We present to you a reading of The Broken Teapot, 2nd Edition, put out by Sprout Distro.
From the Sprout Distro site:
The Broken Teapot (2nd Edition) is a collection of five essays that explore the limitations of current anarchist models of “accountability” in situations of rape and abuse. The zine raises a number of important questions regarding the “accountability processes” that have been developed over the past ten or so years to deal with these issues within the anarchist space. It’s an important piece to consider when thinking about how “broken” we all are.
I read this zine about a year ago, and at that point the only interaction that I had with accountability processes was as a third party observer in an activist group. A few times, someone would be declared a criminal for committing the crime of sexual misconduct, or perhaps they were declared a (too overtly) racist/sexist, and then sides would form, loud online discussions would take place, and eventually the ‘abuser’ and some of their side would be banished. This happened a few times, but it was people who I didn’t particularly care about so I wasn’t invested.
A few months after reading this zine, it happened in the punk house I used to live in. I still knew most of the people living there, so I was definitely invested. I could see the patterns pointed out by this zine as they were happening. Maybe it was because these people were my friends, or maybe it was because I had the framing of this zine, but this time around I had much more sympathy for team ‘abuser’, and how this would turn their lives upside down. The story ends a few months later with no one I know left at the punk house.
This zine has been out since 2012. It has good ideas about accountability processes. It’d be nice to say it’s changed the way “we” deal with trauma, but it looks like the same mistakes are being made over and over. Enjoy the zine and have a good cry about how bad we are at conflict.
By Dirtroll.
Timing:
- 0:00 Introduction – Anonymous
- 11:20 Safety is and Illusion: Reflections on Accountability – Anguistia Celeste
- 26:25 Love You Too Much – Alex Gorrion
- 46:28 Questioning Rape – Anonymous
- 1:22:35 Half a dozen lessons I might never learn, not until those troubles come around – Anonymous