Alex Callinicos/SWP vs Laurie Penny/New Statesman Facebook handbags

[SpineyNorman]

Laurie Penny, universally known as the voice of the youth, was shocked to find a 700 page discussion thread dedicated to destroying her inspirational career. The young, 27 year old woman called her freezing flatmate away from the warm fire of newspapers, begged for by the residents of the hovel from the greedy, upper-class, voluntary newspaper salesmen. "That," she whispered "Is why we need to lead the working-class into a revolution. We shall condemn those who have no choice but to resort to violence, through the medium of interpretive dance. We shall draw our struggles, turn them into art, and sell them in ebook format. We shall charge $5000 to speak about the movement." Her voice gained strength. "We will alienate all those who disagree! We will accept awards from the monsters who have caused this!" She stood up, red marker-pen held high, surrounded by flames. "FOR WE WORK FOR A LIVING!" The proletariat on the street gave a standing ovation for her speech, and concentrated this new found energy into counter-acting the psychological kettle capitalism had trapped them in. Dawn was approaching; Laurie could see the morning star above her, and pulled it off the shelf to place on the fire.

Workers Girder, this post should go in you!

(stretched the meme a little bit there I know but I reckon I got away with it)

 

[el-ahrairah]

700 pages. hobnobs all round.

 

[SpineyNorman]

I did the post that took it to page 700

Do I get a prize?

 

[DotCommunist]

all you can eat ticket for Firbox

 

[muscovyduck]

I did the post that took it to page 700

Do I get a prize?

20% discount for Marxism

 

[SpineyNorman]

20% discount for Marxism

I wouldn't mind going to be honest, before Deltagate it was a good event, only place where you'd get that many really good speakers all in one place (Harvey, Kliman, Zizek, Holloway, etc) - so long as you avoided the ones where the speakers were SWPers it was a decent do.

And this year I wouldn't mind going just to see what goes off - think there might be a few fireworks.

20% discount won't get me there though, it'd have to be free lol

 

[Bakunin]

20% discount for Marxism

That's a prize?

 

[sihhi]

Thank you el-ah

what are "the narratives of"?

1. the experiences of those who the lecture studies, presumably to be treated rightly or wrongly as anecdata in making whatever point they seek to make.

So just anecdotes or what people say.

2. trying to make their brand of feminism automatically recognise that not all women's experience is the same. the argument generally made is that in the uk feminism is for white middle class women and doesn't include women from outside the islington milieu.

What does that have to do with bodies?

What is the "regulatory discursive power"?

3. the mainstream media version

Is mainstream academia a subsection of the mainstream media? If not, why not.

These journals and slideshows are a medium for transmitting ideas.

What is "subjecthood"?

4. how a person responds to number 3.

What does that have to with subjects?

What is "inner sense of self"?

5. how they want to see themselves, generally also influenced negatively by number 3.

But what if people don't much focus on the media. Or if people don't care about how they see themselves.

Why is racism an "affective ‘postcolonial disjuncture’"?

6. because victims of post-colonial racism often internalise racism and attempt to live with it, co-opt it, and sometimes therefore pass it unconsciously through their actions. the disjunct is that they do not believe they are doing so, indeed may recognise the negative effect that colonialism has had on themselves and their community but still pass on the racist tropes of the colonial power.

Is this like the concept of a self-hating Jew?

What are "transnational diasporic spaces"?

7. banglatown, london and banglaville, paris, for example. the question being do bangladeshi (for example) immigrants to london have more in common with their Parisian counterparts than with native londoners or native parisians; and are these questions asked in the bit quoted being asked and / or answered in these communities.

So just ... immigrant neighbourhoods.

How can "gendered and raced representation" be "powerfully written on" a "body"

8. it means visibly and physically adopted - for example are immigrant women taking on the hijab because of cultural pressures from both within and without the community due to post-colonial perceptions of what these women should be.

But why writing - written on...

 

[ViolentPanda]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/may/28/post-woolwich-assault-racism-not-just-edl

Workerism? Hermeneutics? Techniques of racialisation? Ideational content?

Really?

Seymour really needs to stop masturbating in public.

 

[Idris2002]

Seymour really needs to stop masturbating in public.

Like juggling, masturbation should only be done in public by the exceptionally skilled. (Mark Thomas)

 

[ViolentPanda]

Laurie Penny, universally known as the voice of the youth, was shocked to find a 700 page discussion thread dedicated to destroying her inspirational career. The young, 27 year old woman called her freezing flatmate away from the warm fire of newspapers, begged for by the residents of the hovel from the greedy, upper-class, voluntary newspaper salesmen. "That," she whispered "Is why we need to lead the working-class into a revolution. We shall condemn those who have no choice but to resort to violence, through the medium of interpretive dance. We shall draw our struggles, turn them into art, and sell them in ebook format. We shall charge $5000 to speak about the movement." Her voice gained strength. "We will alienate all those who disagree! We will accept awards from the monsters who have caused this!" She stood up, red marker-pen held high, surrounded by flames. "FOR WE WORK FOR A LIVING!" The proletariat on the street gave a standing ovation for her speech, and concentrated this new found energy into counter-acting the psychological kettle capitalism had trapped them in. Dawn was approaching; Laurie could see the morning star above her, and pulled it off the shelf to place on the fire.

Shouldn't that be "bought by the residents of the hovel for the heady price of 2 verses and the chorus of "The Internationale..."?

 

[ViolentPanda]

But why writing - written on...

Wankspeak misrepresentation of Foucault's description of power "inscribing" its control onto people, rather than what el said, I think.

 

[ViolentPanda]

Like juggling, masturbation should only be done in public by the exceptionally skilled. (Mark Thomas)

I see that you attribute this to Mark Thomas, but tell me, have you personal experience of juggling in public?

 

[el-ahrairah]

There was also a Jeanette Winterson novel called "Written On The Body" - a literary way of saying that your experiences shape you and you can't hide it. I don't know if that is the origin of the whole thing though.

 

[el-ahrairah]

i think the most important question that sihhi raises is "does mainstream academia consider itself part of the regulatory discursive power?"

i suspect we all know the answer to that. i imagine they see themselves as the last gunfighters, robin hoods, making daring assaults on the bastions of power to reclaim the personhood of the masses from the tyranny of post-colonialism. when we all know that they're a bunch of ivory towered wankers who think they're radical socialists because they tip their cleaners at christmas.

 

[sihhi]

There was also a Jeanette Winterson novel called "Written On The Body" - a literary way of saying that your experiences shape you and you can't hide it. I don't know if that is the origin of the whole thing though.

This Jeanette Winterson idea of her (formative?) experiences imprinting on her intentions so indelibly can be used to justify certain things:

"This week, my godchild Eleanor finishes her three years pre-prep at St Paul's Cathedral School, ready to start at City of London School for Girls in September.
When she was born, I promised to pay for her education until she is 21. Her mother is my closest friend, I have no children of my own, and I can afford it. It gives my friend and her husband extra money for their second child, and it has meant that they can stay in the part of London they like, without having to move for the sake of that increasingly rare find; a good state school. I don't feel guilty about paying for Eleanor because I am not middle class."

 

[el-ahrairah]

yeah, see, it's easy to hang on to the notion that if you were born poor everything else you do to participate in the whole perpetuation of the status quo thing is somehow class war, or at best, doesn't actually perpetuate the status quo. it allows for a lot of wriggle room and i imagine it makes you sleep much better at night. but the status quo is still perpetuated and those kids aren't going to learn socialism at school OR home now.

rick parfitt has a lot to answer for

 

[el-ahrairah]

also, your files are even bigger than ern's. remind me never to say anything in your presence that might come back and haunt me.

 

[DotCommunist]

she also voted lib dem

 

[el-ahrairah]

she also voted lib dem

it's ok to do it if you're not middle class.

 

[sihhi]

Some of the stuff coming out of academia just seems absurd nowadays:

First, Stephanie A. Shield’s ‘Waking Up to Privilege: Intersectionality and Opportunity’ (Chapter 2) presents the perspective of a senior white woman faculty member. Using light as metaphor, she describes her retrospective understanding of her white privilege over a forty-year academic career. This “light” shone onto opportunities at critical junctions in her career, yet at the same time blinded her to things beyond her own experience. With the benefit of time and age, she came to acknowledge her taken-for-granted privileges. However, her understanding of the intersectionality of her identities brings complications. As she explains (p.39):

“The combined facets of my social identity connect me in complex ways to relative privilege and relative disadvantage. I am more than my whiteness. My class background, sexual orientation, age, gender, ability status and more – not just race – are all points of intersection that define my social identity at this moment. Yet, at the same time as I mentally raise this protest, I know that the facets of my social identity – each intersection – mutually constitute, reinforce, and naturalize one another. Thus, the thread of whiteness is inevitably woven through gender, age, and every other significant dimension that defines me."

So the intersections mutually reinforce one another do they? WTF? I thought the whole point was how they didn't so that you had new breeds of oppression and activism to draw out against capitalism - disabled lesbians, black single mothers support groups, Sikh-specific movement rape crisis centres, instead of generalised trade union and services efforts. (Although variations of these kinds of groups have been active since the mid-70s at least).

This is the reviwer's main focus:

Food is one of the necessities to sustain our existence. Where it is in abundance, it is celebrated – in its diversity, creativity, and its role in different cultures. Where it is scarce, it is scavenged and fought over.

Local dishes and unique cuisines define some cities (think Spaghetti Bolognese, in Bologna; Poutine, in Montreal). The food is marketed by the city to attract tourists and visitors.

In some cities, specific foods are made and consumed for special occasions. For some people, certain foods are part of community or family traditions – passed on for generations and treasured.

In some cities, food is given out for charity purposes – for the homeless, the elderly, and others who are in need. In this sense, the preparation of food brings together communities and strangers.

Do certain foods have a special meaning in your city? Is food a big part of your urban experience? How has food taught you about living together with others in the city? Have your eating habits changed as your city is influenced by urbanisation and globalisation?

This week’s theme inspires you to think about what food means to you in your city, and/or how food relates to your city and the urban experience. We invite contributors to respond openly and creatively.

Please submit at least one visual (or audio-visual) and a 300-500 word blog post by Monday 27 August, 2012. Send these to submit@urbanvignettes.com.

For details, please read the submission guidelines and FAQ.

 

[JHE]

This Jeanette Winterson idea of her (formative?) experiences imprinting on her intentions so indelibly can be used to justify certain things:

"This week, my godchild Eleanor finishes her three years pre-prep at St Paul's Cathedral School, ready to start at City of London School for Girls in September.
When she was born, I promised to pay for her education until she is 21. Her mother is my closest friend, I have no children of my own, and I can afford it. It gives my friend and her husband extra money for their second child, and it has meant that they can stay in the part of London they like, without having to move for the sake of that increasingly rare find; a good state school. I don't feel guilty about paying for Eleanor because I am not middle class."

I'm intrigued by that last sentence. It's a bit ambiguous. Does she mean that (i) it would be wrong to pay for private schooling if she were middle class, but since she's "not middle class", it's OK or (ii) it is OK to pay for private education, the only people who make the mistake of feeling guilty about it are middle class and since she's "not middle class" she doesn't make that mistake?

 

[sihhi]

I'm intrigued by that last sentence. It's a bit ambiguous. Does she mean that (i) it would be wrong to pay for private schooling if she were middle class, but since she's "not middle class", it's OK or (ii) it is OK to pay for private education, the only people who make the mistake of feeling guilty about it are middle class and since she's "not middle class" she doesn't make that mistake?

I think a bit of both, it's OK in general and especially OK if you are not middle class, but born working class like she is. She goes on to say:-

The middle classes have been utterly brain-washed by Labour, new and old, into believing that sending their kids to a decent school is directly responsible for the breakdown of the State system. The truth is that Governments for the past thirty years have used education as a blackboard for their own particular ideologies - whether wrecking the grammar schools

basically suggesting the slight decrease in number of grammar schools makes it acceptable.

The argument seems to end on the lines that sending children to private state schools is acceptable so long as parents then fight for change in the state system:

If the French film industry can use a ticket levy to plough money back into its movies, why can't we have an education levy on hamburgers and Harry Potter? Let's agree that education is the number one priority and use targeted taxation. So what if Government hates it? It's our money, our schools, our kids. Don't be guilty - fight for change.

 

[Steel Icarus]

Which bits do you agree/disagree with?

2nd and 3rd paragraphs are pretty agreeable

 

[Spanky Longhorn]

those kids aren't going to learn socialism at school OR home now.

And where might they learn socialism instead?

 

[Firky]

And where might they learn socialism instead?

Right here on Urban75, durh!

 

[Delroy Booth]

The grammar school system broke because it was institutionally elitist. No amount of retrospective Tory nostalgia should blind people to this fact. Fuck the people who want to bring it back, I hope their kids and their kids kids get the 3rd rate educate they assumed someone else's kids was going to get for their stupidity and selfishness.

 

[coley]

Right here on Urban75, durh!

You should have put that on the new jokes thread

 

[Lo Siento.]

ironically, Mensch's nonsense is basically where "identity politics" leads you. Abolishing poverty is a collective project, redistributing poverty "more fairly" is an ultimately individualist project. So pretty logically consistent to say that identity feminism should mean making individual women more rich/more powerful...

(is it not the same logic that sees Laurie complaining that her political journalism isn't taken seriously in the bourgeois press because she's a woman? ie. that the bourgeois press would be significantly improved by taking women political journalists more seriously? But it'd still be the bourgeois press, still serving the same interests for the same reasons...)

 

[sihhi]

she also voted lib dem

She also addressed a Tory Conference to slag off Tony Blair:

This is good for me as I go into major rant about this crap government and its low-grade response to the environment. Can you believe that it is the Conservatives who want a Climate Change Bill? The Conservatives are putting the environment on the main stage at their conference in October, instead of in some crummy cubicle where only three people can sit down. It is very embarrassing - even more so for me because I have agree to go and speak at the conference – on the environment.
Why? Because they have asked me, and because I will talk to anyone who will listen, and that certainly isn’t Tony Blair. Meanwhile, I have to pay VAT on the installation of my Geo-thermal heating system. Here I am cutting my personal household emissions by 75% at my own expense, and Labour is charging me VAT.

Stop thinking horrific things about Jeanette Winterson's commitment to the class which is still part of. Talking to the Conservatives is no crime, Blair is as bad as Hitler

... Blair ... The man has become a mad tyrant like all those other twentieth century Taurean tyrants – Hitler and Stalin to name but two.

I am beginning this on a British Airways flight from Cologne to London Heathrow on a cold bright Sunday morning with snow on the ground. I have been in a monastery outside Cologne, with other writers, on a British Council weekend for German academics.

Yeah, debt is the new money.

But what is it with the voodoos of central banks? The euro has made everything in Europe more expensive for those who are in the Euro, and everything in Britain has become more expensive because we are not in the euro. I don't understand it.

Still, I am lucky to be able to travel, though I really think my flying days are done. I do the carbon offsets, but it's not enough. Part of the Paris decision is to be able to take trains across Europe, and give up the planes. I like the romance of Wagon Lits and Dining Cars. And at least in Europe the trains seem to work - unlike British trains and almost any planes.

How long will it take for us all to return to a slower rhythm?

Mass air travel is so new, surely it will be a habit easy to break? I worry that it is tied up with some wrong-headed notions of freedom and democracy. Nobody has a democratic right to cheap air travel. Anyway, travelling Europe by train would deter nearly all UK yobs, who depend on EasyJet and RyanAir to help them puke up outside a foreign bar. If they can only get as far as Blackpool, so much the better.

Although she is a business owner with a freehold lease on a posh organic food shop in gentrified Spitalfields Market, Winterson proves that grammar schools and scholarships to Oxford must be good for the working-class since they produce such smart and well-balanced working-class people like her.