Chicken Little has been crushed under a chunky of sky

This reportback was inspired by a Mastodon post by Franklin Lopez, who wrote:

"It’s just so fucking cool to be back at the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair after so many years away. Gotta be real—back in the day, the Fair could feel like a stress factory. Lotta tension, lotta unresolved beefs, and way too many identity politickers turning the place into their personal UFC octagon.

But this time? Chill as fuck. Good vibes all around. People actually talking with each other instead of past each other. It felt like a space that remembered what solidarity actually feels like. Massive thanks to the folks at @constellation for bringing the Bookfair back and making it feel like home again."

~~~~~

'Twas the most wonderful time of the year. The Constellation Anarchist Festival wrapped up a second year in the traffic cone capital of North America, taking place from May 15-21 at various locations throughout the city.

Constellation is kinda like the old Montreal Anarchist Bookfair but without the Banhammer of Identity Politics restlessly waiting to come down and split your soul apart from your body at any given moment. While the old bookfair took to banning books, hairstyles, and art forms they deemed to be offensive, Constellation has taken a more laissez-faire approach, which is refreshing.

The main event was, of course, the bookfair, which once again went down in the always hot, always humid CEDA. Sure, we might not be able to be in there for more than 20 minutes at a time before crawling to the nearest exit for some fresh air, but honestly, we love that place. Plus, studies have shown that profuse sweating helps rid the body of harmful toxins, including microplastics.

It was rainy so the spot was even more packed than usual. The usual bevy of acronym orgs, zine peddlers, rad crafters, and publishing conglomerates were all there, eager to hawk their sweet, sweet products. There was at least one tarot deck for sale and nobody seemed to be losing their shit over it, almost as if the old bookfair's claim of tarot being cultural appropriation was a psy-op to keep us from fighting the real enemy: the mid-ass chana masala.

Seriously, what the fuck? The bookfair usually has some tip-top vegan slop, but this year's chana was so salty, it doubled the size of our kidney stones. We sincerely hope that the food is better next year.

But we digress. Overall, the vibes were right. Like we said, unlike the old bookfair, Constellation doesn't seem so caught up in trying to police everyone to maintain some subjective semblance of a "safe space." And everything turned out completely fine. The only thing we weren't safe from that weekend were some of the smells y'all were expelling. Guys, not showering isn't gonna hide your trust fund. Luckily, there were face masks available at the entrance that we doubled-up on to shut out the stench.

We don't even think our White Dread-o-meter went off during the entire weekend, though we also haven't changed the batteries in a few years. But, seemingly, it's a non-issue. All the oogles who had dreads in 2016 have had lice by now anyway and have had to shave them off, so let's just drop it already.

At this point, we can say it’s proven to be the case that we don’t need a central committee deciding what's allowed or what's not at one of the world's largest anarchist events. The best way of making anarchy inclusive and relevant to lots of different people is not by setting down rules that are incomprehensible to anyone outside a narrow milieu of university-based activists (such as telling a Black bookstore they aren’t allowed to table tarot cards because of "cultural appropriation"). We hope we find ways to show our gratitude and respect for all that the old bookfair did to keep an important tradition alive over the years, while remaining true to our anarchist principles and to the promise of the gathering spaces we share.

Comments

CalvinSmith (not verified) Wed, 06/18/2025 - 12:01

anarchist bookfair without some sort of culture policing. Maybe this one just had some semblence of shared hate against the meat eaters or something?

anon (not verified) Thu, 06/19/2025 - 15:26

In reply to by CalvinSmith (not verified)

There was no "semblence of shared hate against the meat eaters" that I could detect.
I think, if someone had raised a Canadian flag, or something, that would likely be subject to "cultural policing" of a sort, but it seems like that's actually, Like, a pretty nebulous concept, Man.

CalvinSmith (not verified) Thu, 06/19/2025 - 15:57

In reply to by anon (not verified)

it's called gaslighting. You're pretending that anarchists don't culturally police their spaces for egotistical purposes, because you're attached to this idea that you are different. People do this all the time, where, if you challenge a particular point of view, or have any sort of grievance about anything, they try to act like it's only a problem because of what you're doing or what you said.

Need I remind you that I never that people who call themselves "anarchists" are terribly different from normies in this regard, nor did I say culture policing is blanket "wrong"? Hey man, you were the one who said "all", and this is why I personally don't try to defend the activities of groups of people unless the activity and group was clear, and I was actually a part of it.

anon (not verified) Wed, 06/18/2025 - 14:11

its funny how many of the people speaking out against identity politics now in Big 2025, conveniently ignore how, 10 years ago, they were super complicit in allowing it to proliferate and overwhelm the scene. I guess its only "identity politics" when its weaponized against you, but when you weaponize it against others, its fine supposedly?

anon (not verified) Wed, 06/18/2025 - 18:49

In reply to by anon (not verified)

Umm noOo, I believe the critique of IdPol has been all encompassing and founded on the analysis of people's fashion choices, lifestyles, occupations, politics and personal philosophies.

anon (not verified) Wed, 06/18/2025 - 18:28

Meh... By default after all what happened over the years I'm obliged to take any reportback/analysis from Lopez with a grain of salt.

anon (not verified) Thu, 06/19/2025 - 10:34

can hardly wait for someone to show at an anarchist bf in full nazi regalia and not get kicked out bc that would be too idpol.

anon (not verified) Thu, 06/19/2025 - 21:51

In this whole reportback not a single word on a book or other publication that you found inspiring and why, not one word on a discussion that you felt was thought-provoking (were there even discussions?). In the end, it's all about context (food, smells, the weather, the venue,...). Disappointing.

Saying identity politics is bad cuz it's bad doesn't help us much, talking about ideas and struggle proposals or perspectives instead crushes the spirit of identity politics without even mentioning the word. But that seems difficult, even for the biggest critics.

anon (not verified) Fri, 06/20/2025 - 08:42

In reply to by anon (not verified)

while i agree that i'd like to hear more and various points of interest from the events that anarchists go to, it seems, dear 21:51, that the best prospect is not to complain about what one report back does, but to go to events yourself and write the report backs you'd like to see. 

CalvinSmith (not verified) Mon, 06/23/2025 - 11:02

In reply to by anon (not verified)

especially with the skill share and anti-logging stuff. I wouldn't show up to any anarchist bookfair any more (most likely) just because of the identity politics stuff and my disappointment over the years with the directions anarchists have taken their ideas in, but it is nice to see some anarchists taking the need for subsistence and entertainment skills very seriously. In the end we are all just surviving, no matter the futility or excess of what we do.

CalvinSmith (not verified) Mon, 06/23/2025 - 10:48

In reply to by anon (not verified)

I also found it to be pretty vapid especially with all the scene vibing (to borrow reddit terminology). If you fancy yourself a book lover coming back from an event, but all you can do is complain about how someone's vegan cooking was too salty, and vaguely whine about identity politics, then this says doesn't say much at all...there's not a whole lot to talk about besides skepticism that there are any anarchist spaces that have fully bucked the victimhood games of identity politics.

LifeEnjoyerChad (not verified) Mon, 06/23/2025 - 14:47

Best Hammock Enjoyment Tips Summer 2025

- get a large sized one
- set up in a shady place, the Sun is for crazies and idiots
- find perfect balance between "stiff" and "too slack"
- barefoot only, please
- belt pouches off
- read & comment on Anews, sometimes

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