The knitting/crochet/fiber arts community (lest I get chided
before I even start, I know some combine all forms of thread work in “fiber
arts;” I am trying to include it all) is frayed now. The leading site for
patterns—some free, but many, MANY designers have sold their work there and,
according to some sources, become wealthy—for particularly knitting and crochet
work put out a statement a few weeks ago that no patterns in support of
President Trump or any hint of that kind of thought would be allowed on their
site because, obviously, he, his administration, and everyone who supports or
voted for him are racist bigots, intolerant of some protected classes of
people, and that site will have no part of it. This site WILL be inclusive of
ALL people, but if you voted for Trump, obviously, you are a horrible person
and ARE NOT WELCOME.
We include everyone—unless we don’t.
If you think I exaggerate, you would be incorrect. At first,
the rallying cry “Stand with ______!” (the name of the site) echoed across the
Internet. However, that got pulled when someone understood that some people
cannot stand—handicapped people are, after all, a protected class. So, now it
is “I Support _____!” I officially belong to that handicapped group of people—and
the inability to stand—just stand— for very long on my damaged foot is difficult
for me; I take strong meds each day to be able to be mobile. I am better than
previously, but, still. They removed a
pattern that said “God is Love” as hate speech, but all Trump bashing, profanity included, is apparently allowed.
I have laughed some at this—Madame Defarge from A Tale of
Two Cities comes to mind, sitting, knitting into a garment of some kind the
names of her enemies. Facebook groups for the refugees of this site have sprung
up like mushrooms in a humid spring. Yet, even now, some designers have, literally,
given up their source of income because they will not lie and say they believe
all their conservative friends are racist, homophobic bigots. Web designers are
working on creating sites to allow the selling and posting of patterns for some
vendors no longer allowed on the original place. Even people who think Trump is
NOT GOOD will not stay on the site because, well, the tossing out of my peeps—even
my conservative peeps—is the tossing out of me. That’s a brave thing to do when
your income is impacted.
Knitters. Crocheters Fabric Arts.
Unbelievable.
I saw a moving quote the other day that I researched and found to be from an ancient Greek poet and
playwright. The quote is “And even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls
drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will,
comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.”
In the context where I heard it, it reflects the death of a character. In my
research, I learned the translator put a bit of a spin to bring it into the Christian
tradition, because, of course, in the 400-plus years before Christ when
Aeschylus wrote the play “Agamemnon” from which the quote comes Christianity
wasn’t around, certainly not in Greece where they worshiped multiple Gods with multiple
purposes.
When running for President, Robert Kennedy quoted this passage when he spoke to a crowd
in Indianapolis, foregoing his planned campaign event to tell them Martin
Luther King had been killed. He then continued, “What we need in the United
States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what
we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and
wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward
those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether
they be black.” I would continue whatever protected class is being impacted.
Of course, immediately what someone shouts is, “But Trump
voters are not good people and don't want all that.”
And, for the most part, that is incorrect. It’s just wrong.
I can’t tell you the number of people who have said to me, upon learning I lean
towards conservative thought, “But you seem so NICE.” Generally—not always,
but, generally—I AM nice. So are 99.9% of all conservative people I know.
So are 99.9% of the liberal people I know. I also know it is
possible to be friends—good, close, loving friends with people who are 180
degrees away from you politically. I know that because I am close friends with
many—and married to one, mother to another. It can get interesting, but we
manage.
In the administration before Trump was elected, all eight
years of it, about half the country—people of all races, genders, orientations,
all of it—disliked much of what happened. There were some bad things that
happened because of that disagreement, but that’s where the.1% comes in—on both sides.
However, what most of us did was work, vote, work, talk with each other, pray,
work, vote, elect a majority of state legislatures, worry—we did worry—and the
“demonstrations of the Tea Party” make what happens now look very tame.
What I know is, even more than TALKING at each other, we
need to LISTEN and try to learn. It is truly possible to discuss policy and take personalities
out of it. Coming from Arkansas, I had strong views about Hillary Clinton. Even
throwing those views out, I disagree with her policies—and disagreed with most
of what she and Bill did in Arkansas. I lean conservative, and I vote with those who seem to
make mostly conservative choices; however, that doesn't mean I think people who want other views
evil.
And, please, God, we have got to stop calling each other
Nazis. Nazi soldiers threw Jewish babies in the air for target practice to see
how many times they could hit them before they hit the ground—just for sport. I
could list other atrocities, but, Dear God, that’s enough. No Americans are
doing that. Some hide their faces to keep from being held accountable for their
actions—shame on them. But no Americans are Nazis like Hitler’s Germany.
And, so, I grieve for one of the communities of fiber arts where
people have always been so helpful and so kind. The owners of this newly-exclusive
web site still have millions of subscribers. They do own the site, so they can do what they want. However, in their effort to make everyone
feel welcome, they have proven their lack of tolerance. NO ONE I know of wants to support
racism, sexism, homophobic acts or thoughts, any other “ism." Most
people—most people—most of the time are doing the best they can to live life well and truly everyone I know would stand against the hateful policies of which we are accused by those people to whom we contributed some of our hard-earned money in order to get, well, patterns and yarn. Think of that. YARN. In this world
of “gotcha” moments, why is it so hard to say, “We’ll have to agree to
disagree.”
I confess I have never before been afraid to talk in public
places about my political views, even when a movie was made with George Bush’s
head on spikes. That was reprehensible, but I didn’t feel like someone might
come at me. I’m not sure now, such is the animus towards Trump voters. It makes me sad.
We ARE a diverse country; different shouldn’t automatically
be a value judgment. I admire Richard Grenell immensely; he is the openly gay
Ambassador to Germany. I have admired him for years; he is one of the most
conservative public figures out there. We don't agree on everything, but, hey, I don't agree with most of my conservative friends on everything. Because he is on the “wrong” side of the
political aisle, the gay community gives Ambassador Grenell a difficult time. Conservative
African-Americans get treated horribly. “Protected” only applies, frequently,
to the “right kind” of protected class.
We need to listen to each other; we then need to
respectfully respond to each other.
It’s possible.
It can be done and done without sacrificing our principles.
Those other people? Those ones who say, “I am right, and you have no right to
your principles and beliefs?” Let them be the “others.” Don’t let them be the
voices that rule. Jesus consorted with sinners. He gave them the gospel. He
might not make a community with them—or he might in some instances. But he didn’t
expect Rome, the ruling party, to decide who he could or could not be with. He also expected, as much as possible, laws to be obeyed. "Render unto Caesar. . . ."
Some things cannot be compromised; some principles are worth
fighting for. But, “pick your battles”
can serve us all well, truly. Let’s pick battles that make life worthwhile for
us all and don’t besmirch good people who are trying to live by their own
values that don’t hurt anyone. Then, go work, vote, work, vote, pray if you do, for the leaders of government, for political and personal enemies, work. Eventually in this American experiment, the pendulum always swings—or it always has in the 40+ years I’ve voted.
Otherwise, the wisdom we learn may come from acts that seem
that “awful grace of God” that brings the grief that hurts us all. Myself, I’d
rather learn easier lessons for awhile--like falling on a pile of yarn.
