Yes my good friend Joey aka Axl passed away in 2015, he was a friend of mine for last 5 years of his life. I can tell you that he was not a white supremacist I never heard him say anything racist, he got the tattoos in question when he was 15 years old as did a couple of his buddies because they thought it made them look tough. Joey was a troubled soul and didn't have the best childhood he was adopted when he was almost 12 years old and never felt like he fit into his new family. We spent a lot of time together in the years prior to his death and we had a lot of fun. In June 2015 I dropped him off at a treatment center here in Port Angeles 2 days later he had me pick him up because he didn't like it there, I dropped him off at a friends place and that was the last time I saw him, he died in Seattle 3 weeks later. I hope and pray that he finally found the peace he was searching for, I am blessed to have some videos of him and I hanging out. I sure do miss him and his laugh he was truly a lot of fun to be around. I guess he will live on forever on the internet and I think he would like that
It looks like fedoozal signed up solely to post this beautiful tribute to his good friend Joey/Axl.
I have read many unpleasant judgmental comments about specific adult performers on various websites over the years.
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
- Martin Luther King Jr.
I'd extend this and say that people should be judged by their words & actions, not by their appearance & tattoos. Children that grow up in an environment of homophobia use the adjective "gay" as an insult without knowing what it means. What comes out of the mouth of a child raised by racists? We don't know the circumstances that a stranger grew up in, what role models surrounded them, how their education might have been limited, what tattoos were popular in their community, how they might have wanted to fit in with their peers or what their understanding of symbolism was.
People need to be more empathic & stop jumping to conclusions & condemning others for their perceived transgressions. Listen instead of talking. Read instead of typing. Think instead of following the herd.
This is what ActiveDuty founder Dink Flamingo wrote in response to the online hysteria over Axl's tattoos:
"I spent five days straight in the company of this young man and not once did I ever sense or see an angry or mean bone in his body. He was sweet, gentle and very caring. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I worked with a guy that had such a sweet and caring demeanor. He was childlike in his fascination with what he was doing and so very happy and intent on doing a good job. We spent a lot of time out in public during our time together and not once did I hear him make any mean-spirited or racist comments and I live in a very culturally diverse part of the country. He smiled and beamed with pure sweetness the entire time.
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One thing I did learn about Axl, like so many of these young men, is that he had a very hard childhood. When we are young and impressionable we sometimes make decisions based on our environment that we otherwise wouldn’t have made. I’m not saying that this is the end all explanation for why he got the tattoos that he got, but I would bet money on the fact that he knew very little in retrospect about their true meaning.
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The next time I speak to Axl, which should be soon, I’ll be sure to ask him what his tattoos mean to him. It is my thought that his answer will come with much naivety or regret or both."
Rest in peace Joey/Axl.
