Knitting has a very long history, going back to at least the eleventh century. All knitted fabric shares the same qualities, but the way you wrap the yarn around the needle — and even how you hold your yarn differs greatly between countries.
Fiber Arts, of which knitting is just one of many, have always been political. The Belgian Resistance used knitters as spies in WW II, among others.
Atlas Obsecura writes:
Belgian Resistance during World War II included dropping a stitch, which forms a hole, for one sort of passing train, and purling a stitch, which forms a bump in the fabric, for another, which helped the resistance track the logistics of their enemies.
I'd use a yarn over instead of dropping a stitch myself. If you are a knitter you know why. A yarn over also creates a hole, but it can't be unraveled. A dropped stitch can travel down the length of the fabric causing your whole message to be obscured. /geek
Today, Ravelry, the biggest social media site for knitters, crocheters, spinners, and weavers announced this:
Ravelry (@ravelry) Tweeted:
We are banning support of Donald Trump and his administration on Ravelry. We cannot provide a space that is inclusive of all and also allow support for open white supremacy. More details: https://t.co/hEyu9LjqXa
This is a bold move but in line with the platforms stance on inclusivity and policies regarding hate speech in general.
Also not surprisingly to those who frequent the site, the policy change has been very well supported. A 43 page thread on the subject is filled with page after page of heartfelt thanks and gratitude.
The few dissents in that thread are mostly from accounts created today suggesting that people who don't support this don't want to risk their account by saying so, though there are a few who have stuck their neck out and been banned.
Most of the backlash is on Twitter and Facebook where Ravelry can't see it.
The Mary Sue has a nice writeup which I'm going to just link to as I'm on my phone.
It's worth noting that this policy explicitly states only applies to Trump and his Administration. It is not a ban on Republicans or conservatives, as they go to pains to make clear.
They also aren't being total dicks about it, one of the major functions of Ravelry is the buying and selling of patterns. They stare that if banned you will still have access to the patterns you bought.
That's pretty damn generous for a deplatforming!
Ravelry is a small business. All of the extensive coding is done by one man. Casey Forbes. There are only a handful of employees.
I'm proud to be a part of this community. Long may we craft!