Help, please, Mcr twitter. I'm writing about "Radical Manchester" tours/zines (2005ish) but my notes are scruffy. I always finished that walk with a critique of the narrative that we are a particularly radical city - mostly because of neoliberal revanchist policies, also cos 1/3

heritage is always more complex + I dislike local exceptionalism. It feels like this narrative is now more entrenched even as inequality becomes more severe (this is not to say some amazing, radical activism hasn't / doesn't happen here) + the need to qu. recieved wisdom matters

lived reality does not match the marketing hype. I have no doubt this isn't a unique thought - who else has written explicitly about the myth of radical Mcr please?

if Mcr was truly a radical city - rather than enthralled by a nostalgic image - we wouldnt criminalise homeless people or financialise housing or enact de facto social cleansing or build an inaccessible Peterloo memorial or avoid awkward qus about Ahmed Mansoor etc etc etc

Of course we should celebrate our past but please let's not insult them by making false claims in the service of place making (btw @katefeld Etihad nails that beautifully imho). More writing like that please. Thanks xx