Do you know what knitters did today?

Anyone in the fiber community who knows anything of Ravelry knows what has been going on the last 24 hours. The USOC sent a cease and desist letter that was tactless, rude, insulting and just plain mean. Their reasoning was sound. They have to protect their trademark. But they did it poorly. Knitters united. Some with hate, some with venom, some with tact, some with kindness. But they united to voice their opinions on what they took to be a personal attack on what they love. That united front received international attention. It generated not one, but 2 apologies. It resulted in the head of the USOC admitting they were insensitive. It resulted in NPR taking notice.

While I may not agree with all other knitters about their tactics I do recognize that maybe, just maybe, we helped stop another organization from receiving their inflammatory, insensitive and insulting standard form cease and desist letter. If we helped make their legal department or their interns or their leader take notice and helped them see that it won't hurt them to be a little more tactful then We Won.

I think we should still support our athletes. I think we should knit on. But I'm quite satisfied that we made people take notice. I'm hopeful that the USOC might learn a lesson and quit alienating supporters with their insults. Consult a new legal team on how to use legalese only in their form letters. No need to be antagonistic when you want someone to do something for you.

Do you know what knitters did today? They reached out and made their voices heard.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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