DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
If not WORST BOOKFAIR EVER 
(see you next year)
(see you next year)
London Anarchist Bookfair 2022
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Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
I think you must have difficulty with comparisons, what you mean is you don't think they're equivalent - of equal value - which is rather different. How much worse is working for a small new rw telly station with very few viewers than working for a big bank with many many years collaborating with apartheid south Africa? I don't know. But I do know they can be compared.
We've all got to work for a living but Lisa is already a well paid academic. No need for her to take the Right's blood money.
JimW
支那暗杀团
It's a sad thing when your dedication to pedantry renders you unable to comprehend a simple English sentence. The word has long had a sense, indeed I'd hazard its primary sense is, that of comparable and equivalent.
Was going to add a line about where the difference lies, but see Red Sky has made my point.
hitmouse
so defeated, thinks it's funny
I'd say it's not even about being in need of the money, but the level of control and ideological content of the work - I can't speak for anyone else, but if Mckenzie wanted to make a bit of money on the side and got a job processing expense claims for GBNews or working as a receptionist at RT I'd have no problem with it. I dunno what Pickman's did at that bank, but I imagine he probably wasn't the person in charge of deciding whether to invest in South Africa or not, it was probably a fairly routine job following instructions, not one where he was expressing his ideas as part of the bank's work?
Rob Ray
Weight is meaningless
Genuinely I think lefties showing up on right-wing outlets can be done very well and make a positive difference, if pitching a solid perspective. I do think being a regular pundit is a different sort of beast, as it ties both your income to their pockets and their brand to your reputation. Big difference between confronting a dickhead about whether concrete grows on trees and cosy chats where you smile and nod along to the words of dickheads while you wait your turn to speak.
Surprised that Ash Sarkar doesn’t cop much flak for it then.
DaveCinzano
WATCH OUT, GEORGE, HE'S GOT A SCREWDRIVER!
Her appearances generally involve her telling her for balance co-guests that they're fucking idiots though so
JimW
支那暗杀团
Does she do a column or just turn up for a studio back and forth?
I used to see her on the BBC a fair bit. Admittedly not so much of late.
Is there a difference?
JimW
支那暗杀团
I think so.
Two left wing pundits who represent their positions on non left wing outlets and getting paid for it.
Where’s the difference?
JimW
支那暗杀团
Column makes you an associate of the outlet in a different way, can add to their credibility etc.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
That's one pov of course, but for me I think it's refreshing someone's going out and putting anarchist arguments out there. I've seen her and other comrades going into tr demos and arguing with the people there who otherwise don't have their views so challenged and for me it's a worthwhile exercise.
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
To be honest I did my best to throw a spanner in their works
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
I'm not sure she is a well-paid academic.
Most aren't. Even if they have perm or f/t roles, which most don't.
I didn’t know she had a spiked column and haven’t read it. However, if she remains true to her politics then where’s the criticism? As Pickman’s says surely it’s beneficial to put Anarchist arguments to a wider audience? Presumably Spiked reaches more folk than the book fair does?
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
...and ftr I don't think writing for Spiked, or appearing on GBNews/RT etc. is the "right thing to do". I think it's a mistake, personally and politically. that only leads to bad places. It shouldn't - on its own - lead to becoming a persona non grata in the broad anarchist movement though.
That said, judging by the ongoing beef between Lisa and the AFed on Twitter, it looks very much like it is - of course - the "Trans issue" (sic) lying behind all of this.
That said, judging by the ongoing beef between Lisa and the AFed on Twitter, it looks very much like it is - of course - the "Trans issue" (sic) lying behind all of this.
Athos
Well-Known Member
I guess both she and Spiked are trying to use the other to further their respective, and opposed, agendas. Where the net gain lies is up for debate, but, then, criticism of her becomes about tactics rather than her beliefs/good faith. In those circumstances, you'd have thought the bookfair is a broad enough church not to exclude her. Unless the Spiked thing isn't the real reason.
JimW
支那暗杀团
Yep, first para sums it up for me. Don't doubt second para but not seen that due to no Twitter.
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
You're not missing anything. It's grimly predictable.
Who reads Spiked other than a bunch of right wing grifters and culture war obsessives, it's not like The Sun. And are you putting anarchist arguments to a wider audience, or have you been brought in to expose a wider audience to Spiked's ideas?
Rob Ray
Weight is meaningless
Again, assumptions aren't terribly useful here. Lisa's annoyed plenty of people entirely independently of any views she might have on trans rights, and the 2017 fight is not the defining element of decisions made by a collective formed in 2020.
chilango
Hypothetical Wanker
Fozzie Bear
Well-Known Member
Grace Blakeley copped quite a bit of flack for signing up as a regular panellist for GB News recently FWIW.
As others have said, I think the terms of employment and the ideological composition of the outlet is relevant.
The BBC is not RT or Spiked, or even GB news. (Although over representation on the BBC of Spiked/ex-RCP types is a thing. )
And appearing occasionally on Newsnight or wherever is not the same as being a regular contributor.
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