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Finding the Metapolitics With Hoax Hunters

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Dormant, the latest extended play release by Richmond band Hoax Hunters, addresses blurred lines between art and politics. The band’s previous release, 2017’s “SAD!” was a reaction to the virulent political discourse of the 2016 presidential election, but their latest work takes a more nuanced approach to the topic.

The new tracks are ostensibly about art and culture, and were originally written as a lighthearted counter to their aggressive 2015 record Clickbait, but its release was put on hold as the 2016 election progressed. Vocalist and guitarist PJ Sykes, who is also a political activist, said that the songs on the record didn’t match the urgency of the political moment.

Instead, the band released “SAD!”, a turgid, punk influenced number that purposefully steals part of the guitar line from Black Flag’s “Rise Above”, and samples the voice of Dave Brat, U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 7th congressional district. Sykes volunteered with Eileen Bedell’s campaign to unseat the incumbent Brat in 2016, although they were ultimately defeated by a large margin.

“That song was directed at [Brat], but also at Trump and the people he brought into power,” he said. “It’s straightforward, we just want to be part of the conversation.”

Shortly after the election, Sykes was forced to step away from his activism due to a cancer diagnosis. As of now he has beat the disease, but the time he spent in recovery allowed him to take a step back from his political work and see the bigger picture. This prompted him to revisit the songs on Dormant, and reassess the relevancy of art and culture in the current political climate.

“I still think it’s important to take a break and enjoy life,” he said. “What matters the most, after taking care of each other with shelter and food and that sort of thing, the only thing that matters to me is art and culture. It seems almost better to celebrate that right now.”

For Sykes, the end result of his activist work is to get back to creating. The lyrical topics on Dormant range from surrealist painting to connecting with people over art objects, and draws a line between his activism and art.

The band expertly mimics the sound of 80s and 90s noise rock and punk, sharing sonic similarities with indie bands like Sebadoh and Royal Trux, or more current bands like Estrogen Highs. The band uses lo-fi recording techniques to give the guitars a chainsaw-esque buzz that also brings the sound in line with early punk and hardcore acts. “Teenage Message”, the first song on the EP, features Ottawa, Ontario-based singer, songwriter and multi instrumentalist Catriona Sturton on harmonica. Sturton was formerly a member of Canadian power pop band Plumtree.

As DIY punk and indie subcultures sink further into media’s long tail, the tendency to create in a bubble has become commonplace; Hoax Hunter’s willingness to engage with political and cultural topics in a meaningful way while still retaining some artistic merit is atypical of Richmond’s DIY subcultures, and sets them apart from much of the local enclave.

Yet Dormant may be the bands final release. Sykes said that Hoax Hunters is going on an indefinite hiatus after they play several shows this summer in support of the release. He has several other music projects lined up that he will begin working on in the fall, but nothing concrete. His political activism has slowed recently, but he said that he has been able to continue his spat with Brat by volunteering with Abigail Spanberger’s current campaign for U.S. Representative for Virginia’s 7th congressional district.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

First Giant Terror Plants, Then Snakes, Now Great White Sharks “Pinged” off the Coast

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First there was the terrors plants. Then the exponential increase in reported snake sightings. And now, Great White Sharks.

According to the Global Shark Tracker developed by the organization Ocearch, there have been an increase in “pings” of tagged Great White Sharks, also known as Carcharodon carcharias parking off the mid-Atlantic coast including the Outer Banks. Ocearch defines a “ping” as any time a tagged shark’s dorsal fin breaks the surface of the water and sends a signal to the to the satellite overhead. “The transmission then sends back an estimated geo-location.”

While the initial inclination might be to avoid the seashore sushi buffet for creatures that can exert a potential bite force of 18,21 newtons, it is relatively rare for white sharks to attack humans so close to the shore. Yet however rare, the frequency of shark bites as specified by Shark Spotters out of New Zealand has increased, with 2015 having the most unprovoked shark attacks ever recorded – 98 in total.

What is the reason for this increase? Two reasons: People spend more time in the water and collecting data on the prevalence of shark attacks has improved greatly with the International Shark Attack File, maintained by the Florida Museum. North Carolina continues to be one of the premier locations for unprovoked shark attacks with 61 “bites” being recorded since 1935 – spread across eight counties.

Location of Shark Attacks in North Carolina

In the past thirty days there have been two Great White Sharks pinged off the coast; a male and female, one named Hilton and the other named Savannah. The male weighing in at around 1,300 pounds. Another eight have also been tracked and pinged this year in the vicinity of Virginia and North Carolina. Fear not though, experts in shark migration have said this is the time of the year when the giant fishes relocate north to give birth to their pups – not scouring the coastal regions looking to make short work of unsuspecting tourists.

How Honey Bees Might Actually Be the Worst Thing to Happen to North American Pollinators

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It’s a familiar trope, you’re at your job typing, sweating, and working away trying to get a group project completed for your boss. You’ve been staying up late, drinking way too much coffee, and buzzing around the office to complete the final touches. Then as you walk to your bosses office to present the project, your devilishly handsome and popular co-worker and group member swoops in to grab the presentation, enters the office, and takes all credit for the hours and hours of work you completed. It stings, and likewise, this is how the native North American pollinators felt as the honeybee made its way to North America’s shore back in 1622.

Originally referred to as “The White Man’s Fly” by American Indians, the honeybee was brought here for the sole purpose of producing honey and pollinating crops the colonists imported upon their arrival. Over the course of approximately 200 years, the honeybee made its way to the west coast, continuing the major production of honey, and making honey bees the most popular bees in America.

Bumble Bee

Pollination Week is no exception when downplaying the work of native pollinators and replacing their efforts with praise for the honey bee. At the Pollination Week Celebration on June 24, participants learned how honey bees produce honey, how folks in the community raise happy, healthy honey bees, as well as taste an assortment of different honeys so as to indulge in the work of the proud honey bee.

Honey bees across the board played center stage at the event, but one booth stood out among the fields of black and yellow obsession. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) wishes to broaden the public’s knowledge on native pollinators in North America. While VDACS representative Keith Tignor described the honey bees’ impact on pollination as second to none, he confessed we must pay attention to other native bee population, as populations of native North American pollinators are dropping at an alarming rate.

The sweat bee, native to North America

According to conservation biologist Jonas Geldmann, the honey bee can be attributed to this rapid decline as its pollination habits allow for the spread of lethal diseases in insects. Its introduction into North American animal life introduced the decline, and subsequent threat to all plant life, of native pollinators. Rather than protect these native pollinators, the nature of our agricultural economy placed higher emphasis and concern on the honey bee, who have only been pollinating in North America for a few hundred years, versus our native pollinators’ several thousand. 

While it is clear there are other species at risk, Tignor maintained the value of the honey bee and its role in agriculture. Honey bees are serving as the “canary in the mine” for researchers, and proving to be an effective alarm when it comes to discovering causes for the collapse of other populations.

In other words, honeybees will continue to be a strong focus in the realm of bee research, pushing the efforts and lives of other pollinators to the side; yet there are native bees who are “more efficient pollinators of native crops,” according U.S. Forest Service, being put on the endangered species list.

Shouldn’t native pollinators be the ones garnering the most attention?

And so the bee debate begins. The question these days in not whether or not to save the bees, but rather which bees should we be saving and why. Some would argue the attention needs to stray away from the honey bee and on to native pollinators, while others continue to believe and emphasize the importance of the honey bee and its contributions to agriculture and the honey industry.

It might seem silly to put this level of emphasis on a creature that weighs in at around .00025 pounds, but this debate has monumental impact on agriculture, agricultural economy, and environmental protection. Of the bees mentioned at the VDACS booth at pollination week–the Blue Orchard Mason Bee, Eastern Carpenter Bee, Azalea Miner Bee, and Rusty Patched Bumblebee–all are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, self-defined as, “The world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species.”

The Blue Orchard Mason Bee

If attention is not refocused on the work and efforts of native pollinators, we are at risk of losing native bees at an astronomical rate and face major environmental consequences, such as a decrease in crops and plant life.

The work being done during Pollination Week is important, as it educates the public about bees, their importance to our life cycle, and why we should care. Pollination is an important part of sustaining plant life, and all pollinators play an important role; however, when it comes to the bee, try to reflect on the relationship between honey bees and our land, then recall that feeling of being in the office. Would you want someone to notice the work you were doing, or would you prefer they pay more attention to that co-worker, or honey bee, stealing your thunder?

The Bachelorette Came to Richmond: Part Tone Deaf, Part Guilty Pleasure, and Entirely Obvious

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My summer Monday night tradition for the past several years: drive to my mom’s and make dinner with my grandmother, crack a bottle of wine, plant on the couch by 8 p.m. and glue our faces to the TV to watch 25 men battle over one lucky lady (I’m a purist, I don’t watch The Bachelor. The Bachelorette is where it’s at.) My grandmother and I will pick apart each guy, make our guesses at who this season’s bachelorette might choose, wait for the Most Dramatic Season Finale, and sometimes my mother will begrudgingly sit on the couch and make comments about how stupid the show is until she falls asleep.

So how excited were we when we could participate in our favorite pastime watching our favorite show in our very own hometown (after the initial shock of asking, um, why Richmond)?! This show has taken lucky ladies like Kaitlyn Bristowe (my personal all-time favorite bachelorette) to Scotland, Rachel Lindsay to Spain, and JoJo Fletcher to Thailand. And apparently the producers over at ABC were like, “Hey, let’s throw a dart at a map of America.” This was confirmed when at the beginning of last night’s show, they were careful to show a map of the US with a star over Richmond just to make sure you knew where the River City actually is.

Beautiful scenery of the capitol building, the Richmond skyline, and the iconic James River (and no doubt very, very strategically, not a single shot of Monument Avenue) filled my heart with pride for our little city. This season’s bachelorette Becca Kufrin took her male suitors on a historical tour of our city, checking out St. John’s Church and the Edgar Allen Poe Museum. The editors especially wanted to drive home the point that we are the most hipster city on this side of the Mason Dixon, complete with shots of the Quirk Hotel and a date at the Poe Museum’s hipster-goth-themed ‘Un-Happy Hour’ – you better believe I’m proud as hell about that, too.

No, they didn’t go to the best spots nor did they delve into the culture of this city–staying safely in the Art District and visiting beautiful historical sites–but it’s a reality TV show that (until recently, sort of) avoided people of color and focuses on superficial beauty aesthetic, so I didn’t expect any better, nor was I surprised.

Until the group date: Becca took her pack of boys to Richmond’s Capitol Building for a tour with presidential re-enactors and followed-up with a surprise mock-political debate on the steps of the same building. And Governor Ralph Northam moderated. Welcome to Virginia, I guess?

The debate, which was styled similarly to ‘The Dating Game’, posed questions like, “What is your ideal date?” and “How do you envision your future with Becca?” The men even donned suits for the occasion. If you’re into the drama, the debate quickly deteriorated into a poorly concealed fight between two contestants, Chris and Lincoln, over who lies to Becca more.

I couldn’t help but cringe while watching this petty, worthless drama play out on the steps of our capitol building in a city that is experiencing very real, visceral conflict that is truly affecting people’s lives. Yes, it’s a fun, silly show that I’ve always described as my ‘guilty pleasure,’ but somehow the way the show positioned a “political” debate over a real-life woman within a city and a state that holds a crucial role in many upcoming elections and has, in many ways, lead the charge on the East Coast in regard to activism and accountability in Trump’s America felt utterly tone deaf and altogether uncomfortable. There was no winner in this debate.

When the episode ended, I was relieved. Both because she sent Chris home and knowing the cast, crew, and producers of The Bachelorette had gotten the hell out of my city. On to next week.

And in case you’re placing bets, my grandmother’s money is on Jason. She’s usually right.

First Giant Terror Plants, Now Snakes. What’s Happening in Virginia?

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What is happening out there, Virginia? Nature is in revolt, and according to the experts, there has been a serious uptick in the reporting of snake sightings across the Commonwealth in recent months. First it was blister bursting terror plants, now this. NBC 12 first broke this story earlier in the summer, when they interviewed companies that specialize in the kind of remediation needed to manage a surge in the kinds of slithering serpents that hide in bushes, watery canals, rock walls, and your neighborhood garden. One such company that operations throughout the piedmont and coastal regions of Virginia even claimed that they are getting 150-200 reports of snake sightings daily.

That is a lot of snakes. Or as some who are more zoologically inclined might call them, ophidians.

Why so many snakes? The experts are saying part of the reason has been due to the mild temperatures this past winter. Thanks, climate change (again). Some of the world’s foremost experts in snake removal hail from the land down under and one such snake-whisperer, Andrew Smedley, claims that snakes live for an environment that is overcast, rainy, and humid – pretty much the last two months in Virginia. He says that this kind of weather provides for them a perfect opportunity to hunt other amphibians, telling The Chronicle in Australia, “The rain definitely brings them out. They are chasing the frogs.”

While the threat of terrestrial killing machines looms much larger in the Australian outback than in Virginia, sightings of the venomous Copperhead, or Agkistrodon contortrix, have spiked this year. Richard Perry, who owns Virginia Wildlife Management and Control, told CBS 6 said that people who see snakes will likely see the same ones over and over since evidently, snakes leave a sent as they slither, which attracts other snakes. Where are you most likely to encounter these summer serpentine satans? Perry says “homes with piles of leaves, grass, bushes, or shrubs.” Less reassuring: It is illegal to kill a snake in Virginia, unless posing a threat. What burden of proof must be met to satiate that legal quagmire? TBD. Just call a guy like Perry who specializes in this kind of thing.

There are a handful of indigenous species and sub-species of snakes in Virginia. Here is a list of snakes from the Virginia Herpetological Society that a person might come across in their daily travels in the Commonwealth, along with some other interesting snake trivia. When spotted, stay cool, breathe, and proceed to panic in an orderly fashion; be sure to avoid running into the giant hogweed as you beat tracks (terror plant).

Eastern Copperhead: Venomous, Virginia 

“Eastern Copperheads are terrestrial snakes inhabiting a wide array of habitats. They are found in hardwood and mixed hardwood-pine forests, pine woods, abandoned fields in various stages of succession, high ground in swamps and marshes, forest-field ecotones, hedge rows, suburban woodlots, ravines along creeks in agricultural and urban areas, upland rocky areas, rock walls and woodpiles, and forested dunes near beaches, as well as around barns and houses (especially dilapidated ones) in agricultural areas.”

*Apparently Copperheads also love blueberry thickets.

Timber Rattlesnake: Venomous, Virginia

“In western Virginia, Crotalus horridus inhabits upland hardwood and mixed oak-pine forests in areas with ledges or talus slopes. Ledges and exposed areas are usually facing within 45° of south to allow maximum exposure to the sun during spring and fall. Habitat during summer is in open woods, grass fields, and secondary growth. In southeastern Virginia, C. horridus occupies hardwood and mixed hardwood-pine forests, cane fields, and ridges and glades of and adjacent to swampy areas. Rattlesnakes are usually terrestrial, but occasionally ascend low shrubs to obtain prey.”

Snake Plissken: Venemous, New York City  

A former US special forces soldier (from an alternative future), Plissken was assigned to the “Black Light Unit” during the Leningrad and Siberia campaigns of WWIII. Shortly after his meritorious military service, he turned to a life of crime, after his parents were burned alive by the government for a perceived betrayal on his part. Deadly, cool under pressure, and cynical to his core, Plissken was eventually sentenced to life in prison in the New York City maximum security prison – which was the entire island of Manhattan.  He was eventually offered a pardon if he agreed to rescue the president after Air Force One crashed in the New York City, precipitating the events of the cinematic masterpiece Escape from New York.

Northern Scarlet Snake: Non-Venomous, Virginia

“Northern Scarlet snakes are found in areas where the soil is loose, well drained, and (usually) sandy, and where the vegetation is dominated by pine trees. This snake is a burrower, seldom found in day-light except in or under logs and other surface objects; most have been encountered in late spring or summer as they crossed paved roads at night. Northern Scarlet snakes are reported to eat skinks (Plestiodon, Scincella), small snakes, frogs, small mice, and soft-bodied insects, although reptile eggs, particularly eggs of small snakes, are preferred.”

Eastern Mudsnake: Non-Venomous, Virginia

“Almost nothing is known of the biology of F. abacura in Virginia. Of the specimens available, most were killed on roads that traversed swamp habitat. It is a secretive, burrowing snake that spends most of its life associated with lotic water. Habitats include slow-moving streams and canals, swamps, forested wetlands, sluggish mud-bottom creeks, and ponds and lakes with swampy margins and aquatic vegetation. They may also be found occasionally during the day on banks under vegetation cover.”

Snake Island, Brazil: Terrifying 

The first rule of Snake Island, Brazil – do not ever go to Snake Island, Brazil. Located 25 miles off the coast, the island known as Ilha da Queimada Grande is illegal to visit, since it is home to one of the deadliest pit viper’s that has ever had the pleasure of slithering into our nightmares. The Golden Lancehead can grow to be over a foot-and-a-half long and has a venom that is so deadly that one nibble can cause death in close to an hour. According to the Smithsonian, local lore collected about Snake Island has one story that goes something like this: “From 1909 to the 1920s, a few people did live on the island, in order to run its lighthouse. But according to another local tale, the last lighthouse keeper, along with his entire family, died when a cadre of snakes slithered into his home through the windows.”

Snake Island, Brazil (Red Marker)

Northern Cottonmouth: Venomous, Virginia

“Agkistrodon piscivorus is a semiaquatic snake inhabiting lowland habitats in southeastern Virginia. These snakes have been found in swamps, freshwater and brackish marshes, ditches, streams, rivers, and forested and grassland habitats adjacent to wet areas, as well as around permanent and semipermanent ponds. When out of the water, Northern Cottonmouths often lie under vegetation, in grasses, or under boards and other shelters. Some individuals bask on logs and horizontal limbs overhanging water. Adults will not venture far from water, but juveniles may disperse over long distances.”

The Red Hen: A Making America Great Again Story

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It’s only been five days since the Red Hen’s owner Stephanie Wilkinson refused service to White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her family in quiet Lexington, Virginia. What followed next was five days of raucous outroar of epic, nay, biblical proportions.

Not wanting to miss the action, RVA Magazine arrived in Lexington on Wednesday morning to dig the vibe. Tempers were running hot and expectations were looking grim–a certain sting was in the air. The protests the day before saw one arrest and a hot mess of chicken shit (yes, actual chicken feces) splashed across the restaurant doors. Outside the Red Hen early Wednesday afternoon, there was already a group standing outside its doors.

Protestor Outside the Red Hen

When asked if they knew anything about the protests, they turned heads in silence. Their neck-bearded honcho stepped up aggressively, saying, “We’re out for a walk, and our business is our own.”

One teen sporting a puke red MAGA hat, unable to hold in his excitement, chimed in. Calling the actions of the restaurant a disgrace, he was hopeful for a reckoning to come. He alluded to “tonight’s festivities.”

Wilkinson was very open about her reasons for denying service to Huckabee-Sanders, including criticisms of Trump administration’s “inhumane and unethical” actions over the transgender military ban and separating children from their families at the border. She was not alone in her decision making, however; many of her employees and surrounding business owners shared her sentiment. Yet standing up in a sea of red can incentivize the most radical among them, and although her intentions were well-meaning, her actions brought a financial plague to a town that can’t afford it.

Chief of Police Samuel Roman

We focus on credible threats,” said Lexington Chief of Police Samuel Roman. “We are keeping in contact with the restaurant on when they plan on opening up again so we may coordinate a proper strategy.

The Red Hen has not reopened since the fiasco started last Friday. The small town of maybe 7,000, known primarily for the Virginia Military Institute, was eerily quiet. Everyone was preparing for the protest, which would start at 5 p.m. in front of the restaurant.

“I will not commend the actions taken by the protestors nor do I agree with what they stood by, but it was their First Amendment right to be there,” Roman said when asked if the town had tried to block the protests. “All we can really only try to keep a pulse on what is going on, as to keep citizens informed.” Roman said that many of the calls received were not threats, but concerns. “Most just want to know what’s going on.”

Roman said the police department is keeping in contact with the restaurant, but indicated that the establishment would be closed “indefinitely”, at least until the issue died down.

While Wilkinson had refused the service in a respectful manner, Sanders took to social media as a personal offense, inciting Trump and far-right proponents to call for the indefinite boycott of the Red Hen restaurant and resignation of Wilkinson.

As of yesterday, the president’s supporters got their wish. According to NBC 10 in Lexington, Wilkinson resigned from the ownership of the Red Hen, as well as her position as director of Main Street Lexington, a community-based civic organization.  

National news loves a good story, especially when Trump’s Twitter account is involved. But what being in Lexington proved was that for the most part, the community supported her actions.

When asked by RVA Mag for comment, a passerby at Main Street Lexington declined to comment, saying they had received hate mail and threats. Yet Diana Scofield, owner of local business Rockbridge Music, was certain Wilkinson was pressured to resign. “The people next door said as long as she was the director of downtown, they were going to boycott downtown Lexington, but do you think they really would?” said Scofield.

Many supporters of Huckabee-Sanders and Trump have credited this incident to be an egregious display of hatred and discrimination but also hypocritical of the opposition, with citations to the recent Supreme Court ruling favoring the Colorado baker who refused service to a gay couple.

This outrage was on display outside the Red Hen when a gaggle of MAGA hat-wearing teens informed me about “tonight’s festivities.”

Lexington is a blue city in a red county, situated in the center of Virginia’s conservative heartland. Some residents were quick to discredit the protests of the Red Hen, yet there was a pervasive and underlying concern when discussing the very real issues of hate mail and threats to other business owners in the area – no doubt exacerbated by Trump’s very public condemnation.

Regardless of their respective politics, businesses owners have all felt an unnerving anticipation of what might happen next. Scofield, from Rockbridge Music, has been met with mixed responses since the start of this, her quotes blasted on national headlines by the Washington Post less than a day ago. “I expected a lot of hate mail, but there was surprisingly a lot of people supporting me and what I said,” she said.

Diana Scofield

Scofield played an encouraging voicemail she received shortly after her statements appeared in the Washington Post. The message, intended for Wilkinson, was not what they expected.

A chef based out of Oxford, Mississippi, inspired by Wilkinson’s stance, said he would help cover her operating costs since the restaurant’s closure, and offered to send staff and produce to make up for any losses. The message said, “I could put together a group of folks to maybe pitch in and help offset the costs of payroll for the employees that are affected, we’re more than happy to help.”

Many business owners and clerks that were approached in Lexington refused to be interviewed. They continue to receive calls and emails from people across the country–a consistent theme with most business owners.

Siobhan Bezza, a store clerk who works adjacent to Red Hen, witnessed the protestors narrative quickly digress into nonsense, far removed from the original issue.

“What happened there is its own separate issue, but its become this magnet for hate,” said Bezza. “[They are saying] I love Trump, I hate gays, abortions are bad. They’re just going on this extended rant of hate. Because of that one incident, they get to use [it] as a catalyst for hate.”

When asked if she knew the employees at the Red Hen, she was quick to respond. “I love them, I run into them in the back all the time, and they are the kindest–pretty much my coworkers,” she said. “I think [Wilkinson] had every right to take a stand like that.”

With a long history of run-ins with confederate revivalists like the Virginia Flaggers, Lexington has seen a lot of public outrage in recent years. Scofield believes these protests are trivial, but thinks the real issues are getting lost in the melee.

“It is pretty cruel to separate children from their families, but I have talked to people who defend that, say that it’s a deterrent,” she said. “It’s a deterrent at the hands of people who are too little to defend themselves and that is not the kind of country we want to be.”

Despite the city’s unusual political juxtaposition, Scofield believes civil disagreement is an inevitable part of life.

“I’m really good friends with the guys next door. They’re Trump supporters, they’re country boys,” she said. When asked if they planned on going to the protest, she quickly said no.

“They race trucks and cars, they’re nice guys but also the kind that gets taken advantage of by Trump and his administration.” said Scofield. She said the same of the few other Trump supporters in the town, carrying an opinion for them–they’re into race cars, not race wars.

According to Roman, the protests have been an outsourced problem, as those protesting are not locals. “The guy who threw the vat of chicken manure onto the restaurant wasn’t even from here, he was from West Virginia.”

The number of protesters yesterday were fewer than the day before, yet the honcho protesting the Red Hen, spitting nonsensical bible verses, was from West Virginia as well. No matter what level he took his damnations, the community just laughed and endured–the genteel Virginia character on full display.

Ultimately, the community made their decision, and while many avoided the drama of the national spotlight, there was a consensus that hate speech, threats, and intimidation do not demonstrate their personal values. Small towns are not like cities, disagreements and opposition do not go unnoticed. Many do not take to the internet to spill their woes, they settle differences in person. Maybe as a nation we could learn from Lexington’s stint of fame, where even under the national spotlight, residents separate civil disagreement from bigotry and see it as a necessary means to achieve harmony.