local "Characters," "Gadflies," "Kooks," "Whack Jobs."

You are reading http://livinginthehood.blogspot.com

The links I'm sending you are about people for whom I feel a genuine: respect, sympathy, appreciation, etc. I wish I had the commitment to go to EVERY city council meeting to make comments. I wish I had the nerve to actually live by my principles SO exactly as to piss off total strangers. I wish I stood in front of the UNM bookstore for the past, twenty years or so, protesting military spending and war, even when we're not currently IN an active war.

I wish I had the discipline to show up at the cable access station, week after week, and broadcast my points of view on political and social issues, whether or NOT anybody listened to me.

Geraldine and Don are two of my favorite people. I'm one of the ONLY people in Albuquerque who actually GREETS them, when we meet on the street! I compliment them, frequently, on their dedication. I believe they are heros.

People in the so-called "progressive" community here view both of them as embarrassments. I think this is actually because BOTH of them are ACTIVELY participating in REAL CHANGE -- NOT just talking about it! They're both dirt poor, because affluence is a sign of corruption. They both work VERY hard to get the word out about living a conscious life. And both actually live conscious lives.

They're not crazy, as the public seems to need to believe. If the public were to actually listen respectfully, they'd have to confront themselves on their complacency, CHOICE to be ignorant, selfishness, bad priorities. So, better to ridicule those who live ethical lives, than to live one.

Now, believe me: I do NOT agree with everything Geraldine and Don say. Far from it.

But I'm committed, to the very end, to the RIGHT of Don and Geraldine to speak, to attempt to influence culture in their direction, and to live by their principles.
You Say Whack Job; I Say Amato
http://frannyzoo.blogspot.com/2006/08/you-say-whack-job-i-say-amato.html
The Amato Mobile
http://archives.dukecityfix.com/index.php?itemid=194

Don Schrader Openly Expresses Life's Convictions
http://media.www.dailylobo.com/media/storage/paper344/news/2006/09/19/Culture/Don-Schrader.Openly.Expresses.Lifes.Convictions-2284808.shtml

Albuquerque personalities: Don Schrader reveals the inner layers of his life
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/oct/12/don-schrader-reveals-inner-layers-his-life/