(Note: This essay was originally published in AltDaily)

I want to take up my space this week with NEON. There’s already been plenty written about the birth, evolution and culmination of the Norfolk Arts District in both the Pilot and here in AltDaily (WAVY-TV also put together a very cool feature report this past weekend), so I won’t use this space to try and recognize all the people who’ve been a part of making this happen, or to point out all the dozens (if not more) of individual artistic endeavors that have blossomed.

I just want to share a little personal perspective, and to some degree, express my regrets for not having much to do with it.

(Note: This essay was originally published in AltDaily)

This time around, I want to discuss consumer rights vs. the rights of those who seek profit without limits, healthy competition or public scrutiny, and why the rights of profiteers always seem to dominate.

For example, there’s this story, in which our old friends at Dominion Power continue to promote their plan to string a high-voltage power line over a historic section of the James River.

Truthfully, I don’t think I’m as concerned with the aesthetics of Dominion’s proposal as those who so passionately oppose it. What I am opposed to is Dominion’s ongoing attempts to force a project on the people who do oppose it through extortion, intimidation and coercion.

(Note: This essay was originally published in AltDaily)

The great contradiction of art is that it can simultaneously convey inspirational beauty and terrible ugliness. Such is certainly the case when considering The Birth of a Nation, D.W. Griffith’s epic silent film released in 1915.

While it can certainly be considered a cinematic masterpiece in which Griffith devised and employed techniques that influenced filmmakers for generations, and still persist today, it also portrayed black Americans in such a vile and prejudicial fashion as to poison the minds of white Americans in ways that persist to this day.

It seems pretty obvious there are a growing number of people of the right-wing persuasion who simply hate America. Isn't it time to consider some pragmatic solutions so we can find a way to make all of us feel happier and welcome in the particular societal environments in which we live?

It’s likely the haters were always there, but were keeping their hatred to themselves - that is until the 2008 election of the first African-American president, since which they’ve been coming out of the woodwork in mind-boggling numbers.

The Southern Poverty Law Center reports that: “The number of Patriot groups, including armed militias, skyrocketed following the election of President Obama in 2008 – rising 813 percent, from 149 groups in 2008 to an all-time high of 1,360 in 2012.”