Bryon Widner bio je jedan od najnasilnijih i najpoznatijih američkih bijelih rasista, a njegovo istetovirano lice ponosno je to pokazivalo.
Tetovaže koje su prekrivale lice osnivača skinheads bande Vinlanders simbolizirale su mržnju koja je jednom vladala u njegovom srcu. No, Widner je mračnu prošlost ostavio iza sebe, i sad je sretan otac i zaposlen pripadnik društva.
In this Monday, Aug. 1, 2011 photo, former skinhead Bryon Widner folds his arms while resting at his home. For 16 years, Widner was a glowering, strutting, menacing vessel of hate - an "enforcer" for some of America's most notorious skinhead groups. Hellbent on destruction, he had symbols of racist violence tattooed on his face. Though his beliefs had changed, leaving the old life would not be easy when it was all he had known - and when his face remained a billboard of hate. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Nakon što se preobratio i odbacio svoja rasistička uvjerenja, zbog svojih tetovaža i dalje nije mogao pronaći posao. Stoga se odlučio na 25 mukotrpnih laserskih operacija kroz period od 16 mjeseci, piše Daily Mail .
This Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011 photo shows former skinhead Bryon Widner at his home. For 16 years, Widner was a glowering, strutting, menacing vessel of hate - an "enforcer" for some of America's most notorious skinhead groups. Hellbent on destruction, he had symbols of racist violence tattooed on his face. Though his beliefs had changed, leaving the old life would not be easy when it was all he had known - and when his face remained a billboard of hate. Widner and his family are rebuilding their lives in an undisclosed location. He suffers migraines and other pains as a result of the extensive and painful surgeries to remove racist tattoos. But, he says, "it's a small price to pay for being human again." (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
No Widner je prošao zastrašujuću borbu kako bi pristao u mirnu luku. Prema pričanju njegove supruge Julie, u crnim trenucima bojala se za suprugov život. Mislila je da će si raskomadati lice.
Nakon vjenčanja 2006. godine, bivši pripadnici rasističkog pokreta dobili su dijete, smirili se, krenuli živjeti obiteljskim životom. No ipak, prošlost je uvijek bila sveprisutna. Krvava britva, svastike, riječ "mržnja" - samo su neke od tetovaža na njegovu tijelu koje su ga stalno podsjećale kakav je nekada bio. No one nisu smetale samo njega, obični građani Bryona su vidjeli kao okorjelog kriminalca, a ne brižnog oca.
In this Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2011 photo, former skinhead Bryon Widner holds a photo at his home of him and his wife Julie Larsen taken before his facial tattoos were removed. After getting married in 2006, the couple, former pillars of the white power movement (she as a member of the National Alliance, he a founder of the Vinlanders gang of skinheads) had worked hard to put their racist past behind them. They had settled down and had a baby; her younger children had embraced him as a father. But leaving the old life would not be easy when it was all he had known - and when his face remained a billboard of hate. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Par je na internetu počeo tražiti na koji način sigurno ukloniti tetovaže s lica. No tetovaže takvih razmjera iznimno su rijetke, i svega je nekolicina liječnika izvela tako komplicirane operacije. Bez zdravstvenog osiguranja i s malo novca na računu, takvo što si nisu mogli priuštiti.
Widner je došao do beznadne faze u kojoj je bio spreman uroniti lice u kiselinu.
In this Monday, Aug. 1, 2011 photo, Bryon Widner hugs his 4-year-old son, Tyrson, at their home as his wife Julie watches. After getting married in 2006, the couple, former pillars of the white power movement (she as a member of the National Alliance, he a founder of the Vinlanders gang of skinheads) had worked hard to put their racist past behind them. They had settled down and had a baby; her younger children had embraced him as a father. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
In this Aug. 1, 2011 photo, former skinhead Bryon Widner sits in a chair with a can of an energy drink on the table as his 4-year-old son, Tyrson, plays with a cane at their home. For 16 years, Widner was a glowering, swaggering, menacing vessel of savagery - an "enforcer" for some of Americas most notorious and violent racist skinhead groups. Widner and his family are rebuilding their lives in an undisclosed location. He suffers migraines and other pains as a result of the extensive and painful surgeries to remove racist tattoos. But, he says, "it's a small price to pay for being human again." (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Očajna, Widnerova supruga Julie učinila je nešto do tada nezamislivo. Kontaktirala je Afroamerikanca - zakletog neprijatelja svih rasista. Daryle Lamont Jenkins vodi grupu "One People's Project" u Philadelphiji. 43-godišnji aktivist trn je u oku neonacističkih sljedbenika, objavljujući na internetu njihova imena, te upozoravajući ljude na njihova okupljanja.
Preko Jenkinsa obitelj Widner stupila je u kontakt s Josephom Royem, istražiteljem neprofitne organizacije SPLC, koja prati ekstremne organizacije.
Widner je Royu otkrio mračne tajne raznih grupa skinheadsa, njihovu hijerarhiju i sl., te je pristao održati govor na godišnjoj konvenciji SPLC-a, na kojoj prisustvuju pripadnici policije iz svih krajeva SAD-a. Zauzvrat, Roy je obećao nešto nikad prije učinjeno, zatražiti od organizacije pronalaženje donora koji bi bivšem rasistu Widneru platio operaciju uklanjanja tetovaža.
U međuvremenu, financijski i emotivno, Widnerov život postao je još teži. Jedva se skrbio o obitelji čisteći snijeg i obavljajući razne kućne popravke za sitan novac.
In this Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011 photo, former skinhead Bryon Widner smiles while talking with a group of guests invited for dinner at filmmaker Bill Brummel's home in Pasadena, Calif., after the screening of a documentary film featuring Widner and his family. For 16 years, Widner was a glowering, strutting, menacing vessel of hate - an "enforcer" for some of America's most notorious skinhead groups. Hellbent on destruction, he had symbols of racist violence tattooed on his face. Though his beliefs had changed, leaving the old life would not be easy when it was all he had known - and when his face remained a billboard of hate. Widner and his family are rebuilding their lives in an undisclosed location. He suffers migraines and other pains as a result of the extensive and painful surgeries to remove racist tattoos. But, he says, "it's a small price to pay for being human again." (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Da situacija bude još gora, rasistička zajednica saznala je za njegovu izdaju. Obitelj se suočila s prijetnjama smrću. Ujutro su pronalazili svinjski izmet na automobilu, neprekidni noćni telefonski pozivi, uznemirujuće pismene poruke, itd.
Nekoliko mjeseci kasnije, Joseph Roy ponovno je stupio u kontakt s Widnerom. Kazao mu je da je pronašao neimenovanog donora koji je za njegovu operaciju spreman platiti 35 tisuća dolara, ali uz nekoliko uvjeta - da redovito posjećuje savjetnika i da završi fakultet. Widner je prihvatio ponudu bez razmišljanja. No prijetnje nisu jenjavale. Radi vlastite sigurnosti Widnerova se obitelj u proljeće 2008. morala preseliti iz Michigana u Tennessee.
Od saznanja o dobroj volji donora, do pronalaska kirurga prošlo je više od godinu dana. Sve dok plastični kirurg dr. Bruce Shack iz Nashvillea nije pristao operirati Bryona Widnera. Konačno, 22. lipnja 2009. godine Widner se našao na operacijskom stolu. Svakim novim laserskim zahvatom, njegova tetovaže počele su blijedjeti. Unatoč nevjerojatnoj boli koju je trpio, nije se predavao i gubio nadu. Sveukupno, Widner je u 16 mjeseci prošao 25 operacija glave, vrata i ruku. Zadnja operacija obavljena je 22. listopada 2010.
Čak je i TV-postaja MSNBC, uz Widnerovo dopuštenje, pratila njegov križni put na operacijskom stolu. Želja mu je bila inspirirati ostale pripadnike rasističkih skupina.
In this Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011 photo, Bryon Widner, center left, and his wife are applauded in Pasadena, Calif., after the screening of a documentary film featuring their family. After getting married in 2006, the couple, former pillars of the white power movement (she as a member of the National Alliance, he a founder of the Vinlanders gang of skinheads) had worked hard to put their racist past behind them. They had settled down and had a baby; her younger children had embraced him as a father. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)