Page 284

[Alexandr Korol]

cool guys from Moscow and St. Petersburg were embarrassed to say they knew me or were friends with me, because they had built up an image of being cool, and the opinion and judgment from their social circle really scared them. And I would say:

– But your circle — they are nobody.
– Alex, come on!
– They are all poor and sick.

Naturally, this infuriated them even more, and they all called me “crazy.” But all of this was said only by the most sinful, selfish people. Never has a good person spoken badly about me, only these show-offs. So I always respond... These show-offs bark at me, and I mention them in my books, saying, “You are still the lower layer, and people will always perceive you that way, and you will always be like that, with that stigma. So you can’t hide from it with your brands and images.” So we always had that fight. Only these people were ashamed of me. Normal people are not ashamed. Those with more soul and heart are not ashamed of me, but those who are without soul, without heart, and all in their image, with complexes, and so on, those are the ones who always sneer, saying, “I don’t know him.” This started back in school. Even in school, when I didn’t know anything and wasn’t aware of my abilities, hadn’t written any books, hadn’t even kept a diary, it was already like that — I listened to classical music, and people divided into those who were ashamed and those who weren’t ashamed of it. And I had a friend who was ashamed to say he liked that kind of music too; he was afraid of society’s judgment. And there’s the difference. There are people who live adapting to society and fear its judgment, and there are those who are free at heart, unaffected by society’s opinions. I was born free from that influence. But there are those who are influenced by it and suffer because of it, constantly fearing society’s judgment, and they adapt to it. And here are the two mazes.

What else was in the question? Ah, how friends and relatives perceive me. Well, I already explained how relatives perceive me, now about friends. Well, of course, the times have changed, and I’ve already explained how I was