My descent into America’s neo-Nazi movement -- and how I got out | Christian Picciolini

Translator: Daniel Javoran Reviewer: Linda Magáthová

My journey away from violent extremism began 22 years ago,

Moja cesta od násilného extrémizmu sa začala pred 22 rokmi,

when I denounced racism

keď som zavrhol rasizmus

and left the American white supremacist skinhead movement

a opustil som americké hnutie skinheadov za bielu nadvládu,

that I had helped build.

ktoré som pomohol postaviť.

(Cheers and applause)

(povzbudenie a potlesk)

I was just 22 years old at the time,

V tom čase som mal 22 rokov,

but I had already spent eight years, from the time I was 14 years old,

ale už som mal za sebou osem rokov, odkedy som mal štrnásť rokov,

as one of the earliest and youngest members

ako jeden z najskorších a najmladších členov

and an eventual leader within America's most violent hate movement.

a eventuálne ako líder najnásilnejšieho amerického nenávistného hnutia.

But I wasn't born into hate;

Ale nenarodil som sa do nenávisti;

in fact, it was quite the opposite.

v skutočnosti celkom naopak.

I had a relatively normal childhood.

Mal som relatívne normálne detstvo.

My parents are Italian immigrants

Moji rodičia sú talianski imigranti,

who came to the United States in the mid-1960s

ktorí prišli do Spojených štátov uprostred 60. rokov

and settled on the South Side of Chicago,

a usadili sa na Južnej strane Chicaga,

where they eventually met,

kde sa nakoniec zoznámili,

and opened a small beauty shop.

a otvorili si malý salón krásy.

Right after I was born, things got a little bit more difficult.

Hneď ako som sa narodil, začali byť veci trochu ťažšie.

They struggled to survive with raising a young family and a new business,

Usilovali sa prežiť, zatiaľčo sa starali o mladú rodinu a nový podnik,

often working seven days a week,

často pracovali sedem dní v týždni,

14 hours a day,

14 hodín denne,

taking on second and third jobs just to earn a meager living.

zobrali si druhú a tretiu prácu, len aby zarobili skromné živobytie.

And quality time with my parents was pretty nonexistent.

Kvalitný čas s mojimi rodičmi vlastne neexistoval.

Even though I knew they loved me very much,

Aj keď som vedel, že ma veľmi milovali,

growing up, I felt abandoned.

cítil som sa počas dospievania opustený.

I was lonely, and I started to withdraw,

Bol som osamelý, začal som sa od nich odkláňať

and then I started to resent my parents and become very angry.

a potom som začal k mojim rodičom cítiť odpor a bol som veľmi nahnevaný.

And as I was growing up, through my teenage years,

A ako som vyrastal, počas mojich tínedžerských rokov

I started to act out to try and get attention from my parents.

som začal vyvádzať, aby som od rodičov získal pozornosť.

And one day, when I was 14,

A jedného dňa, keď som mal 14 rokov,

I was standing in an alley, and I was smoking a joint,

stál som v uličke a fajčil joint,

and a man who was twice my age, with a shaved head and tall black boots,

a muž, ktorý bol odo mňa dvakrát starší, s vyholenou hlavou a s kanadami

came up to me,

prišiel ku mne

and he snatched the joint from my lips.

a vychmatol mi joint z mojich pier.

Then he put his hand on my shoulder and he looked me in the eyes,

Potom položil ruku na moje rameno a pozrel sa mi do očí

and he said,

a povedal:

"That's what the communists and the Jews want you to do

"To komunisti a Židia chcú, aby si toto robil

to keep you docile."

aby si ostal povoľný."

I was 14 years old,

Mal som 14 rokov,

I'd been trading baseball cards and watching "Happy Days" --

vymieňal som si baseballové kartičky a pozeral "Happy Days" -

I didn't really know what a Jew was.

naozaj som nevedel, čo je to Žid.

(Laughter)

(smiech)

It's true.

Naozaj.

And the only communist that I knew was the bad Russian guy

A jediný komunista, ktorého som poznal, bol zlý Rus

in my favorite Rocky movie.

v mojej obľúbenej časti Rockyho.

(Laughter)

(smiech)

And since I'm here baring my soul with you,

A keďže vám tu odhaľujem svoju dušu,

I can reveal that I did not even know what the word "docile" meant.

tak vám môžem prezradiť, že som nevedel ani, čo znamená slovo "povoľný".

(Laughter)

(smiech)

Dead serious.

Úplne vážne.

But it was as if this man in this alley had offered me a lifeline.

Ale bolo to akoby mi ten muž v uličke ponúkol záchranné lano.

For 14 years, I'd felt marginalized and bullied.

14 rokov som sa cítil marginalizovaný a šikanovaný.

I had low self-esteem.

Mal som nízke sebavedomie.

And frankly, I didn't know who I was, where I belonged,

A úprimne som nevedel, kto som bol, kam som patril

or what my purpose was.

alebo čo bolo mojím zmyslom.

I was lost.

Bol som stratený.

And overnight, because this man had pulled me in,

A zo dňa na deň, pretože ma tento muž vtiahol

and I had grabbed onto that lifeline with every fiber of my being,

a ja som sa chytil toho záchranného lana každou nitkou svojho bytia.

I had gone from "Joanie Loves Chachi"

Z fanúšika "Joanie Loves Chachi"

to full-blown Nazi.

som sa stal úplným nacistom.

Overnight.

Zo dňa na deň.

I started to listen to the rhetoric

Začal som počúvať ich rétoriku a veriť jej.

and believe it.

I started to watch very closely as the leaders of this organization

Začal som veľmi pozorne sledovať ako sa lídri tejto organizácie

would target vulnerable young people who felt marginalized

zameriavali na zraniteľných mladých ľudí, ktorí sa cítili marginalizovaní,

and then draw them in with promises of paradise

a potom ich vtiahli prísľubmi raja,

that were broken.

ktoré boli porušené.

And then I started to recruit myself.

A potom som začal verbovať aj ja.

I started to do that by making white-power music.

Začal som robením white-power hudby.

A čoskoro som sa stal lídrom tejto neslávne známej organizácie,

And soon, I became the leader of that infamous organization

that was led by that man in that alley

ktorú viedol ten muž v uličke,

who recruited me that day,

ktorý ma vtedy naverboval,

who was America's first neo-Nazi skinhead and who had radicalized me.

a ktorý bol prvý neonacistický skinhead v Amerike, a ktorý ma radikalizoval.

For the next eight years,

Ďalších osem rokov

I believed the lies that I had been fed.

som veril klamstvám, ktorými som bol kŕmený.

And though I saw no evidence of it whatsoever,

A aj keď som o tom nikdy nevidel žiadny dôkaz,

I didn't hesitate to blame every Jewish person in the world

neváhal som viniť každého Žida na svete

for what I thought was a white, European genocide

za to, o čom som si myslel, že bola biela európska genocída

being promoted by them through a multiculturalist agenda.

nimi podporovaná cez multikulturalistickú agendu.

I blamed people of color

Vinil som ľudí inej farby pleti

for the crime and violence and the drugs in the city,

za zločiny, násilie a drogy v meste,

completely neglecting the fact that I was committing acts of violence

úplne ignorujúc fakt, že som sám páchal násilné činy každý deň,

on a daily basis,

and that in many cases,

a že v mnohých prípadoch

it was white supremacists who were funneling drugs

to boli bieli rasisti, kto prinášal drogy do centier miest.

into the inner cities.

And I blamed immigrants

A vinil som imigrantov

for taking jobs from white Americans,

za to, že bielym Američanom brali prácu,

completely neglecting the fact that my parents were hardworking immigrants

úplne ignorujúc fakt, že moji rodičia boli ťažko pracujúci imigranti,

who struggled to survive,

ktorí sa usilovali prežiť

despite not getting help from anybody else.

napriek tomu, že od nikoho iného nedostávali pomoc.

For the next eight years,

Počas nasledujúcich ôsmich rokov

I saw friends die,

som videl priateľov zomierať,

I saw others go to prison and inflict untold pain

videl som ostatných ísť do väzenia a spôsobovať nesmiernu bolesť

on countless victims and their families' lives.

nespočetným obetiam a ich rodinám.

I heard horrific stories from young women in the movement,

Počul som desivé príbehy od mladých žien v hnutí,

who'd been brutally raped by the very men they were conditioned to trust,

ktoré boli brutálne znásilnené tými mužmi, ktorým boli naučené dôverovať.

and I myself committed acts of violence against people,

A sám som páchal násilné činy na ľuďoch

solely for the color of their skin,

len kvôli farbe ich pleti,

who they loved,

kvôli tomu, koho milovali

or the god that they prayed to.

alebo kvôli bohu, ku ktorému sa modlili.

I stockpiled weapons for what I thought was an upcoming race war.

Zásoboval som sa zbraňami, lebo som očakával rasovú vojnu.

I went to six high schools;

Zo šiestich stredných škôl

I was kicked out of four of them,

ma vyhodili zo štyroch,

one of them, twice.

z jednej dvakrát.

And 25 years ago, I wrote and performed racist music

A pred 25 rokmi som skladal a hral rasistickú hudbu,

that found its way to the internet decades later

ktorá si po desaťročiach našla svoju cestu na internet

and partially inspired a young white nationalist

a čiastočne inšpirovala mladého bieleho nacionalistu,

to walk into a sacred Charleston, South Carolina, church

ktorý vkročil do kostola v Charlestone, v Južnej Karolíne

and senselessly massacre nine innocent people.

a bezhlavo zmasakroval deviatich nevinných ľudí.

But then my life changed.

Ale potom sa môj život zmenil.

At 19 years old, I met a girl who was not in the movement,

Keď som mal 19 rokov, stretol som dievča, ktoré nebolo v hnutí.

who didn't have a racist bone in her body,

Nemala v sebe ani kúsok rasizmu

and I fell in love with her.

a ja som sa do nej zamiloval.

And at 19, we got married,

V devätnástich sme sa vzali

and we had our first son.

a mali sme prvého syna.

And when I held my son in my arms in the delivery room that day,

A keď som v ten deň v pôrodnej sále svojho syna držal v rukách

not only did I reconnect with some of the innocence that I had lost

nielen že som znovu našiel niečo z nevinnosti, ktorú som stratil,

at 14 years old,

keď som mal 14 rokov,

but it also began to challenge

ale tiež to spochybnilo

the very important things that drew me to the movement to begin with:

najdôležitejšie veci, ktoré ma v prvom rade viedli k hnutiu:

identity, community and purpose --

identitu, komunitu a zmysel --

things that I had been struggling with as a young boy.

veci, s ktorými som zápasil ako mladý chlapec.

And now, I struggled with the concept of who I was again.

Tentokrát som znovu zápasil s predstavou toho, čo som.

Was I this neo-Nazi hatemonger,

Bol som neonacistický šíriteľ nenávisti

or was I a caring father and husband?

alebo starostlivý otec a manžel?

Was my community the one that I had manufactured around me

Bola mojou komunitou tá, ktorú som si okolo seba vytvoril,

to boost my own ego,

aby som si posilnil svoje ego,

because I felt self-hatred for myself and I wanted to project it onto others,

pretože som voči sebe cítil nenávisť a chcel som ju premietnuť na iných,

or was it the one that I had physically given life to?

alebo ňou bola tá, ktorej som fyzicky dal život?

Was my purpose to scorch the earth

Bolo mojím zmyslom spáliť zem

or was it to make it a better place for my family?

alebo spraviť ju lepším miestom pre moju rodinu?

And suddenly, like a ton of bricks hit me,

A zrazu ma to zasiahlo ako tona tehál.

I became very confused with who I'd been for the last eight years.

Bol som zmätený z toho, kým som posledných osem rokov bol.

And if only I'd been brave enough to walk away at that moment,

A ak by som bol dosť statočný vtedy odísť,

to understand what the struggle was that was happening inside of me,

pochopiť ten boj, ktorý sa vo mne odohrával,

then maybe tragedy could have been averted.

tak by tragédia možno mohla byť odvrátená.

Instead, I did compromise.

Namiesto toho som spravil kompromis.

I took myself off the streets for the benefit of my family,

Pre dobro rodiny som sa stiahol z ulice,

because I was nervous that maybe I could go to jail or end up dead,

pretože som sa bál, že by som mohol skončiť vo väzení alebo mŕtvy

and they would have to fend for themselves.

a oni by sa o seba museli postarať sami.

So I stepped back as a leader,

Odišiel som z pozície lídra

and instead I opened a record store

a namiesto toho som si otvoril obchod s hudbou,

that I was going to sell white-power music in, of course,

v ktorom som samozrejme plánoval predávať white-power hudbu,

because I was importing it in from Europe.

pretože som ju dovážal z Európy.

But I knew that if I was just a racist store selling racist music

Ale vedel som, že rasistický obchod predávajúci len rasistickú hudbu

the community would not allow me to be there.

by v tamojšej komunite nebol prijatý.

So I decided I was going to also stock the shelves with other music,

Tak som sa rozhodol, že budem regále zásobiť aj inou hudbou,

like punk rock and heavy metal

akou je punk rock, heavy metal a hip-hop.

and hip-hop.

And while the white-power music that I was selling

A kým white-power hudba, ktorú som predával,

was 75 percent of my gross revenue,

tvorila 75 % môjho hrubého príjmu,

because people were driving in from all over the country to buy it

pretože ľudia z celej krajiny cestovali, aby si ju kúpili

from the only store that was selling it,

v jedinom obchode, ktorý ju predával,

I also had customers come in to buy the other music.

mal som aj zákazníkov, ktorí si prišli kúpiť aj tú inú hudbu.

And eventually, they started to talk to me.

A nakoniec sa mi začali prihovárať.

One day, a young black teen came in,

Jedného dňa vošiel mladý čierny tínedžer,

and he was visibly upset.

ktorý bol viditeľne znepokojený.

And I decided to ask him what was wrong.

A rozhodol som sa, že sa ho spýtam, čo sa deje.

And he told me that his mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Povedal mi, že jeho mama bola diagnostikovaná rakovinou prsníka.

And suddenly, this young black teenager,

Zrazu som sa s týmto čiernym tínedžerom,

who I'd never had a meaningful conversation or interaction with,

s ktorým som nikdy nemal zmysluplnú konverzáciu alebo interakciu,

I was able to connect with,

vedel zblížiť,

because my own mother had been diagnosed with breast cancer,

pretože mojej mame tiež diagnostikovali rakovinu prsníka

and I could feel his pain.

a dokázal som cítiť jeho bolesť.

On another occasion, a gay couple came in with their son,

Pri inej príležitosti vošiel gay pár so svojím synom

and it was undeniable to me that they loved their son

a bolo pre mňa nesporné, že svojho syna milovali

in the same profound ways that I loved mine.

tak hlboko ako som miloval ja svojho.

And suddenly, I couldn't rationalize or justify the prejudice

A zrazu som nemohol obhájiť alebo zdôvodniť predsudky,

that I had in my head.

ktoré som mal v hlave.

I decided to pull the white-power music from the inventory

Rozhodol som sa z ponuky stiahnuť white-power hudbu,

when I became too embarrassed to sell it in front of my new friends.

lebo mi bolo príliš trápne predávať ju pred mojimi novými priateľmi.

And of course, the store couldn't sustain itself,

Samozrejme, obchod sa nemohol udržať,

so I had to close it.

takže som ho musel zavrieť.

At that same time, I lost nearly everything in my life.

V tom čase som stratil takmer všetko v mojom živote.

I used it as an opportunity to walk away

Využil som to ako príležitosť odísť

from the movement that I'd been a part of for eight years,

z hnutia, ktorého súčasťou som bol osem rokov,

the only identity, community and purpose that I'd really known for most of my life.

od jedinej identity, komunity a zmyslu, ktorého som poznal väčšinu svojho života.

So I had nobody.

Takže som nemal nikoho.

I lost my livelihood because I closed the store.

Stratil som svoje živobytie, lebo som zatvoril obchod.

I didn't have a great relationship with my parents, even though they tried.

Nemal som dobrý vzťah s mojimi rodičmi, aj keď sa o to snažili.

And my wife and children left me,

A moja žena a deti ma opustili,

because I hadn't left the movement and disengaged quickly enough.

pretože som neopustil hnutie a neodpútal sa od neho dosť rýchlo.

And suddenly,

A zrazu som opäť nevedel, kto som

I didn't know who I was again,

or where I fit in

alebo kam patrím,

or what my purpose was supposed to be.

alebo aký má byť môj zmysel.

I was miserable inside,

Vnútorne som sa cítil biedne

and I often woke up in the morning

a často som sa ráno zobúdzal

wishing that I hadn't.

so želaním nezobudiť sa.

About five years in,

Po asi piatich rokoch

one of the few friends that I had was concerned about my well-being,

sa jedna osoba z môjho malého okruhu priateľov bála o moje zdravie,

and she came to me and she said,

prišla za mnou a povedala:

"You need to do something, because I don't want to see you die."

"Musíš niečo spraviť, pretože ťa nechcem vidieť umierať."

And she suggested that I go apply for a job where she worked,

Navrhla, aby som sa uchádzal o prácu tam, kde pracovala ona,

at a company called IBM.

v spoločnosti, ktorá sa volá IBM.

Yeah, I thought she was crazy, too.

Áno, aj ja som si myslel, že sa zbláznila.

(Laughter)

(smiech)

Here I was, a closeted ex-Nazi covered in hate tattoos.

Takže som bol skrytý ex-nacista pokrytý nenávistnými tetovaniami.

I didn't go to college.

Nechodil som na vysokú.

I'd been kicked out of multiple high schools multiple times.

Niekoľkokrát som bol vyhodený z niekoľkých stredných škôl.

I didn't even own a computer.

Ani som nevlastnil počítač.

But I went in,

Ale išiel som

and somehow, miraculously, I got the job.

a nejakým zázrakom som tú prácu dostal.

I was thrilled.

Bol som natešený.

And then I became terrified to learn

A potom som sa so zdesením dozvedel,

that they'd actually be putting me back at my old high school,

že ma vlastne posielajú na moju starú strednú školu,

the same one I got kicked out of twice,

na tú, z ktorej ma dvakrát vyhodili,

to install their computers.

inštalovať ich počítače.

This was a high school where I had committed acts of violence

Toto bola stredná škola, na ktorej som páchal násilné činy

against students, against faculty;

na študentoch, na učiteľoch;

where I had protested out in front of the school for equal rights for whites

kde som pred školou protestoval za rovnaké práva pre bielych,

and even had a sit-in in the cafeteria

a kde som obsadil jedáleň,

to try and demand a white student union.

žiadajúc založenie klubu bielych študentov.

And of course, as karma would have it,

A samozrejme, vďaka karme

within the first couple of hours,

prešlo len pár hodín

who walks right by me but Mr. Johnny Holmes,

a kto okolo mňa neprešiel nik iný pán Johnny Holmes,

the tough black security guard I had gotten in a fistfight with,

silný čierny ochrankár s ktorým som sa dostal do pästného súboja,

that got me kicked out the second time

kvôli ktorému ma druhýkrát vyhodili

and led out in handcuffs from the school.

a vyviedli zo školy v putách.

He didn't recognize me,

Nespoznal ma,

but I saw him,

ale ja som ho videl,

and I didn't know what to do.

a nevedel som, čo mám robiť.

I was frozen; I was this grown man now, years out of the movement,

Zamrzol som; už som bol dospelý muž, roky som bol mimo hnutia

and I was sweating and I was trembling.

a potil som sa, a triasol som sa.

But I decided I had to do something.

Ale rozhodol som sa, že musím niečo urobiť.

And I decided I needed to suffer under the weight of my past,

A rozhodol som sa, že musím trpieť pod ťarchou svojej minulosti,

because for five years I had tried to outrun it.

pretože päť rokov som sa ju snažil predbehnúť.

I'd tried to make new friends and cover my tattoos with long sleeves,

Snažil som sa nájsť nových priateľov a skryť tetovania dlhými rukávmi,

and I wouldn't admit it

a minulosť som nepriznal,

because I was afraid of being judged

pretože som sa bál odsudzovania,

the same way I had judged other people.

tak ako som ja kedysi odsudzoval iných ľudí.

Well, I decided I was going to chase Mr. Holmes out to the parking lot --

Tak som sa rozhodol sledovať pána Holmesa na parkovisko -

probably not the smartest decision that I made.

asi nie najmúdrejšie rozhodnutie, ktoré som urobil.

(Laughter)

(smiech)

But when I found him, he was getting into his car,

Ale keď som ho našiel, nastupoval do auta

and I tapped him on the shoulder.

a ja som ho poťapkal po pleci.

And when he turned around and he recognized me,

Keď sa otočil, spoznal ma,

he took a step back because he was afraid.

ustúpil o krok dozadu, pretože sa bál.

And I didn't know what to say.

A ja som nevedel, čo mám povedať.

Finally, the words came out of my mouth, and all I could think to say was,

Nakoniec z mojich úst vyšli slová a jediné, čo som vedel povedať, bolo:

"I'm sorry."

"Prepáčte."

And he embraced me,

A on ma objal

and he forgave me.

a odpustil mi.

And he encouraged me to forgive myself.

A povzbudil ma k tomu, aby som odpustil sám sebe.

He recognized that it wasn't the story of some broken go-nowhere kid

Spoznal, že nešlo o príbeh nejakého zlomeného zbytočného dieťaťa,

who was going to just join a gang and go to prison.

ktoré sa pripojí ku gangu a pôjde do väzenia.

He knew that this was the story of every young person who was vulnerable,

Vedel, že toto bol príbeh každého mladého človeka, ktorý bol zraniteľný,

who was searching for identity, community and purpose,

ktorý hľadal identitu, komunitu a zmysel,

and then hit a wall

a potom narazil na prekážku

and was unable to find it

a nemohol ich nájsť,

and went down a dark path.

tak išiel cestou temna.

And he made me promise one thing,

A musel som sľúbiť jednu vec,

that I would tell my story to whoever would listen.

že poviem môj príbeh každému, kto ho bude počúvať.

That was 18 years ago,

To bolo pred osemnástimi rokmi

and I've been doing it ever since.

a odvtedy to robím.

(Applause)

(potlesk)

You might be asking yourself right now:

Možno sa samých seba teraz pýtate:

How does a good kid from a hardworking immigrant family

Ako môže dobré dieťa z ťažko pracujúcej rodiny imigrantov

end up going down such a dark path?

skončiť na takej temnej ceste?

One word: potholes.

Jedno slovo: výtlky.

That's right. Potholes.

Presne tak. Výtlky.

I had a lot of potholes when I was kid.

Ako dieťa som mal veľa výtlkov.

We all had them --

Všetci sme ich mali -

you know, the things in life that we hit

poznáte to, tie veci v živote, na ktoré narazíme,

that invariably just kind of nudge us off our path,

ktoré nás vždy nejak odklonia od našej cesty

and if they remain unresolved

a ak ostanú nevyriešené

or untreated

alebo neliečené

or not dealt with,

alebo nevybavené,

sometimes we can get dangerously lost down pretty dark corridors.

tak sa kvôli nim niekedy môžeme stratiť vo veľmi temných uličkách.

Potholes can be things like trauma,

Výtlky môžu byť veci, akými sú trauma,

abuse, unemployment,

zneužívanie, nezamestnanosť,

neglect,

zanedbávanie,

untreated mental health conditions,

neliečené psychické poruchy

even privilege.

a dokonca aj privilégiá.

And if we hit enough potholes on our journey in life,

A ak narazíme na dosť výtlkov na našej životnej ceste

and we don't have the resources or the help to navigate around them

a nebudeme mať prostriedky alebo pomoc, ktorá by nás navigovala,

or to pull us out,

alebo nás odtiaľ vytiahla,

well, sometimes good people end up doing bad things.

tak niekedy môžu dobrí ľudia skončiť tak, že robia zlé veci.

One such person who had potholes is Darrell.

Jeden taký človek, ktorý mal výtlky, je Darrell.

Darrell is from upstate New York.

Darell je zo severného New Yorku.

He had read my memoir,

Prečítal si moje memoáre,

and he was really upset about the ending.

a bol naozaj znepokojený ohľadom záveru.

You see, I'd gotten out of the movement

Viete, ja som sa z hnutia dostal

and he was still in.

a on v ňom ešte stále bol.

And he emailed me and he said,

Poslal mi e-mail, v ktorom napísal:

"I didn't really like the way that turned out."

"Naozaj sa mi nepáči, ako sa to skončilo."

And I said, "Well, I'm sorry."

Ja som povedal: "No, to je mi ľúto."

(Laughter)

(smiech)

"But if you want to talk about it, we could certainly do that."

"Ale ak sa o tom chceš rozprávať, určite by sme mohli."

And after a couple of weeks of going back and forth with Darrell,

A po pár týždňoch písania si s Darrellom

I learned he was a 31-year-old military veteran who had been injured

som sa dozvedel, že to bol 31-ročný veterán, ktorého zranili,

and was really angry about not being able to go to Afghanistan

a bol veľmi nahnevaný, lebo sa nemohol vrátiť do Afganistanu,

to kill Muslims.

aby zabíjal moslimov.

And one day on the phone,

Raz mi počas telefonátu

he told me that he had seen a Muslim man in the park praying,

povedal, že videl moslima modliť sa v parku

and that all he wanted to do was kick him in the face.

a jediné, čo chcel spraviť, bolo kopnúť ho do tváre.

I flew to Buffalo the next day,

Ďalší deň som letel do Buffala,

and I sat down with Darrell,

sadol som si s Darrellom a spýtal som sa ho:

and I asked him,

"Have you ever met a Muslim person before?"

"Už si niekedy predtým stretol moslima?"

And he said, "No!

A on povedal: "Nie!

Why the hell would I want to do that?

Prečo by som to dopekla chcel?

They're evil. I don't want anything to do with them."

Sú zlí. Nechcem mať s nimi nič spoločné."

I said, "OK."

Povedal som: "Okej."

So I excused myself, and I went into the bathroom

Ospravedlnil som sa a odišiel na toaletu.

and I took my phone out in the bathroom,

Tam som vytiahol svoj mobil,

and I Googled the local mosque,

vygooglil som si miestnu mešitu

and I called them very quietly from the bathroom,

a veľmi nenápadne som tam zavolal.

and I said, "Excuse me, imam, I need a favor.

Povedal som "Prepáčte, imám, potrebujem láskavosť.

I have a Christian man

Mám tu kresťana,

who would really love to learn more about your religion."

ktorý by sa naozaj chcel naučiť viac o vašom náboženstve."

(Laughter)

(smiech)

"Do you mind if we stop by?"

"Bol by problém, ak by sme prišli?"

Well, it took some convincing for Darrell to go,

Nuž, stálo to nejaké to presviedčanie, aby Darrell išiel,

but finally we got there,

ale napokon sme sa tam dostali

and when I knocked on the door,

a keď som zaklopal na dvere,

the imam said he only had 15 minutes left for us,

imám povedal, že na nás má len 15 minút,

because he was preparing for a prayer service.

pretože sa pripravoval na modlitebnú službu.

I said, "We'll take it."

Povedal som: "Berieme."

We went in,

Vošli sme

and two and a half hours later, we came out after hugging and crying

a o dve a pol hodiny sme vyšli, po objímaní a plači

and, very strangely, bonding over Chuck Norris for some reason.

a z nejakého zvláštneho dôvodu po zbližovaní sa cez Chucka Norrisa.

(Laughter)

(smiech)

I don't know what it was about that,

Neviem, čo na tom bolo,

but that's what happened.

ale tak sa to stalo.

And I'm happy to say now that Darrell and the imam,

A s radosťou vám môžem povedať, že Darrella a toho imáma

you can often find them at the local falafel stand,

môžete často vidieť pri miestnom stánku s falafelom

having lunch together.

ako spolu obedujú.

(Applause)

(potlesk)

You see, it's our disconnection from each other.

Vidíte, je to tým, akí sme navzájom odlúčení.

Hatred is born of ignorance.

Nenávisť sa rodí z nevedomosti.

Fear is its father, and isolation is its mother.

Strach je jej otcom a izolácia je jej matkou.

When we don't understand something, we tend to be afraid of it,

Keď niečomu nerozumieme, zvykneme sa toho báť

and if we keep ourselves from it,

a držíme sa od toho,

that fear grows, and sometimes, it turns into hatred.

ten strach rastie a niekedy prerastie do nenávisti.

Since I've left the movement, I've helped over a hundred people

Odkedy som opustil hnutie, pomohol som vyše sto ľuďom

disengage from extremist movements, from white supremacist groups --

odpútať sa od extrémistických hnutí, od skupín za nadvládu bielych --

(Applause)

(potlesk)

to even jihadist groups.

až po džihádistické skupiny.

And the way I do that is not by arguing with them,

Nerobím to tak, že sa s nimi hádam,

not by debating them,

že s nimi debatujem

not by even telling them they're wrong,

alebo tak, že im hovorím, že sa mýlia,

even though, boy, I want to sometimes.

aj keď verte, že niekedy by som chcel.

I don't do that.

To nerobím.

Instead, I don't push them away.

Naopak ich neodstrkujem.

I draw them in closer,

Vtiahnem ich bližšie

and I listen very closely for their potholes,

a veľmi pozorne počúvam o ich výtlkoch,

and then I begin to fill them in.

a potom ich začnem vypĺňať.

I try to make people more resilient,

Snažím sa robiť ľudí húževnatejšími,

more self-confident,

sebavedomejšími,

more able to have skills to compete in the marketplace

schopnejšími uplatniť sa na trhu práce,

so that they don't have to blame the other,

aby nemuseli obviňovať iných,

the other that they've never met.

iných, ktorých nikdy nestretli.

I'd like to just leave you with one last thing before I go.

Predtým, ako odídem, by som vám rád povedal ešte jednu vec.

Of all the people I've worked with, they will all tell you the same thing.

Všetci ľudia, s ktorými som pracoval, vám povedia rovnakú vec.

One, they became extremists

Po prvé, stali sa extrémistami,

because they wanted to belong, not because of ideology or dogma.

pretože chceli patriť, nie kvôli ideológii a dogme.

And second, what brought them out

A po druhé, čo ich vyviedlo preč,

was receiving compassion

bolo získanie súcitu

from the people they least deserved it from,

od ľudí, od ktorých si to zaslúžili najmenej,

when they least deserved it.

keď si to zaslúžili najmenej.

(Applause)

(potlesk)

So I would like to leave you with a challenge:

Takže by som vám rád dal výzvu:

go out there today, tomorrow -- hopefully every day --

choďte von; dnes, zajtra -- v najlepšom prípade každý deň --

find somebody that you think is undeserving of your compassion

nájdite niekoho, o kom si myslíte, že si nezaslúži váš súcit,

and give it to them,

a dajte im ho,

because I guarantee you,

pretože vám garantujem,

they're the ones who need it the most.

že oni sú tí, ktorí ho potrebujú najviac.

Thank you very much.

Ďakujem veľmi pekne.

(Applause)

(potlesk)