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London Anarchist Bookfair 2015: predictions/dramas/confrontations...

DJWrongspeed said:
Anyone know why it's stopped being at Queen Mary's? That was an ideal space as it had loads of room. Looking at the site this year they're admitting to having less rooms.
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QM ramped up their prices and the Bookfair couldn't afford it.
 
I would like to attend if dialectician and /or other urbans will chaperone me to make sure i don't kick merrick badger from footprint, radical routes, campaign opposing police surveillance, undercover research group, and many other exciting projects for Good People, in the shins :)


They can if they want though :hmm: x
 
tufty79 said:
I would like to attend if dialectician and /or other urbans will chaperone me to make sure i don't kick merrick badger from footprint, radical routes, campaign opposing police surveillance, undercover research group, and many other exciting projects for Good People, in the shins :)


They can if they want though :hmm: x
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did you want me to trip him up so you can kick his head instead?
 
No. You wouldn't be able to see to aim, for one thing. He's also handy with off the books legal letters from his solicitor friend round the corner from my house. - i don't think donkey excrement is vegan so it would be a big lie and he might threaten to SEE YOU IN CUORT!!2!! for defamation :(
 
If i make it down, i will bring a bunch of project salvage flyers with me. Feel free to scamper around and distribute to stalls you think might need them :) x
 
Anarchist Bookfair


Bookfair Safety and Housekeeping

Over the last 30 years the London anarchist bookfair has grown to be a huge event, which inevitably raises a variety of safety issues for all bookfair-goers. The bookfair collective has put in place the following ways and suggestions to try and keep the bookfair a safe space. However, anarchism is about collective responsibility and bookfair goers are equally responsible for each-others’ safety at the bookfair.

Crowd safety

The venue room bookings and movement routes in the building and outside are carefully planned by the bookfair collective to make sure that over-crowding is minimised and that people can move around the bookfair comfortably and safely. If you have any concerns over safety issues to do with the building and venue, please contact the collective either on the day or after the event.


Aggressive, abusive and oppressive behaviour

Considering the amount of people who now pass through the bookfair, very few incidents occur, although inevitably with large open access events, you are always going to get some anti-social people. This may include people who are sexist, racist, homophobic or oppressive in many other ways, too many to list. Where such incidents occur, it is up to the movement as a whole to deal with; not just the bookfair collective. As the bookfair collective we will try and deal with any issues brought to our attention in a calm, non aggressive and open minded way. We ask that others take this same approach and try not to “enflame” any situation, which, as we have found in the past, just esculates things. Within meeting spaces, both meeting goers and meeting organisers are responsible for dealing with aggressive, abusive or oppressive individuals.


Banning individuals

The bookfair is a free, open access, public event and we do not want to make it the role of the bookfair collective to ban individuals from the bookfair. It is up to the movement as a whole to develop ways to deal with anti-social people within the movement. We would hope that if a known individual was oppressive then accountability processes would already be in place by the people who knew the said individual. If not, we cannot and will not act as judge, jury and police force.
However, saying that, we will do our best to deal with situations arising at the bookfair and we reserve the right to ask anybody to leave the event. This may be cops, fascists or certain journalists but it could also be any individual acting in what we consider to be an excessively inappropriate manner.

Groups

The bookfair collective makes decisions about which groups can and cannot have stalls and meetings at the bookfair. This is based on a very broad definition of anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist anarchism. Authoritarian ‘communist’ groups are not included and equally, ‘libertarian’ capitalists are not welcome. This is the only criterion for inclusion and the bookfair collective will not ban any groups purely on the basis of the behaviour of one of their members, so please do not ask us to do this.
Banning ideas and books

If groups have been accepted as stall holders at the bookfair, under the above criterion, we will not ban any books or publications from their stalls, so again, please do not ask us to do so. People are capable of reading material and making up their own minds. We trust the stall holders we have at the bookfair and would likewise expect the stall holders themselves to show respect in the materials they bring to the event and be prepared to explain their inclusion of any publications to any member of the public who may question said inclusion.
Alcohol

Alcohol is no longer sold by the bookfair collective within the bookfair, to reduce aggressive behaviour and incidents.
Dogs

Apart from guide dogs, dogs can no longer come into the bookfair. This is to ensure the safety of children and others, as well as the dogs themselves, so please do not bring dogs to the bookfair. If you do, you will be asked to leave them outside the building.
Filming and photography

To ensure the privacy of bookfair goers there is a strict no- filming policy inside the bookfair venue, unless agreed in advance with the bookfair collective.
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There is a working group and accountability process, about my experiences with him in 2012 /2013, that he apparently doesn't understand the point of, or why people believe me. so i am told, at least.


From the waftiness of that statement, i imagine they would only accept an accountability process that he acknowleges and is willing to engage with. Could be wrong though, will give the bootfair a shout tomorrow and see.
 
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This feels like the first bookfair in ages where I'm committed to doing stuff. Played a part in organising the Cuban speaker coming over here, so interested how that will pan out.

Will be on the AF stall most of the day I imagine.

DJWrongspeed said:
Anyone know why it's stopped being at Queen Mary's? That was an ideal space as it had loads of room. Looking at the site this year they're admitting to having less rooms.
Click to expand...
I understood it was prices and some nonsense security detail.
 
frogwoman said:
:( Have the organisers of the bookfair been informed tufty79?
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It's really complicated with the Bookfair and any 'safe spaces' policy. And I personally think the position they've taken is pretty understandable given the open doors nature and sheer amount of people that attend.
 
tufty79 said:
Anarchist Bookfair





There is a working group and accountability process, about my experiences with him in 2012 /2013, that he apparently doesn't understand the point of, or why people believe me. so i am told, at least.


From the waftiness of that statement, i imagine they would only accept an accountability process that he acknowleges and is willing to engage with. Could be wrong though, will give the bootfair a shout tomorrow and see.
Click to expand...

:( Totally up to you, you might not feel its appropriate, or you might have already done this - but could you and the working group make sure other groups etc know that he is refusing to engage in an accountability process and is using spurious legal threats to try to shut you up? Circulate a letter before the bookfair or something? What an asshole:mad: Or just make sure you've got good people around you. (PS I don't know you or your situation, but i do think he's a shit).
 
Anyone here done a Bookfair stall? First time I did I laughed so hard at the bit on the booking form that asks which other stalls you don't want to be put next to. One year we filled in that section with 'not next to any anarchists please' for our own juvenile amusement.
 
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LynnDoyleCooper said:
Anyone here done a Bookfair stall? First time I did I laughed so hard at the bit on the booking form that asks which other stalls you don't want to be put next to. One year we filled in that section with 'not next to any anarchists please' for our amusement.
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Yes, ages back at Conway Hall. I was plonked next to Michel Prigent, who asked to be moved away from me. :D

This was also in the days when stallholders were asked to help with the crèche, which was an utterly crazy idea on reflection. Me and a couple of bored kids looked at each other despairingly for half an hour.
 
Showing my dimness (and possibly un-anarcho-ness) but is there an entry fee? Do you need to book a ticket?
 
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