Some Anarchist Bookfair Comments

I could only spend about six hours at the Anarchist Bookfair yesterday, but feel the event is important enough to offer some comments upon it.

Organisation was exemplary. The old Anarchist Federation line that anarchy is organisation is actually demonstrated by the bookfair, comfortably the largest Anarchist event in the UK. It remains the case that if a martian were to land and wander in, we might not be able to take him to any leaders, but we would be able to take him into a political movement that is confident, aspires to do something and is both open and accessible.
My twins were placed in the creche, which was divided into two rooms - one for older children, the other for toddlers and below. The Anarchist movement and its publications never talk about the family (even vague critiques of the nuclear family seem to be taken as read now) but the creche was well staffed, clean, safe and the children happy. Anarchism was again organisation.

Reunion wise it was great to meet so many people I had not seen for several years - I even kissed and made-up with John from Libcom. One interesting issue to emerge from speaking to people like Conor, Dave from Preston and Joni from Manchester (eighth in the UK strongman competition this year) is how serious some activists, but more usually semi-retired activists take their participation in sports.
I wonder if martial arts, boxing and strength training all offer more instant and more personal success, than the long grind of political activism? In gyms there tends to be little of what makes politics unattractive - the sectarianism,the negativity, the lack of defined or achievable goals, the police harrassment - all are absent. At some stage I would like to write more about this, but would welcome comments here.

Of course there are downsides. It is depressing to see American leftist ideas on race enter the UK Anarchist movement, as evidenced by the meeting on "white privilige and racism" or the rise of related literature over the past couple of years. Such guilt tripping is common to approaches to race in what were 'settler' societies - the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They don't and won't work here - and are probably very far from applicable now in the likes of the US either. The bookfair still faces the challenge of spreading its influence and strength over the following 12 months. It would be useful to see all the meeting organisers for 2011 asked to write a brief follow up report in six months time, and again in time for the 2012 bookfair website, on how the bookfair helped - or did not help - their campaign.

One final point. I was slightly alarmed on leaving to see, on the free table in the hallway, leaflets in support of the campaign to Free Babar Ahmad. A long term Islamist activist in the UK, Ahmad was injured fighting for the Mujahideen in Bosnia in the early 1990s, and went on to set up Azzam.com, the most important Jihadi website the UK has seen. It was named after Abdullah Azzam, who ranks alongside Osama bin Laden or Aayman al-Zawahiri in terms of importance as a Jihadist leader over the past 25 years. Azzam.com was particulary praised by Chechen Islamist fighters for its support, and such connections were to lead to Ahmad's eventual arrest and the closing of the site. There are perhaps reasons to have some sympathy for Ahmad - he was badly beaten up by the Territorial Support Group on his arrest in 2003, and has waited far too long to be extradited to the United States, where he faces serious charges.

I can't help thinking his treatment in the UK has probably been fairer than that Anarchists would receive under Sharia, and that whoever placed a pile of his support leaflets at the bookfair either thinks Anarchists are a bunch of liberal idiots who will support any cause going, or is already such an idiot themselves.

The odd gripe aside, overall it is a big thumbs-up to the bookfair organisers, and toall those who make it such an excellent event to attend. If the revolution has not been achieved, I shall go along next year.

Comments

[Internationalist]

Good article and I agree with your words on race, though it is not simply that guilt-tripping race-based politics are "inapplicable" in this country or that country.

They are just plain reactionary and wrong, wherever they pop up.

[Duncan]

The free Babar Ahmad lot were out in force at St Paul's yesterday as well with stalls and a large banner.

[Ray]

Just a couple of points Paul. First off, how nice that you have been able to critique Islamists here without (so far) being accused of being a HP Zionist running dog. Regarding the combat arts and strength training I think that the anarchist and libertarian scene is a lot more tolerant toward all this than in the past. I can remember being very roundly criticised for my interest in pro boxing and certainly I found that my political and my martial arts mates (with a couple of exceptions) very separate tribes. A few months ago I sat at the bar of the Calthorpe Arms after an ALARM meeting and had a really interesting chat with a comrade about "punching your way into grappling range" and I thought, "yes, I waited a long time for this". Good to see you at the Bookfair BTW.

[Mark]

can you recommend any good books or essays etc criticising "guilt politics". we have a bit of that here in NZ and I'm interested in reading any good critiques of it if there is any

[Internationalist]

Mark, I don't think it is "guilt politics" that is under attack but rather "identity politics" and the politics of "the margin", where politics is based on being black, gay, Jewish or some other minority. People in the mainstream then define themselves in relation to these minorities as if they have something to (collectively) feel guilty about.

For a critique of Jewish identity politics you should read Gilad Atzmon's new book, "The Wandering Who?"

If you want to find identity politics and tribalism at its absolute worst, visit the Zionist cyber ghetto Harrys Place, as referenced by Ray.

For some reason that I still cannot fathom, Paul Stott likes the HP cesspit enough to promote it on his own website.

[james walsh]

Identity and guilt politics go hand in hand.

Internationalist and his third worldism is all tied up together now. A book on mental health is what is really needed when dealing with such cases specially as most politics has become about appeals to peoples preduices and nerousis. The funnyist thing about lefties is they claim not to have preduices- lol.

Of couse Internationalist doesn't do guilt politics as his ravings above about 'Zionist cyber ghetto Harrys Place' clealy shows- lol. He's another sick nutter who thinks he should be in charge of the asylum.

[Duncan]

'For a critique of Jewish identity politics you should read Gilad Atzmon's new book, "The Wandering Who?"'

I disagree. I don't think you should take anything written by Atzmon seriously, and in particularly nothing he's written about Jews, because he is a racist slimeball.

[Internationalist]

"because he is a racist slimeball."

So I keep hearing/reading in publications as diverse as the Jewish Chronicle and Socialist Worker. But having read TWW and followed Gilad's blog I have yet to find a single antisemitic comment.

As has been observed, once upon a time "antisemite" referred to someone who hates Jews. Now it refers to someone whom Jews hate. These are different things. If you get called an "antisemite" by the creeps at Harrys Place it simply means you have understood how hasbara works and are no longer fooled by it.

Atzmon does a brilliant job of demolishing the Jewish ideology without saying anything racist. Someone should do a similar job on Roman Catholicism and Islam. Then we can move on to the lesser identity-based ideologies (pan-Africanism, Rastafarianism, Gay Liberation ...)

Then maybe just maybe we will take a step closer to class-based internationalism.

[james walsh]

@ Internationalist

What would I gain from reading Gilad that I havn't got from Israel Finkelstein? I have enough unfinished books as it is and before I start anything else I'm going to finish my Cohan and

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Radical-History-Britain-Visionaries-Revolutionaries/dp/0349120269/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b/280-5843792-3786516

and I may move on to this

http://www.amazon.co.uk/English-Rebel-Thousand-Trouble-making-Nineties/dp/0670916196/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Hopefully I'm not being to much into identity politics- but i would like to know why the one bit of identy politics that goes unquestioned by Leninists etc in general (something I don't think Internationalist is particuly guilty of- in fact he can be pretty good at knocking down such nonsense)is knocking the English working class for crimes they haven't even commited and attacking our advanced culture.

[Disco]

james walsh: "What would I gain from reading Gilad that I havn't got from Israel Finkelstein?"

Well maybe Norman Finkelstein rather than Israel Finkelstein would be a better either/or...

But Atzmon is a much more modern take on Jewish identity, from the inside (from right inside), and he's really astute and he's got balls - which pisses off just about everyone. Anti-semitism, in his case, is a smear. And it's repeated with such vehemance it reveals more about his critics than it does about him. Worth a read.

[Internationalist]

Spot on Disco. Exactly what I found.

In fact, when David Aaronovitch tried to get the book The Wandering Who? banned from the Times bookshop on the grounds that it was "antisemitic", I challenged him to cite one single antisemitic passage or quote from the book.

He couldn't and the discussion ended. However, Aaronovitch is mentioned in the book as a journalist who plays a key role in shaping British public opinion in favour of Zionist wars, so I can understand why he is alarmed and upset.

Of course there ARE genuine antisemites out there but by and large it is an unwarranted term of abuse these days.

Atzmon argues that the more Jews are assimilated the more Zionists look for antisemitism where it does not exist, since assimilation would spell the end of jewishness as a separate identity and therefore the end of the Zionist project. Thus they get excited whenever there is an antisemitic incident (of which there are very few in Britain, with most of them coming from muslims who are enraged by the situation in Palestine).

The same applies to other identity politics. That is why, for example, our old friend Rasta is constantly on the look out for anti-black racism and talks as though there is still a slave trade, calling white people "crackas". Unless he can find evidence of widespread racism his ideology is pretty well bankrupt.

Likewise radical feminists get upset whenever there is evidence that actually, most men are NOT rapists. This is a threat to their carefully crafted identity as "victims".

Of course all of this is divisive and alienates white working class people in particular.

All identity politics is reactionary.

[Charlie Kerins]

There's an alternative view on Notts Indymedia: https://nottingham.indymedia.org/articles/2118

[mark]

thanks (I think!) for that Charlie. and your comment was good too. that Notts indymedia article kinda showed up exactly whats wrong with this sort of politics.

[C]

Aye was good to see you at bookfair mate.
Not sure if anarchist participation is any higher than other currents/walks of life, i'd doubt. i think it's more that within anarchism, we tend to gravitate to people with not only similar politics (ie class-based) but who have shared interests outside of politics.

C

[Internationalist]

I read the guilt-trippers' comments on Indymedia and was entirely unsurprised to find an idiot suggesting that my politics are the same as the BNPs.

That will certainly be news to the BNP, who once bricked my front window and left death threats on my answerphone.

The defense of guilt-tripping identity politics pretty much sum up why I feel alienated from anarchism and the left in general.

[Internationalist]

The sad thing is, that while the left wants the working class to get diverted by race and gender issues, the ruling class are laughing all the way to the bank.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/28/ftse-100-directors-earnings-rose-by-almost-half

This is the price of our division and 40 years in which race and gender have taken priority over class in radical politics.

[modernity]

Paul,

You need to cover racists, like Atzmon, and do it unequivocally, so your regular posters like "Internationalist" and assorted anarchists don't get led down the Far Right path.

[madernity]

Paul,

In order to save your regular posters and assorted anarchists from a Far Right Path, you need to explain how anti-semitism was radically redefined as a tactic to silence all critique of the Israeli right wing.

Might I suggest "Beyond Chutzpah: On the Misuse of Anti-Semitism and the Abuse of History" by Norman Finkelstein as a very good starting point.

[james walsh]

Read the Norman Finkelstein book- pretty much i can't think of anything to disagree with the man- read the other guys book to. Foriegners and their funny names!

Modernity- i remember that arsehole- couldn't fault anything internationalist said- i may even steal parts latter.

stealing what communism is all about.

[james walsh]

sorry to say I couldn't make london- but had a great time at my local wargames club- mixing with the class- an unfasionable thing to do in anarchist circles- anarchists I can take em or leave em in most cases.

[Internationalist]

Good man James.

[villa]

oy , internationalist , how come your good enough to drink my beer face to face and then ave a go at me on here?!?!

[villa]

joking x

[villa]

i meant rasta x

[Rasta]

Thanks for the red stripe. didn't realise it was you. you seemed like a jolly smiling type. would've chatted more but I was busy stuffing my face and plus was in a slightly altered state of mind due to lack of sleep after catching an early bus, and the aftereffects of adrenaline and anger from facing the piggies trying to intimidate and manhandle us at the march against deaths in custody.
just cos I think [no, change that to "I know"] that you... shall we say, have a bit of tenuous grasp on reality, and espouse ludicrous and morally indefensible doctrines that have left a trail of bloody carnage across the planet (stalinism and zionism), doesn't mean I necessarily have anything against you personally.
Already said all I wanted to say about the subject of this thread on the indymedia thread and only posted on here again as I was directly addressed by someone who I apparently have actually met in the flesh.

[Web design melbourne, web design sydney]

The same applies to other identity politics. That is why, for example, our old friend Rasta is constantly on the look out for anti-black racism and talks as though there is still a slave trade, calling white people "crackas". Unless he can find evidence of widespread racism his ideology is pretty well bankrupt.

[Larry]

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