Talk about taking the joy out of something........ I was sitting here in my yarn store eating my rice and homemade szechuan fried green beans and pork that my extremely not asian husband made for me and just started to laugh.
Over the last week I suppose there has been this huge influx of political/racial justification posts throwing out acronyms that I've been exhausted filtering and looking up what they stand for.
So I'm told it all starts with this blog post from the woman who owns Fringe Supply Company (I'm not going to link it because I believe if you are reading this you are smart enough to find it yourself and I'm not here to perpetuate). A friend posted it in our chat group and I started to read it but it was very long and I have very little time for these things having to run my own business, house and toddler amidst finding the little precious times for joy in my life. So of course I don't spend a lot of time reading something that I know stirred the pot. Call me ignorant or whatever but I just didn't finish that article. But from that post came a combatant post from a designer I once admired and now have lost their sparkle in my eye.
The short of it was that a midwestern well off white woman who is very self aware wrote a bit of a personal and open note about her own ignorance and how she was making an effort to travel the world and change her perceptions. I think the only wrong she might of had was openly discussing her ignorance and past prejudices, (yes I have at this point read said article). Anyways she was completely jumped on top of and now it has spurred this entire big movement in the fiber community to be more aware and inclusive and silly things are happening and I just can't even deal with the social media burst of it all.
I got an email at the store from what she referred to herself as a "blind white woman" and used POC in the context and I was flabbergasted that she wanted me to make some sort of social media stance on this whole matter and if I would make a list for her of POC (which at the time I didn't know what it meant and when I found out I was kind of appalled) of makers, designers, owned companies etc so she can do her part to support them. In a nutshell I politely told her it is easy to do the research on her own, I was not current with what this whole movement is and it does not affect with whom we do business with because we believe in good products and good designs. I also pointed out because I personally know several people that keep their personal totally hidden so that they can make a living judged only on the merit of their work.
Craziness right?! It's just yarn, knitting and I am not going to go out of my way to make a list for someone else because if they really care they would do the work themselves. Yes I found it slightly offensive that she would reach out to me knowing I am asian that I would just automatically be the go to make her amends. My friend Toni said it best in her live feed when she said "not knowing what you are apologizing for isn't a real apology". I personally find reverse racism more insulting because that is someone educated enough to know what is wrong and over compensating for their own peace of mind and validation.
Another friend in the industry who just happens to be white has had harassing messages asking for her opinion and to make it public and even went so far as to call her deaf to what is going on around. A total no-win for her and I was just so angry for her because like that email it felt like they were trying to guilt or bully us into speaking an opinion about it. It's one thing to just ask off to the side privately "hey what do you think?" but to call us out as businesses to take a stand seems entirely inappropriate.
I feel bad for companies that getting the ripple effect reach back of people going back to accuse them of not being inclusive or sensitive with their content, titles or inclusion. I'm sorry but if a magazine is from the UK specifically catering to Nordic inspirations and Nordic traditions in a region that their indigenous people are fair skinned how is that wrong? I mean it was our choice to support and import. Just like it is each individuals choice to join or not join this conversation like ANY conversation. Just be polite, mind your manners and if you need to feel better about yourself and validation there might be something more deep set wrong going on. Also why isn't anyone attacking the popular Japanese magazine for only using asian models? I mean might as well be fair right?!
Anyways back to the point this whole thing has just become so overblown and ridiculous and in the end I'm just like hey guys, let's just knit. Let's just appreciate that we have the means and are comfortable in our lives to afford this past time. It's considered a gentle art, why make it war? Also part of a charm of knitting is being able to enjoy something alone and as comfort. I know quite a few designers that a proud that no one can recognize them when they are out at shows or conventions and have even opened my store early for one because they want the merit of their work to speak for them not what they look like. Those people are my real heros.
That is my 2-cents on this whole thing.
Well said.....thank you.
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