There is this dynamic I describe as "the white people chairs problem."

If that phrase already has your back up, maybe take a deep breath and come back later and consider reading some replies before you add to them.

The rest of you, buckle up. We're doing this thread. Some years back, in a casual online conversation, a good friend of mine who is an architect and interior designer and, in fact, not white, mentioned that a thing was easier if you weren't sitting in a white person chair.

Replies came in: "Do you mean, just, a normal chair?"

It was today, and we did it.

And I just have to say a few things.

Cat's been studying with me for like 5 years now, and assistant teaching for 2.

I've been working on this subject for 45 years, and teaching it for 43.

Annnnd... (1/

https://twitter.com/cayswann/status/1489075387028041731

What we presented today in 90 minutes was a condensation of a full day of in-person class.

That full day of in-person class is condensed from 6-18 MONTHS of learning that normally would happen in the span of what would be kindergarten and first grade.

Also here are people lining up for covid boosters in Ollantaytambo.

Peru is doing boosters for everyone 5 months after their second dose, and yes, there is a vaccine mandate here because it’s not a nation with a deathwish. The government does not say “you must be vaccinated,” but it does say “if you would like to go inside a business or other public space that is enclosed, or use public transit, or travel between provinces, you must show proof of vaccination.”

White Supremacy: A Thread

So when I was a kid I mostly lived in Chinchero, which at the time was kind of a cold, barren place without things like plumbing, electricity in most of the town, and so forth. It was a nowhere, nothing, unappreciated place in those days. Once in a while my parents would get me and my sister going and we'd head to Ollantaytambo to visit some expatriate gringos they knew, who ran a small hotel at the train station on the line to Machu Picchu and, in those days, beyond.

This past week in Peru the interim national government and regional governments started issuing decrees about COVID control measures again in light of a new wave of infections, new strains being here, and the vaccine situation being as crappy as it is.

Quick thread... There aren't any ICU beds, or even really regular hospital beds, available right now. There are total about 2100 ICU beds in the country of 34 million people, and 2000 of them were added in the past year.

The November coup took a huge toll on government functionality everywhere

I just wanna take a moment and say that some of the most intensely productive and constructive conversations I ever have about gender are with my friends who are trans men, and 30 years ago, I wouldn't have expected that. I was wrong, and I'm glad to have learned better. 25-30 years ago I really, really struggled with my thoughts about people who I'd known as women who came out as men and were doing what at the time many called transitioning. I'm super grateful for the friends who made the effort to help me work through that, and...

I know we should all be optimistic for a new era in the USA beginning with the inauguration of Biden, and... I may even be guardedly so.

But I want to take a moment to say some scary things out loud.

1/11 I fear what we're really going to see is the entrance of a new center right regime (in the global sense) which won't be able to do anything while there is also an armed, radicalized, heavily propagandized and very disjointed insurgency that is millions strong.

2/11

In my organization we don’t track sick days. We have things that need to get done, areas of responsibility, and we communicate with each other to coordinate getting everything done and still being able to say “not today, I’ve gotta go to the dentist” or whatever.

https://twitter.com/brownandbella/status/1350540741525839875

This depends, to be sure, on everybody wanting to do their job.

But see, that’s a really key basic requirement and assumption to start with.

People want to work and feel good when they do. We want to get shit done. And we want to be treated fairly while we do it.

Let's play a game.

You get to go back in time and tell yourself in January 2017 about the situation where you are in January 2021.

You get to make some recommendations. What are they?

Level 2: if things continue on that same trajectory, what do you think you'll say in 2025? I'm saying this because, frankly, in 2017, I was already pretty good at imagining worst case scenarios and how to survive them, and I'd already dealt with a lot of shit, and I kinda played this game with myself as it was.

And I think it's contributed to me being okay now.

Here are there I’m seeing surprise expressed at the white women players in storming the capitol.

I want to talk about that because I’m not surprised.

I’m not surprised because as a fiber artist I’ve seen these women for DECADES.

Thread. These are the women who were tone policing knitters of color on newsgroups and mailing lists in the 1990s.

These are the women who don’t see color and just came here to do their craft thing and why does everything have to be about politics?

So one thing about the use of titles thing is: where I live we all call each other by titles unless we are close friends and family.

Anybody I have a professional relationship with, or a coworker, or a neighbor.

Like this morning I’m headed to the dentist ... ...with a private car driver I have known for a year and a half, and I said buenos días señor Ronny, and he said buenos días señora Abby.

If I just called him Ronny then since we aren’t super close I would be signaling a perceived class status difference also.

“So if it’s not about designers making a living wage, what IS it about?”

“So if it’s not about fair pricing of yarn, what IS it about?”

“So if it’s not about demanding more labor for less money, what IS it about?”

Who wants to have that conversation with me? I mean the ultimate reality is that this conversation, like all the other ones regarding inclusivity in the knitting and fiber scene over the past couple of years, is about your personal take on what your yarn crafting means and if that matters.

For those who wonder whether the yarn world features original content from sincere white suoremacists we can reason with if we’re nice to them and don’t ever swear, I present you another community’s conversations.

It’s like this everywhere. Stop tolerating it.

https://twitter.com/mslas/status/1270441508831784960

We have this thing we do in niche communities where we say stuff like “oh but he does so much for the sport” or “oh but she raises rare breed sheep” or “oh but I love her work on that specific technique.”

We don’t WANT people to be dumpster fires so we look for excuses.

I want to talk for a minute about a rhetorical strategy that's commonly used by abusers and manipulators, called DARVO, which stands for Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender.

This sequence occurs often in the social propaganda game.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DARVO A lot of people -- including abusers who aren't entirely aware they're propagating their abuse -- will use these rhetorical approaches without even being entirely conscious of doing so.

Let's talk about how they're showing up in social justice arguments right now.

You know what's interesting?

I see the exact same real people in the comments on a lot of mutuals' social media, saying exactly the same racist rhetoric like "those thugs" and "riots never solved anything" and "well they lost my support with this."

And... Over and over, I see kindly, well-meaning white friends of mine saying "Respectfully, I disagree" and engaging with those people.

It's easy to dismiss them as either bots or trolls, but they are neither.

They are the real friends and colleagues and relatives of my friends.

"Race isn't real, it's a social construct!"

OK. So is money. What happens if you try to exist in society and don't agree that money exists?

You might get away with it -- if you have lots of it.

If you don't have it, haha, you're screwed. My point is, one must be racially privileged in order to make the claim that race does not really exist.

"Well I don't see it!"

I mean... I can't see oxygen, either, but it's definitely, demonstrably there.

If you truly believe race doesn't exist, then here's a question:

By request: my take on "Violence doesn't solve anything."

Well actually, it absolutely does. Here's an anecdote for you.

During the brief time I spent in USA grade school in rural New Hampshire, I got bullied a lot, and by "bullied" I mean "beaten up." Everyone said, hey, that's terrible, what happened to you. Good job keeping your cool. Good job turning the other cheek. That makes you the better person.

Until eventually, my dad got sick of me coming home with black eyes and bruises and the like.

Listen, white folks:

Being conflict averse despite being at the top of the privilege heap is white supremacist indoctrination.

Think about it. Like REALLY think about it.

Why are you afraid of pissing off the racist in your mentions? Do you think that racist in your mentions is going to come for you harder than they go for people of color?

Do you think you'll be more affected than POC by their anger?

What do you think pissing them off will cost you?

Hoo boy, tough topic. Let’s do this.

There’s really nobody in fiber arts who has a “traditional” revenue stream, and those who provide content (as opposed to selling physical goods) have always depended very heavily on in-person appearances and gigs. (More)

https://twitter.com/ajasayshello/status/1250867475849318401

Lots of people have put together wonderful efforts to help and support vendors who would have been vending at lots of cancelled shows, and these have generally included wanting to do things for teachers and writers and designers and such too, but it’s hard to figure out how.

Summarizing what “lockdown” means in Peru, a thread:

1. I am confined to my home.
2. Only one member of the household is supposed to go out, for essentials like food, medicine, or banking. It is not me.
3. When she goes out, she has to wear a mask and gloves, and 4. She has to carry her ID at all times because
5. She WILL (not may, WILL) be stopped by police or soldiers and asked to identify herself and explain her reasons for being out
6. Authorities decide if she can proceed, must go home, or will be detained and taken tot he station

For people from the USA in Peru and hoping to leave during the present state of emergency, let me do a quick thread on “getting things accomplished in a crisis in Peru, for gringos.”

Credentials: I grew up in Peru, 30+ years trying to assimilate to USA, moved back 2018. 1. When asking Peruvians for something, start by greeting them and acting like they’re people.

Ex: Good afternoon señorita, how are you doing? [wait for answer] Please, would you mind, I have a question.

When she says “Tell me,” then say thank you, and proceed.