Two Threads here: Abby's commentary on the problems in the fiber community, and the referenced thread on the problems in the equestrian community. Click through and read both of them.
Why am I sending you on two niche threads about the problems with white supremacy and bias in niche communities? Because it's likely YOU are in a niche community and it's past time we all look at what we excuse and what we ignore.
I've often said that it doesn't matter what label you wear or which group you join, you're going to find the same distribution of humans in every group. There are going to be people you like, people you don't. There are going to be problems in every group.
But here's the tough thing to face: THERE'S RACISM IN EVERY GROUP. It's embedded in our systems, in our history, and we have to continually discover and deal with the problems that are baked in as well as the more obvious, overt problems.
So whatever niche group you participate in -- The yarn world, equestrians, some type of sport, historical reenactment groups -- you need to face what's baked into the system as well as what's obvious.
Face your own biases. Do your own emotional labor. USE GOOGLE AND LOOK UP THE MEANING OF THINGS THAT ARE NEW TO YOU. Read books. Read articles. Listen to podcasts. DO YOUR HOMEWORK. And then really face what's in the systems around you.
Because then you can start to dismantle the racism baked into the world around us. #BlackLivesMatter
