Former Skinhead Teaches Students About Life Without Hate

By Stephanie Faughnan OCEAN COUNTY

demonstrated the young woman’s unwavering determination and resilience.

Beginning in the summer of 2020, Misurelli decided to put her affinity for the water and her desire to help people to work. She went through (Lifeguard - See Page 9)

– A former leader of an international hate group is now spreading a different message: how to be compassionate to others and how to break a cycle of anger and violence.

Arno Michaelis was the keynote speaker at a leadership conference at Ocean County College, held in

─Photo by Stephanie Faughnan Arnold Michaelis is a former white supremacist who hopes to inspire kids to be kind and compassionate. (Hate - See Page 5)

Green: Continued From Page 1

years. So that was a little bit of a learning experience for us,” said Keith Rella, administration staff of Sustainable Brick.

Rella, who has been coordinating the past seven Green Fairs, said every year the event has a soft-theme that many of the vendors follow. This year, the theme was “Sustain Your Health.”

“We try to do a soft theme every year. We encouraged, especially our student groups, if they didn’t already have something to try and do something with that in mind. The concept is to make the connection between personal health and environmental health. Things like air quality, water quality, soil, and food quality are some of the things we recommend,” Rella said.

“We have groups that normally attend these events like Save Barnegat Bay, they deal with water quality everyday so that’s an easy connection. For others, people may not realize the connection for a group like our Ocean County Solid Waste Management and their composting program, the Master Composters. People can understand the value of food waste and that we can channel it to opportunities like composting versus having it end up in a landfill where it not only is taking up valuable space, but also generating organic gases and things that are serving no purpose in the landfill but could serve a purpose otherwise,” Rella added.

Some local businesses, nonprofits, and organizations that participated in this year’s Green Fair included the Brick MUA who co-hosted a rain barrel workshop, Helpsy who had a clothing and textile recycling drop off, the Brick Township Shade Tree Commission who gave out flower plugs, and a wellness presentation by Ocean University Medical Center.

Additionally, the event featured student based environmental projects and initiatives from Brick Township schools.

At the fair, Lanes Mill Elementary School showed off their green initiatives alongside a huge mural made out of bottle caps. Students said they collected the bottle caps from all the classes, sorted them by color, chose a design, and then glued them to create a work of art. The project took a total of eight hours, which showcased their talents as well as their commitment to recycling. collaboration with the prosecutor’s office and the Cultural Heritage Commission. The mission was to empower students and encourage them to positively impact their communities.

“The schools do such a good job and really almost every school, if not every single school in the district at this point, has some kind of environmental club, green team, sustainability group. They’re already doing amazing work,” Rella said.

Mayor Lisa Crate along with some council members were present at the Green Fair, taking in all that the Township has to offer for residents.

“You can learn about the history of Brick; you can learn how to be a conservationist here in Brick; you can learn about some of the programs that we offer to help our town stay green. It’s a great opportunity to come out and meet some of our township employees along with some great people who work around town to enforce some green initiatives that we want in our town,” Mayor Crate said.

Rella explained how the Green Fair has impacted Brick Township and has become a staple to the community.

“We feel like this event showcases an opportunity for people to hopefully learn and become more engaged. A few years ago, we had the theme ‘Make One Change’ and that’s really the idea here. If everyone who comes to the green fair leaves with one valuable piece of information that they can employ in their day-to-day lives, whether it’s not using single-use plastics, or considering using an electric car, or considering solar energy. It could also be smaller things like helping out with the Pick Up Brick Program,” Rella said.

“All of those things when you put them together, they improve our quality of life here in Brick and make us more of a sustainable community both in short-term and longrun. Everybody who comes, the goal is for them to leave feeling a little more prepared to do their part,” Rella said.

Michaelis is the author of “My Life After Hate” and came to provide some insight into his personal history. The speaker’s past included founding an international white supremacy group, acting as a reverend of a racial holy war, and performing as the lead singer in a hate metal band.

From Wisconsin, Michaelis now speaks to groups as an activist for love and compassion. In a thought-provoking speech, he challenged students to reflect on their role as upstanders or bystanders in society. He said he valued the power of storytelling: the narratives people believe in and share will shape their lives and interactions with the world around them.

Michaelis drew from his own past and shared some of the mistakes he made. He admitted that during his youth, he was not an upstander nor a bystander but rather someone who actively caused problems for himself and others.

However, the former skinhead said he has since dedicated his life to working in the field to counter violent extremism. In doing so, Michaelis said he’d learned a great deal about the often tragic backgrounds that contribute to their radicalization.

Many have experienced childhoods marked by suffering, abuse, and hatred, with some even enduring sexual trauma. He emphasized how such trauma can break a person, leading them to perceive hate as an escape from their pain. He likened the allure of hate to that of a dangerous drug capable of trapping a person in addiction and misery.

Michaelis said his personal story somewhat deviated from the typical narrative associated with former extremists. Despite growing up in a seemingly idyllic household, he revealed that his father’s alcoholism was a significant source of his own suffering. While his father was not a mean drunk, his excessive drinking and prioritization of leisure activities over work put the burden of providing for the family on Michaelis’s mother, who worked tirelessly to make ends meet.

“I grew up watching my mother suffer,” said Michaelis. “I could see how badly she was hurting, and it hurt me.”

However, Michaelis admitted that he distanced himself rather than offering help to his mom. By the time he was in kindergarten, he was already a bully. Michaelis said as he grew a bit older, he got a big kick out of parents and teachers being afraid of him.

By age 14, Michaelis was already drinking alcohol, which intensified his antisocial tendencies, fueling his desire to shock and repulse others. Michaelis admitted to adopting white nationalist ideologies through exposure to white power music, which glorified a distorted worldview centered on hatred towards marginalized communities. The room of approximately 400 students was hushed as Michaelis recounted the allure of using symbols like the swastika to provoke and repulse people.

A society driven by hate and violence inevitably produces evil and violence in return, he said. He highlighted the tragic consequences that befell his friends as a result of their involvement in hate-fueled actions. Michaelis’ closest friend ended up in prison for a shooting incident, while another lost his life in a street fight, both victims of the hate and violence they had embraced.

Michaelis emphasized that casting blame on others not only hindered problem-solving, but also exacerbated issues and increased a continuing cycle of blame. Ultimately, the speaker learned something from co-workers who treated him well despite his actions to them.

“What was most exhausting was when people I claimed to hate treated me with kindness,” said Michaelis. “And that’s really what drove home how wrong I was to be a violent racist.”

During the seven year period he was involved in white supremacy groups, Michaelis said all the hate he professed, mixed with violence and alcohol, caused him to break up with his girlfriend. Michaelis was suddenly a single dad to an 18-month-old baby and decided it was time to stop.

By then it was 1994; Michaelis said he left hate groups and went from being a white power skinhead to a raver in Chica- go. His new friends noticed his swastikas tattoos but were into the party scene and accepted him as he was. He has since covered up the tattoos.

At this point in his life, Michaelis told the students he’s just trying to undo the harm that he’s done. He encouraged them to practice kindness, gratitude and forgiveness.

“It will make you happy,” said Michaelis. “It will also lead people around you to be happy, and it will make you an upstander in the world.”

He was introduced by Dr. Henry Jackson, OCC’s Executive Director of Academic Success.

“Here at OCC, we’re going to make this a tradition to try and get our students to be upstanders,” he said. “And not bystanders.”

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer told the students he hoped the conference would give them a transformative experience shaping their high school years and motivating them to celebrate diversity and treat others with respect.

Billhimer explained his role as the chief law enforcement officer in the county, saying that his office prosecutes between 5,000 and 6,000 cases each year. The prosecutor’s office also investigates criminal cases in conjunction with local police departments.

“We have members of our office that are on pace to speak to over 100 schools this year,” shared Billhimer . “The goal of all that outreach we do is so we don’t see you as a defendant.”

Bus: Continued From Page 1 district Business Administrator James Edwards said.

“The CDL requirements require underthe-hood expertise on engines, things that bus drivers, someone who is driving a 10-passenger vehicle doesn’t need to know,” Edwards added.

During the public comment portion of the May 11 meeting, State Assemblyman John Catalano, who previously served as a Councilman for Brick, brought up his concerns about the bill and said he does not support it.

“I am not voting for it at this moment,” Catalano said. “I want to discuss this bill with the other Assembly people who are the co-sponsors to it.”

Catalano did not go into detail about his concerns, but questioned what kind of test- ing a bus driver must go through in ordered to be licensed.

“When it is finalized, if some of my concerns are not met, obviously I will not be voting for it in its present state. If we could come to some agreement, that would be the best things for Brick Township and our Transportation Department,” Catalano added.

After public comment, members of the board unanimously voted to support the bill.

EMT Basic Intensive Course

BRICK – EMT Basic Intensive Course will be in June 19 at 8 a.m. at 500 Herbertsville Road, Brick.

This course is designed to instruct a student to the level of EMT-Basic, who serves as a vital link in the chain of the healthcare team. It is recognized that the majority of prehospital emergency medical care will be provided by the EMT-Basic.

This course includes all skills necessary for the individual to provide emergency medical care at a basic life support level with an ambulance service or other specialized service. For more information visit: meridianhealth.enrollware.com/enroll?id=7005821.

Trip To Dairy Farm

BRICK – The Brick Township Historical Society is sponsoring a day trip to Kreider’s Dairy Farm and the Amish country June 16. The farm features a high-tech carousel for milking, and there is a drive down the Titanic-sized loafing barn. A guide will provide facts and humor.

Cost is $100 per person and includes the tour, time for shopping, the smorgasbord at Bird-in-Hand Restaurant, transportation and all gratuities. For a reservation call the Havens Homestead Museum at 732-7852500 and leave your name and number clearly. You will receive a call back.