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Papa Roach: The #Resistance’s Last Resort Plays The National Tonight

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Are you feeling suffocated by the Trump presidency? Does the thought of another two years of Alice in Wonderland political depravity leave you breathless?

Papa Roach may be the anodyne you’re looking for, more so since the nu-metal luminaries are kicking off a month-long tour starting tonight at The National in Richmond. 

What they might be best known for recently is their viral trolling of President Trump, which has been a welcome development for a band who’s career has been subject to intense scrutiny for the better part of two decades. Most notably, the band mimicked President Trump’s childish, all-caps threat against Iran using lyrics from their 2000 mega-hit “Last Resort.”

For those who are not hard-wired into the world of international relations, the U.S. has been in a tense stand off with the Islamic Republic since they over-ran the U.S. Embassy in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution. Therefore, Trump’s tweet rage should come as no surprise; this bumptious outburst was in response to a speech given by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in July, 2018. Rouhani was quoted as saying, “Do not play with the lion’s tail or else you will regret it,” referring to U.S. efforts to sanction crude oil exports after leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or simply “the Iran nuclear deal” – a signature landmark of Obama-era foreign policy. “Peace with Iran would be the mother of all peace, war with Iran would be the mother of all wars,” said Rouhani later in the speech. 

Irrespective of Trump tweets, the intricacies of diplomacy in the conflict-prone Middle East is always complex, leading Papa Roach to weigh with a nuanced response which was surely debated in the halls of each government (and possibly the U.N.); using “Last Resort” to make their point.

Genius.

Papa Roach also joined in the fun after a doctored New York Times article reimagined Paul Ryan listening to “Last Resort” in his SUV after a workout. The band later tweeted a photo of Paul Ryan lifting weights and wearing a Papa Roach shirt with caption, “#RoachGate,” after a joke tweet about Paul Ryan blasting “Last Resort” as he drove away once his healthcare bill failed. 

The cutting my life into pieces did not stop there, however, with the band re-tweeting Kavanaugh inspired memes.

The moral of this story? While Papa Roach might not be your bag, their epic trolling of the Republican establishment proves that even the nu-metal bands of the  90s and 00s can still get down with the movement. Bless.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

 

Hate Bird Scooters? This is for You

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If you live in one of the handful of cities where dockless scooters have landed, you’ve probably either come across one, ran into one, or had one run into you. Whether this has come in the form of a brainless college student zooming along at 15mph through the River City’s rickety streets, or lead to a broken leg like some residents, we’ve all been affected by the Bird. 

Unlike other ride share programs, Bird scooters require no docking station; the scooters are collected at night by chargers (other locals who charge them in their own homes), and returned to a “nest egg“ by 7am. 

And while the intention of the scooter service — alleviate traffic, cut down on pollution, and give the city a proper reason improve sidewalks — means well, the Santa Monica-based company (already reportedly valued at $2 billion) is seeing considerable backlash. Not just from the expected margin: middle class suburbanites with readily available transportation, a hefty subreddit inbox, and few hindrances on their plate. Complaints are filing in from locals across cities where Birds have landed, and for cities who have not already expelled the scooters, their presence continues to choke local news headlines. Yet non-Bird enthusiasts have found another outlet for their scooter seething, beyond the local evening broadcast: Enter the amazingly debauched Instagram account, Bird Graveyard.

This account channels the dockless scooter hatred, and provides a coping mechanism for those who need to see a rage-filled documentation of the Bird. 

The videos and photos from around the country supply viewers with a Hostel-esque parade of scooter tortures since their arrival in 2017. From shameless decapitation to high balcony-drops, under-tire destruction, and burning at the stake, the online community has once again proven the only logical step in disagreeing with a product is to document its destruction. 

Caligula would be most proud.

While the cost of a ride is around $.15 per minute, the admins of Bird Graveyard are concerned that the cost of no regulation would be far graver. In an article published in July by VICE, they summed up their reasons behind destroying Birds in the following statement: 

“Smashing scooters is just funny,” they said. “It’s amusing when people come to the page and do not get why it’s funny. If you can’t laugh at a ride-share scooter being lit on fire at a house party, that’s a problem with you. There’s nothing in the Constitution that says we all have to respect and love brands.” 

RVA Mag collected some of the more tasteless images of wanton scooter destruction provided by Bird Graveyard. So consider this your warning: From here on out, the moral interpretation is left up to you. 

Be mindful next time you consider destroying one of these dockless devices. With the rise in AI capability, we’re only one program code away from these simple gizmos acquiring the knowledge to take up arms against us in spirit of their homonymic brethren — as Hitchcock’s birds once did — descending upon the earth.

And when that day comes, we’ll be there to post a video of it. 

Some of the best Instas of Bird Scooter destruction from Bird Graveyard can be found below:

Oh, The Humanity. Good Boy!

Eventually, We All Die Alone.

Scooter Destruction as Modern Art

1,000 Years From Now

How Dare You?

You May Take Our Lives, But Not Our Scooters…

Light Up For Safety: Lyft Brings Amp To Richmond

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This summer, Lyft — the fastest growing ridesharing service in the US — began the Richmond-area rollout of Amp, a device designed to make rides safer and more personalized. Amp is a pill-shaped device that sits on Lyft drivers’ dashboards, its front- and back-facing light-up screens making it easier to find your ride and identify your driver.

“It took a little bit of legislative work to get it here, but now that it’s arrived, we’re very excited,” said Cabell Rosanelli, Lyft’s market manager for Richmond. “You can imagine if you’re leaving the Fan late at night, and there are four black Toyota Corollas lined up out front. If the driver has an Amp you would be notified that your ride has an orange light burning in the front of the car.”

As someone who has gotten into the wrong Lyft in DC — a generic black Camry, of which there are always several — Rosanelli says Amp makes it more convenient for both passenger and driver, halting any mix-ups and ensuring an ease of transition.

The first few weeks of the rollout, I took Rosanelli at his word alone, but more recently, the Amp has blown up the Richmond ridesharing scene. A night time walk around the city now brings more than the glare of headlights: the device blazes in candy-neon shells on dashboards, a beacon of convenience. For me, it is something of a comfort — transportation exists literally at my fingertips, and I’m a sucker for bubblegum pink.

It’s a change that the drivers are excited about, said Rosanelli. They threw a big event to distribute Amps to those eligible — any driver who has done 125 rides in the last three months.  

“I talk to drivers every day, and there are some amazing stories out there,” said Rosanelli. “We have every background, every story you can imagine… Whether it’s a wounded veteran, a single parent, a retiree, or someone who is unemployed or underemployed, we’re all trying to do something really great and create financial freedom for ourselves.”

While convenience is key, and Amp is helping to create a frictionless pick-up, it’s the safety concerns surrounding ridesharing that have everyone talking. A recently released CNN investigation found at least 103 Uber drivers in the U.S. who have been accused of sexually assaulting or abusing their passengers in the past four years.

It’s the horror story that plays out on every college campus, in every large ridesharing market: How do you stay safe when you’re stepping into someone else’s car?

“We’re not necessarily trying to solve for a safety matter, we’re trying to make everyone’s life a little easier,” said Rosanelli of Amp. “I’d say it’s less of a safety matter, and more so an efficiency, matching, and conversion play. There’s less confusion at the point of pick-up.” Of course, to admit to trying to solve safety concerns would mean admitting there is a problem.

Ruth Walston has been driving Lyft in Richmond and DC for a couple months now, and despite being a female driver in a field largely dominated by men, most of her experiences have been good. In fact, she enjoys it.

The process of getting certified was easy. And after submitting all of her documents, she heard back in less than an hour: “You’re ready to go!”

“I’ve had part-time jobs, where I was only there for four hours, that killed me by the end of it. But I could do eight hours driving Lyft and feel fine,” said Walston. “I don’t feel like I’ve given my life to capitalism at the end of the day.”

She has interesting conversations with new people, works on her own terms, and clocks in and out whenever she chooses. But, as always, safety is on her mind.

“When you get into a stranger’s car, and when you allow strangers into your car, you’re opening yourself up to that possibility,” said Walston. “It matters and it sucks, but it goes deeper than Lyft — the fact that you can’t trust strangers at all in our society is the problem.”

To Walston, Lyft is getting the same treatment that almost anything new receives: immediate distrust, and a wish to unload deeper societal issues onto a scapegoat. “Let’s put it this way: the dark cloud that follows around Lyft about sexual harassment and violence, I feel like that’s another example of people targeting new things over old problems.”

“It’s the dark cloud that follows around everything that’s different and new: it’s innovative and cool, but what problems can we find with it?” Walston continued. “We find the same problems that exist throughout society, because humans are inherently flawed and we are all living amongst each other in the same damn shit. So everything that we make has the same damn problems.”

Another recent CNN article addresses these same issues, with similar results. After a Chinese ride-sharing firm dealt with the rape and killing of one of its passengers, allegedly at the hands of a driver, it’s clear that these safety concerns are literally universal.

In the article, CNN’s Sara Ashley O’Brien writes that Katie Wells, an urban studies foundation post-doc at Georgetown University who researches the social and economic effects of on-demand services, “called sexual assault and rape on ridesharing platforms ‘a symptom of the larger issue’ of violence against women.” Wells agrees with Walston that what can be done is for ridesharing companies to take accountability, address the problem, and put protective measures in place.

As a young woman living in a city, I’d rather take my chances in a rideshare than walk home alone at night, tipsy and on unfamiliar streets. That isn’t to say it can’t be dangerous, and that these companies shouldn’t be held accountable, but these are old problems, and I’m ready for new solutions: Like Amp, like all-women ride-sharing services, like companies that are willing to listen to driver and passenger complaints.

I took a handful of rides last week and chatted with some drivers about their experiences. Most had been driving for years, with largely favorable memories. Lyft was a supplement to their day job, a grab for extra cash, with the worst transgressions being overloud, midnight drunks. My driver on an 8 am ride said his last passenger had asked him out. And though it didn’t make him uncomfortable, we both decided that a 7:45 am romantic advance is just too early — not to mention an incredibly inappropriate thing to do to someone who has no easy way out.

We are at the beginning of a vast cultural change. Lyft has only been in Richmond for two years, Uber for four, and already, it’s hard to imagine the city without it. And it’s the kind of progress that will only continue to develop.

Rosanelli has a vision for the company that goes beyond the new LED light-up dashboard accessory. “I talk to our City Council and others about what we can do with ridesharing, and how it can continue to shape the city,” said Rosanelli. “Cities were built and designed around cars. And now there’s this opportunity with better public transportation, rideshare, bikes, and other modalities to redesign our cities around people.”

The Amps lighting the tepid Richmond nights this bizarrely warm October are a comfort to me. They are a symbol of innovation, of an attempt to move forward. I see them while I’m walking, be it out of bars, or a friend’s house, or a music hall, and I know, if I wanted it, I have a way home.

Photos via Lyft

“Awareness” by Bigal Harrison feat. Michael Millions Needs Your Attention

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Here’s the new clip from VCU Track Star and RVA rhyme kicker, Bigal Harrison, for his buzzing single “Awareness,” off of the forthcoming album Bintage. Joined on the track by veteran emcee Michael Millions, the two take a trip down Grace Street and wax poetics. With a vintage production feel to match the street vibe of the visuals, the young gunner and the man with the mural are setting the fall season off correctly.

Richmond’s Homeless Groups Speak on Monroe Park, Its Future, and Their Work

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Monroe Park saw its official reopening ceremony last Thursday following months of renovation. The fairly rainy event was attended by Mayor Levar Stoney and representatives from Virginia Commonwealth University, the Monroe Park Conservancy, Richmond City Council, along with a crowd of dozens — and one lone critic of the entire affair.

“Virginia Beach built a $29 million facility to help house homeless people. The city here does nothing,” said Thomas Alleman, chief facilitator of the Richmond chapter of the international Food Not Bombs collective.

Carrying a protest banner soaked from the rainwater that poured during the ceremony’s speeches and ribbon-cutting, Alleman was very critical of the event, the park redesign, its architects, and how it spoke, in his view, to the continuous changes Richmond has seen over the years.

It’s changing all right — but for what and for who?

Nearly two years after work on the park closed off a well-known hub for Richmond’s homeless and the organizations that aim to aid them, the way homeless outreach has changed in the city and Virginia is a question with a wide gulf of responses for groups that share a common cause and focus on this issue.

For Michael Rogers, a former member of CARITAS and Community Engagement Manager for Homeward, the current state of homeless outreach is a very positive one. Aided by staff tasked to connect with, check in on, inform and build relationships with the homeless, the group’s efforts have continued with little obstacles to hinder them.

This is important for the work they do, especially the annual Point-In-Time count, as Homeward’s ability to document the homeless people of the Commonwealth is critical to ensuring federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). As such, the work the group does involves not just networking with similar organizations throughout Virginia, but broad cooperation with local officials and law enforcement agencies to ensure proper support for all of Virginia’s homeless people.

“It’s grown a lot, but we’re getting participation across sectors and across organizations,” Rogers said of Homeward’s recent efforts.

Alleman has a more mixed take, owing in part to the disruption in service and outreach Food Not Bombs experienced following the park’s closing. As a result, after 25 years in the city, the group was faced with the hard work of reestablishing their organizing connections with a homeless population left scattered. Eventually, Food Not Bombs set up in Jackson Ward’s Abner Clay Park, with the help of Richmond’s homeless, though with a noticeable decrease in numbers.

This skeptical view of the situation extends to the renewed presence of law enforcement in the area, including the Richmond and VCU police officers stationed at the Checkers House near the park’s center, in addition to the new camera system. Ultimately, Alleman disputes the notion that Monroe Park is for Richmond’s city residents.

“They put a police station where this gazebo and bathrooms used to be. What does that really say? Instead of helping us and working with us to help these people, they do things like this, I think, to kind of dissuade us,” Alleman said.

In a statement, RPD 4th Precinct Officer Lt. James Roberts explained that the Richmond Police Department will be covering primary patrolling responsibilities in the park, with VCU’s police officers serving as support.

“The objective of the Richmond Police Department is to implement public safety strategies that will allow all park patrons to lawfully utilize the park,” Roberts said. “Enforcement action will be taken when appropriate, however, our overall strategy is to engage the community and our partner organizations in non-enforcement efforts to ensure all lawful activity is protected.”

“Homeless outreach groups will continue to be welcome in Monroe Park as they are in other city parks, as long as their activities are lawful.”

In contrast to Food Not Bombs’ struggles, Homeward was seemingly well prepared when news of Monroe Park’s closing reached them. Though Rogers was still part of CARITAS at the time, the usage of a coordinated communication plans for a network of case managers for emergency shelters, outreach workers, and law enforcement on alternative locations for shelter and aid helped some homeless outreach groups immensely in the time before and during Monroe Park’s closure.

This continued good fortune extends to Homeward’s interactions with HUD. In contrast to general operations and policy initiatives within the Trump administration and even from top HUD officials, Homeward’s work with the staff members of its homeless division is as professional as ever, if not better, according to Rogers. With applications for a $5.4 million federal grant and additional funds for homeless domestic violence survivors still pending, that relationship will be key for how Homeward operates in the future.

“I can’t speak for all of HUD, but in homeless services, it’s remained consistent, and we’ve even seen an increase in support,” Rogers said.

That support seems especially vital in a fall season that’s seen extreme and rare weather occurrences touch down in Richmond, including tornadoes generated in Hurricane Florence’s wake that claimed the lives of two people in Virginia.

Homeward opted to tackle the problem with a system of public communication, online resources and overtime work to bring the public into greater connection with both the city’s homeless and the kind of outreach work necessary when a potential hurricane could reach its streets.

Recalling the large amount of effort taken to ensure the safety of Richmond’s homeless people, Rogers said, “It was just kind of working diligently to make sure that everyone, including the general public, knew what resources were available; so that anyone who was sleeping outdoors, we could connect with them and offer those kind of services.”

On this topic, Alleman strikes a similar, more condensed tone: “Even if there was a tornado, we would still be here. We are dedicated.”

Judging by Alleman’s and Rogers’s statements, both organizations are still undecided on how they’ll utilize Monroe Park as part of their efforts, now that fences have come down.

Rogers and Homeward remain observant, waiting to get the full scope of the new rules and guidelines for the park, which includes a 6 o’clock closing time and new rules for lawn reservations and charitable food distribution. For now, they’re focused on connecting and expanding the capacity to aid.

“We will support and push people towards creating and expanding indoor meal programs, particularly for people who are sleeping outdoors,” Rogers said.

And for Food Not Bombs, who are deep in discussion among themselves and other groups? “We still want our presence in this park,” Alleman said. “It’s not like Food Not Bombs is just this bunch of punk kids making food. It’s the idea that we have to show people that there are other people in this city that need help.”

Despite his misgivings about the park, Alleman remains open to the possibility of greater homeless aid coming from Richmond officials.

“I do hope that we can work out something with the city to get people into some sort of shelters,” Alleman said.

While the gap in Alleman’s and Rogers’s outlook on Monroe Park is clear, equally clear is that both men — and the groups they work with — remain steadfast in their commitment to helping Richmond’s homeless.

Photos by George Copeland Jr.

Pipeline: Weekend Playlist by Portugal. The Man

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Every Friday night, RVA Mag drops one scorcher of a playlist curated by influential artists, musicians, and institutions. This week, as your nocturnal machinations are set into motion, Portugal. The Man brings you a playlist that is as diverse as it is vast: a musical masterpiece of sounds, styles, and solidarity, which is suitable for any dark autumn gathering.

Run wild this weekend, Virginia.

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond