chapter 35 : Interview with a White idealist

Vincent guided Calvin by walking side by side with him and they talked a little while the survivors looked at Calvin strangely, many white people including some who were working in the fields in the middle of the stadium didn't understand why their leader walked alongside this elegantly dressed black man and so did people of other races who worked alongside them.

They also wondered why a black person like them or from an ethnic minority was chatting like that with Vincent, Calvin noticed that unlike the outpost he had attacked, the people here didn't seem like be mistreated or forced to work. 

 Calvin while listening to Vince talk while being so relaxed with him remembered what Benny had said to him. If he was talking to Vince, he wouldn't feel like he was talking to a white supremacist.

This guy didn't seem to show any arrogance towards Calvin or hostility, Calvin himself had a hard time pinning him down. They eventually reached Vince's private reception room where Vince ordered his men to move aside to let them talk, they wanted to protest but he insisted and they walked away.

 "Well, Mr. Lincoln, I'll be honest with you and tell you that I don't appreciate that you and your men massacred over a hundred of my people. Even more so, killing Abigail like that lacked class for a man. Tell your sniper that he should be ashamed despite his indisputable talent." Vince said as he sat down in his chair and invited Calvin to sit .

 "My shooter was praised for killing a racist who took pleasure in raping other women. Savages equal to their leader I presume?" Calvin asked him as he sat down.

 "I have never abused a woman in my entire life and I don't tolerate rape regardless of whether the victim is white or black" Vince said very seriously looking Calvin in the eyes, he was honest and said the truth.

 Cal: You probably knew this stuff was happening but you didn't do anything.

 "Things are not as simple as you think, Mr. Lincoln. There was a time when my view of my ideology was similar to that of the people who committed these atrocities. I believed like them that my race was the one that should dominate the others in cruelty and that the others were nothing but subhumans." Vince said with a hint of regret as he served Calvin some lemon tea.

 Calvin:…

 Vince: When you're in prison, you have time to think and when I say time, I mean A LOT of time. I educated myself and I read, read a lot to meditate on my people and its real place in human civilization. My race should not be the one that dominates but the one that leads, there is a huge difference between these two terms. Unnecessary violence, lynchings or stupid injustices for racial reasons have no place in a real ideal society led by the white man.

 "What the fuck are you talking about?!!" Calvin asked incomprehensibly, he was completely dumped by this guy.

 "Please listen to me. I know that someone of my ideology is an offense to your people but I am convinced that men must understand each other to get along regardless of races and classes." Vince said to Calvin who started laughing wondering if the asshole in front of him was serious, he took a deep breath and told him to continue, he at least appreciated his courtesy.

 Vince: You see, the history of my people has taught me so much about our potential to lead humanity onto better paths. If you are honest, you'll recognize that my race is the main pillar of current human civilization. The others contributed their stones to the building but our role was undoubtedly the most important. Explorations, innovations or high-risk research, my people has committed enormous atrocities but he has also taken incredible risks for the common good. If you talk about my race, are you only going to talk about what we've done wrong or are you also going to say what's good we've done for human progress?

 Calvin: Nigga please, get to the point...your people didn't stop their atrocities but covered them up.

 Vince: What I mean is that the white race has the most potential to lead the human race into better days. I was put in jail for sending the black boy who I believed had raped my niece into a coma , I let you imagine how I felt when I learned in prison that my niece had lied and that the boy I assaulted was innocent, it was the beginning of my change... I can't change the past but I can make things progresse. Besides, I find the way the world treats your people completely stupid, overall you have done almost nothing against other peoples. The twin towers weren't you. Hiroshima and Nagasaki weren't you either, but your race always attracts the worst treatment while mine, which is responsible for many injustices, is admired by everyone.

 "Basically, you are a white supremacist who does not hate other races and thinks that the white race is legitimate to guide the human species thanks to your intellectual potential which you consider superior to others ?" Calvin asked him looking at him strangely, this guy for him was another racist bastard but he was idealistic on top of that.

 Vince: That's exactly what I think Mr. Lincoln but when I talk about leading I mean leading the way and setting an example to follow, not commanding. Unfortunately, my people must know that hatred and violence are not necessary. The white man must not believe himself superior but must become...become...become (interrupted)

 " Better ?" Calvin completed his sentence in a mocking tone, looking at Vince as if he were dealing with a madman.

This guy broke all the codes in Calvin's mind about the cliché white supremacist who only saw the world in black and white, he even found the situation amusing 'cause he wanted to slap him so much.

 "THAT'S IT ! That's the term, you understand me and I knew you were an intelligent man. My race must become better in morals and all other aspects so that others will naturally follow us. The white race has all the potential to do this, I'm not saying that your race or others are incapable of it but it's a question of overall potential." He said leaning forward in front of Calvin.

 Calvin: Let me guess, you think this apocalypse is the perfect starting point for this ?

 Vince: That's exactly it, Mr. Lincoln, and I think your intervention bodes well for the society to which I aspire.

 "Nigga what?!!" Calvin asked him, he felt like he had misheard. 

 Vince: The request you made through Abigail's mouth, acceding to it is also what I want but my problem comes from the men to whom I gave the positions of commanders. At first, we let the survivors come to us but they started looking for survivors to bring them back by force. Non-whites were condemned to servitude and whites who had no desire to adhere to our ideology were condemned to the same fate, or even worse since they were seen as traitors.

 Cal: If it bothers you so much then why didn't you do anything?

 Vince: We don't see things the same way I do and they are the worst of what my race is capable of. However, I am trapped in the shadow of the Aryan Brotherhood. These savages have hundreds of men loyal to them-(interrupted)

 "And you're not safe from rebellion if you do anything to upset them, which is why you turn a blind eye and let them run their outposts in all this savagery. You feign an extremist mentality when you are with them but the truth is that you are trapped." Calvin said indifferently while taking a sip of tea.

 Vince: Once again, you understand me, Mr. Lincoln. You understand all this even better than my peers, but in the art of pretending, I am no worse than you. Mr. Lincoln, I know you don't have an army with you...

 Cal: Oh, really...?

 "I am convinced that you did what Abigail described to me by yourself or with the complicity of a few men but you have no army. Every time you showed up, whether here or at the outpost after your massacre, you were alone, weren't you?

If you had men you would have left them there to protect the survivors but Abigail told me it was only you and you came here to the leader of the bad racists with your driver unable to hide his fear and stress instead of well-armed men to apply pressure.

 Either you have confidence in yourself and your army does indeed exist, or you are bluffing about your army but are still a dangerous man and capable, in some way that escapes me, of defeating an outpost single-handedly. » Vince told him looking into his eyes.

 *clap-clap-clap-clap*

 "You're smart, I have to admit..." Calvin said, clapping with a smile before putting his gun on the table.

 "I admire your honesty, you don't even try to deny what I accuse you of. I want as much as you to free these survivors to guide them myself if they want, but I'll need you to kill the terrorists who are sullying the image that I hope to give to my race.

You can find out more here, none of the non-white survivors are mistreated and we live separately to avoid some problems. They live decently in exchange for their work and the men who follow me also work the fields, they don't harbor any particular hatred against them although there is still a lot of work to do. » Vincent said seriously as he got up to get a large envelope and opened it to show Calvin the photos of the four supremacist commanders.

 "It's them, I'll give you all the information about them and even some of my men will want to help you if you want. We can make a new start together above the ashes of the old world and our old conflicts, killing these bastards and those who follow them is the first step..." Vincent asked him hopefully.

 Cal: I feel like I smoked bad weed. Just what kind of white supremacist are you ?!

 "Things are not always black and white Mr. Lincoln, I am not a supremacist but a white idealist, I believe in the ideal of my race for the future of the human species and you can take me for crazy but you and I can get along.

Even if it hasn't always been under good conditions, blacks and whites have accomplished great things together. Help me and let's free these poor people, I don't know how you managed to kill more than 100 men but we live in a time where the dead come back to devour us, that a sort of black Rambo exists wouldn't shock me.

 Mr. Lincoln, just because I think my people are better doesn't mean I think others are inferior...it's just a matter of potential and the dead outside make no difference between us. We are equal as humans although our technical potentials are different but we can only get through this by working together..." Vince held out his hand towards Calvin who looked at him strangely before shaking his hand, he always thought this guy was crazy and just wanted to get it over with but had to agree with Benny, he never dealt with a racist like Vincent.

The worst part was that Calvin's instincts told him that this guy was sincere when he said not to feel hatred or think that others were inferior...

 Vince signaled his men and people came over with trays of food, wine and water. Calvin saw one of the women and held her arm...

 "How are you treated here?" He asked the woman who looked at him before placing the dish on the table.

 The woman: We eat our fill and we live decently in exchange for the work here, it's a paradise compared to what I experienced outside. There are sometimes racial tensions but Mr. Vincent resolves the problems without favoritism.

 Calvin let go of his arm looking Vince in the eyes, the girl didn't seem to be lying or being under pressure and he looked at the food.

 "Did you poison the food?" Calvin asked him, narrowing his eyes slightly.

 Vince: Are you seriously asking that?

 "Nah nigga, I'm just kiddin'" Calvin said before picking up a chicken leg to start munching on it.

 Vince: I knew you'd like chicken.

 Cal:…

 "I'm just kiddin' too dude…" Vince said laughing as Calvin just wanted to punch him. In the middle of dinner while telling Calvin about his journey so far and the long process of changing his views on what he believes to be the ideal of the white race, Vince suddenly stopped for a few seconds before looking Calvin.

 Vince: I want to come with you...

 " What ? Come with me ? Where ?" Calvin asked in annoyance while drinking his glass of wine.

 "It's my men, these degenerates who give my race a disgusting image. Without wanting to offend you, I can't let a black guy sort everything out when I'm the one who let them do it." Vince said as he sat up.

 Cal: Hell no, fuck that. Nigga you'll only slow me down.

 "I know how to fight and I'm an excellent shooter, I trained for years with my cousin in shooting and even if I don't have his level, I'm well above average. My ideology, my ideal, if I'm not willing to put my life on the line for it then it's worthless. I'm not asking for your permission, I'm just…" Vince said with determination and Calvin looked at him intently without saying anything. This guy really bothered him, he didn't understand what kind of white guy Vincent was.

 "fucking weirdo...I really need a blunt..." Cal said to himself shaking his head, he had to take it upon himself for now then go to the survivors to look for Rebecca, he couldn't ask Vince directly for fear that he would use her as leverage.

It would have been easier if Vincent had been another hateful asshole that he just had to take down but this guy was just a human pain and he had no confidence in Vince at the moment.