‘DO NOT ATTEMPT TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE INMATES THROUGH THE FENCE’ Film Screening

from O.R.C.A.

Come watch two surreal compilations of media footage from revolts that
have occurred inside and outside of two jails in St. Louis, Missouri
since 2017. Front and center, they show the agency of prisoners inside
as well as the subversive potential of unmediated communication with
their supporters outside.

WE’RE TOO HOT follows a demonstration in 2017 at the city’s former
holdover facility: the Workhouse. It was sparked by a heatwave that sent
temperatures inside the A/C-less jail into the 110s. In 2021, the
Workhouse was closed after a long campaign against it, but this has left
the equally notorious second jail, the Justice Center, to pick up the
slack. 6 mins

Breaking the Fourth Wall (or A Justice Center Recruitment Video) is a
slog that seeks to keep up with the comical and particularly appalling
management of the Justice Center, which has seen a scandalous amount of
“disturbances,” riots, hostage takings and full-on uprisings over the
since 2020. As well as, 18 prisoner deaths in that time. 26 minutes

[2025/07/29 18:30]

Reading Group on Insurrectionary Organization – July 16th & 23rd, for New Pamphlet: ‘Some Excerpts by Alfredo Bonanno on the Insurrectional Anarchic Project, Informal Organization, Affinity, Autonomous Base Nuclei, and Active Minorities’

from Reeking Thickets Press

Printing Imposed PDF (8.5″ x 11″, black & white)
Covers for Printing (8.5″ x 11″, color)
Limited amount of physical copies available, come to ORCA Open Hours 7/9, 5-9:30pm for free pamphlets or email reekingthickets@proton.me to check availability and get copies at another time (free locally before 7/23, $3 after, plus shipping if not local)
Join us for two reading group discussions at ORCA (orcaphilly.noblogs.org/events/event/reading-group-bonanno-on-insurrectionary-organization/ – email ORCA at orca.philly@protonmail.com for address and accessibility info) where we’ll discuss the ideas in this newly compiled collection of writings by Alfredo Maria Bonanno in pamphlet form! Pick up a free physical copy of the reading at ORCA Open Hours on July 9th, 5-9:30pm  (you can also print/read the pdf file included in this post), and come to a casual first discussion (covering pages 1-43), at ORCA Open Hours at 7:45pm July 16th, and a second discussion (pages 43-96) at ORCA Open Hours at 7:45pm July 23rd. Please do the reading beforehand (though you don’t have to participate in the reading group to come to open hours these days, and cross-talk is welcome), and if you’d like, feel free to bring any jotted-down questions or thoughts that come up.
This 96pg. collection of writings by Alfredo Bonanno (including some crude, new, provisional machine-translations with cursory manual corrections and added explanatory footnotes) aims to bring together some of his most concise, yet in-depth explanations of many of the core concepts of the specific strain of contemporary insurrectionary anarchism that he helped develop, which are often misunderstood or glossed over in jargon: projectuality, autonomous base nuclei (which include non-anarchists), affinity, informal organization, active/specific minorities (and their tools of counter-information, theory, intermediate struggles, and armed struggle), limited/specific struggles, the methodological trio of permanent conflictuality, self-management, and attack, and how these all relate to the mass process of insurrection. The particular value of this approach in the context of the real domination of post-industrial, technological society is also explored, as well as the relation between riot and insurrection, ideas of propaganda, linguistic and cultural alienation/estrangement/appropriation, destructive revolutionary consciousness oriented towards the unknown, and the significance of democratic, nationalist, authoritarian communist, synthesis or platform anarchist, shallowly spontaneist or individualist, unionist, and movementist tendencies.
We hope to evade some of the frequent snags that arise around current interpretations of Bonanno and contemporary insurrectionary anarchist theory, and feel that the material in this collection is far from another stale debate of the organizational question, and holds real, critical relevance from multiple angles for some contemporary impasses, transmitting, still, a powerfully fresh and possibilizing potential. Much will hopefully be at least somewhat new here for even those well-versed in current discussions, and, read alongside the anonymous classic At Daggers Drawn With the Existent, Its Defenders, and Its False Critics, and Armed Joy – also by Bonanno, we feel this collection can offer a very solid, well-rounded overview for readers unfamiliar with insurrectionary anarchist positions.
We do not intend to frame Alfredo Bonanno as some sort of mythical, revolutionary immortal with this collection, nor ourselves as any kind of privileged interpreter. It is not some detached intellectual fondness for decades-old European theoretical tracts passed through language barriers that leads us to feel these texts are relevant (though these ones do also please us to read). In fact, Bonanno’s rigorous criticism of this kind of ideological abstraction goes far further than many of his loyal, straight-talking critics who profess this angle. Both positive and negative appraisals of the insurrectionary anarchist proposals often suffer from a lack of genuine engagement with some of its primary theoretical elaborations, including with Bonanno’s work (though not only; our focus on him here doesn’t mean to repeat the frequent misconception that the many other, even less examined thinkers and currents historically involved are somehow irrelevant to the genesis of contemporary libertarian insurrectionary approaches). Part of this is a relative lack of translations, the tendency Bonanno had to sometimes present his complicated, often ambivalent (we mean this in a positive sense) ideas in simplified or indirect ways when not specifically explicating each referenced idea, the way that concise yet in-depth explanations of these core concepts are found somewhat scattered throughout his very prolific output (throughout which he wrote in numerous, divergent styles and tones), and his use of terms with specific contextual meanings. The over-reliance on secondary sources about his thought helps determine a situation where his positions are often presented in shallow terms, more relevant to the popular representation of his theoretical body of work than its actual content (all the more elusive for his fierce hostility to pre-determined dogma). Sometimes the criticism, largely baseless to us, alleges it’s too movementist and cautious, others find a concealed vanguardism, organizationalism, yet others that it’s too spontaneist, or spectacular, massified, isolated from the masses, militarist, classically socialist, insufficiently anti-civ, obsessively anti-acronym, etc.. Bonanno was himself drawn into polemics with critics or mistaken supporters revolving around these phantom positions, sometimes seeming to anticipate misreadings and frame his wording with these in mind (which an `opposite’ misunderstanding could find apparent confirmation in). The acknowledgement of this confusion, coupled with the implicit assertions of the contemporary invalidity of any conflictual premises shaped in the Italian Years of Lead, is itself a frequent excuse for watered-down, movementist readings, or to dismiss his positions a priori. In fact, we also live, in a different way, in bloody times, and the lack of a current Western analog for the Red Brigades (besides the vicarious would-be models of Palestinian authoritarian formations) could just as well argue for a reading less weighted towards emphasis of the pitfalls of armed struggle. In this situation and more generally, relevant insurrectionary analysis often appears split between very introductory treatments and highly elaborated, niche levels, subject to layers and layers of strongly diverging interpretation.

Cop/ICE Watch

from O.R.C.A.

Join us for a night of learning, discussion, and roleplaying centered around cop/ice watching. Bring your curiosity and a friend.

  • Date: 2025/07/10 18:00

Free The Fighters Letter Writing

from O.R.C.A.

Free The Anti-Colonial Fighters!

Free Them All!

A letter writing night for Elias Rodriguez and Casey Goonan, both are accused of fighting in the U$A against the colonization of Palestine. As the struggles to free Palestine escalate and face repression, we can break the isolation of imprisonment and the justice system. Writing letters is one way we can strengthen the connections and spirit that make struggles possible. Bring friends and snacks, we’ll provide paper, pens, envelopes, and stamps.

Casey Goonan’s support website: freecaseynow.noblogs.org
Elias Rodriguez’s alleged manifesto: haters.noblogs.org/files/2025/05/Elias-Manifesto.pdf

If you are unable to attend you are encouraged to write the prisoners on your own time.

Elias Rodriguez
1901 D Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
Casey Goonan UMF#227
Santa Rita Jail
5325 Border Blvd
DUBLIN CA 94568
[Date: 2025/06/17 18:00 – 20:00]

Letter Writing for Rodney Hinton Jr.

from O.R.C.A.

We are gathering to write letters of support and solidarity to Black freedom fighter Rodney Hinton. Bring your friends, food and zines. We’ll provide the letter writing materials. Please wear a mask. If you can’t attend, we encourage you to write a letter on your own.

Rodney Hinton Jr.

Clermont County Jail

4700 East Filager Road

Batavia, OH 45103

2pm

June 8th

ORCA

O.R.C.A. Is Public

from O.R.C.A.

TL;DR – O.R.C.A. is public, don’t hesitate to share any events or media about the space unless it says different on the flier 🙂

We have heard of people being concerned that sharing fliers, posters, and invitations related to O.R.C.A. was not okay so we wanted to make clear O.R.C.A. is a public project 😀 While we appreciate people’s concern for the project’s security we are excited to welcome new people to the space, to host events and meetings, and keep open hours. We maintain a public website and twitter account. While we are happy to host private events, most of the programming at O.R.C.A. is free and public, and we welcome people sharing events that take place in our space. We do not publicly post our address but we try to be responsive and forthcoming about sharing our address and access information via email and direct message to those interested in attending. As always we would love to talk with interested individuals and groups about hosting your event or meeting. Though we do occasionally host private events the fliers or invitations to those events are explicit about how they are meant to be shared.

For the Rebels of 2020: A Black anarchist letter writing event to commemorate the 5 year anniversary of the George Floyd Uprising

from O.R.C.A.

May 31st
2pm to 4pm
Black anarchists will be gathering at O.R.C.A. to write to incarcerated Black rebels and revolutionaries who were arrested during the George Floyd uprising that erupted five tears ago. We’ll talk about different Black prisoners from the uprising as well as reflect upon the meaning of that time five years out. As always, leave your white or non-Black partner at home! Paper, stamps, and envelopes will be provided. Bring zines, food and your homies. Please wear a mask.
We’ll be writing to the following Black prisoners of the uprising. If you can’t attend, we encourage you to write on your own time in the spirit of solidarity.
Khalif Miller
https://uprisingsupport.org/2024/08/12/khalif-miller-pennsylvania/
https://www.instagram.com/freekhalifphilly/
Malik Muhammad
https://uprisingsupport.org/2023/12/12/malik-muhammad/
https://malikspeaks.noblogs.org/
David Elmakayes
https://uprisingsupport.org/2023/12/12/david-elmakayes/
https://mongoosedistro.com/2021/07/02/this-land-by-david-elmakayes/
Mujera Benjamin Lunga’ho
https://uprisingsupport.org/2024/04/21/mujera-benjamin-lungaho-arkansas/
Christopher Tindal
https://uprisingsupport.org/2024/09/26/christopher-tindal-new-york/

CH’O TINIMIT SOCIAL

from O.R.C.A.

MAY 17th
6PM
ORCA

Vamos a pasar un rato conociendo a Ch’o Tinimit, un nuevo centro social anarkista en Xela, Guate. Habrá comida, juegos, musica, amigos y conversación con unx de lxs fundadorxs del proyecto. Invitan a sus amigos, y traiga una mascara de covid!
Join us for a low-key kickback to learn about Ch’o Tinimit, a new Anarchist info shop in Xela, Guate. There will be food, friends, games, music, and conversation with one of the founders of Ch’o Tinimit. Bring your friends, wear a mask!

InterRebellium 1: The Estallido Social Screening

from O.R.C.A.

In October 2019, protests against a transit fare hike in Santiago erupted into a nation-wide insurrection against the Chilean state. For six months, the streets were transformed into vibrant laboratories of self-organization, creativity and resistance, before ultimately being cleared by the promise of a new constitution and the spread of a global pandemic.

In the opening installment of Interrebellium, subMedia traces the history of the Estallido Social through the first-hand experiences of its participants, as they share battle-tested street tactics, and hard-won lessons about the lengths that the state will go to repress and recuperate challenges to its rule.

Trailer

Crowd Control: What police tactics teach us about the state

from O.R.C.A.

If you were bummed to miss a talk on police tactics, there’s another chance! Join us again for a brief lecture and a collective discussion about how police relate to and suppress protest movements. By looking at police tactics to street action and civil disorder, how can we better develop our own priorities and anticipate police response to movements for liberation?

Our aim will be to understand the logics behind how cops roll up on protests. Using authorities’ own playbooks as a starting point, we will build a top level picture of how states operate, and we will look at how that manifests to police tactics on the ground. Expect some discussion of state violence and police brutality.

Anarchist Letter Writing

from O.R.C.A.

Let’s support our incarcerated comrades and fighters! Our movement is only as strong as our support for the rebels behind the walls. We’ll be writing to the three following prisoners Hybachi Lemar, Mujera Benjamin Lunga’ho and Luigi Mangione. Bring food and homies. We’ll provide stamps, envelopes, pens, stamps and paper. Please wear a mask!
5pm
April 19th
ORCA
Information on who we will be writing to:
Hybachi Lemar (Incarcerated Black Anarchist Revolutionary)
Hybachi LeMar
c/o Midwest Books to Prisoners
1321 N Milwaukee Avenue PMB 460
Chicago, IL 60622
Mujera Benjamin Lunga’ho (Prisoner from the 2020 Uprising)
You can send money to support Mujera Benjamin Lunga’ho on CashApp at: https://cash.app/$JohnLungaho
Mujera Benjamin Lunga’ho
08572-509
FCI Forrest City Medium
Federal Correctional Institution
P.O. Box 3000
Forrest City, AR 72336
Luigi Mangione (Alleged Claims Adjuster)
Luigi Mangione (52503-511)
MDC Brooklyn
METROPOLITAN DETENTION CENTER
P.O. BOX 329002
BROOKLYN, NY 11232

film screening: The Gentleman Bank Robber

from O.R.C.A.

6:30 PM
April 3
O.R.C.A.

The Gentleman Bank Robber delves into the life of bo brown, an ex-political prisoner, a white working class butch, and a former member of the George Jackson Brigade. Journey through recollections of bank robberies and life underground, alongside the day to day life of an unrepentant former guerrilla. Queer, witty, and serious all at once.

We’ll have copies of Queer Fire, a zine of writings and interviews with bo brown and other George Jackson Brigade members, available to $0-$99 sliding scale to raise money for the space.

46 mins
Directed by Julie Perini
English with subtitles

The Language Of Violence

from O.R.C.A.


How do we define violence, and who gets to decide? What is terrorism and what is harm? Language is not just a tool for communication between individuals, but a tool for social control under systems. Language shapes how we understand things like harm, justice, and oppression in general. The words we use influence policy, media narratives, and even the way we respond to acts of violence. But what happens when certain harms are dismissed, obscured, or legitimized through language?

This interactive workshop delves into the power of framing, drawing on George Lakoff’s work on cognitive linguistics and Johan Galtung’s theory of direct, structural, and cultural violence. We will examine how language constructs meaning, dictates public discourse, and reinforces or disrupts systems of power. Participants will engage in critical discussions and real-world case examples (Yes, we’re gonna talk about our boy Luigi) to explore key questions:

  • How does the framing of violence influence public perception, policy decisions, and shape a carcerality?
  • What forms of harm are ignored or minimized due to linguistic choices?
  • How do terms like “crime,” “terrorism,” and “security” shape narratives around state and interpersonal violence?
  • How can we harness linguistic awareness as a tool for social change?

Through group activities and reflective dialogue, attendees will learn to critically analyze the ways language frames violence in media, politics, and everyday conversation. Join us for an engaging and thought-provoking conversation on the intersection of linguistics, violence, and cultural perception.

  • Date: 2025/03/23 15:00

Book Release and Film Screening

from O.R.C.A.

  • Date: 2025/03/16 18:15

`The Unexpected Guest and a Section of Palestine, Mon Amour’ brings together a new, rough translation of L’Ospite Inatteso, written by Sicilian insurrectionary anarchist Alfredo Bonanno, with mostly previously untranslated sections from his book Palestina, Mon Amour. Diary-like, it’s a remembrance of his deadly armed struggle during the 60s and 70s, along Palestinians in the Levant (where he was tortured by Mossad in 1972), in Greece, Ireland, and Africa. Written during later-life prison stints, these poetic, intimate stanzas grapple with suffering, monstrosity, normality, death, killing, the quantitative and qualitative. Messy, flawed, but occasionally critical, clandestine warfare is considered along memory, knowledge, and the word. An accompanying pamphlet, “A Mano Armata (Excerpts)” collects topical sections from that book of his.
¡G.A.R.I! (2013, 1h 23 min., French with English subtitles), by Nicolas Réglat, is a documentary about `70s French and Spanish anarchists (the `Revolutionary Internationalist Action Groups’) in solidarity with Spanish anti-authoritarians threatened with execution. Kidnapping a banker among many other actions, GARI embraced armed struggle, situationism, and the autonomous movements, resisting vanguardism, fetishization, and campism. Réglat aims to save these stories, which include his family’s, from `the dustbin of history’. Through archival footage, present-day conversations, and expired statute of limitations, it’s a refreshingly human look into complex experiences which still ripple strongly today.

For more info and copies/free pdfs after event, visit reekingthicketspress.noblogs.org

Zine Prep + Open Write

from O.R.C.A.

  • Date: 2025/03/06 19:00 – 21:00

The cutty slutty queer anarcho spellbook you’ve been seeking is accepting submissions through mid-March 🔮 This thursday from 7-9pm we’ll gather to talk a little bit about this upcoming zine and enjoy some leisurely open writing time. Optional prompts including the chaos magic of militancy and the 5-year-plan of frivolity // Autonomous sharing and feedback groups encouraged.