Horizontal > Vertical. A trip to the Wingnut Anarchist Collective!

NO BOOZE.
NO DRUGS.
NO MACHO BULLSHIT.
...because they're strapped.

The Wingut house itself is amazingly decorated from the inside out. Its covered in stenciled statements of their beliefs both in written and symbolic form. The outside is beautifully improvised and DIY with a striking mural on the top of the house which had been a community effort. Mo (our "tour guide" and founder of the collective) made an interesting statement about the decorations of the house acting as a sort of equalizer of the property value to match those around it. Unfortunately since the neighborhood is predominantly black, the houses are of a lesser value than those occupied by white people. By having such a loud presence on the block, the house's value goes down rather than up (as it is occupied by white people). What an awesome form of solidarity!

The Wingnut is an extremely active and productive community for its size (I think she said there were 8 people actually living there?). They organize Food Not Bombs, which is a 19 year old tradition in Richmond to give out free meals on Sundays to the homeless and underprivileged in Monroe Park. They also organize a weekly food drive right outside the collective on the brick wall lining the sidewalk. Whole foods donates produce and other goods that would otherwise go to waste due to strict restrictions on expiration dates.

One interesting form of community engagement and protection is the copwatch they do around the neighborhood. Again, since its a predominately black neighborhood there is a greater police presence. Whenever possible, they will film cops as they're interacting with people in effort to maintain their accountability and reduce the abuse of power and brutality. While they're filming they will also vocalize a person's rights they may or not be aware of, i.e. "You can refuse a search without a warrant!" Mo said that doing this makes the community feel safer, which is great, but also unfortunate that these people are living in fear of what is supposed to be a force to keep them safe. They are always working to build a stronger community in place of  police to resolve and reduce conflict, because when a community is stronger, crime goes down because people simply care more about their neighbor.

Within the house itself, the distribution of power (in line with their beliefs) is horizontal, not vertical. Although I think Mo is clearly the head honcho. Each person is expected to participate in house meetings, activism, and community outreach. There are no drugs or alcohol allowed in the house to stress the importance of accountability of yourself and decision making. Since there is no micromanaging of one another, personal responsibility is really important to the functioning of a non-hierarchical community.

Before visiting with the Wingnut Anarchist Community, my (ignorant) impression of them was that they were group of crusty, angry, politically exclusive misfits. Our talk with Mo reversed that impression, and I left with a much more positive view of that community as well as a dismantling of the anarchist stereotype in my mind.