Actually, I don't think most people join white supremacist groups because of the ideology or dogma. They gravitate to these groups because they've hit potholes in their lives and there are things they can't figure out how to navigate on their own. This might be bullying, parental abuse or neglect, mental or physical illness, or, for adults, unemployment.
Christian PiccioliniThere are also people that still choose to support racist rhetoric because they feel white dominance in America is slipping through their fingers. To them, "diversity" is a codeword for white genocide. They claim that their "homelands" are being overrun by minorities and are desperate for solutions that ensure their "white survival." This fear, of course, is irrational and solely based on a loss of white power and control.
Christian PiccioliniChicago has always been a very segregated city and Mt. Greenwood is an example of that. I can't say I've seen organized white-supremacist growth, but I have seen racial tensions increase. I think we've all seen that. In the Barack Obama presidency, especially, the far right has considered diversity a code word for white genocide.
Christian PiccioliniWe have to look at white supremacists differently, not as monsters but as broken men and women who are capable of doing monstrous things. I am proof that people can change. We have to be careful not to treat these folks as enemies who can't be saved. If we do that, we'll create more of them.
Christian PiccioliniI'm not in contact really with people from Chicago Area Skinheads movement and couldn't say who they now support politically, but I can tell you through my research online in which I've been doing interventions with people who are part of hate groups, that I've discovered essentially thousands and thousands of pro-Trump neo-Nazi accounts.
Christian Picciolini