There are 131 comments.

1. Member
   Henry Racette

   @HenryRacette

   11:45 AM EDT ⋅ Jun 27, 2019

   Matt Balzer, Imperialist Claw (View Comment):

   Henry Racette (View Comment):
   Those of us who are able, because of our temperament and/or our circumstances, to stand up to the bullies and call them out, and to speak our minds without worrying if it offends them, need to do so. Not only here on Ricochet, but in real life as well.

   The combination of this post and Gary McVey’s latest has me thinking about actions that could be taken.

   Back in the early blog history conservative blogs would form groups of commenters who would respond to alerts to keep people like the author mentioned above from being swarmed under. I’m wondering if that’s a tradition that could be brought back. Although I do wonder how it would work on a third-party blog.

   Matt, I keep returning to the idea that most of us are probably more influential in real life — and that it’s harder, as we all know, to speak out in real life than it is on the internet.

   So I wear the darned hat, as much as I dislike hats. For years, my wardrobe has consisted of blue jeans and black tee-shirts/sweatshirts, but I’m thinking maybe I need to get some shirts that make a statement, something conservative and socially… challenging.

   More and more, I think pushing back is something we conservatives have to start doing. People have to see that there are conservatives everywhere — that we’re here, we’re proud, and we’re going to stay.

2. Thatcher
   Caryn

   @Caryn

   

   12:17 PM EDT ⋅ Jun 27, 2019

   Henry Racette (View Comment):

   Matt Balzer, Imperialist Claw (View Comment):

   Henry Racette (View Comment):
   Those of us who are able, because of our temperament and/or our circumstances, to stand up to the bullies and call them out, and to speak our minds without worrying if it offends them, need to do so. Not only here on Ricochet, but in real life as well.

   The combination of this post and Gary McVey’s latest has me thinking about actions that could be taken.

   Back in the early blog history conservative blogs would form groups of commenters who would respond to alerts to keep people like the author mentioned above from being swarmed under. I’m wondering if that’s a tradition that could be brought back. Although I do wonder how it would work on a third-party blog.

   Matt, I keep returning to the idea that most of us are probably more influential in real life — and that it’s harder, as we all know, to speak out in real life than it is on the internet.

   So I wear the darned hat, as much as I dislike hats. For years, my wardrobe has consisted of blue jeans and black tee-shirts/sweatshirts, but I’m thinking maybe I need to get some shirts that make a statement, something conservative and socially… challenging.

   More and more, I think pushing back is something we conservatives have to start doing. People have to see that there are conservatives everywhere — that we’re here, we’re proud, and we’re going to stay.

   Good timing.  June is “Pride” month.  Should we apply for our own parade permits? “Conservative Pride.”  I like it.  March in 3-piece suit and tie?  Ladies in pumps and wide skirted dresses (with pearls, of course)?  I’d do it.  I already have the dress and shoes (and pearls, of course).

3. Coolidge
   Gossamer Cat

   @GossamerCat

   12:26 PM EDT ⋅ Jun 27, 2019

   Caryn (View Comment):

   Henry Racette (View Comment):

   Matt Balzer, Imperialist Claw (View Comment):

   Henry Racette (View Comment):
   Those of us who are able, because of our temperament and/or our circumstances, to stand up to the bullies and call them out, and to speak our minds without worrying if it offends them, need to do so. Not only here on Ricochet, but in real life as well.

   The combination of this post and Gary McVey’s latest has me thinking about actions that could be taken.

   Back in the early blog history conservative blogs would form groups of commenters who would respond to alerts to keep people like the author mentioned above from being swarmed under. I’m wondering if that’s a tradition that could be brought back. Although I do wonder how it would work on a third-party blog.

   Matt, I keep returning to the idea that most of us are probably more influential in real life — and that it’s harder, as we all know, to speak out in real life than it is on the internet.

   So I wear the darned hat, as much as I dislike hats. For years, my wardrobe has consisted of blue jeans and black tee-shirts/sweatshirts, but I’m thinking maybe I need to get some shirts that make a statement, something conservative and socially… challenging.

   More and more, I think pushing back is something we conservatives have to start doing. People have to see that there are conservatives everywhere — that we’re here, we’re proud, and we’re going to stay.

   Good timing. June is “Pride” month. Should we apply for our own parade permits? “Conservative Pride.” I like it. March in 3-piece suit and tie? Ladies in pumps and wide skirted dresses (with pearls, of course)? I’d do it. I already have the dress and shoes (and pearls, of course).

   And we can have our own rainbow flag done in shades of beige.

4. Thatcher
   Caryn

   @Caryn

   

   11:04 PM EDT ⋅ Jun 27, 2019

   Gossamer Cat (View Comment):

   Caryn (View Comment):

   Henry Racette (View Comment):

   Matt Balzer, Imperialist Claw (View Comment):

   Henry Racette (View Comment):
   Those of us who are able, because of our temperament and/or our circumstances, to stand up to the bullies and call them out, and to speak our minds without worrying if it offends them, need to do so. Not only here on Ricochet, but in real life as well.

   The combination of this post and Gary McVey’s latest has me thinking about actions that could be taken.

   Back in the early blog history conservative blogs would form groups of commenters who would respond to alerts to keep people like the author mentioned above from being swarmed under. I’m wondering if that’s a tradition that could be brought back. Although I do wonder how it would work on a third-party blog.

   Matt, I keep returning to the idea that most of us are probably more influential in real life — and that it’s harder, as we all know, to speak out in real life than it is on the internet.

   So I wear the darned hat, as much as I dislike hats. For years, my wardrobe has consisted of blue jeans and black tee-shirts/sweatshirts, but I’m thinking maybe I need to get some shirts that make a statement, something conservative and socially… challenging.

   More and more, I think pushing back is something we conservatives have to start doing. People have to see that there are conservatives everywhere — that we’re here, we’re proud, and we’re going to stay.

   Good timing. June is “Pride” month. Should we apply for our own parade permits? “Conservative Pride.” I like it. March in 3-piece suit and tie? Ladies in pumps and wide skirted dresses (with pearls, of course)? I’d do it. I already have the dress and shoes (and pearls, of course).

   And we can have our own rainbow flag done in shades of beige.

   Or stick with Old Glory.  Prettier colors, too.  I look awful in beige.

5. Member
   She

   @She

   

   Post author

   2:03 AM EDT ⋅ Jun 28, 2019

   Henry Racette (View Comment):

   Matt Balzer, Imperialist Claw (View Comment):

   The combination of this post and Gary McVey’s latest has me thinking about actions that could be taken.

   Back in the early blog history conservative blogs would form groups of commenters who would respond to alerts to keep people like the author mentioned above from being swarmed under. I’m wondering if that’s a tradition that could be brought back. Although I do wonder how it would work on a third-party blog.

   Matt, I keep returning to the idea that most of us are probably more influential in real life — and that it’s harder, as we all know, to speak out in real life than it is on the internet.

   So I wear the darned hat, as much as I dislike hats. For years, my wardrobe has consisted of blue jeans and black tee-shirts/sweatshirts, but I’m thinking maybe I need to get some shirts that make a statement, something conservative and socially… challenging.

   More and more, I think pushing back is something we conservatives have to start doing. People have to see that there are conservatives everywhere — that we’re here, we’re proud, and we’re going to stay.

   Yes, that’s true.  However, I already live in a pretty conservative area.  There already are conservatives everywhere.  Wearing “the hat” around here doesn’t occasion any comment at all, as most people already have one, and many are wearing it themselves.

   I already have several rather non-PC T-shirts, (although I don’t have the “Knitters for Trump” one.  Hmm (lightbulb).  Maybe a product for the Ricochet store!)  I do have the “I knit so I don’t kill people” badge and ribbon.  But obviously there aren’t as many knitters around here as there are voters, and there’s a limit to the the effectiveness of standing, or speaking up for conservative values around here, because they’re the norm. 

   Artificial “communities” such as those that thrive on the Internet can be a force for much good.  Ravelry has been a source of knowledge, expertise, resources, patterns and ideas for me for years. I’m sorry to see them  insult and alienate a large proportion of their membership this way, in what I suppose is an effort to establish a “knitting lobby” in US politics (humorous as that sounds, I don’t think it’s much of a stretch; I expect there’s money at the root of this somehow or somewhere).

   I don’t think conservatives are very good at responding to, deflecting, or thwarting such efforts.  Maybe it doesn’t matter.  Or maybe we need to get better.

    

    

6. Member
   She

   @She

   

   Post author

   6:16 AM EDT ⋅ Jun 28, 2019

   Another wrinkle, with sites like Ravelry which take political stances like this is that they have a substantial number of members who are vendors, and who depend on business from site visitors for a percentage of their revenue (I don’t know if Ravelry takes a cut, or how that works as I’ve never sold anything through the site).  In addition, it’s the default value when knitters are looking for patterns, or pointing another knitter to a pattern–go to Ravelry, and you’ll probably find it there.

   Many of the vendors are LYS (local yarn stores), or very small businesses, or ladies or gentlemen who design and sell patterns for pin money, or mad money, or a little extra cash.  Ravelry claims that 6,000 new patterns are added each month, and thousands of patterns a month are purchased and downloaded.  In addition, books are recommended and purchased from Amazon and other sites, and patterns on other sites are linked to, purchased, and downloaded, neither of which revenue or numbers shows up in the Ravelry figures.  People find knitting instructors, people who’ll do the “finishing” (sewing together) of their knitting projects for them, custom knitters, and any number of other services, all through Ravelry.

   I have no doubt that many Ravelry vendors are Trump supporters, and that they’re unhappy with this move for many reasons besides the political one.  (Why do I think that?  You can probably guess.)  They see their businesses becoming politicized.  They see staying on Ravelry as supporting a political stance they abhor, and they see leaving Ravelry without a viable alternative as financially harmful.  They don’t want their customers assuming that they have a particular political stance because they’re on Ravelry.  They don’t want to be political at all.  They just want to be, as someone from a different organization said to me yesterday “all about the knitting.”

   There’s quite a lot of activity in the “knitting community” at the moment.  I hope it’s productive and something comes of it.  Stay tuned.

7. Member
   DrewInWisconsin

   @DrewInWisconsin

   6:29 AM EDT ⋅ Jun 28, 2019

   She (View Comment):
   I have no doubt that many Ravelry vendors are Trump supporters, and that they’re unhappy with this move for many reasons besides the political one. (Why do I think that? You can probably guess.) They see their businesses becoming politicized. They see staying on Ravelry as supporting a political stance they abhor, and they see leaving Ravelry without a viable alternative as financially harmful. They don’t want their customers assuming that they have a particular political stance because they’re on Ravelry. They don’t want to be political at all. They just want to be, as someone from a different organization said to me yesterday “all about the knitting.”

   Does Ravelry feature advertising on its site? If so, there’s an action point: contact the advertisers. Tell them that if they continue to advertise on Ravelry, you will not use their services.

   This hits Ravelry right in the wallet.

8. Member
   TempTime

   @TempTime

   11:58 AM EDT ⋅ Jun 28, 2019

   She (View Comment):
   Or maybe we need to get better

   This.

9. Member
   TempTime

   @TempTime

   12:58 PM EDT ⋅ Jun 28, 2019

   @she, just visited your blog and printed the pattern.   

   I am more likely to crochet than knit, but I will be making this hat and sharing the pattern.   Thanks!

10. Member
    She

    @She

    

    Post author

    4:44 PM EDT ⋅ Jun 28, 2019

    Well, I am now officially in purdah.  I have been put into Ravelry “account restriction,” on the basis of the following eleven comments.  What this means, in Ricochet terms, is that I cannot post any threads, comment on any threads, or send any PMs to my new friends, of which, unsurprisingly (to me), I have quite a few, for 60 days.  There’s no way for me to complain or ask what, exactly I’ve done to violate the terms of service or community guidelines, since I cannot send a message to anyone, including the pogue (thanks, @bossmongo, etc.) who informed me of this ludicrous situation,  at this point.

    And therefore there’s no way for me to ask why, since I reported other members for calling me a liar, a bot, a hack, a troll, and accusing me explicitly, and in rather vulgar terms,  of photoshopping my profile, of lying about my tenure and experience at Ravelry, and of mocking and ridiculing me with screenshots of “bacon” in my profile where purchased patterns are supposed to be (I guess this is meaningful to a certain type of Internet user, but what it means is a mystery to me) it seems I have no recourse to this insult–there’s no way for me to inquire why nothing was done about these insults to me, and why, in fact, I was further insulted by people telling me that the people who run Ravelry are so important that they don’t have time to pay attention to my silly complaints.

    Oh, wait . . . .  Perhaps there is something I can do . . .

    (Since the following are all MY comments, I feel no shame in reproducing them here.  I’ve tried to remove others’ names.  Sorry if I missed any.  Or if I get the lightning bolt because I missed a bad word somewhere. And sorry you cannot see the “replies” or the “provocation,” or the occasional idiocy which led my comments.  I’ll share as much as I think I ethically can)

    To be clear, it appears what set things off today, and sent people over the edge was my observation that the pregnant woman in Alabama who was shot, and whose unborn baby died (she’s been charged with a crime), was shot by a woman.  This was in reponse to a comment by a Raveler that was along the lines of “what the [expletive] are Christian pro-life Republicans doing here when they are blaming the woman for this violence instead of the man who held the gun?”   Merely pointing out that a woman was the shooter caused a serious blither and may have contributed to the unfortunate overreaction that is my “account restriction.

    Really.  I’ve enjoyed my time on Ravelry (over a decade, I think), but at this point, it’s a total clown show.  Here you go:

     Account restriction notificationSent at 5:54 PM Today

    rightwingknitjob,

    Your account has been restricted for violating the Terms of Service and/or Community Guidelines.

    References:

    https://ravelry.com/about/terms
    https://ravelry.com/about/guidelines

    Restriction applied: forum posting, messaging, and commenting are disabled for 60 days.

    Content in violation:

    1 OF 11  [The following are my words, stepping through the eleven “violations.”]

    You are exactly correct. Of course that sort of rhetoric, on either side, should stay behind the keyboard. There’s no reason to talk in those terms at all here. Steph at yarnharlot figured that out years ago. Her politics may or may not be mine, and she’s very open about them, but she’s also very clear that insults and disrespect for anyone who comes to her “living room” to talk about knitting are off-limits. She’s probably wouldn’t be down for the “[expletive] Trump” patterns that seem to be quite prevalent among the (relatively few) Trump projects here.

    Ravelry, why don’t you remove the “[expletive] Trump” projects? Or, can I post a “[expletive] Obama” or “[expletive] Buttigieg” project? Would that be OK? That’s the question, isn’t it? If the answer is “No, I couldn’t do that, then please don’t pretend this isn’t political, and that it’s all about safe spaces. If that were the case, please tell me where the millions of Trump supporters who are not white supremacists can find theirs. Or must they be confronted with “[expletive] Trump” [expletive] wherever they look? (I don’t like using those words either, but they’re already here.)

    Ravelry seems to have lost the plot on that. See the “guidelines for posting, which say:”Realize we have many readers from around the world. They may bring a different view to our issues. These views are valid.“

    What a ridiculous statement. How does anyone know, in advance, that views “from around the world” MUST be valid? It’s as absurd as saying that a Trump supporter MUST be a white supremacist. Good Gaia.’

    Certainly, many of the views from around the world are NOT valid, as anyone with a modicum of history or cultural awareness would realize. I don’t support the policy of restricting the rights of, detaining, persecuting, or otherwise tormenting homosexuals as it is practiced in the majority of the third world today. If someone from that culture espoused one of those views would you consider it valid? Good grief.

    What are you going to do when someone from “around the world” posts a point of view which is in direct contradiction to the “safe space” you imagine you are creating here?

    Ravelry, grow up, please. And stop disrespecting tens of millions of your fellow citizens.

    2 OF 11

    I am not sure who you are, [RavelryID]? Are you an official spokesperson for Ravelry?

    Be aware that when Ravelry says “Support of the Trump administration is undeniably support for white supremacy” it is unequivocally calling every single Trump supporter in the United States a white supremacist. That is a disgusting, libelous, statement. Shame on Ravelry. It owes Trump supporters an apology.

    Furthermore, you need to adjust your irony meter. Showing us little emojis of open mouthed red and yellow faces, together with an admonition to “please show respect for your fellow Ravelers” shows a monumental lack of self-awareness, when Ravelry started this conversation by calling every Trump supporter in the United States “undeniably” a “white supremacist.” Newsflash: thousands of those Trump supporters are your fellow Ravelers. How about showing them a little respect? Very, very few, if any, of them are white supremacists. You want to see hatemongering and bigotry in action? Look in the mirror, please.

    Don’t try to “out” me as a Trump supporter. I’m not a US citizen, and I can’t vote. I’d like to come to Ravelry for the community, the expertise, the patterns and the education, and the “safe space.” I don’t come here for the politics, I don’t need a lecture, and I won’t be patronized. Above all, I won’t stand by and see my friends insulted by ignoramuses who can’t figure out how to “reach across the aisle” (that’s the correct phrase, no?) and “find common ground” (ditto?) in order to further understanding between those with diverse viewpoints.

    Forget showing “respect for your fellow Ravelers.” You have none. Ravelry just called over 60 million Americans, thousands of them Ravelry members, white supremacists. Disgusting.

    3 OF 11

    I’ve read the policy. I’d like to report the following patterns: “[expletive] Trump Scarf,” “Trump Butt” Dishcloth, “Donald Trump Voodoo Pincushion,” “President Prick Trump,” “Donald Trump Toilet Paper Cozy,” “Anti-Trump Fingerless Gloves,” Donald Trump Pincushion,“ “Not for Trump Fans Hat” (with images of finger), “Donald Trump Dump Amgigurmi,” “Big Fat Baby Trump,” “Slam-it Trump Doll,” “[expletive] Trump Hat” (crochet), “[expletive] Trump Hat” (knit), “[expletive] Trump Dishcloth,” and “Dumb Drumpf Doll” as disrespectful to the office of President of the United States, and as hate speech, incitement to hatred and occasionally incitements to mild violence.

    Where to I go to report this? (I don’t see a mechanism anywhere in your new “policy), although I suspect if I submitted a pattern for a red sweater with “MAGA” knitted in white on the front it would be gone in pretty soon after your self-appointed censor patrol saw it.

    If you will assure me that a series of patterns named as follows will be let through your censors and allowed to stand in public on your site in the future, then I’ll withdraw my request. Ready?

    “[expletive] Obama Scarf,” “Buttigieg Butt” Dishcloth, “Hillary Clinton Voodoo Pincushion,” “President Prick Biden,” “Beto O’Rourke Toilet Paper Cozy,” “Anti-Obama Fingerless Gloves,” Kirsten Gillibrand Pincushion,“Not for Warren Fans Hat” (with images of feathers), “Ihlan Omar Dump Amgigurmi,” “Big Fat Baby AOC,” “Slam-it de Blasio Doll,” “[expletive] Booker Hat” (crochet), “[expletive] Sanders Hat” (knit), “[expletive] Harris Dishcloth,” and “Dumb Obama Doll”

    Those are all OK too, right?

    Breathlessly awaiting your response.

    4 OF 11

    You should have taken them up on their free trial membership, and joined in. You might learn something. Starting with how to argue the issues, rather than focusing on personal and insulting slights, with occasional forays into mind reading.

    The point here isn’t the First Amendment, although I’d love you to educate me on it. The point is that you and your friends at Ravelry have insulted and defamed tens of millions of your countrymen, and they have a right to know about it. Why does their discussing it openly elsewhere upset you so much?

    Ravelry is free to enforce (as I pointed out on what I think is probably the site you’re referring to, and the post, here’s the link: http://ricochet.com/633665/a-letter-to-the-ravelry-community/) any sort of policy it wants to. Ravelry crosses the line when it defames and insults tens of millions of decent, hardworking Americans by saying hateful things about them. That insult is external to the “policy,” was completely unnecessary, and exists only so that Ravelry can virtue-signal its wokeness. Speaking of “hysterically funny self-importance.” (Or, perhaps, as was suggested last night in some coverage of this matter, it’s just a publicity stunt.)

    Any Trump supporter who wishes to stay on Ravelry and abide by the terms and conditions of the site is, of course, free to do so. But no Trump supporter who does should be ignorant of the personal contempt in which he or she is held by the site, as well as by so many of its members.

    I believe in more speech, not less speech. That’s how you change minds and change the world. Anything less is cowardly and an insult to the founders of this great country. For shame.

    5 OF 11

    Not afraid of the Moderator. I’ve been one, myself. One of the first things they teach us is not to attribute opinions to members that they haven’t actually given you any reason to believe that they hold.

    In other words, not to assume that just because one is on the Left, or on the Right, or because they support Obama, or Sanders, or Trump, that they therefore must be a particular sort of person, or hold a particular view. As in, “All Trump white supremacists.” Bad form, Ravelry.

    Ravelry has, undeniably, unambiguously, called all Trump supporters “white supremacists.”

    That’s a fact.

    And that is a vicious and undeserved slur. That’s an opinion.

    And if Ravelry wants to throw me out for having an unarguable opinion, founded on an undeniable, unambigous fact, so be it. There’s no personal attack here. But if Ravelry is uncomfortable with my fact-based opinions, which are not even those of a “Trump Supporter” then that speaks volumes.

    Thanks, BTW for your encouragement of someone who hasn’t participated much in the past, other than as a CUSTOMER of the Ravelry vendors, and who’s spent a fair amount of money here, but who feels strongly about this issue. That speaks volumes too. Let me rephrase your statement: “You haven’t been mouthy in the past, so what gives you the right to think you should be “allowed” to speak out now.“

    Way to go. Good example of tolerance, openness, and inclusivity.

    I invite you (or the moderators) to find anything I’ve said that is objectionable and not either factual, or reasonable.

    6 OF 11

    What bigotry is that? Please explain. Once again, there’s nothing in your reply but a personal attack (if there’s something besides a personal attack in your reply, please point that out, too).

    Last time I looked, Ravelry was singling out sixty or seventy million people (probably more) and calling them white supremacists based on no evidence whatsoever. Talk about a personal attack! That’s a yuuuuge personal attack! The biggest personal attack the world has ever seen! No one has ever seen a bigger personal attack!

    A more appropriate meme for some of the opinions expressed here might be this one:

    

    7 OF 11

    Apparently as long as it takes you to understand that that is a distinction without a difference.

    Suppose I accused you of “supporting racism?” Would it be OK with you that I wasn’t accusing you of being a “racist,” just of “supporting racism?”

    Apply that to any negative stereotype you like.

    Come on. You can do better than that.

    8 OF 11

    Not at all. I understand perfectly.

    People are doxxed, outed, savaged, put out of business, and their lives and reputations are ruined every single day by online vigilantes who make it their business to delve into their personal lives to find out what causes they “support,” and what that “support” says about them personally. Don’t pretend that the two are separate. Ask Brendan Eich. Or dozens of others.

    I don’t really give a flying fig what Ravelry’s policy is. Nor do I much mind if the people who run the site, and some of its members, support causes I don’t support myself.

    But when Ravelry throws out a gratuitous and defamatory insult to my friends, I’m going to say my bit.

    My friends who support Donald Trump are perfectly aware of what they are doing and who they are supporting. And they are not supporting white supremacy, nor are they white supremacists.

    How that is possible is something you seem determined not to understand.

    As for your reply, and most of the discussion here, you’re accusing me of arguing in bad faith, or of being too stupid to understand, or you’re just degenerating into ad hominem attacks (as I said, I’ve done my turn in the barrel as a moderator somewhere else, and I recognize all those old dodges.)

    But if you, or any of the people who run Ravelry actually believe what you have said, that it’s Trump’s depravity that is in question, and that it’s not his supporters’ responsibility to check it before supporting him, then Ravelry had no need to offer that gratuitous slam at them, nor to prevent them from speaking civilly in these forums, nor to prevent them posting appropriate patterns on the site.

    And the moderators would do what they’re supposed to be doing, which is looking out for violations of your terms of service.

    You can’t have it both ways. I know you want to, but you can’t.

    I’m not a US Citizen, so I can’t vote, but:

    MAGA

    9 OF 11

    That sounds very lovely. The problem is with what’s called “intersectionality,” when “conservative” positions are also “Trump’s positions,” and when the powers that be here, and some of you, decide you can’t tell the difference between a Conservative, and a Trump supporter, or which position trumps (to coin a phrase) the other and is the operative one when it comes to sanctions or banning.

    Let’s have a discussion about a few topics on which Conservatives have strong views; things like school choice, abortion, gay marriage, and anything else that springs to mind. And see how long it is before those espousing conservative opinions for or against are calumniated as racists or white supremacists. Or, before their opinions are flagged as too “Trumpy” and they are banned.

    OTOH, let’s not. Because we all know how that will go.

    Please. Stop kidding yourselves.

    10 OF 11

    Good Lord. Personal attacks again. And, in addition to your pathetic and petty insults, you’re either inadvertently wrong, or deliberately lying.

    It’s almost as if you don’t know how to use Ravelry.

    There are currently 63 patterns in my library. That doesn’t include the ones I’ve removed, or ones that were not downloaded from Ravelry, but were linked to on other sites. It also doesn’t include the ones I found that are in print editions, or the numerous books I’ve bought on the strength of reviews, or patterns cited here.

    Do you even know how to use the site? (I’m not insulting you, I’m just asking a question because it appears from your reply to me that you must not.)

    You might apply for that UK Prime Ministership yourself. Shite might just be your middle name. 

    Once again, I’m still waiting for someone to engage on the issues. Could someone do that please, instead of responding either with ignorance or malice?

    Anyone?

    1, 2, 3 … .

    See attached screenshot.

    [NOTE:  This is where things got exceptionally nasty for a while, and where people accused me of photoshopping the patterns into my profile so that it would look as if I had purchased them.  Really loony stuff.  Photoshopped (for real) images of the above screenshot with bacon in them, and nasty mocking comments.  Let’s be clear–I love bacon.  Trump supporters love bacon.  Maybe there’s common ground over bacon!  Nevertheless, I could have done without the insults.

    Really.  Yeah, Ravelry, I don’t have enough to worry about, or to do, that I’m pulling this sort of stuff.  I complained about the behavior and the insults, and the foul language, which was rude, mocking and ridiculing.  I asked a moderator to do his or her job and to stop this gratuitous and stupid abuse.  Crickets.  That’s what Ravelry thinks of those who’ve fallen afoul of their licensed and approved anti-Trump vigilantes.]

    11 OF 11

    Regarding your statement:

    “I still don’t understand how shooting someone is “defending yourself”. I guess I never will, and I’m glad of it.”

    Yes. You are indeed fortunate, and you should be glad you’ve never been in that situation. I’m guessing (and hoping) that no-one has ever broken into your house, attacked you physically, wrapped their hands around your throat, pressed their thumbs against your windpipe and squeezed until you’re dead (obviously not). Or that no-one has ever, while you’ve been walking back to the dorm after an evening class, come up to you, pulled up your skirt, stuck his fingers up your privates, and laughed. Or that no-one has ever pointed a loaded gun of her own at you and you’ve had to make a split-second decision as to how to react. Or that no woman has ever stood before you with her one hand ready to pull the pin on the grenade she’s holding in their other, just before she lobs it at you and your brothers and sisters in arms. Or that an enemy combatant has never come up behind you, pulled out a knife, drawn it across your throat, and half decapitated you, leaving a scar for the ages on your neck. The situations are not sex-determinative, in either the perp or the victim sense, and so it’s important to stick to the facts and not make assumptions.

    I haven’t experienced any of the above situations, either. And I’m glad of it, too.

    But I do know people who’ve been through them all, and people who’ve been through equally, and perhaps even worse, and more dangerous, situations, too. Good people. Kind people. Fine people. And I’m not going to try to second guess their decisions, and what they did when they were faced with a such a threat..

    I have no idea why Ebony shot Marshae. I only know what I read. And what I read is that this was an instance of two women fighting over a man. Tale as old as time. Unfortunately, in this case, one woman shot the other, and the unborn baby died.

    As for charging Marshae with the death of her baby, I agree with some of you here that that’s problematic. Certainly, for myself, I believe that the pregnant mother had a duty of care to act in a responsible way. And it seems she did not. Whether or not she’s “liable” for her baby’s death because of her careless actions, I’m not so sure. I do know that, in a crowd situation, were the third party killed a born-alive person, it’s not that unusual for the instigator of the fight to be charged with the incidental death.

    I expect this will get sorted through the court system (which which I do have a fair amount of experience), and that it will be resolved in a humane way. I hope so, anyway. These are people, not causes.

    [NOTE:  I was engaged in a fairly civil conversation with a person I disagree with, about “triggering,” but that conversation was hijacked by a rude and accusatory person to whom I responded first.  The response was interlinear, and hard to pick out, but I may post it later.

    My response to my friend, who asked me to “hide” my unpleasant and triggering language, and who thought that I might not understand that some people on Ravelry were survivors of violence and sexual abuse would have been the following]:

    “Thanks for your kind response.  While I do understand your concerns, and I certainly am not in the business of deliberately upsetting people, I do consider myself a survivor of violence.  In terms of my birth and marriage family, of course, you don’t know what that might be.

    In terms of my later life, I was pretty explicit in the above reply.  My State considers my husband and me “victims of violent crime” due to my stepson’s murder.  Quite a few of my dearest friends have been irrecoverably damaged, and even killed, as a result of the violence I described in my reply, above.

    I’m not willing to “hide” those descriptions, as you requested.  Because, you see, it helps me to cope and to move through the horrible circumstances that have been visited on my family and my friends by describing them, talking about them, talking with fellow survivors, and working through them together.

    I’m grateful for many things, among which is the fact that I belong to a website (ricochet.com) which doesn’t shut me down when I do that.  There, I find friends, support, and healing.  Things I wouldn’t find, if I didn’t feel comfortable talking about my trauma.

    But because I believe you’ve responded and engaged in good faith, what I WILL do is put a disclaimer at the top of the post I previously put up, saying that it contains explicit descriptions of violence and sexual assault, and suggesting that those who don’t want to read such things simply not proceed.

    However, I couldn’t post that comment, and I can’t add the disclaimer, because they’ve restricted my account. And, so it goes.  Thank God for Ricochet (where a hell of a lot of you still think I’m a NeverTrumper, although I repeatedly tell you I can’t vote, but somehow, mostly, it still works.) Crimenutely.  Contemplating the next move.

11. Thatcher
    Percival

    @Percival

    

    10:12 PM EDT ⋅ Jun 28, 2019

    Bella Stark over at American Greatness also had a piece about the Great Ravelry Unravelling. She included a couple of alternate options.

    In response to this heavy-handed scorn, Republican and conservative knitters are flocking to Love Knitting (part of Love Crafts) and Humble Acres Yarn’s new app. The app, less than a month old, promises no political discussions, and all are welcome. Humble Acres still supports Ravelry as a business and, until this episode, they’ve always had a good business model. But Humble Acres’ openness and (heh!) humility is refreshing. We don’t have to agree on political, social, or cultural issues to come together over our mutual interest in and love for all things yarn. 

    I don’t know anything about the sites, or the app (or knitting either, for that matter) but thought anyone still reading might be interested.