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Pieces of metal arranged on the ground, the knees and boots of several people surround them

Code of Conduct

The Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths is for anyone and everyone, including you! To join read through our code of conduct below to learn about our guidelines for being a SIBling, then complete the following form to submit your information. Let’s all be good SIBlings and friends! 

*By signing this form you also sign up for our periodic newsletters, which you can unsubscribe from anytime. 

Be Aware

This means you know yourself and pay attention to the people around you. Be aware of things like correct pronouns, possible disabilities or differences from what is considered normative, and interact with people accordingly. But especially be aware of yourself. This means understanding and acknowledging that systemic privileges or disadvantages may affect how you move through the world. Knowing this, you can understand that other people move through the world differently and are treated differently than you. 

Be Empathetic 

Empathy is defined as “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another”. This means every person should be treated first as a human being who is more similar to you than different and just as valuable and important as you are. Empathy also means that once you are aware of someone’s identity, gender, religion, race, ethnicity, ability, etc, you should respect that part of their identity. Try to understand how their identity is different than yours and how that might affect how they are treated in the world. Empathy is not always easy but it is always necessary.

Be Open to Learning and Changing 

Everyone makes mistakes, the important part is what you do once you realize it. Even if your intention was not to cause harm, if your behavior is pointed out as harmful, accept responsibility and change that behavior in the future. Realize that you are part of larger systems and issues of inequality are systemic, not personal. Understand that you are not being personally attacked. Reflect on your actions, apologize when necessary, learn what you are being taught, and adjust your behavior accordingly. If you are acting from a place of awareness and with empathy these responses will become easier to do with practice.

SIBling Agreement

By signing the code of conduct I agree to abide by it and uphold its values. 

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