Ravelry had a huge role in the origin story of my becoming a knitter...

Ravelry had a huge role in the origin story of my becoming a knitter, starting a podcast, designing, coordinating a fiber arts event, and now staying connected daily with thousands of wonderful people. My hope is that we can handle conflict with kindness and grace to ensure that Ravelry remains a welcoming place for existing and new community members now and in the future. . . . I fully acknowledge that I come at this issue from a position of privilege. My family isn't being threatened; I am not the target of hate speech. With any topic or issue, I try to consider all sides, and while I may strongly agree with one side, I try to be sympathetic to other viewpoints as long as hatred and threats are not involved. I have love and compassion in my heart for all, and avoid stereotyping, name calling, and shaming as we all learn and grow together. . . . I love Ravelry and believe that Ravelry has taken the steps they deemed necessary to draw a line to make their space a safe and inclusive place for all, especially those targeted by racism, hatred and intolerance. This action in turn has made many knitters feel targeted for their political beliefs and stereotyped as all bad people, which I know is not true. No policy change is perfect, and I am sad and sorry for those impacted. While many Rav members may have regularly had civil and non-racist political discussions about the president on Ravelry and now cannot, I feel that this is a small concession to make in order for many others to feel safe, and for Ravelry to protect their platform from harboring hate. . . . My love, hope, and enthusiasm for our craft and diverse community remains unbounded. #loveNotHate 💞 With all these words, I am sure I unintentionally said something wrong, but this is my heart, and I am a WIP just like my pictured sock. 🧦 **I will do my best to moderate comments, but my job and family commitments may make that difficult at times. Please be kind and respectful. https://ift.tt/2KBDj4U