• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RVA Mag

Richmond, VA Culture & Politics Since 2005

Menu RVA Mag Logo
  • community
  • MUSIC
  • ART
  • EAT DRINK
  • GAYRVA
  • POLITICS
  • PHOTO
  • EVENTS
  • MAGAZINE
RVA Mag Logo
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contributors
  • Sponsors

Vintage Shop Closes Amid Sexual Assault Allegations

David Streever | September 17, 2018

Topics: #MeToo, sexual assault, Yesterday's Heroes

This is a developing story. 

Fan-based vintage shop Yesterday’s Heroes closed abruptly this week, following allegations on social media from multiple women that the shop owner, Drew Spruill, sexually assaulted them and others.

Initially, a sign on the door informed visitors that the shop, located at South Addison Street, was “closed for restocking” for fall, but after social media accounts belonging to Spruill and the store were deleted, a new sign went up on Friday stating that the shop “is closed for the unforeseeable future.”

Some of the allegations were posted on the store’s Instagram page and as 1-star reviews on the Facebook business page, both of which were subsequently deleted. Women who have spoken to RVA Mag said that Spruill assaulted adult women and pursued sexual relationships with minor women, both inside and outside of the vintage shop.

RVA Mag has reached out to Spruill and women who have accused him of sexual assault for further comment.

William & Mary Rescinds Honorary Degree Given to Bill Cosby Amid Sexual Assault Charges

Jo Rozycki | August 10, 2018

Topics: Bill Cosby, honorary degree, rape, sexual assault, W&M, William & Mary

On Friday, Aug. 10, the Board of Visitors at the College of William & Mary announced they had rescinded the honorary degree given to Bill Cosby. The Masters of Arts degree was given in 1993.

In a statement that was posted on the William & Mary website, the board stated that since the giving of the degree, “facts have come to light that reveal that Mr. Cosby engaged in conduct inconsistent with the values of the University.”

Image result for william and mary

In April of 2018, Cosby was found guilty of sexual assault after drugging and assaulting a woman in his home nearly 14 years ago. Since his charge, several more women have come forward stating they too were assaulted by Cosby. A total of 60 women have come forward accusing the comedian of sexual assault. 

According to the Board of Visitors, their decisions come after Cosby received his due process and gained his guilty status. “The Board of Visitors, in conjunction with the university administration, is committed to both the elimination of sexual violence and the adherence to due process. We affirm that commitment with our action today.”

William & Mary is not the first university to revoke its honorary degree from Cosby. Very shortly after his court case, Johns Hopkins, Notre Dame, Wesleyan University, and Carnegie Mellon all rescinded their honorary degrees. Other institutions, such as Spelman College, have given up awards, titles, and more dedicated to the former actor. In total, 57 of his degrees have been stripped.

This is not to say that all honorary titles Cosby has received have been rescinded. He is one of the most decorated celebrities among the colleges and universities in our country. In fact, he received honorary degrees in 2008 from VCU and Old Dominion University in 1998.

Although William & Mary’s decision is a step forward, Cosby still holds 11 of his near 70 honorary degrees or awards. His case will finalize in September with his sentencing.

JMU Rape Victim’s Experience with University Investigation Is the Stuff of Nightmares

Sarafina Sackey | July 18, 2018

Topics: college campus sexual assault, James Madison University, JMU, sexual assault

A sophomore studying social work at James Madison University has called out her school for blatantly mishandling its investigation of a fellow JMU student accused of raping her during a school trip to Ghana last year.

The accuser, who will be referred to by CW, said the assault occurred June 21, 2017, during a study abroad trip while intoxicated at a party. After returning to Harrisonburg and running into her alleged attacker several times throughout the fall semester, CW reported it to the Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Practices (OSARP) in December 2017. On March 28, the OSARP hearing board found the accused “not responsible.”

“James Madison University is aware of social media reports concerning allegations of sexual misconduct against a student employee,” the university said in an official statement. “These serious issues are of course among the most difficult facing universities, and all institutions in our society today. The emotions engendered by these types of allegations are understandable, given their gravity and the impact on all individuals concerned.”

CW and other JMU students took their frustration with the case to social media. “According to [CW], her alleged attacker ignored her when she repeatedly said she didn’t want to have sex,” reported The Breeze, JMU’s student paper. “[CW] complained to the university about her attacker under federal Title IX anti-sex discrimination law in December.”

CW said it took a long time for Title IX to send their statements to OSARP and for OSARP to contact her. She also submitted statements from other student witnesses on the trip, who confirmed she was clearly drunk and later appeared upset and in shock.

“Someone who had been through the process suggested I submit notes from my therapist, like an expert witness,” CW tweeted. “When I ask my counselor at the JMU Counseling Center, she tells me the only information she can give OSARP is my dates of attendance.”

Reflecting on the entire situation, she believes OSARP didn’t want to help her, especially after asking her what she describes as incriminating questions.

“I get asked the question, ‘Do you think your memory loss is from alcohol or trauma?’” she wrote. “Obviously, I don’t have brain scans. Months later, this question still puzzles me. What should I have said?”

She said James Madison’s Student Discipline Office granted her alleged attacker more character witnesses and more time to file his account of the party they attended in West Africa to OSARP.

“My attacker has extra time after his opening statement, and he uses it to say that I was incorrect about the dates on which things happened,” she wrote in a Tweet. “I have my personal diary sitting in front of me. I’m not allowed to respond and correct him.” 

CW said not all her witnesses were contacted.

“Out of the two names I gave, two individuals who were sober on the night of the incident and remembered important details — Title IX only spoke with one of them,” CW tweeted. “My attacker’s witnesses were all able to make statements. Even one that was submitted after the deadline.”

She recalled the accused rapist testifying that she said, “No” during her assault and that his witness said, “He had no reason to believe the assault didn’t occur.” CW’s witness allegedly overheard the suspect say, “I guess I raped her.”

She criticized the school for pressuring her not to speak with journalists about the complaint. JMU’s student paper and Inside Higher Ed both wrote about her ordeal in April.

Since filing the complaint, CW said she has quit her job at the university and dropped a course that she potentially would have shared with her attacker.

“I just want to be physically away from my rapist,” she wrote.

RVA Magazine made several attempts to contact JMU’s Office of Student Accountability last Wednesday, who did not respond to inquiries by press time. 

Virginia Battles a ‘Crime that Hides in Plain Sight’: Human Trafficking

VCU CNS | May 9, 2018

Topics: attorney general mark herring, backpage, child abuse, Child Protect Team at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, General Assembly, Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force, human Trafficking, human trafficking in Virginia, ImPACT Virginia, International Labor Organization, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Polaris Project, sex traffic victims, sex trafficking, sexual assault

RICHMOND – Robin Foster had worked with abused and neglected children for years, but it wasn’t until she came face to face with a trafficking victim that she fully recognized the dimensions of the crisis that brought a 17-year-old to a hospital emergency room early one morning.

The teen came to the hospital complaining of a sore throat but ran off when Foster tried to call her mom for permission to treat her.

“I chased her up the street at 1 in the morning,” Foster recalled.

Foster, who heads the Child Protect Team at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at Virginia Commonwealth University, said she later learned from police the girl had run away from her group home in Northern Virginia and was being trafficked by a man in a hotel in Richmond.

Human trafficking – a $150 billion global criminal enterprise, according to the International Labor Organization – is increasingly on the radars of law enforcement, politicians, and non-profits across the country. Statistics show the problem is worse in Virginia, and in the Richmond area, than in many other states and localities.

In 2017, Virginia ranked 15th in the United States for the most reported cases of human trafficking for sex and cheap or free employment. Last year, the state reported 156 cases, and 70 percent of those were sex trafficking, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Richmond ranked ninth nationwide in the number of calls per capita to the hotline, according to the organization’s 2017 report on the 100 most populous U.S. cities. Virginia Beach ranked 71st for calls per capita and Norfolk was 77th.

The Richmond region’s location at the junction of Interstates 64 and 95 makes the area an attractive place for traffickers, as does its large tourism and hospitality industry, says the Richmond Justice Initiative, a faith-based, anti-trafficking group.

While there is not an official estimate on the number of trafficking victims in the United States, the Polaris Project, a non-profit nongovernmental organization that runs the hotline, estimates the number to be in the hundreds of thousands.

Last month, President Donald Trump signed a bill giving federal and state prosecutors greater power to pursue websites that host sex-trafficking ads and enabling victims and state attorneys general to file lawsuits against those sites.

Trump’s action came a few days after several executives from the website Backpage.com were arrested on 93 indictments including knowingly facilitating trafficking through their website and allegedly laundering millions of dollars. The deaths of some trafficking victims have allegedly been linked to the website.

However, critics of the bill say it conflates legitimate and willing sex work with forced trafficking.

“I think it’s ridiculous that the two are being compared because the key difference is that trafficking victims cannot choose to stop working, they are not being empowered by what they do like sex workers are, and it (the bill) doesn’t address the reasons why people are being trafficked,” said Fay Chelmow, founder and director of ImPACT Virginia.

Chelmow founded ImPACT, a nonprofit fighting to prevent and end the sex trafficking of children, in May 2015 after reading the U.S. Department of Education report, “Human Trafficking in America’s Schools.” Chelmow said she was alarmed to learn how vulnerable youth are lured into the commercial sex industry by traffickers who scout middle and high schools.

“There still needs to be more advocating work around simply educating people that this is an issue in the first place because trafficking is very profitable,” said Chelmow, a registered nurse since 1984 and a former hospice and palliative care nurse in Boston, Massachusetts, before moving to Richmond in 2010. One of the reasons trafficking is so lucrative for criminal perpetrators, she said, is that they can sell the same person “over and over and over again.”

Human trafficking “is a crime that hides in plain sight,” said Charlotte Gomer, press secretary for Attorney General Mark Herring. “It is very difficult to identify victims and prosecute traffickers. Trafficking is about supply and demand and, unfortunately, as long as there is a demand for commercial sex and cheap or free labor, human trafficking will continue to exist.”

She said the attorney general’s office works with the city of Richmond and Henrico and Chesterfield counties to provide training, resources, victim services and operational assistance to combat trafficking.

During this year’s General Assembly session, Herring won passage of legislation that will make it harder for people who are charged with trafficking-related crimes to post bail – essentially placing a presumption of no bond for such offenses.

Del. Michael Mullin, D-Newport News, cosponsored the legislation with Del. Dawn Adams, D-Richmond. Mullin, who works as an assistant commonwealth’s attorney in Suffolk focusing on sexual assault and gang-related cases, said that fighting human trafficking transcends partisan politics. The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously and has been signed by Gov. Ralph Northam.

“This is a bipartisan issue and something everyone seems to agree we need to work on,” Mullin said in a statement earlier this year.

Gomer said Herring has been working to combat human trafficking since he took office in 2014. In early 2017, Herring signed a memorandum of understanding creating the Hampton Roads Human Trafficking Task Force, a partnership involving his office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Virginia State Police and Hampton Roads law enforcement agencies, and Samaritan House, a Virginia Beach nonprofit that provides emergency shelters for domestic violence victims and homeless families.

Advocates Press for Prevention and Solutions

At Children Hospital, Foster said the biggest medical roadblock when helping child human trafficking victims is finding them a secure place, away from their exploiters.

“Where do you place these kids? So what if you recognize that they’re victims? You can’t discharge them home, so where are we putting them? A lot of the time they have drug dependency so they might have to stay in the hospital to make sure they don’t have to go through drug withdrawal,” Foster said.

Foster said helping victims is even more difficult in the case of family-controlled trafficking.

Elisabeth Corey, a survivor of family-controlled child sex trafficking and abuse, recounts those experiences in her advocacy and book, “One Voice.” She said that her encounters with domestic violence and incest began when she was 2 years old and that after years of familial sexual abuse, her father began selling her.

Corey said her parents were highly involved in medical appointments, but answered the doctors’ questions with lies. For example, Corey said she was seen frequently at a young age for urinary tract infections, but her mother told nurses it was a result of bed-wetting. Corey said that should have raised alarms because bed-wetting is a symptom, not a cause of urinary tract infections. Likewise, she said the frequency she was being seen by doctors should have raised concerns.

“It was mind-blowing they would just trust what my parents said,” Corey said. “When I was being trafficked, they (medical professionals) weren’t even addressing domestic violence – so no one even had a word for trafficking, no one was even looking for it.”

It wasn’t until Corey had severe pelvic pain during a sleepover that red flags were raised. A neighbor took Corey to the emergency room after being unable to contact her parents.

Doctors alerted child protective services officials, who placed Corey in foster care in Northern Virginia.

“Foster care was so bad – I was getting raped in foster care – that I rescinded my story so that I could go back home,” Corey said. “I literally preferred my home to the foster care environment.”

In 2016, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimated that one out of six runaways might be children sex traffic victims and that the vast majority of those runaways had been in foster care or social services care.

Foster credited the work of Chelmow and others in drawing attention to the victimization of children by traffickers. Ten years ago, she said, the problem and strategies to fight it were “totally off the radar.” There is more awareness overall, she said, with information being placed in “schools, hospitals, airports, at bus stations – critical points people are being trafficked.”

The role of the federal government, at the same time, has helped reshape the fight against trafficking, Foster said, as has the view that “the trafficked person is a victim and not part of the problem.”

Still, many problems remain, especially among higher-risk populations – minors in the foster care or social services systems; the homeless, young people with a history of running away; and LGBTQ youth.

LGBTQ youth “are already so marginalized, and it’s all about exploiting vulnerability,” Chelmow said. “Being marginalized makes you even more vulnerable.”

Despite the wide variety of backgrounds from which young people can be trafficked, Corey said, there are common elements in identifying the abused.

“I work as a life coach all over the world, and it’s almost scary how everybody, regardless of how similar experiences are, reacts to trauma the same way,” Corey said. “We really have to get away from the idea that trafficking is in a silo because it’s not.”

Authorities investigating human trafficking should be ready to consider issues ranging from emotional abuse to financial problems, she said.

According to Foster, among the signs that medical professionals can look for is the presence of someone who is not related to the person seeking help but who acts as if they are – for example, “someone who is like an uncle but won’t really act or look like an uncle.”

Other signs include anxious behavior from a patient, the inability to speak for themselves, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Foster said practitioners should also be aware of excuses used to justify physical trauma and the possibility that any overdoses were done with the intent to commit suicide.

Some of these problems may also be seen by teachers, Corey said.

“I know, we already ask our teachers to do a lot, but they are the first responders to spotting this because they see the children every day,” Corey said. “Another solution is asking survivors what they need and what other survivors need, because we know our experience and solutions need to be trauma-informed.”

However, Corey is aware that finding survivors who are willing to speak out can be difficult due to threats to their safety from their abusers.

“Another reason they don’t come forward is that people who are trafficked have been manipulated into thinking this is their choice and it’s their fault, and they don’t know what trafficking is or what its definition is,” Corey said. “Another side of it, and this is true for me, is that they disassociate and repress the memories.”

A major part of Corey’s work as a life coach and running her website beatingtrauma.com revolves around addressing how trauma manifests through memory loss. She left home at 18, but it was not until the birth of her children in her 30s that she remembered the trafficking and other forms of physical and sexual abuse she experienced.

“There were years of me going to Christmases and events with my family before I remembered the abuse,” Corey said. “I remember always feeling angry around them and like something was not right and I couldn’t name exactly what it was, but my children reminded me of what had happened. A lot of times, children will remind survivors of their own trauma.”

Corey is no longer in contact with her family. She said avoiding the generational cycle of abuse is difficult, but possible.

“I believe that anyone who abuses their children was also abused as a child, but that does not mean every person who was abused will then go on to abuse their own children,” Corey said. “There is a process to deal with the trauma and to address it.”’

Story By: Sophia Belletti and Siona Peterous via VCU Capital News Service

Opinion: Well Intentioned, Poorly Executed: Is the #MeToo Movement Actually Threatening Equality?

Arianna Rose | December 26, 2017

Topics: #MeToo, me too movement, sexual assault, sexual harrassment

Social media users dreadfully scrolled through their newsfeeds upon seeing the posts from family, that old friend from high school, muscle-bound actor Terry Crews, and several others they might never have expected sharing their stories of sexual harassment and assault. 

Victims calmed down the quiet storms of fear and rage within their minds and went on living their seemingly content lives. Maybe you weren’t so shocked. Maybe you’ve been one of those quiet storms yourself.  #MeToo. Ever since the “#MeToo” posts began flooding social media feeds across the globe, inquisitive minds have begged the question, ‘have this many people really experienced sexual assault? What is the premise and/or “point” of this hashtag..? Who are the real victims, and what constitutes a real victim?’

The current state of this movement neglects to differentiate between harassment, rape, and groping, labeling many people as survivors, without evaluating their accusations. The truth is, none of these unwelcome advances are acceptable, and expecting #MeToo posters to elaborate their experiences is a form of victim blaming. If we dismiss the voices of those who step forward, we are destroying the very platform needed to maintain this crucial dialogue that has finally surfaced within our society. The conversation is not threatening equality in the least. The fact that people (men, women, and non-binary folks alike), are being brave enough to bring attention to issues that are all-too-often swept under a giant, smelly, patriarchal rug is what really matters.  

Unsurprisingly, certain men have found a way to make this phenomenon about themselves. Self-glorifying, “apologetic” posts in response to #MeToo appeared on newsfeeds during the weeks the movement was starting to gain serious momentum. Writer Benjamin Law started a counter #HowIWillChange movement after encouraging men to reveal how they will support women who have been “abused, assaulted, and harassed” by other men. He gave several suggestions in a Twitter thread, each listed under the hashtag #HowIWillChange. His promises include donating to local women’s shelters, calling out misogyny, reporting sexual assaults, and supporting women who have experienced sexual assault.

Benjamin Law: How I will Change

Law appears to be well-intentioned, and it’s good to see men calling themselves out and promising improved behavior. If #MeToo has suddenly transformed even a handful of men into champions of women, then the hashtag has exceeded our expectations as women. The real question is—will these men step off their social media platforms to do some real work? Are they ensuring themselves against potential future accusations? Sure, a half-assed apology is nice and all, but why should we have had to tolerate toxic and predatory behavior in order to help them evolve into better men? The first step towards tangible change should be reaching out to those they’ve hurt, not making blanket apologies.

Society is low-key quick to claim certain #MeToo posters are crying wolf, but have no interest in examining the pining apologies of men who claim they’ve changed their skirt-chasing, ass-groping, sexually harassing ways. Some men claim they’re genuinely confused as to what is acceptable behavior, both in the workplace and beyond. Good old common sense, workplace sexual harassment training, and generally trying not to be a piece of shit are good rules of thumb to follow whilst treading those “uncertain,” murky waters. While rape and catcalling shouldn’t necessarily be equated, neither behavior is acceptable—and that’s the broader point of this movement.  

In the world of feminism, there is a sort of beggars can’t be choosers mentality—that we should be complacent and accept that a platform finally exists at all. “Just ok,” is not good enough. Our fight for equality and bringing the actions of assaulters to light cannot stop with the acceptance of self-glorifying social media apologists.

Bringing equality a step closer to Richmond is Ali Greenberg, founder of female-friendly co-working space The Broad. Greenberg believes that “The #metoo movement has shown that the powers that be will not make space for us, in fact, they will take it from us. As we see the foundations of just about every industry rotting from within, it is more important than ever that we have our own spaces to learn, grow, connect, and heal. And, since they aren’t being built for us, we will build them ourselves.” Opening in 2018, this space is slated to become exactly what the women, (as well as non-binary folks) of Richmond have needed.

In dark times, folks come together. It is a silver lining amidst the shit storm. Time Magazine named the silence-breaking #MeToo posters as 2017’s Person of the Year. The #MeToo posters are of varying ages, ethnicities, occupations, incomes, etc. They are worlds apart, yet one in the same. For some reason, when a movie star says #MeToo, it becomes easier for society to digest.

Time Magazine: Silence Breakers

A Time Magazine/SurveyMonkey online poll of American adults conducted Nov. 28–30, 82 percent of respondents said women are more likely to speak out about harassment since the Weinstein allegations. From Richmond to Hollywood and beyond, silence is being broken. Glass ceilings are shattering. We are not complacent. We are taking up space in the world. This is the beginning of true equality, and I’m damn happy to be here for it.

Sexual Harassment: Politicians, Media, and the Unjustifiable Difference Between Them

Brandon Jarvis | November 30, 2017

Topics: Donald Trump, Matt Lauer, Media, politics, Roy Moore, sexual assault, sexual harassment

“CBS This Morning” anchor Charlie Rose, NPR news chief Michael Oreskes, New York Times political reporter Glenn Thrush, political analyst Mark Halperin, and now “Today Show” host Matt Lauer have all lost their job or been suspended due to sexual harassment claims.

President Donald Trump (R), Senator Al Franken (D), Representative John Conyers (D), and Senate-hopeful Roy Moore (R) are all facing credible accusations on their own– but continue to keep their jobs.

Roy Moore

Rep. Conyers is facing pressure from Democratic leadership behind closed doors, but he continues to vigorously deny the accusations – although he admitted to paying a former staffer with taxpayer money after she accused him of sexual harassment.  On Thursday, one of Conyers’ accusers, Marion Brown, went on the Today Show to discuss the allegations. She said he “violated her body” and frequently propositioned her for sex.

Almost every Republican leader in government – with the exception of their leader, Trump – has denounced Moore for pursuing underage girls.  However, he still remains active on the campaign trail and shows no sign of bowing out. Franken has apologized for his mistakes after photos surfaced of him groping a woman while she was sleeping. However, he shows no signs that he believes he should resign. Trump was recorded on tape saying that he grabs women by the “pu**y” because he is famous and they let him do it.  The other participant in that tape, Billy Bush, was fired by NBC News for what he contributed to that tape.

Sixteen women have now accused Donald Trump of sexual assault. He was elected President of the United States within a few months of this information coming to light, while at the same time making Bill Clinton’s sexual misconduct a constant topic of coverage during the election.

President Trump

Washington has long had a history of politicians playing sexual scandal situations close to the vest. The Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 made that much easier for them. Originally, it was intended to force members of Congress to be held to the same standards as the rest of the professional world.  Instead, it created a way for sexual harassment cases to be settled using taxpayer money – with the process and participants of the settlement being kept a complete secret. Not to mention the first step that an accuser takes under this act after is to take a 90-day “mandatory dispute resolution process.” Which essentially is a “cooling off” period where the accuser has to continue to work and interact with the accused.

17 million dollars in taxpayer-funded settlements have occurred under this resolution since 1997. The Office of Compliance handles these funds. They say that the fund covers most Capitol Hill employers, so not all of these funds are used for lawmakers’ transgressions.

This is drastically different than the process that we have witnessed taking place in the private sector. Matt Lauer’s employers were notified of a complaint against him on Monday night, and he was released from his position at NBC less than 48 hours later. Later on Wednesday, we learned from Variety, who claimed to have been working on this story for months, that Lauer had been committing inappropriate acts for years. From having a button on his desk to lock his office door, to gifting a coworker a sex toy and letting her know how he wanted to use it with her. Louis C.K.’s film company canceled his next movie premiere and multiple media companies cut ties with him after his transgressions hit the news. CBS, Bloomberg, and PBS released Charlie Rose within a day of his accusations going public.

Matt Lauer

Yet the disparities between politicians and media personalities continue to persist, even with an announcement by Northern Virginia Congresswoman Barbara Comstock. On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed an anti-harassment resolution that the Congresswoman introduced. The bill requires Representatives to participate in yearly sexual harassment training.

“There is no room for sexual harassment in the workplace and we must have zero tolerance for harassment of any kind, especially in Congress,” said Comstock. “This legislation we passed here today is a strong first step in fundamentally reforming how we address the insidious problem of sexual harassment in the workplace and committing to a healthy, safe working environment free from sexual harassment.”

This is surely a step in the right direction, but forcing members to participate in a yearly training does very little to address the actual harassment that has occurred. These resolutions also don’t address the biggest possible offender of all – the President.

The media, tech moguls, Hollywood producers, comedians, and athletes are typically forced to pay for their transgressions themselves. If not with their own funds, it’s the employers they worked for that enabled their behavior. This is also usually accompanied by a pink slip from that enabler.

Politicians have been using taxpayer money to pay off their accusers under a code of silence enacted by themselves, or their predecessors for over 20 years.  As a result, lawmaker’s are allowed to push their moral beliefs and judgment’s into our law books – but they don’t hold themselves accountable to that same standard.  Why should citizens trust them to police themselves? Citizens should be able to trust that the individuals elected to run our country truly have the interests and safety of their citizens at heart. That is getting harder and harder to believe, more so since the revelations that they will cover up the mistreatment of women to the tune of tens of millions of dollars. The citizens that are being publicly shamed and losing their jobs deserve every ounce of this.

So the question remains, why aren’t our elected leaders receiving the same ridicule and justice?

  • ⟨
  • Go to page 1
  • Go to page 2
  • Go to page 3
  • Go to page 4
  • Go to page 5
  • ⟩

sidebar

sidebar-alt

Copyright © 2021 · RVA Magazine on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Close

    Event Details

    Please fill out the form below to suggest an event to us. We will get back to you with further information.


    OR Free Event

    CONTACT: [email protected]