Gem-Flecked Rubbish
Five Things You Need to Read Today
1. In Defense of "Safe Spaces"
For a movement obsessed with "safe spaces," the left sure doesn't want anybody to have one.
I posted a little while ago about a bizarre leftist campaign to purge political wrongthinkers from the realm of knitting, of all places.
Now the website Ravelry, considered the "Facebook of knitting," has taken this campaign to the next step, banning all pro-Trump statements and activity.
Traditionally, politics are not for the dinner table. Or the crafting circle.
But on Sunday, Ravelry, a popular website for knitters and crocheters, took a political stand when it announced that it was banning content that supports President Trump, in what it said was a resolution against white supremacy.
"We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy," the site said in a statement explaining the decision. "Support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy."
"Undeniably"? I don't think that means what they think it means. Nor does "inclusive," nor does "safe." "Undeniably," in their lexicon, means "that which we will not allow anyone to deny." "Inclusive" means, "excluding anyone who disagree with me." "Safe" means "unsafe for my political opponents."
And they are really serious about this idea that all Trump supporters are Nazis, a policy they borrowed from a role-playing gamers site, which doesn't seem like the best example to follow.
Ravelry is likely to lose a lot of money from this decision, which appeases a small faction of intolerant young knitters while alienating the main fan base for knitting, which is generally older, less urban, and certainly less "hip." So this is basically a replay of the Democratic Party's strategy in the last presidential election.
The only really interesting thing here is the ridiculous claim that "knitting has always been political."
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