Hate crimes have increased since the election of Donald Trump. So I'm not surprised. I'm hopeful, very vigilant. We're seeing the same thing as what happened in 1933, when a politician stokes fears and grievances to rally them for a nationalist cause. But nationalism to the exclusion of other people is not nationalism, that's xenophobia.

We try to approach everything in Life After Hate and Exit USA with compassion. While we really promote approaching things with compassion and empathy, because that's what changed us, it's very difficult knowing there are very virulent, vile people who are focused on furthering the Donald Trump cause. Right now we're dealing with a lot of fake news, misinformation, propaganda, parody. My goal is still trying to reach people through compassionate means, and to get them access to real information. My goal is to share my story and get people out of their bubble, so they can empathize.

It's a cause for great concern because a lot of people have said and done repulsive things in terms of racism and misogyny and marginalizing people - it's really come to fruition, something I've spent the last 21 years of my life trying to expose and educate people on. This really is kind of a dream scenario for white nationalists at the moment.

I received compassion from the people I deserved it least from when I least deserved it, and that helped change me. When you take fear and isolation and put grievance on top, it's all too easy for people to hate and blame somebody else for their problems.

I read recently that in the U.S. today, the majority of people under the age of 21 are immigrants or first- or second-generation Americans. We need to integrate young people into community life far more fully than we currently do and give them role models they can relate to. We can do this if we make it a priority.

As far Chicago, our city was designed with racism in mind, with neighborhoods segregated by expressways and train tracks. Even suburbs, like Highland Park, have long histories of barring Jewish and black people. That history that has always existed has come out of the shadows because of the social and political climate.

We 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.