Victimhood abounds

[Black Orchid]

A Sydney craft store has become caught up in a vitriolic online campaign that has seen members of the knitting community labelled as racist by people who say they were ignored in yarn stores and felt uncomfortable at "white-majority knitting groups".

Claims of bullying, lying and harassment have gone back and forth on social media since the dispute began over the treatment of black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPoC) in the knitting community.

Sukrita Mahon, a spinner and weaver from the NSW Central Coast, has played a prominent role in the campaign to highlight and combat racism and prejudice among knitters.

“Sydney, we have a problem,” Ms Mahon wrote in January. “Your knitting spaces are unsafe for bipoc (and probably others). You have shown yourself unwilling to listen, at best.”

Ms Mahon did not respond to the Sun-Herald’s interview requests, but her Instagram account @su.krita refers to “the times I felt uncomfortable in their shop”.

She also refers to a time when the shop's owner was “racist to me and my brown friend”.

The owner also declined to be interviewed but has expressed distress on social media about the accusations of racism.

>snip<

Melbourne-based writer Sophia Cai suggested the dispute began when the owner was asked by members of the BIPoC community to make a statement denouncing racism.

“Their silence and silencing was noted, and they became defensive that they may been (sic) seen in a negative light,” Ms Cai wrote.

Ms Mahon then set up the Sydney is Cancelled online group, with the aim of creating places where BIPoC can meet, “away from the white gaze, without having to justify our existence at every step”.

“Our meetings will not be open to the public,” she explained on the Unfinished Object site.

>snip<

Ms Mahon said the event was disrupted by the owner of the Sydney craft store, which The Sun-Herald cannot identify for legal reasons, and another knitting designer.

“They spotted me standing away from the group and saw an opportunity to corner me,” Ms Mahon wrote in a blog post. “They demanded that I let them have their say. Through gritted teeth, I explained why I was upset with them, but received no acknowledgement of my feelings.”

Ms Mahon said she was intimidated by their behaviour, which they took “as a personal affront — manipulating the narrative so they appeared to be the victims”.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/syd ... 51ct3.html

So yet another self feigned victim making accusations that she refuses to back up. She attacks a group and then refuses to back up her statements and when the people she is attacking 'demand' to have their say she obviously declines (through gritted teeth). She is the offensive one.

Now she has set up her own group "away from the white gaze" and closed to the public and that's not racist?

What's wrong with people nowadays?

She doesn't even look Aboriginal ...

[brian ross]

She doesn't even look Aboriginal ...

Oh, dearie, dearie, me. Falling into the Bolt trap, are we, Black Orchid. You do remember what happened to the Bolter when he claimed people, "didn't look Aboriginal." "Race" is about a great deal more than just how a person looks to you. "Race" is a socially constructed concept, created to allow people to discriminate against others purely on the basis of the amount of melanin they have in their skin cells/the shape of their eyes/the thickness of their lips/the frizziness of their hair/etc. It has no basis in science. Genetically, we all share the same gene pool. Racists act upon the superficial differences between humans. We all descended from Africans. Time to throw away your beliefs in "Race". It is old hat and old fashioned and no, it doesn't entitle you to lord it over anybody, Black Orchid.

[Black Orchid]

Yes Brian they only have to think they are Aboriginal and then they have overcome their natural genetic racial heritage, whatever that may be right?

[Nicole]

She doesn't even look Aboriginal ...

Oh, dearie, dearie, me. Falling into the Bolt trap, are we, Black Orchid. You do remember what happened to the Bolter when he claimed people, "didn't look Aboriginal." "Race" is about a great deal more than just how a person looks to you. "Race" is a socially constructed concept, created to allow people to discriminate against others purely on the basis of the amount of melanin they have in their skin cells/the shape of their eyes/the thickness of their lips/the frizziness of their hair/etc. It has no basis in science. Genetically, we all share the same gene pool. Racists act upon the superficial differences between humans. We all descended from Africans. Time to throw away your beliefs in "Race". It is old hat and old fashioned and no, it doesn't entitle you to lord it over anybody, Black Orchid.

But Brian, how could the store possibly know she was aboriginal and behave in a racist manner towards her when she doesn’t even look aboriginal?

[Gordon]

Maybe just an unpleasant person and uses her heritage to explain why people don't like her.

[Black Orchid]

Sukrita sounds Indian to me *shrug

[Neferti]

Sukrita sounds Indian to me *shrug

I was about to say the same thing. She actually "looks" indian.

[Black Orchid]

There were a couple of Indians scamming the system for all it was worth at Newcastle University a few years ago. They were pretending to be Aboriginal and they got busted.

That was when I read that you only have to 'feel' Aboriginal to be Aboriginal

[Gordon]

She's a professional victim

https://www.browngirlpod.com/guests/suk ... -cancelled

[Black Orchid]

Type Sukrita into Google and you come up with these 'Aboriginal' surnames ... Chandra, Kumar, Kandpal, Chughtai ... all being Indian.