Knitting Tribes
The situation would be comical if it weren’t so depressing. One week I’m fielding drama from the “old guard” of the NSW Knitters Guild, convinced that I’m intent on destroying traditional knitting from within with my radical ideas about “email” and “the Internet.” The next week I’m copping it from the “punk rock” guerilla knitters, accusing me of being a Granny and Communist (yes, really) for saying that I think most knitted graffiti is a waste of time.
Obviously the issue is that a lot of people identify really, really strongly with their particular niche hobby community (be it knitting, Star Trek, or the Dallas Cowboys). Saying you dislike an aspect of that community is tantamount to personal insult. They all take it so deathly seriously. I just don’t get it. It’s just sticks and string! I’m not offended by people who don’t like knitting. It doesn’t define me as a person. I don’t take it as a personal insult when someone says they don’t see the point in knitting socks. Sometimes I take it as an opportunity to try to sway them to my side, but I’d never use it as an excuse to insult and demean them. If you think that someone saying they dislike your preferred style of knitting project (or your favorite band or TV show) is equivalent to them saying that you are a bad person, then there’s really no way to have a rational discussion or debate about it.
The only way to win is not to play, really. Militants (whether of the Old Guard or the New Subversives) really suck the fun out of everything.