Rambling and Venting Ahead

I love blogging. I love meeting so many interesting people and the new friends I've made. I get ridiculously thrilled when I find somebody who shares a common point of view or quirk (especially quirk), and I have also enjoyed a couple of respectful discussions on points of difference with people who I otherwise might have never had a chance to sit down and chat with, or get to know better... people who I also now consider my friends.


Sometimes I'm just all full of blogging love.


I think it is mostly because there seems to exist, at least in the majority of knitting blogs, a respect for their guests. The "hot topics" of religion and politics tend to be ignored, downplayed, or at least respectfully approached, and ideas are shared without name calling or ridicule. This gives us a chance to get to know each other as people... not just as labels. Ugh... I'm struggling with phrasing here, but, maybe since so much of my time is spent with children, other SAHMs and my like-minded friends, I really love how blogging has expanded my social circles to include such a variety of fascinating people.


And then comes Ravelry. I LOVE Ravelry! The organization, the creativity, the patterns, the ability to see every Clapotis that has ever been knit! Priceless! And there are groups (forums) for everything (and I do mean everything) on Ravelry. I have met some wonderful people there too... and that seemed like fun at first too.


But something is making me sad.

While the forums provide a great opportunity to unite with other people who share your interests (from significant to trivial), it seems to me that they end up breeding a lot more division than unity. And I think that's a shame. There is something less personal about the message board or forum format that seems to make people feel they can check their manners at the door. I actually stopped visiting homeschooling forums years ago for this very reason. People (especially in the general forums) just get downright rude... and not only that, I find people visiting groups just to insult or disagree with the members. Why? I mean really... why?!


The real kicker was a visit I made to an LYS yesterday only to endure a gathering of women who raucously discussed a variety of topics (including politics) with very little concern for the other shoppers in the store. Now don't get me wrong... I am in no way offended by the political views of others... but when insults and condescending remarks have to be thrown into the mix, I think it's just rude. They even started making fun of other Ravelry groups. Hello! You're in a yarn store... do ya think you might be insulting somebody standing next to you?


So, sadly, my illusion of knitting unity and love has been shattered. Sniff.

And my tooth is infected and needs a root canal... or so my dentist informed me when I called him today with unmanageable pain. Now I have antibiotics and "House meds" as my friend up north calls them. So if I sound cantankerous... or don't make sense, that may be why. At least we'll go with that, 'kay?