Graffiti Related To Best Friends Day?

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A neighbor saw someone putting this graffiti on the Overlook this
morning. She described offender as a “bff scenster kid”.

“I saw him doing it. I was totally enraged…tired of all the beer
cans tossed everywhere, (am planning to go out and pick up some
later.) Two people in the townhouses came out though could not hear
exactly what was going on. I got home fairly quickly and called the
police. They got here fairly quickly.They drove around and ousted some
campers…I asked them to make sure they made them pack their trash up
too. He said that was his plan and he had been in the area all day
yesterday dealing with them. I just find the whole bunch so self-
centerred and oblivious of any community consciousness/respect.”

I will note that the Overlook was destroyed after Tropical Storm Gaston a few years ago. FEMA money paid for replacing it. It has been tagged by graffiti repeatedly. The Oregon Hill Neighborhood Association has asked for security cameras, because the graffiti situation has also become worse underneath the Lee Bridge.

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A new alley stop sign also got tagged recently.

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I am not sure if this upsurge in damage is related to Best Friends Day this weekend or simply that VCU students are back in town. What I do not know is that the neighborhood association will seek the greatest punishments possible (including expulsion from school) for vandals. This all really puts a damper on a beautiful Sunday.

51 thoughts on “Graffiti Related To Best Friends Day?

  1. As a former long time Oregon Hill resident I would to make it clear that the Oregon Hill Association does not by any means speak for the entirety of the neighborhood. Many individuals who occupy this area do so because it has long been reputed for respecting individual identity and all manners of self expression. It is home to a large population of this cities socially active and progressive youth. Touring the neighborhood it is obvious even to an outsider from the artworks proudly displayed in windows, homes painted to resemble faces, mounds of bicycles, and recycling bins contrasted by the Pabst cans strewn across the sidewalk next to them, this is a unique place to live.

    It is absolutely unfair (and in my humble opinion inappropriate) for one group of people to feel that because they purchased newly developed expensive homes along the edge of the area that they have the right to impose their gentrified conformist single minded opinion of how the area should be developed and maintained upon the rest of a community. If you want to live somewhere you must accept it good and bad and ask for help from the community rather than condemning it.

    Next time perhaps you should try to put up fliers for a BEST FRIENDS DAY CLEAN UP…I bet more people would show up than you seem to think. Just because someone or someones make the mistake of dropping some beer cans in the heat of the moment while intoxicated, does not make a villain of an entire establishment. The overall beauty of any festival like BFD is the diversity; you must take the good with the bad. I personally didn’t participate this year or in any year prior. But I respect BFD because it promotes the socialization networking and connectivity through all groups of people that this city is in desperate need of. This type of festive weekend is there to be utilized by local merchants and communities as well. Massive gatherings of young nubile minds should be utilized to help educate those minds to better the community in other ways. BFD teaches people to love their neighbor, if you don’t like the way the neighborhood is being treated teach them to love her too!! Rather than enforce harsh punishments (…like expulsion…really?!?!?!? Ruined life for graffiti…I’m going to go ahead and say it…very mature Oregon Hill Association. Way to really think through what is best for, not only a person, but also our community, our generation and even our country) EDUCATE!!!!!!!!

    Next time WORK WITH THEM!! Set up recycling points, set up a designated clean up, post flyers detailing the expense of **graffiti** under a bridge (my goodness who would have thought that could happen)!! This is a CITY!! A beautiful, old, grimy, dirty city full of artists and cretins and businessmen alike. Learn to live in a symbiotic manner rather than waging a war against the others. There is a way to do live well, and in doing so you will be doing more for yourself, your community, and your neighbors.

    If you can’t do this…well close up shop and head back to the ‘burbs because Oregon Hill is what she is and she doesn’t like to be judged.

  2. I agree with Katy. Some of the most beautiful artwork that I have ever seen has come in the form of graffiti, particularly under the footbridge to Belle Isle. Unfortunately, these beautiful works of art are always immediately covered with a layer of gray paint, leaving the city looking dirty, dreary, and colorless.

    Also, to blame the kids of BFD is just taking the easy way out. The people of this city are a diverse group. Get used to it. We are not all yuppie business people striving to walk out of our front doors and see the same drab landscape everyday for the two seconds spent outside before getting in a car and driving to an air-conditioned cubicle.

    Blaming Best Friends Day (an entire weekend dedicated to celebrating friendship and community- how exactly is this bad, again?) is just another way for normals to pass judgment on us, with all of our tattoos and piercings and half-shaved heads and loud music and beer and drugs and fun and celebration and community-building.

    If you want to join the city in squashing the DIY arts community in Richmond, go right ahead. But don’t be surprised when the artists finally get sick of it and leave, and the heart of this city comes crashing down around you.

  3. “because Oregon Hill is what she is and she doesn’t like to be judged.”

    As a FORMER resident, who are you to judge? Who do you speak for? The “socially active” retarded?

    I speak for many neighborhood residents, not just Overlook ones, who are tired of selfish brats abusing what we have WORKED so hard for- for everyone’s benefit.

    Regardless of Best Friends Day or VCU or whatever, graffiti is a crime that happens in the suburbs also, and that does not mean anyone should tolerate it.

    Here’s a clue for the clueless- dropping beer cans everywhere and spraypainting “Fuck U” on a public bridge is not progressive, “symbiotic”, and, in fact, is ANTI-community.

  4. If your choice is to focus on only the negative, then that is what you will get back from the community. I’m not saying the behavior is ACCEPTABLE. I’m saying there are other ways to deal with it. You are certainly not as proactive as you want people to think.

    Harsh punishment for nonviolent crimes is in NO WAY going to STOP or even deter these activities. And further more I truly believe that your statement regarding expulsion is GENUINELY THE DUMBEST IDEA I HAVE EVER had the displeasure of reading. I’m concerned for the mental well being of anyone who thinks that prohibiting someone’s furtherance of their education is going to in anyway benefit anyone. you do understand the correlations between level of education and social awareness, do you not?

    This community belongs to all of its residents not just the ones you speak for…I left Oregon Hill because I was priced out as a college student by the gentrification the area is undergoing to be more suitable for the suits who are the current up and coming residents. Just like the students priced out the people who the neighborhood truly belongs to, the working class individuals who have lived there for all of their lives. Not to say that I didn’t have my fair share of anger and upset form destruction and irresponsibility as well. I just think that you are going about dealing with it in all of the wrong ways. This absolutely the ANTI of what COMMUNITY means Scott. WORK TOGETHER TO SOLVE THE ISSUE DON’T PERSECUTE AND DRAW LINES AND SHOUT YOUR DEMANDS. Your demographic is not the only one that matters. you need to learn to compromise so that everyone can live together in a “symbiotic” manner.

    Your opinion doesn’t trump mine because you spent more money on your house than I can afford. Your negativity is EXACTLY the kind of spirit that destroys communities. What is the real difference between the “selfish and bratty”young and poor vs. the “selfish and bratty” established and wealthy?

    OHHHH and “Retarded”? Did you really just refer to a group of individuals as retarded? I’d say Fuck You is a lot more acceptable than using the term “retarded” to describe anyone. Just because certain individuals aren’t educated to your obviously high standards does not exactly deem them retarded Scott. Really thoughtful.

    Feel free to twist my words to make me your adversary rather than another concerned citizen who wants to work together to ensure that EVERYONE gets what they need from their neighborhoods. I’m not saying that these people actions are progressive or “symbiotic” I’m saying that the poor decisions of a few are not grounds to punish the mass. Nor should capital punishment for their crimes be the primary course of action. Try to work TOGETHER scott…really.

  5. My neighbors are enraged. How are you engaging them? By calling them “yuppie business people”? By condemning us for being upset and outraged about ILLEGAL acts in our community?

    Some of my neighbors ARE blaming BFD and VCU students for these acts. I am just giving voice to their concerns. How do YOU wish to engage them?

  6. I vandalize all that i see.(truth) i don’t care if you do or do not like it.No one does it for anyone but them self. I was kicked out of vcu for two years and recieved a year in jail for one mis. vandalism.(if you think that is deserving i personally will ride to your house and fuck you up.)(no bullshit) oregon hill has been this way long before your precious new town houses were built, you self righteous assholes who drink to much coffee and talk politics until you turn blue in the face. (you people make me ill)you act like you are the only people working and paying their way through school.
    Good luck stopping graffiti. That is as hopeless as the “war on drugs”. best friends day is a community event you asses!! just because you can generalize the people you don’t like with certain events doesn’t mean that the event is a negative thing. you sound facioust. do me a favor and get in your car drive down to lowes and buy some rope…
    and then hang yourself, because it is obvious to me that your life is a very dull one & your anus must be so tightly wrapped that it is competing for blood with your brain.

  7. all of my short comings aside. all of your bickering is useless. it is just like drugs, violence, rock n roll, and anal sex.
    all of these thing are illegal in Va. but no matter how much you bitch and complain. no matter how severe the punishment, you as a community, as a police man, as a citizen are as helpless as dear in headlights. there is simply nothing you could do to stop people from writing.
    Sorry ;)

  8. Scott, thank you for documenting the damage. Your civic-mindedness and energy do so much for our neighborhood as you continually champion its causes. I think people who know you or have at least followed your posts these past several years know that if you were truly against uniqueness and art, you would be living somewhere else and pouring your energies into some other place.

    All your original post said was that you were wondering if the damage was “related to” BFD. At no point did you blame the fest or its organizers for the damage. I’ve attended BFD events and had a good time, but that doesn’t mean I endorse the actions of all the fest’s attendees. It makes sense that you might ask if some graffiti is related to a festival involving booze, bicycling events, and a heavily-tagged parking lot. I know that if there were a maypole convention in town, you’d probably ask if random maypoles erected in your front yard were related to said convention.

    You make it clear from each of your posts that graffiti being related to BFD or not has nothing to do with the fact that strict penalties will be sought. What you’re saying, to be extra clear here, is that if it was just a random person that wasn’t attending BFD, strict penalties would still be sought. So why were such vehement accusations made at you, when you made no concrete statements of hatred toward the fest?

    I doubt that you or your neighbors are belligerent haters of creativity…you’re just asking that people not walk up and paint on things that don’t belong to them. And that seems like a pretty simple and polite request to me.

  9. don’t act surprised when a large group of people gather together, some of them do something stupid…

  10. all of my short comings aside. all of your bickering is useless. it is just like drugs, violence, rock n roll, and anal sex.
    all of these thing are illegal in Va. but no matter how much you bitch and complain. no matter how severe the punishment, you as a community, as a police man, as a citizen are as helpless as dear in headlights. there is simply nothing you could do to stop people from writing.
    Sorry ;)

  11. p.s. tess please hop off of scott’s penis for a second. and think about what everyone has said…ok.

  12. I hope anyone who thinks graffiti is acceptable has their own private property violated. Of course they dont want their own property tagged by a stranger, if they do their dumber than i think

  13. I am not attempting to validate the act of harming another persons personal property or being. In no way. I never said that at all. I simply believe that by persecuting people to the greatest extent allowed by the law you are doing more harm than good. There are other ways to deal with this!!

    Putting 20 year old people in jail for misguidance is more detrimental to society than mishandling your marker. By far. And blaming a community project, aimed at fostering a cohesive community, is not beneficial. Your method of persecution fosters nothing more than a hostile environment…and to be frank I don’t think that’s what anyone wants, but it may be what you get.

    ONCE AGAIN YOUR WAY IS NOT THE ONLY WAY. LEARN TO OPEN DIALOGUE WITH THOSE WHO YOU FEEL ARE SHORTING YOU. I can GUARANTEE you that no graffiti artist alive is going to respond to your crack down method and all that you are doing in inciting a further flame of dissatisfaction and hostility.

    But if that’s what you keep putting out it is what you shall receive in return.

  14. What are YOU doing to create alternatives? I know they are possible (though I have to wonder if an Andrew Currence would notice):

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/19/AR2009081901682.html

    The William Byrd Community House tried a mural wall, and then they got tagged worse than ever. Maybe VCU could pony up and do something positive about it.

    I tried not taking a hardline for years, but saw no improvement. Now I am getting POSITIVE responses from neighbors for doing so.

    Want to keep going to school? Then don’t do graffiti.

    https://www.oregonhill.net/?s=graffiti

  15. That “under the brigde” is part of Oregon Hill’s greenway to the river. We should be getting a new canal bridge down there soon. Its a unique spot where nature, trains, bicyclists, (maybe someday boats again!), walkers, visitors and neighbors meet. Capital Trail and East Coast Greenway (greenway.org), here we come. Its rough now, but children have always gone to the river that way. It does not deserve a “Fuck U” or other ILLEGAL scrawlings.

  16. I doubt any graffiti artists have any private property(car, house) but if any of them do, are you saying that they would want a total stranger to mark or paint it? And defacing the publics property is a sign of complete immaturity, grow up!

  17. This blog almost always leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. The best phrase I can think of is, “Stick in the Mud.” I support protection of private property yes, don’t get me wrong. Public property may be up for debate but that’s a whole other rabbit hole for another day. There’s just a lot of negativity oozing out of this site and I feel that the Oregon Hill I live in and the spirit that surrounds myself, my immediate neighbors, and my various other friends about the Hill is not expressed through this “community” blog. This blog has put a “damper on my day.” AND a very loud AHAHAHAHAHAH to “Liberty” who doubts that any grafffiti artists have any private property (car, house). . . . .

  18. fuck a mural wall. that was a waste of time. just like scott burger’s attempts to
    complain his way into our hearts. maybe a free wall that is meant to be written on. but i’m sure that wouldn’t appease either side though. scott would continue to cry like a little bitch. while hungry street artist would paint the streets red. like i said before, it may sound juvenile but you simply cannot stop graffiti. and as for school my friend. i just transferred to another university who doesn’t share the views of vcu when it comes to graffiti, and graduated last year thank you very much.didn’t even miss a beat. and i still write on everything except personal property.except for maybe scott’s.ha jk.
    i know you don’t like what i am saying. I know you think it’s stupid. but that will not change anything you arrest and expel one and five more come. and the more attention graffiti gets good or bad, the more people will do it. things that are naughty spread like wild fire scott. you would have had to lead a very sheltered life not to know that. it is human nature to break rules. i am sure that you (well) haters shall we say. find a sense importance while you plot and scheme to catch and punish the kid writing on the public property outside of your beloved townhouse over looking the river. but did you ever stop to think that the same feeling is why people do it. i’m sure that you grasping someone elses views might give you a headache. but you should try it sometime.
    okay guys listen to this real good okay.
    if the us government cant stop drugs from being sold on almost every street corner there is. what in the hell! makes you think that dimwitted scott burger, and the lovely ladies of the vcu police dept. are going to stop those dang kids from writing on my public property! and stay off my grass. hahaha. i bet that scott is at home right now looking out of his window and shit. ha what a looser.
    seriouly! it’s not going to happen dude.
    stop waisting your time & energy.

  19. scott thanks again for the links which i have already seen… don’t go spending all your time on google trying to show me up.
    when all i am trying to do is help you scott. you need to realize that nothing, and i mean nothing short of a military state is going to halt graffiti. Especialy in richmond, or dc, or baltimore, or ny for that matter. ok I’m sure your an ok guy but you seriously have a screw loose if you think that it’s going to change in your favor.
    once again sorry;)

  20. liberty are serious with the “grow up”
    wow good one. last time i heard that it was coming from someone who needed the growing up more than i did. and by the way your reading comprehension is sub par. maybe you should review the comments and then rethink yours mmmmkay honey…

  21. thats to far from the city. thats why u don’t see work there…
    btw its not me, really… i just know im right

  22. The Graffiti report card was a project that started in The Mission District of San Francisco after receiving an amazing amount of ugly, large, and talentless graffiti. The graffiti report card gives people a way to combat the ugly graffiti while at the same time giving praise to the talented graffiti writers who make the streets more beautiful. Many of our local taggers don’t realize how ugly and talentless their graffiti is, so the Graffiti Report Card is a way to give them some feedback.

    1: Find a piece of graffiti you love or hate.
    2: Print out the PDF
    http://designcrack.com/v2/wp-content/uploads/graffiti-report-card-11×17.pdf
    3: Fill out the graffiti report card with your comments
    4: Stick it up on the wall next to the graffiti
    5: Take a picture and post it on Flickr with the tags “oregonhill” and “graffitireportcar”

  23. Hi friends.
    I love Oregon Hill. I agree with my awesome former and future neighbor, Katy on one point: You gotta take the good with the bad. I’ve been shot in the head in Oregon Hill. I’ve been hit in the face with a brick in Oregon Hill. Finally, I’ve had everything I ever worked for burned to the ground in Oregon Hill. I’ve also had some of the best times in my life in Oregon Hill. While I don’t live there right now, I’ll be back soon. There is no other place in the world I consider more to be home. I don’t like it threatened, disrespected and I certainly don’t appreciate it being defaced, vandalized or destroyed. When developers were planning a high rise at the end, I went to city hall. When college kids broke beer bottles in the sidewalk, I got infuriated as few things made me. When someone carelessly left a cigarette to destroy 5 homes, I was none too pleased to say the least. For the most part, graffiti doesn’t really bother me.

    Visually, I normally don’t find it appealing because frankly, most of it sucks. I don’t really think twice about a tag when I see it. What gets me is when I think about the person who does it. In the postmodern world, it seems difficult to separate art from the artist. The anonymity of graffiti attempts to defy this. Or maybe because I’m interested in who applies graffiti because I used to as a kid. Hell, I was arrested and kicked out of school for it, too.

    When I was younger, I guess I enjoyed the thrill of it. (I certainly tagged up my share of the west end, Tommy.) Boys can be pretty stupid. I liked the idea of something painted by someone’s hand incorporated into everyday life, too I suppose. I appreciated how graffiti brought life to otherwise lifeless objects.

    Then I started to look around at other graffiti artists and noticed a disturbing pattern. They are not as diverse as you’d think. I started to realize that the vast majority of graffiti artists were young white males from the suburbs coming into the city and marking it as their own in typical white male imperialist fashion that this great nation was founded on. Kind of screwed up when you think about it.

    While I agree with Andrew that graffiti can never be stopped (nor should it be), I sure wish it would evolve. Or at least represent an actual diverse group of voices. All I see are white boys plastering logos on walls advertising their existence as if it were soda. I applaud those who take the idea further in efforts to actually inspire others through public art. Graffiti is the oldest form of art we know of going back to cave drawings. It should be used for communicating, storytelling, humor, expression and inspiring others. It should be respected and applied with great respect. I’ve taken part in helping to facilitate a few youth murals around the city. The question isn’t really a matter of property value vs. art or legal vs. illegal. It’s a question of respect. As part of a community, you have an obligation to act as one part of the whole. Ask yourself why you are applying marks to a wall and who it will affect how. Think about your neighbors. Why agitate them when you can inspire them? True this is all very subjective and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It’s my humble opinion that the art of graffiti and it’s function as public art is to important to civilization to be dominated by tags and obscenities anymore. As long as I’m in this city, you’ll see more murals and more public art. Some taggers might not like that because it’s legal and that defies their whole philosophy of Graffiti. Some homeowners might not like it because they feel it threatens the value of their investment. You can’t please everyone, but you can pretty easily please most. I love the graffiti report card idea as well. If you use other people’s property as a canvas, you better be ready to get critiqued.

  24. I have to disagree with you on at least one point- “You gotta take the good with the bad.”

    Why? Why take the bad? I remember Oregon Hill when college students would be beaten up all the time for just being college students and looking different. I would not want to return to those days (though there was less graffiti and trouble with college students back then). I am looking forward to the good and better days.

    Things can evolve for good. And no, I am not just talking about property values either. We could have an even better neighborhood. It can be ‘high-end’ and yet affordable. One where mutual respect and cooperation flourish. One with lots of places for art, nature, and togetherness. Public murals are one thing, but I don’t think painting “Fuck U” on a bridge is going to get us there. And neither is selfishly painting tags on the overlook and stop signs. People worked on restoring the stone overlook, a lot of taxpayer money went into it being a piece of beauty for everyone to enjoy, and to have someone scrawl their own nonsense all over it is stupid.

  25. Scott, I get it. You hate college kids in you’re neighborhood. Why did you move into a neighborhood directly next to a college, then? I share your frustration, but I’m not sure how complaining about it helps either. Your neighborhood is conveniently located in the heart of the city and right next to the river. Much of what makes the neighborhood interesting comes from the immersion of culture that comes from being near a college. Unfortunately, there is bad that comes from it, too. The trash on the street, the total disregard of neighbors or surrounding families and senseless drunk crime derived not out of desperation, but out of entitlement and a total lack of empathy. This is the bad part that comes with the good part of choosing to live next to a college. And maybe I do agree with you. Maybe you DON’T have to take the good with the bad. Nobody wants to lose the good, so how do we actually affect change while maintaining what makes Oregon Hill such a great place to live?

    I think we can both agree that complaining about it on blogs isn’t really accomplishing much, but it’s a start. You’ll definitely attract more flies with honey than you will with vinegar, though. The cycle of college kids will always be a part of Oregon Hill. Fighting that is pointless, so it might be time to devise a plan that integrates college kids as part of the neighborhood. Why not give them ownership over the community, too? It could be as easy as leaving door to door leaflets welcoming students and informing them that they are now part of a community and are expected to act accordingly. This could also be an invitation to a block party where new student neighbors can meet and interact with residents. Community clean-up days and other positive neighborhood events can stem from this. There are a lot of really motivated and civic minded young people who reside in that neighborhood that if organized could serve as an example for the apathetic and less considerate ones. If you are interested in forming an actual solution and acting on it outside of the blogosphere, I am offering my help. Oregon Hill is not exactly the neighborhood that needs the most help in this city, but like I said before, it’s home.

  26. I have lived here off and on for about fifteen years. I don’t hate college kids, and obviously there are good ones and bad ones (though I do have serious issues with a lying, corrupt, and community-destroying university administration that continues to encroach into the neighborhood – the honey does not work on fuckers like Trani, I can tell you that right now). I am scheduled to lead an urban planning class tour in Sept as I have done for years. The neighborhood association meets tonight at 7 pm at the William Byrd Community House as it has done every fourth Tuesday of the month for years. Please, do come help. I can’t do it alone.

  27. Scott,
    Unfortunately, I can’t make it tonight, but thank you for the invite. I am still very interested in helping to bridge the gap between homeowners and longtime residents living in Oregon Hill and temporary residents who rent property. I plan on moving back to Oregon Hill soon to rent property. My dad grew up on Cherry St. His house was torn down to make way for the downtown expressway. Through ART 180, I’ve led programs at William Byrd Community House and St. Andrew’s School. I am invested in the neighborhood and want to devise a way for other renters to feel the same. If you feel college kids are posing somewhat of a problem, pitch my idea of leaflets welcoming students, new residents, etc. including an invitation to a neighborhood social at Pleasants Park. I’m sure the neighborhood churches and businesses would be on board to help with this however they can. You can count on me, too. Let’s talk more. My email address is michaelguedri@gmail.com

  28. Sounds good. At the last few meetings we have discussed doing more events like the one you describe. We even had the beginings of a committee to put it together. I am hoping to hear some progress on it tonight.

  29. Remember our tax dollars go towards cleaning up losers like andy “candi” crudholes “art”. I’d love to catch this punk tagging anything i own, his face would get tagged real good

  30. Scott – I don’t always agree with our views but on this one – you go!! It’s not just graffiti – it’s the “me” mentality that seems to permeate the culture these days. It’s all about me – and to Andrew Currence – if you are our future, I am sad. Sad for you because I think you will have no meaningful future.

  31. Here, here, Liz! You are right on the nose> it’s the “me” mentality that ruins it for everyone else.
    Thanks, Scott for your comments as I have lived here for 25 plus years and have had many friends attacked just because they were different, one beaten by his own bass while walking home near Open High. Community consciousness and awareness are the answers.

  32. this punk also weighs in at 215. and for the past 12 years has endowed a large amount of my time into MMA. (fighting) which is something i pride myself in being skilled in. is hardly a threat to me. i can arrange any met you want liberty. i will not hide behind this blog. give me your address or your phone number. i’ll give you mine if your scared…because i am not that is why i use my real name. i too would love for you to catch me so i could fuck you up so bad that you would pee through a baggie…i guarantee that you would be very sorry for opening your mouth. by the way i carry an automatic baretta 45 when i write because writing on gang turf is dangerous, most of the crappy stuff you see in that area towards the river that you don’t understand is crip writing. i am white and i am in no gang so i am an enemy to them. so if you think your billy gun badass and your going to threaten me you little vaginal secretion i say fuckin bring that shit to the bank. you don’t have to wait to catch me do anything i will come to you if you think you are up to it????

  33. you are telling me that in this very argument you are thinking of other people?
    Bullshit!! scott the only person you have considered is yourself and anyone who agrees with you. and only because anyone who agrees with you can help you get what you want. don’t let your self righteous ego and your self absorbed image of yourself(lookin like jesus) blind you scott!! of course i primarily think of me! where would i be today if i wasn’t as self absorbed as you and the rest of America. if that were the case than scott would be justified in feeling oh so sorry for me and my poor future:(
    so sad. to bad for scott my me me me attitude has done wounders for…. guess who?? Me!!!! thats why at 24 i gross a measly 85 thou a year. not bad if you ask me. the rest of Americas professional world thinks the same way. except if your scott and live in a magical world of self delusion and grandeur. you don’t even know me, all i have to do is disagree and you hate me. you give me so much leverage with your assumptions. it is to easy…
    but my main point is: all of this is a waste of your time and effort scott. and this is why. people are always going to be the way they are now.Nothing is going to change that. Carl Rogers the eminent psychologist once wrote ” i have found it of enormous value when i can permit myself to understand the other person. the way in which i have worded this statement may seem strange to you. it is necessary to permit oneself to understand another? i think it is. our first reaction to most of the statements(which we hear from other people) is an evaluation or judgment, rather than an understanding of it. when someone expresses some feeling, attitude or belief, our tendency is almost immediately to feel “that’s right” or “that’s stupid”,”that’s abnormal”, “that’s unreasonable”, “that’s incorrect”
    “that’s not nice.” Very rarely do we permit ourselves to understand precisely what the meaning of the statement is to the other person.” please understand that just like any other crime it is unstoppable. sure you could stop one or two, but not all. It’s just not going to happen. i know i am wasting my time. because “you cannot teach a man anything. you can only help him find it within himself.” so scott waste your time away do your best lil buddy, because eventually you will see that i was right. how long that will take, i cannot honestly say. you are a very dense minded person so it could take most of your life. but i wish you luck and say goodbye because i will not waste my time with you any longer…

  34. ps only people who dont know wtf they are talking about say “tag” or “tagged”

  35. Wow. Really? Are we supposed to be impressed now Andrew? Wow, what a tough guy. I’ve lived in the OH for quite some time. I own my home in an older block of Laurel, and it’s not one of the new townhouses. I’m a social worker and also a part time professor at VCU. I don’t hate students, but I do hate the sense of entitlement that seems to permeate through many young kids who live in this neighborhood – who feel it’s ok to scream and blast music at 4am, or throw beer cans in my front yard. I imagine you are a young kid too Andrew, based on your juvenile threats and the overblown response you had to other’s comments. I don’t think there is anything wrong with feeling frustrated and angry about the so called “artwork” that appears on street signs, and other property that is not owned by the “artist”. I find it unbelievable that you and others think it’s Ok and your right to put your “art” wherever you see fit. It’s not Ok. It’s illegal, immature, and the sign of an entitled little kid.

  36. first off lisa, i was threatened first.
    and i could give a fuck what you think about me. i didnt say it was ok. i simply stated that you can not stop it.

  37. do you think by attacking my integrity you will win me over? or make people from fucking your block up? well do you?
    bitch and moan you still live around graffiti everyday. you can’t stop it is my only point!!!

  38. Hey Andrew, I’m sorry you are so hurt. There are alot of people disagreeing on this blog, but everyone except for yourself seems to be respectfully trying to find some common ground. I think that’s cool you practice MMA. I’ve been doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for years, and have a great deal of respect for MMA/Jiu Jitsu fighters. But to threaten someone on a blog with your MMA skills and 215lbs? Come on man. And I’m sorry you were locked up for a year and kicked out of school for vandalism. That might of been harsh but you did the crime. How about taking some responsibility for your actions. What truely defines a “tough man” is not his MMA skills but his ability to face his pain and begin to make choices about dealing with that pain in a way that does not hurt others. Your posts are angry and hurtful. I think it is commendable that you make 80 grand a year, but if you don’t figure out what is fueling all that hate and anger, you are destine to be a real lonely, screwed up guy. Hope you don’t take this as an attack. Good luck.

    As far as BFD and the grafitti is concerned, I did not mind BFD. There were plenty of kids drinking in front of my house but they didn’t cause too much harm. But those who were vandalizing peoples’ property and acting out make the rest of the students who were just trying to have some fun look like spoiled, entitled brats. I’ve lived in Richmond for about 10 years and in Oregon hill for about half those years. I remember when those Town Homes were a beautiful park. I hate that the park was destroyed to build town homes and hate that VA power was built on our river. I have many friends and relatives who fought hard to keep that from happening. Having said that, I’m sure there are some wonderful people living in those town homes. We all have alot more in common then we do different. Katy, I don’t think refering to peoples’ views as “gentrified conformist single minded opinions” helps build community. While I agree with many of the points you make (especially the point about original working class individuals who have lived in Oregon Hill all their lives being priced out, that sucks) the way you write makes you sound like you are on a soap box. There is nothing more polarizing than a soap box. Many of the college students who participated in BFD are part of the gentrification that is pushing out the original inhabitants of Oregon Hill. In fact, I saw many of those participants jumping into brand new SUVs as they traveled to their next detination. I’ve seen many of the original residence of Oregon Hill be pushed out of their homes and then those same homes be filled with college students. There is nothing wrong or “conformist” about wanting vandalism to stop in Oregon Hill. There is also nothing wrong with having a BFD and partying with your freinds. It is wrong however, to degrade people who are differnt from us whether they are rich, poor, in college or members of the Oregon Hill Association.

  39. Great googly moogley, ain’t this boogie a mess! F.Z.

    Is the Overlook a part of O.H.?
    Sure doesn’t look,act or smell like O.H.
    Who cares what they think?

    Katy, you rule!

    Oh and Berger, how bout that seven foot tall ragweed beside your house, whats up with that? Graffiti doesn’t make you sneeze.

    If you don’t like it. BYE.

  40. This graffiti will not stop. I’m starting a campaign to encourage VCU kids to tag/wheatpaste/draw/paint all over the neighborhood. It will look beautiful!!!

  41. Hey neighbor, good to hear from you.

    Yes, I am censoring/moderating this blog. In your case though, the first time someone comments, I have to approve it. I am not always able to do that in a timely manner. This evening I gave blood after work.

    I almost censored some of Andrew Currence’s comments, but I figured I would let him show off his charm a bit.

    I know you have always been pretty open about your dislike of the Overlook condos. I wish it was still open/green space also, but the fact is that the previous houses were destroyed by the Ethyl Corporation and that land was going to get developed one way or another. Do you think Oregon Hill would be better off if there was an Ethyl/VCU building there? Or how about a gated highrise apartment building? Because those things almost happened. I am thankful they did not.

    As for the Overlook inhabitants themselves, well, you seem pretty resentful of them also. I am not because the rest of the neighborhood may need their support the next time VCU encroaches or some other emergency.

    Great googly moogley, indeed.

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