Former neo-Nazi removes swastika tattoos after unlikely friendship
19,185,340
Published 2017-09-26
Kent, a former neo-Nazi, credits an African-American parole officer named Tiffany Whittier with helping him to see beyond skin color and changing his views about white supremacy.
“If it wasn’t for her I would have seeped back into it,” said Kent. “I look at her as family.”
Whittier, 45, even inspired Kent, 38, to take down the Nazi flags he had hanging in his living room and replace them with smiley faces.
“I’m not here to judge him. That’s not my job to judge. My job is to be that positive person in someone’s life,” Whittier said.
Added Kent, “When you wake up and see a smiley face, you’re going to go to work and you’re going to smile.”
PHOTO: Former skinhead Michael Kent gives his former parole officer Tiffany Whittier a hug after she surprises him at his home.ABC News
Former skinhead Michael Kent gives his former parole officer Tiffany Whittier a hug after she surprises him at his home.more +
Kent now works full-time on a chicken farm in Colorado, where all his co-workers are Hispanic.
“Before all this, I wouldn’t work for anybody or with anybody that wasn’t white,” said Kent. “[Now] we have company parties, or they have quinceañeras, I’m the only white guy there!”
Redemption Ink, a national non-profit that offers free removals of hate-related tattoos, helped connect Kent with Fallen Heroes Tattoo in Colorado to begin the 15-hour process of covering his swastikas. The sterile environment is new to Kent who had his previous ink work done in prison.
“I’ve never, never, never been inside of a tattoo shop getting a professional tattoo,” he said.
Kent believes the painful process will help him move forward after spending years as a member of a violent skinhead group based in Arizona. As a father of two young children, Kent also hopes his children will see the world differently.
“I don’t want my kids to live the life I lived and live with hate,” said Kent. “I want my kids to know me for who I am now—a good father, a hard worker, and a good provider.”
SUBSCRIBE to ABC NEWS: youtube.com/ABCNews/
Watch More on abcnews.go.com/
LIKE ABC News on FACEBOOK
www.facebook.com/abcnews
FOLLOW ABC News on TWITTER:
twitter.com/abc
GOOD MORNING AMERICA'S HOMEPAGE:
gma.yahoo.com/
All Comments (21)
-
There's no way that woman is being paid what she's worth.
-
Seems like she's the first person he's ever met in his life that actually cares about him and he knows that
-
Admitting you're wrong and expressing remorse is not weakness... it's strength.
-
This is an ultra feel good story. I'm happy this guy was able to change his views and his life. I wish him the best.
-
That's a real man to be able to realize his error instead of trying to defend himself.
-
That's a real man for recognizing and correcting a wrong.
-
"i am not here to judge you, that's not my job" powerful words
-
2:11 was a test to see if he would succumb to his natural reflexes
-
1:12 even off duty, she's still got that police knock.
-
Tiffany rocks. Her smile lights up everything around her.
-
This woman she is awesome, we need more people like her...
-
A real man admits his mistakes. A real man corrects his mistakes. A real man knows what he did wrong and when to correct himself.
-
That parole officer deserves a raise, she's got a big heart. And so does he for being able to change like that.
-
It’s easy to call other people for being wrong. But harder to call out yourself for being wrong.
-
I once befriended a guy like this: he was entering a rehab program and I was an addiction counselor at the time. Imagine a 6-foot-5, Swedish guy with ice-blue eyes, a blond crew-cut and litteraly covered in tatoos, including two big svastikas on either side of his neck. The first time I met him, I told to myself: "this is going to be difficult". Then he appeared to be one of the nicest guys I ever met: he was polite and gentle, and cared for everyone. As a former member of a neonazi group back in Sweden, his past was bad, but it didn't define him at all. I hope you're doing OK now Markus!
-
Racism is taught and learned. No one, not one human is born racist.
-
the fact that he's so open minded coming from a very ignorant background is really proof that people can change
-
Being racist causes you to miss out on so much. I'm glad he opened his eyes.
-
This is the most inspiring thing I've seen in a long time. I wish I could thank these two for restoring just a bit of my faith in humanity
-
When I was younger and ignorant, I was a racist But then I met beautiful African people in live Thank you, dear God, for openning my blind eyes
