London Anarchist Bookfair 2023/24

[steeplejack]

The tension in the room was even more palpable than the body odour.

 

[Dystopiary]

Surely non-binary is agender?

Nope, not necessarily.

 

[Pickman's model]

Bookfair!

Chapter 3

The tension in the room was even more palpable than the body odour. Each comrade was all too aware that this was serious matter. The organisation of the London Anarchist Bookfair was no longer a subcultural joke, but a matter of ironclad revolutionary discipline. This was not simply a trade fair for publishers, but the brief creation of a new world where capitalist social relations were ruthlessly suppressed and free association and solidarity blossomed. An eruption of autonomy at the heart of the capitalist death machine!

Tabard spoke through gritted teeth: "It is upsetting to hear that once again our security may have been breached. Please continue."

Arnold's heart was racing. The weight of responsibilty lay heavy on his shoulders. The words cascaded from his mouth like a concrete block hitting a scab's van:

"It's the Libertarian Bolshevik Communists."

After a split second, the room erupted. Consensus decision making evaporated in the white heat of denunciations, recriminations and outrage. Comrades squared up to each other and had to be seperated by cooler heads.

Tabard man raised his arms and called for order. Seats were retaken but the glares continued. Nobody present needed to be reminded that the circle around the circled A represented Order - the true Order of proletarian internationalism without state oppression.

Tabard spoke slowly and assuredly "Well comrades, this is a serious matter. We have discussed the divisive nature of the LBC on many previous occasions, and I know that the comrade from Bristol is aware of this and will not have travelled all this distance without good reason."

Arnold was relieved that he had not been physically assaulted during the melee. He continued "It is indeed a serious matter. Many of us will remember the previous exclusion of the LBC after their disgusting "KRONSTADT, LOL" banner at the 2019 Dorset bookfair. We had been led to believe that they were now under new management and had revised their positions considerably. Indeed many of us have worked beside them locally on anti-cuts protests and anti-fascist mobilisations.

So it is with a heavy heart that I bring you the news that the Libertarian Bolshevik Communists... have been advocating for genocide!"

Gasps of horror from the dumbstruck throng. But Arnold checked his WhatsApp again and slowly his brow cleared. "Comrades - COMRADES" he shouted to be heard. "It is alright - it's not genocide they've been agitating for but Jan Osheed" - their jailed leader. There was uproar in the hall as the angered crowd rose as one and ran towards Arnold. Riled beyond any reasonable level they were out for blood and, punched to the ground, Arnold was mercifully unconscious as the boots went in - hard.

 

[Serge Forward]

Cue Archers theme tune.

Or this:

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Nope, not necessarily.

Fair enough. I’m definitely not an expert on this stuff.

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

Hidden agender - hidden agenda. Geddit?

 

[Magnus McGinty]

I did.

 

[LDC]

TBH as well as being angry I'm actually quite sad and upset by this, and that's irrespective of what anyone in the ACG has or hasn't said or written really.

I haven't been to a Bookfair since the debacle of 2017 which to be honest was one of the worst political things I've ever witnessed in the movement.

Now again it feels like a handful of dysfunctional dickheads in London with only half a clue of what anarchism and libertarian communism are about now and through its long bloody and brave history who have stropped about being entitled and trying to stamp some personal views on a movement. We managed to have Bookfairs for decades and muddle though like most humans do and this absolutist obsessive moral bullshit is hugely personally and politically damaging.

 

[LDC]

Anarchist bookfair organising meeting...

Fight on the side of the Ukrainian state and kill Russian proles. Want a workshop on that? Yeah, go right ahead and discuss it.
Someone in the ACG said something online we disagree with but isn't actually not anarchist. No, you can't have a stall, fuck off.

Fucking insane.

 

[A380]

Never have this trouble at our wanky reformist book fairs. just saying …

 

[Rob Ray]

I'm not getting involved in this one (it not being my place to talk on behalf of others) other than to note there's a certain amount of drift going on here in terms of assumptions about what the Bookfair Collective's actual reasoning is, which if it were on Twitter folk would be rightly leery about. Quite clearly, for example, allowing a talk by Ukrainian anarchists about the war and their thoughts on it is not the same thing as backing the Ukrainian State and encouraging killing Russian proles (any more than ACG's NWBTCW policy is "encouraging genocide"). Criticism doesn't have to go hyperbolic and indeed shouldn't if it's aiming at a reasonable discussion.

 

[cesare]

Anarchist bookfair organising meeting...

Fight on the side of the Ukrainian state and kill Russian proles. Want a workshop on that? Yeah, go right ahead and discuss it.
Someone in the ACG said something online we disagree with but isn't actually not anarchist. No, you can't have a stall, fuck off.

Fucking insane.

Oh, I didn't realise that. That there was something said online by someone in the ACG that caused it. I thought it was about something else entirely.

 

[LDC]

Oh, I didn't realise that. That there was something said online by someone in the ACG that caused it. I thought it was about something else entirely.

That's what I have been told by someone that seemed to know, but tbh I'm not sure it matters that much to me. Unless it was some collective statement that the ACG came out with or some thing they went and did, which it definitely isn't.

 

[LDC]

Quite clearly, for example, allowing a talk by Ukrainian anarchists about the war and their thoughts on it is not the same thing as backing the Ukrainian State and encouraging killing Russian proles.

It kind of is though, the talk is partly about supporting anarchists fighting which (even though I was slightly dramatic) is actually what it comes down on a basic level isn't it?

I mean I'm 'fine' with that as I have made clear on here, and think a discussion/argument on it is important and should be encouraged at the Bookfair. But the idea people can cope with a discussion on that but not tolerate a long standing anarchist group having a stall because of a dispute over something else is just fucking ridiculous.

(I am happy to be corrected and shown that the ACG have collectively done something so terrible the only option was to deny them a stall...).

 

[cesare]

That's what I have been told by someone that seemed to know, but tbh I'm not sure it matters that much to me. Unless it was some collective statement that the ACG came out with or some thing they went and did, which it definitely isn't.

Oh OK thanks. I thought that the Bookfair did an about face purely as a result of the reaction to them giving the ACG a stall this year.

 

[danny la rouge]

Anarchist bookfair organising meeting...

Fight on the side of the Ukrainian state and kill Russian proles. Want a workshop on that? Yeah, go right ahead and discuss it.
Someone in the ACG said something online we disagree with but isn't actually not anarchist. No, you can't have a stall, fuck off.

Fucking insane.

Reading the Bookfair Collective’s statement, that’s not actually what happened. Rather the ACG had been saying things they agreed with of late, and its membership had changed. So the Collective wanted to be encouraging to that new membership.

No, what happened was some unspecified intelligence suggested there was private, internal disagreement within the ACG. Privately.

So now the Collective no longer wants to be encouraging to anyone. Publicly.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

It’s somewhat less comedic than the rescued bacon from a skip being stored in the vegan fridge.

 

[chilango]

From a vantage point with the benefit of distance one can see that it's all fucking stupid.

Pointless, stupid, nonsense that does nobody any good.

 

[Pickman's model]

It ought to be a piece of piss to get stalls filled by anarchist groups at an anarchist bookfair without it becoming an annual clusterfuck

 

[LDC]

Reading the Bookfair Collective’s statement, that’s not actually what happened. Rather the ACG had been saying things they agreed with of late, and its membership had changed. So the Collective wanted to be encouraging to that new membership.

No, what happened was some unspecified intelligence suggested there was private, internal disagreement within the ACG. Privately.

So now the Collective no longer wants to be encouraging to anyone. Publicly.

Leaked internal emails/chats.

FFS.

 

[cesare]

It ought to be a piece of piss to get stalls filled by anarchist groups at an anarchist bookfair without it becoming an annual clusterfuck

The Radical Bookfair seem to manage OK without this shit.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

A mole!

 

[LDC]

The Radical Bookfair seem to manage OK without this shit.

Yeah, it's a good point. But so did the Bookfair until 2017. A combination of the organisers and their politics and perspective on the Bookfair and what it is, and some of dynamics around anarchism generally.

 

[Rob Ray]

And also how Urbanites are primed to interpret things. Like generally we're quite in favour of whistleblowing on bad behaviour, no?

 

[LDC]

And also how Urbanites are primed to interpret things. Like generally we're quite in favour of whistleblowing on bad behaviour, no?

Is this bad behaviour though, or is it some internal discussion by some members of a group around a difficult topic on which there's no absolute agreement on some areas of it, and holding any of those views is still consistent with being an anti-State & anti-capitalist anarchist revolutionary?

A statement from the Bookfair would be useful. You would think anyone with any sense would know this would be disruptive and controversial would make their reasons for doing it very clear to the movement.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

And also how Urbanites are primed to interpret things. Like generally we're quite in favour of whistleblowing on bad behaviour, no?

And also transparency. But I haven’t a clue what the crimes are.

 

[danny la rouge]

A statement from the Bookfair would be useful.

There was one.

 

[Rob Ray]

Is this bad behaviour though

Neither you nor I have the evidence to hand, so only the Bookfair folks know (and probably ACG themselves, I guess) and it's really down to whether you trust them to not be overreacting. Which fine if you don't, but it's not a case of saying they have fucked up or been unreasonable, it's a case of you not trusting their judgment.

(As for transparency, having been involved with similar issues before the idea of splurging info all over the internet for not just Urban but the whole of the internet to read ... no).

 

[LDC]

There was one.

The one online didn't really explain anything imo.

"We have, however, recently been made aware of new information which suggests there may still be dis-unity within ACG when it comes to trans solidarity which has excacerbated existing concerns within the bookfair collective."

Neither you nor I have the evidence to hand, so only the Bookfair folks know (and probably ACG themselves, I guess) and it's really down to whether you trust them to not be overreacting. Which fine if you don't, but it's not a case of saying they have fucked up or been unreasonable, it's a case of you not trusting their judgment.

Well, the statement above doesn't say anything about behaviour, just something vague about 'dis-unity within the ACG'? So from that the ACG is being banned as they haven't got an agreed collective line on the huge, varied and vague topic of what gets called 'trans solidarity'?

 

[Rob Ray]

You would prefer the blow-by-blow published for the benefit of an "ACG are genocide apologists" treatment perhaps? Judging what you say and don't with this stuff is a nightmare.