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Disruption at Book Fairs

The constant de-railing of this post reflects the intrusions of Book Fairs over the past few years. Nothing at all is said about the
20-odd stallholders, the speakers and the networking at Manchester. To gain publicity all you have to do is disrupt an event.

Book fairs are only one part of the movement. They are organised by small groups of activists. Securing city-centre premises
is not always easy. Venues come with T&Cs (no smoking, no alcohol, or as was the case with Partisan, no trans-phobes).

I would be happy to see many more Book Fairs, arranged around the country, by a variety of people. You do not need
permission. You just take on responsibility.

All you need to do is spend a few months working on the idea, investing some money, drumming up publicity, and inviting stallholders and speakers.
It's thankless work. And as an organiser, you end up branded as a Fascist (London) or a Stalinist (Manchester).

No smoking and no alcohol are easy "black and white" issues to police. "No transphobes" is always going to be a matter of opinion that will vary with the ideology of the person policing the rule. Too easily abused, too.
 
Do you feel the same about Diva who have been equally trans supportive?

No.
Are you going to join the ranks of straight men currently carefully explaining to trans supportive lesbians why they aren't proper lesbians? I thought you were better than this.

What does the above have to do with my point that Pink News is lesbophobic?

I thought you were better than putting words in other peoples' mouths. Seems I was wrong.
 
Are the lesbians who write for Pink News lesbophobic?

Who knows? Of course, as a sometime journo yourself, you should be aware that most publications expect their reporters to follow an editorial line, and Ben Cohen has certainly proven to be lesbophobic.
 
Who knows? Of course, as a sometime journo yourself, you should be aware that most publications expect their reporters to follow an editorial line, and Ben Cohen has certainly proven to be lesbophobic.

No, Pink News has opposed a very small sect of lesbians who oppose trans rights. It's no accident that after the anti-trans incursion at London Pride, trans people and lesbians marched together at the front of Pride marches all over the world. The anti-trans faction have loud voices and Murdoch to back them up (for now) but from what I can see with the huge outpouring of support for trans people from lesbian and gay people after the Pride debacle, they do not represent mainstream lesbian or LGBT opinion. It may be your opinion, but Pink News isn't written for you.
 
No, Pink News has opposed a very small sect of lesbians who oppose trans rights. It's no accident that after the anti-trans incursion at London Pride, trans people and lesbians marched together at the front of Pride marches all over the world. The anti-trans faction have loud voices and Murdoch to back them up (for now) but from what I can see with the huge outpouring of support for trans people from lesbian and gay people after the Pride debacle, they do not represent mainstream lesbian or LGBT opinion. It may be your opinion, but Pink News isn't written for you.

Isn't it?
 
It's an oppressive force mainly via class for men, in a much more asymmetrical way than it is for women though, IMO. That is, the higher up the class hierarchy a man ascends, the exponentially less influence patriarchy exerts. Women further up the class hierarchy still have the overarching expectations of their supposedly-primary gender role - to produce and rear offspring.

Women are expected to give up working so as to parent, men are expected to give up parenting so as to work. Which is worse is endlessly debatable isn't it.

Of course for a lot of unemployed, separated men this may mean no parenting AND no work. Not a recipe for any kind of health or happiness.
 
Perhaps some perspective would help.

I have personally attended these two meetings at the London Anarchist Bookfair

1. In the mid-90s Stewart Home and Fabian Tompsett continually wound up the anarchist movement by pointing at some slightly obscure tendencies it had towards fascist thought. These were mainly historical, like Bakunin's anti-semitism. Or loony but current like the nonsense Green Anarchist came out with.

Just spotted that FT is taking an interest in the Undercover Policing Inquiry, and was apparently reported on by Mark Kennedy 🤣

 
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