Why does anyone, anarchist or otherwise, take Bob Black seriously?

Question

Seriously, WTF?

Comments

Why should anyone NOT take Bob Black seriously? Does the implied insignificance or outright denunciation of BB provide cover against his otherwise relevant critiques and observations? Could it be that the subjects of his ridicule are engaged in activities and publications that seek to marginalizes the efforts of those more legitimate, but having less money, means, and celebrity status?

Answer 1

for those who don't know, bob black is a long term anarchist author and controversial figure. Since the 70s he has been involved in a variety of altercations, the most notorious one being with jim hogshire (not an anarchist) during which both parties called the cops on each other.
he is notorious for crossing lines of behavior that anarchists commonly accept. he is mean. his critiques are usually a mixture of relevant information and irrelevant nitpicking. and he is eager to take on what he considers to be anarchist sacred cows, like professor graeber, ak press, murray bookchin (ad nauseum), etc.
those last two tendencies are two reasons why some anarchists continue to see value in black's participation.
added to that is the respect some feel for the author of  cogent pieces like "the abolition of work", and anarchy after leftism, as well as some people's difficulty in sympathizing with the strident and kneejerk attitudes and complaints of many of black's critics. also, he is frequently/occasionally funny.

Comments

I'd second the fact that "The Abolition of Work" is awesome, but Bob Black often seems more interested in criticizing any figure who is getting more attention than him in the anarchist milieu, which is mostly anyone at this point.

Answer 2

No one does.  He's pretty ridiculous.

Comments

Seems to me that this question, like too many others, is incomplete. The real question is: why does anyone, anarchist or otherwise, take anybody seriously? Celebrity, prestige, or simple respect for someone (based on their ideas and/or social practices or something else) seems to be the real issue.

Therefore the original (incomplete) question requires some qualification. Why does anyone take anyone seriously as a thinker/philosopher/satirist/critic/artist/theorist/historian?

edit: made a comment

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Can't take you seriously either, especially since you never bothered to respond to my last comments directed at you.

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Could you send me a link?  I tried looking for whatever you are talking about, but I couldn't find it.

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http://anarchy101.org/308/is-there-a-anarchist-political-party