Reply #26: Yes, they can.

[Undercurrent]

I have a cousin, and a nephew who were both racist assholes. Really terrible in this one aspect of their personalities. They were good people otherwise, but they had a hateful blind spot that really made it hard to be around them at times.

Both changed.

It took my cousin, who is now close to 80 years old, decades to come around. He and my father have been like brothers, and best friends since I was a toddler in 1950. My father's steady internal compass, and consistent love finally brought him around.

My nephew is a young man in his 30s, but he has gone through a transformation too. Through a lot of love from the family he "woke up", and was able to learn why he had to hate other people to feel good about himself, and let go of the hate. btw: Not only did he vote for Obama but he campaigned hard for him too.