The Wingnut

Film Screening and Discussion about Palestinian Resistance Movement at U of R on Tuesday Jan 31st

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 12:58:09 +0000

Join the University of Richmond School of Law, Office of International Education,

Common Ground, and

the Muslim Law Students Association for a

Screening and Community Discussion of

Budrus

Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Time: 7 p.m.

Location: Ukrops Auditorium at the Robins School of Business, University of Richmond

Budrus tells the story of a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites members of all factions along with Israeli supporters in an nonviolent movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Success looks improbable until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines.

For more information, contact Shari Motro.

If you are planning to go from Northside/Church Hill/Fan/Oregon Hill please get in touch with Mo if you want to carpool- 804 300 0023

Bold Native Movie Screening! Feb 8th at 7:30

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:08:39 +0000

Come on out to the Wingnut (2005 Barton Avenue) on Wednesday, February 8th at 7:30 to watch the movie Bold Native !

Description

“Bold Native” is a film about animal liberation. It was directed by Denis Henry Hennelly and produced by Casey Suchan. The film is fictional.

To read more about the film, visit: http://boldnative.com/

Please come out and socialize! They’ll be delectables and possibly a game of Uno or two after the movie! BRING FRIENDS!

Ps: DESPITE RUMORS, THERE WILL BE NO CAKE! <—- there will most likely be cake!!! Keep the rumor alive.

Trigger Warning: This movie contains sex, nudity, torture, and graphic images of violence. If you would like more info/specifics please get in touch.

Know Your Rights Workshop at University of Richmond- Feb. 16

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:31:06 +0000

The Student Alliance for Sexual Diversity is hosting a Know Your Rights Workshop by Southern Barton Heights Copwatch on Thursday February 16th at 7pm. This will be taking place in room THC 327 on the main U of R Campus in Richmond’s West End.

Join SBH (Southern Barton Heights) Copwatch for a Know Your Rights Workshop

This workshop will help participants learn the basics of asserting their rights when dealing with the police. We highly recommend this workshop for EVERYONE. But especially anyone who engages in… any level of political protest or demonstrations.This workshop consists of skits that are performed by Copwatch members and then edited by participants from the audience. We encourage participation, questions, and dialogue around the topics covered in the skit. We are not lawyers, but we are able to provide useful information about a lot of legal questions.

For more information about this workshop or SBH Copwatch or if you are interested in having us come to your organization with a workshop you can call 804 303 5449 or email sbhcopwatch@gmail.com

SBH Copwatch is a non-hierarchical organization dedicated to ending police abuse. We believe that monitoring and recording police interactions with community members is a vital first step towards ensuring accountability and protecting ourselves and our communities. We are committed to anti-authoritarian principles and seek to transform the nature of the police and explore alternative methods of community conflict resolution.

New Books in the Wingnut Radical Lending Library

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:12:16 +0000

We’ve added more books to our radical lending library here at the Wingnut. You can search our catalog of books online at www.librarything.com/thewingnutrva or you can come by the Wingnut during Open Hours on Wednesdays and Fridays from 4pm to 9pm or during events at the Wingnut to check out a book.

Some of our new titles are:

Eyes to the South: French Anarchists and Algeria by David Porter

The Revolution Starts at Home: Confronting Intimate Violence Within Activist Communities by Ching-In Chen

The Primal Screamer by Nick Blinko

Alternative Vegan by Dino Sarma Weierman

Pistoleros The Chronicles of Farquhar McHarg Volume 1: 1918 by Farquhar McHarg

On the Ground: An Illustrated Anecdotal History of the Sixties Underground Press in the U.S. by Sean Stewart

Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud

Speaking Treason Fluently: Anti-Racist Reflections From an Angry White Male by Tim Wise

Against Equality: Don’t Ask to Fight Their Wars by Ryan Conrad

February Food Not Bombs Meeting

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:14:31 +0000

Come out to the monthly Richmond Food Not Bombs meeting, Sunday February 5th at 1pm at 2005 Barton Avenue (where we cook every week).

New participants, allies, and interested parties are welcome to attend.

Some things we might talk about include, fundraising, future plans, outreach, supplies we need, solidarity actions etc.

Prisoner Letter Writing Night!!! Wed. February 22nd!

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:55:10 +0000

Come over to the Wingnut Anarchist Collective on Wednesday February 22nd anytime between 6 and 10pm to write a letter to a prisoner.

Supporting social justice/radical/anarchist movements also means supporting the people who are currently incarcerated for their involvement in these movements. Writing letters to prisoners is an act of solidarity.

We will supply addresses and background information about a variety of political prisoners from movements such as the Black Panthers, the Animal Liberation Front, and the Earth Liberation Front. We will also have paper, pens, envelopes, and stamps (although donated stamps are always appreciated).

We also have information on the dos and don’ts of writing letters to prisoners.

Tea and snacks too!

The Wingnut Anarchist Collective is a sober, all ages space located at 2005 Barton Avenue. For more information you can call 804 303 5449 or email wingnut_collective@yahoo.com

Visions of Abolition: Movie Screenings and Discussion – Feb 19th and 26th

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:30:42 +0000

Visions of Abolition is a new feature length documentary about the prison industrial complex and the prison abolition movement.

We will be screening the movie’s 2 parts on 2 different nights – Sunday February 19th at 7pm and Sunday February 26th at 7pm. Both parts of the film are less than an hour long, leaving time for group discussion afterwards.

We encourage people curious about the prison industrial system, political prisoners, women and prisons, race and prisons, what alternatives there are to prisons and more to come watch and then join in the discussion.

We will also have handouts and literature from the Richmond Anarchist Black Cross at these screenings.

The Wingnut is a sober, all ages space located at 2005 Barton Avenue. Please call 804 303 5449 or email wingnut_collective@yahoo.com for more information.

More about the movie:

Part I “Breaking down the Prison Industrial Complex” weaves together the voices of women caught in the criminal justice system, and leading scholars of prison abolition, examining the racial and gendered violence of the prison system. Our film features the work of Susan Burton, a formerly incarcerated mother who established A New Way of Life, a group of transition homes for women coming home from prison in South Los Angeles (39 mins).

Part II “Abolition: Past Present and Future,” documents the recent history of the prison abolition movement through the organizing efforts of Critical Resistance and explores the meaning of abolitionist politics. By focusing on the collaboration between Critical Resistance and A New Way of Life, (known as the L.E.A.D. Project) the second half of the film unfolds a vision of abolition in practice (48 mins).

Solidarity with Jeremy- Beard Bloc!

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 01:15:45 +0000

Results of Hunter’s Court Today- Donations Towards Court Fees Requested

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:28:18 +0000

Today in court, Hunter Singleton accepted a plea deal offered by the prosecutor. The spurious charges of possession of a controlled substance had been previously dropped. Today, the prosecutor also dropped the Felony charge of wearing a mask. In exchange, Hunter took an Alford Plea (basically not saying you are guilty but recognizing that there is evidence against you) to a misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct charge. He was given 90 days, with 87 suspended. He had already served 2 days after his arrest, and will serve 1 more day on Friday.

Hunter has over 200 dollars in court fees, and needs help to pay these. Hopefully there will be an upcoming fundraiser, but in the mean time, if you just want to donate a few dollars towards his costs it would be greatly appreciated. Please get in touch if you want to donate money, or if you have an idea or venue or band for a fundraising event! rvaabc@gmail.com or 2005 Barton Avenue

It is excellent news and a great relief to many of Richmond’s activists, anarchists, and Occupiers that Eric Scott and Hunter Singleton have faired relatively well regarding their charges with resulted from a November 9th Occupy Richmond March. The use of felony charges seems to be a scare tactic by the Richmond Police Department. Participants in the march were using bandannas soaked in vinegar to protect from potential tear gas being used by the RPD (they have a tendency to use tear gas in crowd situations on a fairly regular basis). The felony charge of wearing a mask is a terrible law, and certainly one for anyone participating in political actions to keep in mind. Hopefully one day Virginia will be free of this repressive statute.

Richmond Anarchist Jeremy Hawthorne, Felony Trial Feb. 1st

Wingnut Anarchist Collective — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 13:56:28 +0000

Jeremy Hawthorne, arrested September 5th, 2011 while on a Copwatch patrol, is going on trial before a jury for allegedly slashing 7 tires on Virginia Commonwealth University vehicles, including two police cars. The charge is Destruction of State Property > $1,000, a Class 6 Felony.The case is clearly politically motivated; as a part of Richmond Copwatch, Jeremy is one of several who have been targeted by Richmond police in past months for their work against police brutality and poor jail conditions in the city. The notoriously heavy-handed RPD and its officers, ever the subject of much controversy, have bristled and taken a particularly antagonistic attitude with activists, protestors, and copwatchers, reacting in a consistently aggressive, violent, and reckless manner. Accountability, on the other hand, has been elusive.

The “evidence” used to indict Jeremy is insubstantial, and many details surrounding testimonies evidence gathering, and the circumstances leading to Jeremy’s arrest, are questionable at best.
Commonwealth Attorney Christopher Toepp is handling the case per his personal request, intent on a full conviction. Toepp has had a long year of high-profile cases, having been on the prosecution for the Monroe Park Occupation, and the African burial ground demonstration. If Chris Toepp has his way, Jeremy would face 5 years in prison.
The description of the person depicted in the so-far unreleased surveillance footage is incredibly mundane: a beard, a hat (maybe camo, brown, or black?), tattoos, a black sleeveless or rolled-up shirt, a bag, and a step-thru frame bike. In Richmond, this could easily be thousands of people. The alleged acts occurred on August 23rd, the Monday proceeding Best Friends Day, meaning hundreds more out-of-town hipster look-alikes were wild in the streets.

We encourage all those who think they may roughly fit this description to come to the hearing, inside the courtroom and out, as part of a “beard bloc.”

Folks who wish to come out in support- the hearing will be in courtroom 305 of the John Marshall Court Building, 400 N. Ninth St., Richmond, Virginia; 9:30AM Wednesday, February 1st.

For more information, you can contact rvaabc@gmail.com and check richmondlegalsupport.wordpress.com for updates.
We ask all to donate to his legal fund, via the Richmond Anarchist Black Cross (2005 Barton Avenue, Richmond, VA 23222).