STAT12
The twelfth in the STAT catalogue and the first to be printed at our Leigh headquarters, this one's lovingly wrapped in the torn-out pages of a found economics book, bolstered by a flash of green and topped off with a fleck of manilla - I leave that for you to decode.
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Editorial
The politics that inform this publication generally favour a detachment from the waste pipe that is current affairs. Not out of privilege, but so we can form a holistic view of society in spite of culture wars and Westminster playground fighting.
While long-termism is important, things sometimes happen which serve as a wake up call, requiring our immediate attention. The presence of racist far-right mobs across the North, particularly in Southport, is one of these times.
First, I want to make clear beyond doubt that we stand with both our Muslim and migrant communities, regionally and internationally. Islamophobia and racism are deeply-rooted evils not only across the North which STAT serves, but across the Global North, too. It is fuelled by newspapers, perpetuated in Facebook groups, and exploited by a desperate ruling class. We, as anti-racists, have become too complacent.
I’ll admit it: this magazine will not end racism, nor bring about revolution, no matter how provocative of an editorial this is. What STAT proposes, however, is a call to action on a material, local basis. Collectively we have the whole world to contend with, but we sometimes forget that this world is made up of thousands, millions of small, often dull-as-fuck acts which make such collective change possible.
Against the odds, this magazine — an anti-profit collection of, with the greatest respect, miserable yapping — has sustained life over four years. This magazine embraces the regional. Not for blood and soil nativist reasons, but in an effort to affect our environment, to bring about the region, and thus society we want to see.
Speaking of: since last publication we’ve come into possession of a physical location — STAT HQ, if you will. This is where the issue you’re currently holding was printed. What we’re hoping to do, in this windowless space on the top floor of a former cotton mill, is to make it a venue and community space. We’ve lots planned — much of which dependent on money and the mandate of our local authority — but should you have any event, exhibition, idea or meeting you want to see represented in real life, please do drop us an email.
Be local! Change things!
Pete Mercer, STAT ISSUE 12 editorial
August 2024
