Manchester and Salford Anarchist Bookfair 2021

have raccoons replaced black cats as anarchism's mascot, or is there some longer history of raccoons and anarchism I'm unaware of?

Just a cute animal I think, although it is a bit of an odd choice in a country where they don't exist. Makes them more exotic, I suppose?

Well I hope it’s better than yesterday’s London effort

guessing that and also the internet maybe. I would definitely travel 3000 miles though to see the Anarchist Raccoon stall, which appears to have been a one-time thing in 2013 (can't have raccoons hogging up all the attention I guess),

The stall will have bookmarks, stickers, postcards and other small items (all original art) that will mostly be gifted or bartered with the community. They involve raccoons (which I think provide an excellent non-human role model for living cooperatively while maintaining strong individual character) with anarchist and similar messages. Younger and older folk alike usually respond positively and I hope that they will provide common ground and fun while we work to change the world

Huh, might well be that one of the organisers really likes raccoons in that case.

Anyway, Active will also be hosting a bookfair in Bristol soon:
https://www.facebook.com/events/3030979913839401/

The London Bookfair was the worst I've attended.The quality of the stalls was poor and it was the same lifestylist alternative culture punk bullshit.It makes me wonder what the future is if this is the best "Anarchism" has to offer.

Fortunately, it isn't the best anarchism has to offer :)

The ACG will have a stall at the Manchester & Salford Anarchist Bookfair. The ACG was barred from having a stall at the London bookfair.

The ACG was barred from having a stall at the London bookfair.

I wasn't aware of that.

Out of curiosity what reason was given for the ACG exclusion?

They were banned for Transgender issues.

freemind

The London Bookfair was the worst I've attended.The quality of the stalls was poor and it was the same lifestylist alternative culture punk bullshit.It makes me wonder what the future is if this is the best "Anarchism" has to offer.

This is consumer-speak - life lived at the complaint counter. One supposes that Anarchists attending events are required to make some in-put. Talk to people, hand out a flyer, there were at least three speeches made outside. Better still -and the more book fairs the better - put on your own. It only requires a few months of work.

No need to personalise and its not consumer speak.My opinion is draught and valid and the more Bookfairs the better I agree.Ive been to many and this one was poor.I appreciate the effort but that doesn't mean exemption from criticism.

freemind

They were banned for Transgender issues.

My understanding is that no reason has been given.

The National Secretary told me when I asked him.

Apologies for my ignorance, but what are the differences on transgender exists between ACG and the bookfair organisers?

ajjohnstone

Apologies for my ignorance, but what are the differences on transgender exists between ACG and the bookfair organisers?

Presumably the new book fair organisers are composed of the same "pro-trans" moralists who broke up the former bookfair after the Helen Steel incident. The fallout of which resulted in the ACG people splitting from the AF.

I am not fully up on Trans politics but I've heard that the reason the ACG were banned was due to an increased influence of middle class identity politics.Not a surprise as its a classic middle class entry is tactic.Predominance of identity politics is a way of splitting class solidarity imo

freemind

The National Secretary told me when I asked him.

That must be me you're referring to.

I've never said we've been banned from this bookfair for "transgender issues". It may be true that we were ghosted/banned because of ACG founders (ex-AF) didn’t agree with the crap that kicked off at the last London bookfair. It could also be because of a fair bit of anti-ACG misinformation about the ACG from a few fucking anarcho-idiots. The truth is, we weren't told and the new London bookfair people refused to communicate with us.

It's worth remembering, those ACGers who left the AF are now a small minority of the ACG as it is now. Many of these members were not around and know little about what happened at the last bookfair.

Anyway... Manchester and Salford bookfair... looks a good 'un.

Apologies I talked to an ACG member who I presumed was the Nat Sec.

Sorry for misunderstanding

No worries.

The same rumor-mongering about ACG being "banned for trans issues" was going on at Urban75, along with an absolutely hilarious line about the organisers being in it for the money (!).

Afaik the organisers have made no official statement about why they didn't give ACG a stall, on the day itself though ACG actually had the most prominent presence in the actual doorway of the event and were there all day, (complaining about the organisers), with no issues at all. The literal only difference was that they didn't get an indoor stall. Hell this was a ban policy so egregious that Martin Wright spent an hour sitting in the park the organisers had hired off the council shouting the odds about them without a single cross word. The one and only person kicked out was an anti-vaxx nut.

Generally I'm with Peter here. You didn't like it? Whatever, you had years to do your own and didn't, so what exactly is the value of denouncing other people who did? How influential on the future of London bookfairs do you think complaining all over the internet will be? I mean fuck me I've had my gripes about every bookfair I've ever been to but you know what? When I was asked about being involved I said a very firm no because I knew it'd be a pain the arse with little credit and a shit-tonne of moaning. And that very specifically what was needing navigating in 2021 was an even worse situation than the one which outright destroyed the 2017 collective. I counted a half dozen potential major fights for the day just within the London scene, any one of which could have then been an absolute shitshow, all of which needed a decision made by a new collective of whoever happened to be foolish enough to want to try.

So fair play to anyone who's prepared to wade through that bullshit and actually put something on, afaic.

Whatever the reason, the decision to exclude the ACG from the 2021 London bookfair is a political decision. As is the decision not to disclose the reason to them.

I think it's fair enough that this is open to criticism, and frankly this is inevitable anyway.

I can't speak to the reason because it's not been outlined, it could be personal, political or a combination of the two for all anyone here knows. And that I think is the point. The bookfair collective made a decision, ACG is of course at liberty to dispute and question that decision, but I fail to see what grumpy rubbernecking, second-guessing and people going "it was shit because it didn't do what I wanted even though I made no contribution at all to this free event put on by a volunteer crew in difficult circumstances" contributes beyond amping up yet another effing argument. As though we need or benefit from the ones going on already.

Rob Ray

The same rumor-mongering about ACG being "banned for trans issues" was going on at Urban75, along with an absolutely hilarious line about the organisers being in it for the money (!).

Afaik the organisers have made no official statement about why they didn't give ACG a stall.

I think if the organisers wanted to avoid rumour-mongering then refusing to make a statement and leaving people to guess was probably not the best way of going about it. Point taken about what a poisoned chalice it is, though.

Well, I can't speak to their decision-making there but one thing I will note about the modern era is that the non-response is increasingly baked into any group which has had much ongoing antagonism with unreasonable types (please note, this is not saying ACG is or was being unreasonable). The trouble is the old Cardinal Richelieu conundrum:

If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.

Essentially, if you're trying to get shit done and know any response will just get turned into a stick for an attempted public argument, the best solution can often be no solution.

Rob Ray

ACG is of course at liberty to dispute and question that decision

If only we'd been notified of that decision, eh. Cardinal Richelieu aside, it's all a bit bobbins really.

Rob Ray

ACG actually had the most prominent presence in the actual doorway of the event and were there all day, (complaining about the organisers), with no issues at all.

This is factually incorrect. I'd be interested to hear where you got this misinformation from. I can't remember myself or any of my comrades out the front complaining about the bookfair organisers. Perhaps we did when people asked us why we'd been banned from having a stall but you're really misrepresenting what happened here.

nastyned

Perhaps we did when people asked us why we'd been banned from having a stall.

Read your own line again. How do you think I got the impression you were complaining?

And from the noise you've been collectively making before and since it's hardly a major misrepresentation to say that you've been pretty consistently publicly complaining to anyone who'll listen on threads both related and unrelated (eg. here), including repeatedly using this "we were banned" line when you manifestly weren't, and in fact simply didn't get an indoor table (which I admit doesn't sound nearly as dramatic).

(JFC I just read back what I wrote, why are any of us wasting our time on this two-bit scene stuff? Fuck it can we all just ... do something with higher stakes please? Actually I'm gonna take my own advice, later all)

Rob Ray

nastyned

Perhaps we did when people asked us why we'd been banned from having a stall.

repeatedly using this "we were banned" line when you manifestly weren't, and in fact simply didn't get an indoor table (which I admit doesn't sound nearly as dramatic).

I don't really understand the distinction that's being drawn here, and not really sure what them being able to set up a stall outside proves, unless the SPGB and ICC were actually part of the bookfair all along?

Well I was going to reply but it seems that after making his baseless claim that we spent all day complaining about the bookfair organisers Rob Ray has decided this thread is not for him. So I guess we'll never know why he decided to do that or how exactly not being allowed to have a stall or have any of our literature on other people's stalls isn't the same as being banned.

For a critique of the milieu in the UK and elsewhere in the Anglo world which gives rise to these
bizarre left sub cultural jamboree phenomena certain to alienate militant workers outside the leftist milieu such as at the above so called anarchist London Book Fair and a way forward out of this 'morass' to the revolutionary project. See Review of "A Beautiful Idea: History of the Freedom Press Anarchists" in RW Vol. 37 No.2 (225) Aug. - Sept. 2019 in archive section of www.rebelworker.org and on Anarchist Info Shop and AnarchistNews.org

Looks like the CWO-ICT will also have a stall at the Manchester & Salford Anarchist Bookfair.