Apolitical Knitting

Yesterday was an incredibly sad day for me.

I am a knitter. I have always believed that knitters are a widely diverse group united by perhaps just one single thing: their passion for knitting. If I see someone knitting or crocheting, I know that somewhere... deep down... we have a connection, a common language. And we probably have a few other things in common: Ravelry.com and knowledge of a LYS (Local Yarn Shop).

Yesterday, my LYS had a Facebook post that I didn't quite understand.

I have never seen anything political, left or right, conservative or liberal, socialist or communist, on Ravelry. For goodness sake, it's a place to post your work, remember what needles and yarn you used for a particular pattern. A place to seek assistance for techniques you don't understand. A place to ask, "Have you ever seen a pattern for something that looks like ....?" A place to look for and to give help about fiber-crafting. A place where new knitters and crocheters are welcomed and encouraged by those with more experience.


I must admit that I was stunned.




And then, it seemed to escalate.


Someone took the LYS to task for her statement.


At the end of his message to her, he said he'd be coming to her shop wearing a MAGA 2020 hat and dared her to refuse service to him.

Apparently, the person did indeed appear at the shop, but it sounds like the door was locked to him and he was reported to everyone of any kind of authority.

All of this breaks my heart. Why are some things not allowed to be discussed? How will we ever have a chance to work out our differences if we are never allowed to speak of those differences? How is slamming the door in the face of someone wearing a MAGA hat any different than doing the same thing to a young black man in a hoodie or a drag queen?

Apparently, the knitting world is not the quiet, apolitical place that I have always seen it to be.