Brasilikilt Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 As of recently I have been doing what I can to buy tools, but also meet local blacksmiths in my area, I have gotten invites to tour various smithies and talk shop with their owners. I thankfully have met some really nice people, and have gotten plenty of good ideas for starting this as a career (thanks Dan!) and how to set up my own smithy. On Friday, after talking on the phone quite a bit, I showed up at a fellows house who has a backyard smithy set up, a really nice anvil, and an idea to do an artistic collective of sorts. I talked with him, talked with his partner and thought they were very nice people, I discovered that while their head was in the right place, they lacked certain important knowledge that I could bring into the mix such as how to make useful tools (such as a guillotine fuller, different types of tongs) and put them to work to save labor. I really thought that I was making friends, and that together we could really get something good started. But........to make a long story short........the talk became charged with these crack pot racial ideas. This all told me loud and clear that these guys are NOT my new forging partners. Such a shame, because before that point, I really liked them. He also had a little #100 Peter Wright he would have sold to me (expensive, but available) It makes me really sad because I don't deal with people who have that particular brand of mental illness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Einhorn Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 (edited) Perhaps by hanging around you those two gentlemen could learn to have a better understanding about life and tolerance for other ethnic groups. People only learn if they have opportunities to learn. I hear intolerance and such just about wherever I travel. A person hates such and such group, or their minister teaches them that such and such group is evil and/or deserves to be killed. For most people I think it is such a part of every day vocabulary, and from their religion, that they aren't even aware of it. And for the most part very nice people. But if the government started rounding up those ethnic groups, they would likely point out their neighbors and "friends" without a second thought. Those that forget history are destined to relive it. Edited July 5, 2009 by UnicornForge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 IForgeIron is visited by over 50 world wide countries each month. This represents a wide diversity of ideas, religions, beliefs, and cultures. Not everyone will agree, or even agree to disagree, so we stick to blacksmithing as it is the common element on which we can communicate. We may not be able to change someone's beliefs but we can show them how to improve in the craft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brasilikilt Posted July 5, 2009 Author Share Posted July 5, 2009 Hey all I was asked nicely to keep my wording vague. I was at first thinking that I could hang around these guys and perhaps open their minds a little. I talked with this guy well into the night, and with my questions being answered with greater and greater levels of intolerant ideas. I realized that there was little or nothing I could say to change their minds. If baffles me as to the close-minded nature of some people. I could have come to their house as I did, a nice honest guy wanting to make friends in the local blacksmith community and bringing a lot of knowledge and ideas to the table that would greatly benefit the operation. This beliefs truly makes me sad for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 You were in search of friends in the local blacksmith community. What you found was individuals with intolerant ideas that also used a hammer and anvil. It is one of the very few times I have heard of this occurring in the blacksmithing community. It is best to walk away and not look back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 As there is very little positive blacksmithing content to this thread, I will close the thread so we can turn our efforts to more productive discussions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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