matthew
I survived. Streets. Jails. Institutions. Graveyards. Independence. Resilience. Thriving. Demonstrated perseverance. Scavenged. Panhandled and stolen foods. Surrendered from the abyss. Finally breathing the breath of life. Cease abuse. Established empowerment of self-determination through the resurrection of a dead child. This is my redemption.
Hey Matthew
You can sleep. Quietly. Solemnly. Soundly. As can I. I found us. In others. Those survivors. The meaning and purpose of suffering. Established and created. Bridges. Smiles. Laughter. Hope. And finally, light. You. Me. Exploring. Fashioning. And loving. Establishing networks. Engaging systems. Letters behind my name. Freedom through accountability of them and us and I. I manifested our hope. Our light. We discovered life. We are free.
*Poem published in West Coast Line (SFU) no. 72, 2012
Narrative:
Having experienced child abuse, which included neglect, physical and sexual abuse; both myself and Matthew experienced childhoods that no child should ever endure. Admitting though that the comparison of my experience, to that of Matthew’s, were very different. After all I am still alive and little Matthew is dead. Killed. But we both live in this poem.
It appears that my family experience was not nearly as tumultuous as Matthew’s home life. Matthew was born and raised in the same area as me, the Peace River District of Northern Alberta and BC. Although born two decades apart, our lives correlated in so many ways. The similarities that we shared, far surpassed our differences.
Eventually Matthew succumbed to abuse. He became a statistical fatality. He was a young child, who was abused and tortured by his caregivers. A bruise faced child. Bruised ribs, mutilated penis and many other horrific details which were described in the judicial report known as the Gove Report[1].
I did not learn about Matthew until the beginning of my Master’s of Social Work (MSW) degree. My under-graduate degree was in First Nations Studies. Having had a robust academic career, within the spectrum of anti-oppressive studies, which has enabled me to achieve personal realization that there are many issues within our ‘systems’. Our social welfare structures have so many gaps and failings it is sometimes puzzling. This has been true for many decades, and still rings truth today. This can be seen in the current battle between Dr. Cindy Blackstock, a Gitskan child welfare advocate, and her human rights complaint against the federal government in Canada[2]. Cindy has brought the intersectionality of child protection issues, and capitalistic approach of putting profit before people, into a legal summoning; declaring that the administrative abuse of children is un-acceptable. Of course Cindy has become the target, to some degree, of the federal government’s sights. She has been under some sort of surveillance by the federal government for sometime now[3]. It is people like Cindy Blackstock who bring the voice of children to forefront, especially in context to systemic abuses[4].
My intention is to protect people, specifically children, in spite of failing child welfare systems. There is a solution. And that solution does rest on the shoulders, and within the spectrum of power, of each child protection worker. Every worker within the ‘system’ essentially volunteers to be accountable and responsible for the abuse of children in Canada. A Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) worker, with delegated authority, has a duty to report all reportable child protection issues; moreover, every person has the legal obligation to report all child abuse to MCFD but child protection workers are implicated to a greater degree in this legislated responsibility[5]. Workers have the potential to push the system to address the needs of Canadian children. Although, many choose not to resist and they merely comply with orders of the state. However, there are many workers who will stand up within the system to ensure that accountability exists with the child welfare system. These workers can become the change they want to see in the system[6].
As my Master’s program began I was adamant and determined to achieve and ensure that I do not become part of the problem. I swore that I will not be a compliant agent of the state. Having a solution focussed, task oriented, mindset has provided me with resiliency throughout my life. In the first week of the MSW program, I had to select where I would do my professional practicum placement for eight months.
MCFD just happened to be my calling. While at a summertime feast at a classmates yard, we were gathered around a fire pit. Drinks, conversation and relational being was the climate. I made a connection that night. One of the managers from MCFD was at that fire pit. She was intrigued by my research interests. I was interested in indigenous child welfare, the colonial dynamics between the state and the first peoples of Canada, and my ongoing interest of systemic racism.
She connected me to the regional management office where she worked. I followed through with the networked connections and established a relationship with several workers. My practicum placement was arranged to work within the First Nations child welfare system. My area of proposed interest was to examine racism within policy and legislation. There were many uphill battles and personal challenges to overcome, given my historic relationship with the child welfare system. Having been failed by child protection workers when I was twelve-years-old there was no room for trusting Social Workers, nor child protection workers, let alone the system itself.
On the first day of my practicum placement I gathered as much literature, policy, and legislation that I could find. Having sat and met my supervisor who was non-First Nations, but understood the grotesque colonial historical context between Canada and the first peoples, was a gift. Further, my practicum supervisor Wendy Flanagan had written a great thesis that challenged the discipline of Social Work[7]. Reading her work allowed me to trust her, in a very intimate and legitimate way, and a very professional manner. She offered me support and de-briefing during my practicum placement due to my past relationship and struggles. I was honest about my life and where I came from. I expressed my lack of trust for the system and child welfare/protection workers. She gave me hope that there are good people who understand, and actually care, within the system. She built a bridge of alliance and trust between me and ‘the system’.
After several days of sifting through policies and legislation, I was having difficulty locating information I sought. Intending to find patterns of embedded racism within Canadian child protection legislation, that exploited First Nations children, families and communities led me to many judicial reports. One of which, as mentioned above, was the Gove Report.
Sitting in my office at MCFD was a difficult task. I had flooding memories of the child abuse I had endured. I remembered when my grade eight teacher Mr. Killer brought my abusive home life to the attention of the school principle, police and child welfare. No one seemed to care except Mr. Killer. Recalling these scenarios Mr. Killer’s voice rings in my ears as he exploded at the apathetic position of ‘professionals’ who did not seem to care about an abused boy[8]. Not only did the child protection agencies and police ignore me, they refused me any help while I lived on the streets as a young boy.
As I sat in my office at MCFD feelings of anger, sadness and gratitude simultaneously manifested into a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts, as I sat reading the Gove Report. Relating to Matthew’s experience of horrific child abuse, I thought of my own children, and how lucky they are. They are relatively safe. Recalling memories of my life on the streets of East Vancouver, to my involvement in youth gangs and the right-wing-racist-skinhead-movement; to sitting in a MCFD regional office, with my nametag on the door was absolutely surreal.
I flipped scrolled through the pdf document: The Gove Report. As tears flowed out of my eyes rolling and dropping onto the desk, and overwhelmed by feelings of fear, which led to thoughts that someone in the office may see me sitting in a dark office crying silently, alone. It took me nearly three hours of sitting in my office with the Gove Report, reading a detailed account of Matthew’s experience, while contrasting it with my own child abuse memories to understand that I needed to be where I was. My realization that justice has not been served, neither for Matthew nor myself, struck me. I had to do something more than my research in order to deal with what I was feeling. I began to write a letter to Matthew.
Having worked as a counsellor in a men’s residential addiction recovery program, and my experiences as a social-service-user, it became clear that the exercise of writing a letter to Matthew would assist me with processing my feelings. This letter was a lengthy piece.
Later that week I met an aboriginal poet named Garry Gottfriedson[9], at the Weaving Words aboriginal writing festival[10]. He picked me out of a crowd and sat next to me. He and I shared several hours together intimately sharing aspects of our personal stories that were so similar. It was a beautiful and freeing dialogue. I shared my letter to Matthew with him. Garry then indicated that he was going to be my writing mentor. He committed to assist me in developing my writing into a profound poetic voice.
Matthew helped me that day, through the Gove Report, that little dead boy brought me freedom. His death is not in vain. I lived through the abuse. Matthew is my proverbial little brother. It became apparent that my voice is Matthew’s voice. Our spirit and consciousness is the same. We are tied metaphysically through societal relations. The strings of MCFD brought our kinship into a relationary ethical space[11]. My Letter to Matthew is my commitment to all children who suffer abuse. Should a case be brought to me, I pledge to advocate and use all of my knowledge, experience and energy to ensure the safety of a child. I have done this in the recent years and I will continue to fulfill my role as an independent and unpaid child welfare advocate until I die. Ensuring that these colonialist abusive dynamics are acknowledged, minimized, and when possible, stopped.
[1] Gove Judicial Report: http://www.qp.gov.bc.ca/gove/vol2_09.htm
[3] http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/11/17/govt-surveillance-of-native-youth-advocate-cindy-blackstock/
[5] Child, Family, and Community Service Act (CFCSA, 1996)
[6] A combined paraphrase of a quote by Ghandi and ideas orchestrated by structural social worker Robert Mullaly (2007 & 2009)
[7] Flanagan, W. (2011). Cultural studies: The silenced or courageously loud sister of social work
(Master’s thesis). University of Northern British Columbia: Prince George, Canada.
[8] A Letter to Matthew, published in the West Coast Line no. 72, 2012
[9] Garry Gottfriedson is a Secwepemc published writer, teacher and language carrier
[10] University of Northern British Columbia’s Aboriginal Weaving Words Storytelling Festival
[11] Willie Ermine on Ethical Space: Article: http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/ilj6&div=12&id=&page=
This Piece was Published by lifeafterhate.org
http://lifeafterhate.org/2012/06/scars-of-past/
As well this piece was published by University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) in 2012 as the winner of the Weaving Words Aboriginal Storytellers Festival:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Utloo-Noye-Khunni-Weaving-Words-Celebration/258820110802888?fref=ts
Scars Of Past
scribed deep outlining definitions
identity established through hate
crooked crosses baring attacks
ancestors retribution, clanging metal in the void
fulfilling communication pinned in flesh
knuckles crack and crunch, smack downward
upward into fatty boned pillows of vilified foes
who collapse and crumble to tarry asphalt beds
pointed protrusions scarred on hand
tummy injected with scorn
configured protector a watchful back
swift limbs with writs of violence
manuscripts flame, unforgotten torment
tempered in retreat as forged fires strengthen
secured fortification, embedded in offense
skirmished symbology skinned
violence – a safe place[2]
Abuse and torment can take many forms. The scars from damages done can transpire in countless ways. Some scars are inflicted by others. While many other scars are inflicted upon ourselves. My deepest scars, inflicted by others in my childhood, are those that are not visible to the eye. However, my most noticeable scars are self-inflicted.
I dedicated my life to a right-wing-extremist cause. I am reminded of this every day as I look at my tattoos. These are my scars. Reminders of where I come from. More importantly these self-inflicted inked scars are reminders of where I do not want to return to. Scars of a hateful and treacherous path walked by a man who was lost and utterly alone.
These tattoos, that I bear, serve as reminders of my twisted conviction that these scars were once considered badges of honor. Each one strategically earned, conceptualized and inscribed with scorn into my body, my temple. Scars from my past reflect the intense negative energy harbored for the majority of my life. These scars reflect who I was and who I wanted to be.
In the mid-1990s the commitment to a life of hate was voluntary. I dedicated two years of my life to perpetrating violence every day. Romantic-ultra-violence was my code, which had tumultuous consequences for many people. These people that were injured, damaged and abused are carried within me throughout all areas of my life. Etched into my skin.
After fifteen years of violence and chaos my life changed. I started college with a grade seven education. I then began working in the social service field. Having worked as a community worker with minority groups, marginalized/oppressed peoples, and persons with acquired brain injury has helped me understand the depth of some of the damages that I have perpetrated. Counseling men with addictions and gang involvement has allowed me to understand myself and others more. This results in a deeper sense of self-acceptance, and the acceptance of others. The advocacy, activism and intervention work that I have done in several communities has taught me that compassion, empathy and understanding are imperative for my continued growth. These inked extremist scars remind me of where I come from and the miraculous life graced upon me.
The first racist tattoo that I ‘earned’ was a confederate flag that was etched into my right hand. On my stomach is a large swastika which is circled by a chain. This symbolism was borrowed from the hateful-nazi-party with a ‘white-man’s’ fist utilized to symbolize ra-ho-wa, a racial holy war[3]. This fist was first used by the founder of the shameful american-nazi-party[4] and later adopted by the World Church of the Creator; now named the creativity movement due to a trademark infringement[5]. The crooked-cross (swastika) corners have each of my four children’s initials placed around the outside of the chained circle. At the time I believed this was honoring my ‘blood- line’, namely my children. Now I carry these horrific symbols as a reminder of my obsessively twisted past. While never refusing to inform those who inquire about these tattoos, of the transitions to my life-after-hate[6].
After leaving the streets and working for an organized crime syndicate in the lower east-side of Vancouver, I came to possess a small gargoyle statue. This carving was acquired through a violent robbery in an act of retribution. Encouraged by the belief that this gargoyle represented my spirit and acted as my guardian it was tattooed on my shoulder. The other shoulder has a perverted hateful symbolic rendition of a celtic-cross. I believed this was an honor to our Irish family, the Collins clan. Our family shares genealogical lineage with the ‘Big Fella,’ Michael Collins. Michael’s father was my great-grandfather’s brother. I now understand that this tattoo is a disgrace to my ancestors.
The second ‘badge-of honor’ that I had ‘earned’ was a cover-up tattoo. The original tattoo was done by my brother/friend Jason Gladue when we were seventeen. Jason was a skinny metis kid. The tattoo he pinned onto my arm was the outline of a 3D swastika with a bullet hole in the center of it. This anti-racist tattoo was dichotomously transformed into a symbol of my hate a few short years later. The new swastika tattoo placed on my forearm became a deadly weapon. My hands abused many people. Assaulting over 500 people in a two year period was symbolized by this ‘badge-of-honor’. Violence was my refuge. Hateful rage was a horrific misdirection of my human and spiritual energy. Inside my temple was a boy drowning in hate. I had ostracized myself from all who loved me. On my leg is a nordic rune that references odin, the god of war. It represented my commitment to warrior ancestors and my willingness to die in battle. Another ‘badge’ of hate.
A few years after remaining drug and alcohol free, I met my friends Gary Moostoos and Jerry Goodswimmer at a local coffee shop in Edmonton. They offered me love and refuge without judgment. Both of these men are from Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation, in Alberta. These men were instrumental in the decision to keep these tattooed scars in order to honor myself, and others. Especially those I abused.
After my first newspaper interview with the Edmonton Journal, about my path of redemption, written by Dakota journalist Graham Andrews[7]. The Edmonton Police Service’s Hate Crimes Unit requested a meeting with me. Dave Huggins, the units coordinator, then offered me a gift.
Huggins informed me that Gayle Tallmanfrom the Canadian Jewish Congress[8] wanted to meet me and offer an opportunity to get rid of the scars of my past. Gayle then arranged for Dr. Groot[9], in Edmonton, to do pro-bono laser surgery to remove my tattoos. I obliged and was so relieved to have these scars removed from my body.
After a year of attending First Nations’ ceremonies on the Enoch Cree nation, I was in discussion with my friend Gary Moostoos about this opportunity for tattoo removal. As a community worker, activist and healer Gary openly indicated that he thought erasing these scars of my past was a bad move. I did not agree. I contended and challenged his points with denial and anger. He suggested that these tattoos would serve as a constant reminder of where I have been and how easy it could be to go back to that life. He encouraged me to not erase these tattoos until I was ready to leave my hate behind. I nevertheless continued with the laser surgeries generously offered by the community of Edmonton.
The tattoo removal offer came while I was working as an addictions counselor at a men’s residential treatment facility. I became worn out and tired from living several months with painful blisters and burns induced by the laser surgery. My psoriasis began to attack all of my healing wounds. The healing process of these laser burns was hindered due to my skin disorder that was running rampant.
I sat with my good friend, who I consider family, Jerry Goodswimmer. Jerry a former Chief of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and a First Nations leader and scholarly activist indicated to me that he, like Gary, disagreed with removing my tattoos this soon. He blatantly said “you hurt my people now you need to sit with that”. Inside I knew he was correct. I had more road to travel on this healing journey before I could erase these tattoos.
These scars are carried with me every day as a reminder of where I have been, where I do not want to go, and to honor those I had perpetrated abuse against. These scars of past are self-inflicted writs and scribes of a hateful past that motivates me every single day to live a life motivated by compassion, empathy and love.
In compassionate and creative solidarity,
Daniel Gallant
[1] Photo by Shaughn Butts, from the Edmonton Journal: City Plus Cover: Ex-skinhead seeks path of redemption, January 6th 2006.
[2] Poem written by Daniel Gallant. Edited by Daniel Gallant and Garry Gottfriedson. Scars of Past poem printed in West Coast Line No. 72, 2012, Winter Edition & published on http://www.lifeafterhate.org
[3] Ra-Ho-Wa: Racial Holy War, declared battle cry from the Creativity Movement excerpted from Nature’s Eternal Religion (Klassan, 1973) published by the Creativity Book Publisher.
[4] American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell wrote book entitled White Power (1967) that used a white fist as the logo on cover.
[5] World Church of the Creator, a white supremacist/Neo-Nazi organization founded by Canadian Ben Klassan, now named The Creativity Movement due to civil litigation pertaining to a name/trademark infringement (Chicago-Illinois Civil Docket Case # 00-CV-2638).
[6] Phrase life-after-hate adopted from Arno Michealis’ book My Life After Hate and non-profit organization Life After Hate (www.lifeafterhate.org).
[7] Edmonton Journal, City Plus cover story, January 6, 2006: Ex-skinhead seeks path of redemption by Graham Andrews.
[8] Gayle Tallman employed at Canadian Jewish Congress now named The Center for Israel & Jewish affairs.
[9] Groot Dermasurgery Centre located in Edmonton, Alberta.
