It's been so long since I posted anything. And due to that time gap I've been trying to come up with an awesome post to get back in the swing of things. Something that will make you guys who are reading jump out of your seat. Something that will blow you away and make you check back here EVERY SINGLE DAY, YEARNING FOR ANOTHER POST FROM YOURS TRULY. But instead, I'm just going to type whatever I feel like and call it good.
I'm working on promoting After Life, Inc. (Which is NOW on sale here: http://www.amazon.com/After-Life-Inc-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B008PHPCSU), I'm working on writing a new novel, I'm finally all settled in back in Charleston, SC, and I'm living the single life like no one's business.
It's been pretty hectic but totally amazing.
I guess what I really want to talk about is a book I'm reading.
"Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead" by Frank Meeink and Jody M. Roy.
I decided to go to the library yesterday for the first time and sign up for my card and start hoarding books again. I was in the biography section because I was itching for something new and different. That's when the name stuck out to me. I've always been intrigued by the "neo-nazi" life style and how they operate in our society.
How are these people so blinded by their hatred that they can do such horrible things? How did they get so brainwashed to think that what they are doing is making the world a better place? What has to happen for a man or woman to completely let themselves live and breathe hatred?
So I picked up the book and went to sit down to thumb through the pages to see if it was something I'd want to take home.
I read the first fifty pages in that one sitting. I could not put it down.
Frank Meeink was brought up in a very abusive household with drug abusers and physical tyrants. His parents were not fit to have a child at their young age, and his mother seems so desperate for a man she is willing to turn the other way anytime something bad happened to Frank. It honestly doesn't surprise me that he found solace in a group that was willing to accept him. He was yearning for a family that cared, loved, and supported him. A group of people that would have his back no matter what.
They were united by their hatred of others, but they were a unit of human beings tied together with a purpose; and for most that is enough incentive to do whatever it takes to keep the family alive.
Frank's story is one of heart break, redemption, and utter confusion. I grew up with family members who struggled with addiction so in many ways I can relate to his character. It is remarkable to me how two people can take such very different paths while having similar backgrounds. I won't go as far to say our backgrounds are similar, as his childhood was completely appalling. But there are some similarities in our thought patterns that are undeniable.
I was discussing this book premise with someone who shall remain nameless.
"I just don't get how addicts can even have children. Why do they do that? Their kids are going to turn out just as messed up as they are."
After I picked my jaw up off the floor at this person's remark, I began explaining that just because someone struggles with addiction doesn't make them a bad person. And just because they have children doesn't make their children destined to a life of crime and drugs. How could they honestly believe that?
I know why, because what they said next summed it up:
"I grew up with a perfect childhood. My parents loved me. There was nothing going on. I don't know how anyone else could do anything different."
Okay, so this person has led a sheltered life, but is that an excuse to cast off the "lesser" human beings aside?
I think not.
I tried to explain the situation to them but it did less than no good. In the same way Frank Meeink was blinded by his hatred for so long, this person is blinded by their ignorance.
In the end, I encourage everyone to pick up a copy of "Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead". At the very least, it will give you insight to a group of people you may not know very much about, and another perspective on the human experience.
I haven't been able to put it down.
