We’re bringing out a paper:)
This post was first published on our sister blog At the grassroots.We’re re-posting it here because it’s a statement of our determination to start shifting the focus of our propaganda back towards physical, printed material. This is a commitment that we’ve already started to make good on with our stickering campaign getting underway: Getting a reaction... 9.3.25. Having a paper dedicated to prefigurative politics and doing what we can to build the world we want in the here and now, is an important element in moving back towards analogue means of getting our message across.
At the end of February, we published this piece: Moving back towards analogue? 28.2.25. It looked at the increasing level of muting, shadow banning, and outright censorship of accounts on social media, concluding that a move back towards analogue ways of getting our message across was in order:
We’re far from being the only people thinking about moving at least some of their propaganda output back to analogue. There are a growing number of people who realise that relying on online methods of disseminating propaganda and reaching out to people means that we’re effectively using the enemy’s infrastructure and platforms. We know that sooner or later, we’re going to get bounced off of them, which means we need to start making the switch now.
After some discussion, it’s been decided that we’re going to have another crack at bringing out a paper. It will be four pages at A4 size which is the format we’ve nearly always used. There are enough events coming up throughout the spring and into the summer that will provide opportunities for face to face distribution to justify the time and expense involved in bringing out a paper.
The aim is for it to be printed and ready for distribution by the end of April. Writing the copy and undertaking the layout for the paper will start this week and will be finished by the end of the month so it can be sent off to the printer. While this is underway, the frequency of posting on this blog may well drop off for a couple of weeks.
One of the big pluses about bringing out a paper and handing it out at events such as bookfairs and marches is that it offers the chance for meaningful face to face conversations. Back in our Alternative Estuary days when we had stalls at a range of community and vegan fairs, we always had some pretty decent interaction with passing punters: Networking… 17.12.18. It’s this kind of activism that we want to get back into.
We’ll also be looking out for venues sympathetic to what we’re trying to achieve to see if they’ll take a small bundle of papers for their patrons. With both Bristol and Bath on our doorsteps, there’s no shortage of potential venues once we start looking. Obviously, if any of our readers are in the region we operate in and know of any suitable venues, if they could let us know the details, it would be greatly appreciated:)
Eventually, we’d like to make the writing, production and particularly the distribution of any paper a collaborative effort. Out of these, as things currently stand, it’s the distribution we’d most like help with. That’s by joining with us at events to help hand out papers or, taking a bundle and leaving them in venues sympathetic to what we do.
With the way things are going in the world at the moment, we feel that there’s a growing interest in people collectively taking action for themselves where they live, at the grassroots. As such, we think that bringing out a paper supporting this kind of action would be a worthwhile and productive use of our time, energy and resources.
