For more than two decades, my brother and I have circled the same arguments about racism and religion. The script rarely changes. We’ll be talking about music, our childhood in Utah, or addiction recovery, and before long it shifts into accusations:
“You’re too religious.”
“You’re pushing your beliefs on me.”
“You were a skinhead when you were a kid.”
Now it’s extended even further. His wife’s family? Racists. The people he doesn’t like? Nazis. It’s the same tired line that we hear on cable news and social media every single day: everyone I don’t agree with is a Nazi.
The irony is that this exact script has played out not just in my family, but across culture. You can watch late-night comedy or browse Twitter and see the same accusation: racist, Nazi, fascist — all because someone disagreed.
My Anti-Racist Past and the Punk Rock Years
When my brother brings up my youth, he throws around “skinhead” like it’s a conviction. But he conveniently leaves out the rest of the story.
When I was 15, I got a tattoo across my foot: SPEAR — Skins and Punks Everywhere Against Racism. I made a clear public stand against racism in a scene where shaved heads often got lumped in with neo-Nazis.
I didn’t hide it. I even wrote my story into a biography back in 1999 — it’s still online in the Internet Archive. I denounced racism back then, and I still do today.
My first girlfriend was Navajo back then. My closest friends were Polynesian. My favorite bands were anti-racist ska groups like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The first concert I ever saw at age 12 was ska — not hate rock, not white power music.
I’ve lived in the Philippines for a long while now. My son is Filipino. To this day, my family is mixed and multi-ethnic. But somehow, decades later, I’m still defending myself from lazy labels.
Christianity, Religion, and My Brother
Religion is the other landmine between us.
I haven’t been a churchgoer in decades. I have no pastor, no pulpit, no pew. Yet if I mention that I quit drugs at 19 after an encounter with the Holy Spirit, suddenly I’m “too religious.” Suddenly I’m “preaching.”
Meanwhile, my brother — who calls himself an atheist — takes his kid to Mormon church. My brother has been ordained in that system. So who’s more religious?
What I actually believe is simple: the Romans corrupted Christianity. They edited the Bible, built a church to save their empire, and turned faith into politics. But we’ve since uncovered older manuscripts — the Nag Hammadi library and Gnostic gospels — that predate Roman canon. They show a faith closer to Judaism and focused on righteous living here and now, not on eternal damnation.
That’s not church religion. That’s history. That’s philosophy. That’s my position.
If you want to hear how I tried to explain this to my brother, I put the conversation online: Talking with my brother about Christianity and racism.
The Broader Culture: “Nazi” As a Political Weapon
This isn’t just a family problem. It’s become a cultural one.
Ryan Long made a comedy sketch about the firing of Jimmy Kimmel that nails the absurdity of our outrage culture: Ryan Long Comedy on Facebook. It’s all the same template — someone offends you, so they must be racist, sexist, Nazi, fascist, or whatever label fits the moment.
Meanwhile, real political violence is minimized or ignored. Tim Pool and Steven Crowder recently discussed the Charlie Kirk assassination attempt and the spike in death threats against conservatives. You can watch that discussion here: Timcast News video.
That’s not fringe internet gossip. That’s mainstream politics in America right now. Death threats against conservatives aren’t even headline news anymore, while “mean words” on Twitter get turned into full-blown moral panics.
Defamation, Victimhood, and Free Speech
What frustrates me most isn’t disagreement. It’s the cheapness of the labels.
Accusing someone of being a racist or Nazi without evidence is defamation. It’s a way to win an argument without ever addressing the argument. It’s politics by character assassination.
I’ve seen the same tactic used against Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Charlie Kirk, Jordan Peterson — the list goes on. And I’ve seen it used in my own family.
But I refuse to let false labels define me. I’ve been open about my past, my mistakes, and my beliefs. I’ve written them, archived them, and stood by them. I’ve fought for free speech and honest discussion for more than 20 years on radio and podcasting.
If discussion is replaced with defamation, then free speech is dead. And if family conversation can’t exist without name-calling, then family suffers too.
Conclusion
The truth is simple: I’m not a racist, I’m not a Nazi, and I’m not out here preaching religion. I’m someone who believes in conversation, history, philosophy, and freedom.
If my brother or anyone else disagrees, that’s fine. But disagreement isn’t hate. Criticism isn’t fascism. And having faith in something greater doesn’t make me a zealot.
Maybe one day, we’ll be able to talk about addiction, music, and growing up in Utah without dragging racism and religion into it. But until then, I’ll keep defending myself from false labels — because the truth matters more than the narrative.
Sources
- My 1999 biography, archived online: https://web.archive.org/web/20091022110847/http://mystory.behindzioncurtain.com/
- Conversation with my brother: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5whMiteZBE
- Ryan Long Comedy about Jimmy Kimmel: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1343414677140448
- Tim Pool & Steven Crowder on Charlie Kirk assassination attempt: https://www.facebook.com/timcastnews/videos/2846652425724763
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