Former hate group member, born in Lethbridge, hopeful people will rise against racism

“Trump is using violence to fix violence. Well, I’ve tried that and it doesn’t work. Trudeau paused for 21 seconds, but he needs to stand strong. You can’t make a difference hiding from these things.

“We’ve seen Trump saying he’s going to bring in military. Well, the riots can only be quelled by having conversations with people, not by bringing in more violence. Nobody wants to talk; they just want to put their heads in the sand.”

Kalveram returned to Canada in the 1990s but wound up in jail multiple times – once for a stabbing incident he was party to.

“In jail, the other prisoners who were part of hate groups protected me. They gave me work when I would get out, and when I went back to jail, they protected me again,” he shares.

“Eventually I got out of the cycle, got educated, and the group I was in let me walk away once they burned certain tattoos off of me. They recruit ones like me, who are vulnerable and have no family, and they breed people to get into politics, police, and military for a long-term win.”

Kalveram is sharing his story now in light of what’s been happening since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Floyd, a black man, died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. That officer is now facing a second-degree murder charge.

While Kalveram isn’t entirely on-board with the idea of protesting or riots, fearing that it will fall on deaf ears, or that it’s just preaching to the choir, he believes education and exposing kids to other cultures could help the world see a future with less racism.

“I’d like to think as human beings we’ve evolved, but it seems we’re kind of going backwards right now,” he says. “White privilege isn’t about being wealthy or poor, it’s about being white, which means the bar was set a little lower for you. Just because we’re the majority doesn’t make us any better.”

An outcast in school because German was his first language, Kalveram experienced bullying but pushed back after conversations with his grandfather.

“He said I needed to do something about it, so I started pushing back against kids violently. Then my grandfather explained that this is why Hitler was such a good person — because he inspired the Germans to stand up,” he recalls.

“That led to a few other conversations where my grandparents would tell me how good a person Hitler was because he treated them well and gave them food leading up to the war. That set the tone for my life.”

Kalveram says he later came to realize Hitler was obviously not the good person his grandparents described, and that racism and hate groups need to go by the wayside.

Out of hate groups entirely for over 20 years now, Kalveram says he tries every day to atone for past mistakes, almost all of which were steeped in racism.

“I hope by telling my story that some people who are being recruited understand that no good outcome will happen from joining a hate group. We’re hating people we don’t even know, and for whatever reason, but I don’t think most are even joining these groups for hate. We join them for safety, and because we have nothing left in our lives,” Kalveram says.

“Some people are just easy pickings, but I want people to understand that that you will not survive if you stay. I’ve seen way too much violence and bloodshed. I don’t want people to go down the same path I did.

“There’s nowhere I go or anyone I meet whom I judge before meeting them.”

by Josh Hall

Former hate group member, born in Lethbridge, hopeful people will rise against racism

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