Opinion Piece

Yes, two posts in way less than 24 hours, but I need to rant.....

Eunny is one of my favorite bloggers. She's an absolutely amazing knitter who designs gorgeous pieces which tend to be very different. And by "different," I don't mean like that shawl in WrapStyle that has fringe hanging off unusual places. Eunny's designs are classic and gorgeous, beautifully designed. And you have to admire her sense of steeking adventure!

But she's also 23 years old. I think of she was 43, what's happening to her now might not be happening. She's taking flak from some readers who consider her a snob for having a different sense of style. Most of these readers seem to be young -- age does tend to have the advantage of making you understand that you aren't the center of the universe. Nevertheless, this sort of reaction seems to be the norm now.

I'm going to be 50 in less than 2 months. Sometimes, I can't believe the way the world is. What happened to free speech and saying what you believed - and having the rest of the community accept the fact that your opinion may be diffferent? The Internet has made this so much easier to do, but at the same time, it is so much less accepted. This was made absolutely clear during the 2004 election, when those of us who didn't support the current president were branded traitors and when those of us who didn't agree with him (and sign a document stating our agreement) weren't even allowed to hear him speak in person.

When I was younger, I thought the world would be changed when I 'grew up.' Vietnam was over by the time I got to college, but I thought the protests and activism had proven that we could all speak our minds and had a right to an opinion. But that didn't happen -- not only are we not supposed to speak our minds on politics, there are people who don't want us to speak our minds on knitting and other things that are, in the broad scheme, trivial.

I tend not to read the blogs of people I don't agree with and I certainly don't comment on them -- frankly, I've got more to worry about than the fact that some strangers hold opnions that don't agree with mine. But I guess there are lots of people out there who seek out the blogs of those they don't agree with, in order to insult them. Why does there seem to be this huge contingent that doesn't understand that holding different opinions is not a bad thing? That the entire world does not have to, and will never, agree with them? I don't get it.

More than anything else, it's the manner these opinions are given, as if theirs is the only one that matters and that you are either stupid or evil to not agree with them. I guess that's the heart of the problem here - lack of tolerance, rudeness, the 'only me' attitude. They must have missed the day sharing was taught in kindergarten.