Jeff Schoep

And a lot of times we try to keep them kind of steer clear of politics.

But for some people, it might be okay.

But typically...

that's kind of probably one they should stay away from for a little bit.

Yeah, and it's crazy because I had a reporter one time, and I won't say who or anything like that, but he had said, you know, I visit a murderer in prison, and I'm okay with that, but I'm not so sure about...

like your journey.

Basically what he was saying in so many words was he was more comfortable with the murderer than somebody, and this is a reporter, a journalist, and they were more uncomfortable speaking with a former neo-Nazi.

Yeah.

Were they Jewish?

An interesting side note on that, you know, we talk about like some of the hate that I had, and I was a raging anti-Semite, more than a racist by all points.

And the irony of today working with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, I mean, there's just so much irony there.

And like the Jewish community was the community that I dehumanized and villainized the most.

And Joe, they have been the most accepting and welcoming as far as since the change has happened.

And that just blew my mind.

Because the first time I went to speak at a synagogue, I thought, man, these people are going to want to stone me to death.

You know, like, what should I say?

How am I going to, you know, what is this going to be like?

I'd never been in a synagogue before.

And this is a place in Skokie, Illinois.

And I tell you, after speaking there, I got more hugs and more love and compassion than I'd probably, any other place I could ever remember being.