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Lil Sis of Two Sisters and Some Yarn ACTIVISM VS. ADVOCACY The New “Dirty” Words Activist and advocate…unless you’ve lived under a rock the last few years, you have heard those words in conversations, seen them in social media bios, and heard people announce them as if they were professions. In some cases, it may be their job. But what do these words mean? According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of activism is: “a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue.” Advocate is a little trickier, and for purposes of this article I’m referring to it as a noun. According to Merriam-Webster, as a noun it means: “one who defends or maintains a cause or proposal; one who supports or promotes the interests of a cause or group; one who pleads the cause of another.” Notice the difference in the fact that not only does advocate have multiple definitions, but that the meaning of advocate certainly SOUNDS much more appealing, empowering, and helpful. What about in the real world that you and I live in? I’ll give you a little background on myself, and none of this is to brag on myself, merely to share I do indeed walk the walk! My history includes being an early childhood educator, homeschooling parent/teacher, and what I have always referred to as an advocate. This was never a dirty word to me. For over twenty years I have considered myself an advocate. As a teacher, I advocated for my students in IEP meetings, in the classroom and to therapists to assure they got the services they were entitled to. I advocated for and with their parents regarding custody issues, housing, employment, and much more. As a teacher, I stayed informed and involved in all sorts of educational legislation, training, etc. In 2013, I became intensely involved in opposing the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) because as an ECE professional, I knew the standards to be developmentally inappropriate for the early elementary years. (For the record I have no opinion on the older grades as my expertise ends at age 8, where Early Childhood moves into Elementary.) I joined together with other teachers and parents with whom I was a frequent presence at the State Capitol for legislative sessions and in Education Committee meetings. I appeared on two national television programs in opposition of CCSS, along with other members of our bi-partisan group. I worked with politicians, educational experts, parents, and teachers who crossed every political belief and lifestyle imaginable. Due to the CCSS, I decided to homeschool my children and left teaching for good. As a new homeschooler, I saw a huge lack in our area for homeschool support because almost every group was either totally secular or tied to a religion and to join you were required to sign a statement of faith. Seeing a lack of neutral, “everyone is welcome” homeschool support, I not only created a statewide support group on Facebook that still maintains 17k members, I also co-created a local co-op for homeschool families with classes, field trips, volunteering, etc., that continued for several years that had over 100 students. I still to this day, spend many hours volunteering as an advocate in the areas of homeschool, medical freedom, and informed consent (albeit in a digital presence now). I have never, ever, been paid for any of the time I spent whether it was physical or digital. It NEVER occurred to me to set up a Go Fund Me or Ko-Fi to beg to be compensated for something I chose to do, which would better society and my own family. So, is there anything wrong with being an advocate? Why not an activist? Let’s go back to those definitions. An activist would participate in direct vigorous 16
Activism vs. Advocacy Continued... action over a controversial issue. Now, I surely believe some controversial things, such as the right for every human to make their own medical decisions. But I am not an activist. I am not going to stand with a sign and yell at people as they go into a drugstore to get their vaccination. That’s their choice. What I am going to do is advocate for transparency, safety, and choice by following legislation, having open conversations, reading the science, and helping others learn how to do the same thing. At the end of the day, an advocate helps others learn how to help themselves. There is no victim in advocacy. There are human beings who are perfectly capable, in their own ways, of running their lives and making their own choices, even if they need some support for a while to get to that independence. Advocacy creates freedom, choice, and pride in accomplishing goals. Activism shames, guilts, begs, screams, and controls. Activism pushes down. Advocacy pushes up. Are you afraid of saying you are an advocate? Is it a dirty word to you? What in the WORLD does this have to do with knitting? If you don’t know that, then you probably have never read this magazine! We are in a time where we can no longer be silent when folks spread lies about us, call us names, or try to cancel us. Don’t let them. Push back. BE YOUR OWN ADVO- CATE. Their words mean nothing when you know they aren’t true. If you believe strongly in a subject, are you an advocate for it or an activist? Do your actions make the world better—or worse? What about knitting? Oh right, this is a knitting magazine. How can you advocate for your knitting friends? 1. Do your own research. Do not assume anything said about someone in our fiber world (no matter what side of the aisle they vote) is true. Read and listen to their own words. Discernment and judgment should not be rendered based on rumors. Truth Advocate Honor 2. Knit the patterns of the so-called “canceled.” Buy the hand-dyed yarn from those who have been declared unpersons. Support the charities they support. Share this magazine with people. When they say it’s racist, ask if they have read it? Work with creators you love because you love their work, not because they check off a box or voted a certain way. 3. Speak up for yourself! I understand we live in a world where your day job, family, or just your personality prohibits you from being loud and proud, but when and if you can, it’s time to do so. We live in a world where women “Shout their Abortions!” If they can scream in pride over murder, why can’t you stand up and publicly support a designer, shop, magazine, yarn dyer that you love? It’s long past time for complacency, quiet, and just toeing the line. As my Dad used to say, “piss or get off the pot!” 4. Find your tribe. Yes, I said it. While I firmly believe that we should not create a vacuum where we only surround ourselves with people who are like-minded, find a tribe of people, whose beliefs may differ, but are still supportive of each other, kind, openminded, and willing to discuss things reasonably. Contrary to what some social media accounts would have you believe, that tribe is out there! I have met a great many wonderful people thanks to this magazine and all the drama that started it! I have great chats with people across multiple races, cultures and countries, from Christians to Atheists, and all lifestyle choices. Your tribe doesn’t have to look or act just like you. They just need not to be jerks. Stand up and advocate for your fellow knitters! I will keep calling myself an advocate even though I don’t have a cool Ko-fi account. I will never stop trying to help others learn how to live their lives better, to use their voices even when it shakes, and to stand up for truth. 17
Page 1 and 2: ISSUE 6
Page 3 and 4: Dearest readers, Whilst thinking of
Page 5 and 6: Lazy Knitter Continued... your fina
Page 7 and 8: I was only following By Uknitted Ki
Page 9 and 10: EVIL SANTA HAT by UKnitted Kingdom
Page 11 and 12: Dropped Stitch - Continued From pag
Page 13 and 14: BREAKING OUT THE by Karen Juliano s
Page 15: → Row 25 [WS]: k3, p6, k2, p2, k7
Page 19 and 20: ©Stephanie Fernandez ©Stephanie F
Page 21 and 22: Amigurumi/Crochet Patterns http://w
Page 23 and 24: fleeces have eggs, and said there i
Page 25 and 26: → Row 25 [WS]: k4, p10, k2, p1, k
Page 27 and 28: Bloggers & Vloggers 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Page 29 and 30: CUFF Cast on 48 (48; 52) stitches R
Page 31 and 32: Spitfire Continued... called ‘Roy
Page 33 and 34: Spitklatter Hat Continued R11. ch2,
Page 35 and 36: LOOKING A By Uknitted Kingdom GIFT
Page 37 and 38: COVFEFE BREAK COZY by Yelena of Scy
Page 39 and 40: Charming Scarf Continued... With a
Page 41 and 42: Lydia Shawl Continued... Pattern: R
Page 43 and 44: Stay tuned for Issue 7! If you woul
Page 45: Acknowledgments BLOCKED has been ma

BLOCKED issue 6

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