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An_Old_Big_Tree wrote (edited )

I think that despite their attempt to take baedan out of the academic context the baedan crew didn't manage to make the language very accessible to people new to queer theory or even more radical anarchism (as opposed to dull red stuff). Which is to say, you may actually be a little in over your head now, but it's a matter of time and immersion.

I don't think there's any easy way to get to it. Basically there are whole worlds of deeper anarchistic theory, and they come with different words and concepts that you have to familiarise yourself with over time. The more you get into it, the easier everything will be to understand.

Baedan combines quite a bit of intense theory, queer theory, nihilist theory, poststructuralist theory. I'd read a lot of philosophy before reading baedan so it didn't seem so foreign to me. Everybody's gotta start somewhere, so it may very well be worthwhile for you to try to work your way through it slowly. In a couple years you would pick it up again and realise it's a breeze to read and notice how much your theory skills have grown.

Also, I'll say, I never actually finished reading baedan 1. I read most of it, but I kinda stop reading stuff once I get the point.

Maybe you could ask specific questions about things you don't understand, and whoever remembers the text can try help you with it. (or you could copy/paste sections!)

There are easier nihilist texts out there that might make some of the nihilist elements of baedan easier, if you want to look into that. Desert (discussed here and here, among other places) is one that goes down well around here and is super relevant in the present. And there's also Blessed Is The Flame.

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