HAND fundraiser supports Eugene Jail Support

Curtis Blankinship (KEPW News): Eugene Housing And Neighborhood Defense or HAND is an organization in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon, dedicated to defending neighborhoods from capitalist exploitation at the hands of landlords, developers, and other class enemies. 

On Aug. 4 at the Eugene Unitarian Universalist Church, HAND held a benefit for Eugene Jail Support as part of their monthly public meeting. Harpist Vele, Lazarus Pearl, and Big Scare provided atmosphere for a small but supportive crowd. 

Speaker: We’re going to have a number of fun things today. We’ve got some lovely musical performances. We have some great tables over here with some local groups.

I encourage you all to take a look at what they’ve got going on. We’ve got an arts and crafts station. We also have a wonderful raffle with some really cool prizes. We’ve got a cool print, we’ve got a cool book, we’ve got some handmade ACAB booty shorts. 

And we also have, we’re raffling off the first whack of our Chief Skinner piñata. So some great, great prizes.

Curtis Blankinship: Eugene Jail Support needs money to keep your friends and neighbors out of jail.

Speaker: Hang out with Eugene Jail Support. We are a group of people who do anti-repression organization and education around town. We do some security culture trainings. We do some recommending, like sending people to lawyers and other resources.

And we help out with a jail sit that happens Mondays and Fridays outside the Lane County jail. People sit outside of the jail with food, cigarettes, whatever people need as they’re getting out. 

And, yeah, our number is 541-515-5721. Can everyone say that for me? (541-515-5721) Call that if any of your homies ever are in jail and needing some help. 

Curtis Blankinship: A police encounter was recounted.

Speaker: So in May, on May 1, Eugene HAND, along with RWC, Revolutionary Women’s Committee, put on an event for May Day and also an event—it was for May Day, and it was in solidarity with teachers in the community who were being absolutely screwed over, just kind of in every way.

We put on this event, we had a march, we had speeches, there were chants, that sort of thing. 

And afterwards we had a potluck in the Rose Garden, a very lovely potluck in the Rose Garden. And you would think that we were doing something insidious or suspicious because the whole time we were there, lurking literally in the bushes were a dozen or so EPD piggies.

They were in the back. If you’re familiar, if you’re familiar with the Rose Garden, you know you’ve got roses and you’ve got a fence behind there. They were literally behind the fence in the bushes, Homer Simpson-style, just watching. They’re just watching. 

And they were blocking off the exit. They were kind of all around just watching us eat hot dogs and pasta salad. Great use of their time, I am sure. 

You know, we didn’t think too much of it. However, we did realize that, you know, during during the march, there was an attempted disturbance by a notorious right-wing chud, a really vile human being.  I don’t even want to name all the things that he’s done and posted in support of online because it’s disgusting.

He was trying to dox people, came in there with a camera. And he was, you know, firmly asked to leave, multiple times, escorted out. He refused to leave.

Eventually he did leave. And it turns out this little man squealed to the pigs themselves and (Boo!) Yes! Boo! 

So, what did the cops do? Oh, they took the side of this chud and they believed him. And what they did was one of our comrades who was leaving the park, with a couple others, was profiled and surrounded by 20-30 bike cops, thrown on the ground. The other people around her were hit with bikes. And this comrade was arrested.

So these cops, with no evidence, targeted an activist, and took the word of this a— point blank. And that’s bulls—. 

Can I get an ‘A, C, A, B, All cops are bastards.’ (A C A B, All cops are bastards.) That’s a classic. 

So a comrade was arrested. Luckily, thanks to support and help from our comrades at Eugene Jail Support, they got out that night because thanks to our friends at the CLDC, all the charges were dropped. Because they were baseless, they were bulls—. 

And this guy is a bozo who deserves to be run out of town. And that’s a nice thing to say. Thanks to our friends at Eugene Jail support and CLDC, our comrade is safe and sound. 

And this is one of the reasons why groups like this are so important, right? We should be able to feel—

It is scary to stand up for what you believe in. It is scary to go to protests. It’s scary to stand outside of the federal building and see these boys with their gear on with their rifles. It’s scary. And no one would say it’s not. 

Some people have done it more and they feel more comfortable. But at the end of the day, you are putting your body on the line. And there are a few things that help keep us safe in an unsafe situation. One is numbers. 

So get out there, go to things. Go to the federal courthouse. When you see a post of an event, when you hear about something, go out there, grab a friend or two. Because we have the numbers and that’s one of the ways to keep us safe.

The other way is by having organizations like Eugene Jail Support there. So if you do get scooped, they can get you out. If you don’t have the funds on you, CLDC to hopefully defend you if it comes to that. 

Yeah. So I just want to give it up to these two groups and all the other people here in support. So let’s get a round of applause.

Curtis Blankinship: HAND uses historical victories to show that when organized en masse, working people have the power to collectively halt evictions, rent hikes, housing discrimination, and so much more through mutual aid networks and education about the current rentier police state. 

They believe they can and will facilitate the inevitable downfall of capitalism and create a world where we can manage our housing together.

More info at EugeneHAND.org and the Civil Liberties Defense Center at CLDC.org.

Eugene Jail Support has Linktree, Venmo, and Instagram sites with donation info. Eugene Jail Support has been bailing people out since at least the ’90s at this number: 541-515-5721.