"Wilshaw admits that his decision to leave the National Front and renounce neo-Nazism only after being the target of abuse does not reflect well on him.
“It’s a terribly selfish thing to say, but it’s true. I saw people being abused, shouted at, spat at in the street ― it’s not until it’s directed at you that you suddenly realize that what you’re doing is wrong,” he said. "
Um...bullshit. Two seconds of rational thought leads to the conclusion it's wrong. I guess all those years, he didn't have two seconds to spare, being so busy abusing, shouting at, and spitting at other people.
This is why I have no respect for people who say even though they don't believe and know all the ugly history, still they are staying in the Mormon church for the "good" or because they like the community. They champion the "Mormon values." They have no empathy. They are selfishly unconcerned at the psychological atrocities that the church visits on so many. They don't care about the mysogyny, homophobia, or bigotry or the shackling of the men and the splitting of families.
I read an article about neo-Nazis who had ancestry testing that revealed uncomfortable results. Some would criticize the science of the testing and not believe it. Some would say that the genes were less important than how the person self identifies. There were other rationalizations to justify their continued involvement in the group. There wasn't as much immediate rejection of those with "less than ideal” results, as one would generally expect.
I also find it interesting that in the Charlottesville neo-Nazi rally that people traditionally targeted by American racist groups like the Klan joined together under the banner of "whiteness.” Catholics, Eastern Europeans, Italians, etc. have all been targeted by traditional American racist groups.