Unless you’ve been living under a snowbank, you’ve probably heard of the MTI Red Hat Movement. It’s craftivism at its best and people around the world are knitting red hats as a passive protest against the reported unlawful treatment of immigrants, both legal and illegal, by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It all started a month ago when a Minneapolis yarn shop, Needle & Skein, designed a knitting pattern for a red, beanie-style cap, based on the Norwegian nisselue used to peacefully protest the Nazi occupation during World War II.
“Melt the ICE,” said Needle & Skein, when it listed its pattern on Ravelry for $5. “Take back the red,” say passionate knitters as they K1 and P1 their stitches. While I didn’t close these quotes with commanding exclamation points—Midwestern nice, dontcha know—the unity behind the movement has gone global and red yarn is now a hot commodity. To date, the shop has raised over $600,00 toward the support of immigrants via the Immigrant Rapid Response Fund and STEP. As I said, it’s craftivism at its best.
Like so many, I find the U.S. immigration issue to be ultimately complex…the laws, the process, and the solution. For any of us to form a black and white opinion is certainly naive and worthy of further educating oneself. And through it all, as humanity’s compassion seems to unravel, I find myself sad, disgusted, afraid. I worry for my Latino family and friends because citizenship and legal residency obviously don’t offer the protection they should. I wonder how low people can go before we set aside our arguments and start caring for one another?
The Greatest of These is Love
While opposing sides quote their own cherry-picked Bible verses, I’m tackling the German twisted cast-on for my hat (I’m not the most advanced knitter) and giving thought to my church’s new sermon series called “Love, Actually.” To start, we focused on 1 Corinthians 13, which is considered the love chapter and defines agape love.
Agape isn’t an emotional love, rather it’s an action-oriented love. It’s selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional. It’s a mindful decision to put the well-being of others before our own, no matter who they are, how they look, what language they speak, how they vote, or whether or not they belong to our own faith organization. It’s the kind of love Jesus showed all of us when he died on the cross.
Love is Patient, Love is Kind
Knitting red hats is definitely teaching me patience. My first hat is hardly pretty. Oh my goodness, how the missed stitches abound (I really should have paid more attention as a child when my grandmother tried to teach me)! Yet, this quiet action does something for my soul. It unites me with shared voices of concern and is a symbolic way to raise awareness of what’s really happening. As I read the stories fellow red hatters are sharing—many of them write about their European grandmothers during WWII—I feel like we’re literally knitting with our heart and hands an agape love for those around us.