I also think that while a stage and platform is cool so that more people can hear your ideas, it feels uncomfortable to those of us who know we're not ACTUALLY on a pedestal at all, we just want to share.

It can feel like we're being pedantic, or it can feel that way for me, and I very much stay away from talks that "tell people how to anarchy" lol. Some talks head that direction a lot, like how you ought to eat or think, but I try to focus on WHAT IS, what has been, and what can be, given possibilities, or even WHAT IS TO COME because of very good reasons to hope.

I like to make people think, and I know most anarchists feel the same, they just want to make people think, and to also share what we love, and I just have always enjoyed that more in a more intimate and smaller group.

In this way, all of us can get up in front of any group and talk, but because of a different more organic setup, we'll be more likely to talk to people who really care and are interested in hearing what we have to say, and we won't feel like some person having to say "Hey look at me, listen to me cause I'm the best!" we'll just feel like "Hey, I have some stuff I'd like to share among friends and willing ears."

The conference platform/stage vibe isn't necessarily forcing me or anyone to feel something negative, I ultimately know that everyone there is a friend for the most part, but something about the psychology of the "big stage, sitting crowd" lay-out is too long-associated with churches and schools, and I think that's why to me it feels a tad unnatural. :) This feels way more "me".