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Hear from Reham Bastawi, Nora Ziegler, Henry_, Black Sheep, Susan Clarkson and others on: play and revolution, dialectics and exhaustion, friendship and housework, an Old Testament story and Omegle, and much more. Why not have a paper copy of Bad Apple delivered to your door? You can subscribe for as little as £1 per month on Patreon. Any money we make goes towards printing the zine, maintaining our website, and tabling at bookfairs and similar events. Peace and Solidarity! Henry, Nora, and Reham x

By Nora Ziegler The dominant culture tells us that we must either be isolated or suppress our differences for the sake of connection. Offering and receiving hospitality can enable us to work across differences, recognising the risks of exploitation and abuse, as well as the opportunities for solidarity and transformation.  I live communally with 5 other people.  We eat together, we support each other with our different needs and struggles, we meet together every week to discuss all kinds of issues that arise when people live together. Every morning, some of us also gather for prayer which involves a call…

By Rumana Hashem  This article draws on some thoughts and reflections on how we can use anti-racist activism and collective organising to overcome trauma caused by abuse and hate. How can we take action against racism-sexism and other kinds of violence, when we are so distressed and traumatised? What do we do when victim support services are so limited?  The notion of therapy which I found new in its effectiveness at a personal level is participation in anti-racist and anti-fascist protests. Based on my participation in a series of anti-fascist protests and solidarity rallies held recently across the UK, I…

By Cat Odenkirk I recently went to a book club where we discussed Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler. It charts a young Black woman’s growth and survival in a dystopian hellscape. Lauren grows up in a walled-in small tight-knit community, which manages to get by. Outside the walls, there is extreme violence and drug-fuelled chaos driven by the absolute desperation of people who have nothing, in a society collapsed. She believes that it is only a matter of time before the walls are broken down and they will have to be able to survive the brutality outside. She…

By Henry On Sundays I cycle down onto Hackney Marshes with my husband. On a wide flat area of reclaimed land, between channels of the River Lee, white painted goal posts line up across acres of rough mown grass. There are over eighty football pitches! By the time we get there, a bit late, most are empty except for a few games dotted about. We cycle around and look for an interesting one to settle down to watch. Teams of older men, young boys, women, girls, mixed teams, represent nearby communities. Listening to the shouts and complaints of the players,…

by Libaharan Ravindran We grew up strong in nature, rooted to indigenous ways,  Using old ice cream tubs for placing curry in, being zero waste,  When I spot one of us in a green, rural space,  My back goes soft and my heart expands wide,  To engulf the resting of my nervous system quietly,  We face racism next to verandas of blue skies and open fields,  The contradiction of biodiversity and racial injustice goes missing,  In the whiteness of colonial minds, we barely exist;  On the margins, we thrive like heather and juniper groves,  A melanated nature is justice lending…

By Lianne, who is (in no particular order) a fundraiser, campaigner, educator, writer and Minister in Training at One Church Brighton.  Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has brought forth bread from the earth.  Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, creator of the fruit of the vine.  Braided bread glistens. Dark juice swirls. Eyes are caught, Smiles shared. This meal,  This gathering, An act of resistance.  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon.  I breathe a little easier. Feel the ground under my feet.  Amen …

Between Ghazal and Reham Joyland is a ground-breaking Pakistani film that pushes the boundaries of Pakistani cinema. It tells the tale of an unhappily married Haider who falls for a transgender woman called Biba. The film was initially banned in Pakistan but was then approved for release after some edits.The central theme of the film is desire. The desire that Haider feels for Biba. That Mumtaz feels for her husband Haider and the longing for freedom. The suppressed desire that his father Rana feels for his neighbour Fayyaz. Due to the constraints in Pakistani society with rigid patriarchal societal roles…

By Beth, a trans person keeping a low profile.  I recently attended a workshop about power and group dynamics facilitated by the lovely people at Bad Apple zine, during which I made a realisation that chilled me to my very core.  We discussed the role of faith when giving oneself to a project. Specifically, having faith in the people who hold power within the group/community/organisation. In faith we give ourselves to a cause, in return we trust that we will be valued and safeguarded.  Power dynamics persist everywhere. “We are all equal” and “no one has any more power than…