The Baby and the Bathwater or, Post-Partum Repression: The Unspeakable Truth about Processed World

Bob Black's 1982 review of the San Francisco-based magazine Processed World was never intended to be the opening salvo in a drawn-out conflict. The review, "Circle-A Deceit" (written for the underground newspaper Appeal To Reason), reads as a thoughtful, analytical look at the motives behind the self-proclaimed magazine "written by and for dissident office workers." Appeal to Reason's editor even offered the review to PW prior to publication for a response, but their published reaction was brutal. Incensed that Black had called their motives into question, PW began a bewildering campaign of harrassment against Black in an attempt to silence and discredit him, employing dubious police reports, engaging in a smear campaign throughout the undergound press vilifying Black in an attempt to censor his works completely, and even attempting to get a judge to prohbit Black from writing about PW at all! A modern classic of gonzo journalism, The Baby and the Bathwater documents the conflict in full including Black's correspondence with full documentation of PW's attempts to silence their critics. This edition includes Black's recent afterword, bringing the story to its conclusion. Contents 5 1. The Baby and the Bathwater - or, Post-Partum Repression 7 2. Let's Not Forget... What Kind of Person Bob Black Is by Fred Woodworth 93 Let's Not Forget... Fred Woodworth Is a Liar and a Fool by Bob Black 93 3. Anarchism and Other Impediments to Anarchy by Bob Black 95 4. Gerry Reith on Processed World by Gerry Reith 97 5. The Poverty of Anti-Authoritarians - or, The Last Ideology vs. The Last International by Anti-Authoritarians Anonymous 99 6. Bizarro Processed World: Gidgit Am Fired! by Stephanie Klein 101 7. Anachy vs. Anachism: A Thouroughly Nasty Thumbing of the Nose at that Despicable Defense of Doctrinal Orthodoxy Entitled "Listen, Anarchist!" by Chaz Bufe by Feral Ranter 119 8. Hold Your Tongue Demagogue: Turning a Deaf Ear to Pure Bufe-oonery by Brian Kane and Lawrence Jarach 129 Afterword by Bob Black 137