Knitting store: No yarn for women's movement protesters

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) — The owner of a Tennessee knitting store doesn’t want anyone buying its yarn for arts and crafts for the women’s movement, following recent protests by marchers in knitted, pointy-eared hats.

The Tennessean newspaper reports that the comments on the Facebook page of The Joy of Knitting store in Franklin drew thousands of responses — both support and vows of a boycott.

The social media post by Elizabeth Poe said that as a business owner and a Christian, she promotes values of “mutual respect, love, compassion, understanding, and integrity.”

She called the women’s movement “counterproductive” to unity.

“With the recent women’s march on Washington, I ask that you if you want yarn for any project for the women’s movement that you please shop for yarn elsewhere,” the social media post says. “The vulgarity, vile and evilness of this movement is absolutely despicable.”

The post came after thousands of movement marchers gathered in Washington and across the country on Jan. 21 wearing the pink, pointy-eared hats they called “pussyhats” — partly responding to Trump’s past caught-on-camera remarks about grabbing women’s genitalia.

Many commenters on social media called the post bigoted and hypocritical, and they vowed to take their yarn business elsewhere. Others applauded Poe for expressing her strong beliefs.