“Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master.”
― Pravin Lal
There are two types of readers. Those who have or will soon have this pop up on their screen while they are looking for a book, and those who never will. If you are the latter congratulations! As for the former, gather here, you are my tribe.
“When Nana Darkoa came for the signing of The Sex Lives Of African Women, so many people came, some even had pirated books and second hand books from the street!” she says. I am at a bookish gathering,just a couple of book lovers celebrating knowledge and literature. Somehow, the conversation shifts into book piracy.
“But most of the population cannot afford to buy books. Does that mean they do not deserve to read?” I hear myself say. I should probably keep quiet. This is not the time nor the place. Or maybe it is? “I don’t think it should ever get to a point where one has to choose between having a meal or buying a book,” I continue.
“I hear what you are saying, but what about the authors? Don’t they deserve compensation for their work?” she counters.
“They do. But I am an author and I honestly wouldn’t mind if someone got my book off of z-library because I know readers who can afford to buy books actually buy books and capitalism shouldn’t prevent those who can’t from reading. (insert my tirade about capitalism — if you know me you’ve probably heard a version if not multiple versions of this same tirade)
“That’s cool and all,” she says interrupting me halfway through my ‘speech’ but I feel like you are not describing the world that we live in. In this current world, everyone’s got to eat. ( NB: exact words may have been changed for dramatic effect)
She’s right. Capitalism is our current reality, but it doesn’t have to be that way for eternity. You see, the powers that be need you to think that there’s no alternative. In the book Capitalism Realism. Is There No Alternative? British philosopher Mark Fisher describes capitalist realism as “the widespread sense that not only is capitalism the only viable political and economic system, but also that it is now impossible even to imagine a coherent alternative to it.
And it does sometimes feel impossible. Not all of us can run a successful operation to provide millions of book for free to anyone with an internet connection. (Shout out to z-library man! These folx continue to survive multiple FBI seizures! Donate to them if you can https://zlibrary-asia.se/howtodonate.php) Trying to overthrow capitalism has led to many deaths but leave alone the potential dangers, who even has the time??
One thing capitalism manages to do with great efficiency is to kill communities. Its the reason why they are so few ‘third places’ for both kids and adults. Hell if it wasn’t for z-library, I wouldn’t be part of the bookish community because I couldn’t afford books. So how do we foster communities and alleviate some of the back-breaking burdens capitalism puts on us?
Enter Mutual Aid. Below are some definitions of mutual aid that I really like.
Mutual aid is when everyday people get together to meet each other’s needs, with the shared understanding that the systems we live in are not meeting our needs and that we can meet them together, right now.
Mutual aid is a voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit. Mutual aid projects can be a form of political participation in which people take responsibility for caring for one another and changing political conditions.
If it feels like its a hard thing to do, it isn’t. An example of how my friends and I practice mutual aid, is by sharing food. Whenever I get a gunia of potatoes from shagz I call my friends to come take some. They do the same when they have extra foodstuff. While we were at attachment, my friend brought me lunch throughout because she lives with her dad and the dad could easily afford to buy food that would be enough for the both of us to have lunch. We have all practised mutual aid in one way or another even though we probably were not conscious of how powerful a thing we were doing.
When done consciously, mutual aid can be a great tool in bringing about impactful social change. I’m only just beginning to learn about Mutual aid and I welcome you to join me in this journey. Here are a few resources that I’ve been using;
Mutual Aid. Building Solidarity During This Crises. A book by Dean Spade. (and yes it is available on Zlib) I’ve been pairing reading this book with TikToks and content from the lovely creator Ismatu who has a series teaching about Mutual Aid.
Ismatu is a therapist turned life coach who recently sent an email to all of their clients saying they will no longer be charging for client services — while they have a negative amount of money in their bank account and were just living out of their car — because they believe healthcare is a human right and it should be free. (Including this here because I need you to know that there are people who actually practice what they preach.)
Speaking of practising what you preach, there is also another tiktoker who owns a business and runs it in a socialist model meaning every single worker gets paid the same amount of money and gets unlimited paid vacation days. EVERY SINGLE worker including the cleaner and the photo intern are all paid the same amount as the owner of the business.
Point is, it can be done. You just need to be brave enough to do it.
Before, I give you the link to the TikToks, because I know once you get on that app you are not coming back, please consider donating books to public libraries. Especially African authored books because our colonial period libraries seem to still be stuck in the past. An organization called book bunk has a library restoration project which includes stocking African literature. Find them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thebookbunk/ . The African Book Fair hosted by SomaNami books at the Macmillan Library from the 1st to the 5th of August 2023 will also have book donation bins provided by the Book Bunk donation drive.
https://www.tiktok.com/@ismatu.gwendolyn — Ismatu’s Tiktok
https://www.tiktok.com/@madeline_pendleton?lang=en — Madeline’s tiktok. She is the one with the socialist-run business.
Most of the resources shared have a very American focused lens but I hope you can find ways to apply them in your immediate communities.
Drink a glass of mutual lemonade and have a fantastic day!