He could have at any point repented, and denied his beliefs, and he didn't. How is that not respectable?
I can respect somebody who is willing to die for his country or his family but to die a horrible agonizingly painful death for a philosophy he created himself without claiming some kind of divine revelation is lunacy. The Catholic Church in those days was hardly willing to agree to disagree.
Jay Adams died on the 14th. One of the original Z-Boys in the famous DelMar championship that really was the catalyst that turned skateboarding from "sidewalk surfing" into skating. Adams was a pioneer a legend and also a convict that could have very well murdered a gay guy in 82. Adams definitely personified that late 70's early 80's scummy punk rock skater attitude and definitely influenced everyone from Tony Hawk to Christian Hosoi, Rodney Mullen, Etc etc.
The only famous skateboarder I ever heard of was Tony Hawk. I never thought about how much those things cost until I found out that my nephew paid $300 for a skateboard and has some expensive shoes made just for skateboarding. He goes to LSU and uses his skateboard to go from class to class and to get around campus. I see quite a few kids using skateboards to get around in my neighborhood. It seems to me that a bicycle would be easier and faster.
Did you see the documentary that Stacy Peralta did called 'Dogtown and Z-boys' chronicling that period? I didn't think I'd like it, but I did. It's streaming on Netflix, if anyone is interested. Then, the movie based on the documentary called 'The Lords of Dogtown' was pretty good as well. EDIT: Posted the above before I read the thread other thread. You've obviously seen it. It would have been cool to have been a part of that.
Fuck yes it would have. That sketchy ass POP cove with all the debris where they surfed. Holy shit skating must have been a breeze for those dudes. I've skated ramps and pipes and street but I've never done anything that sketchy.
