This is a branch off of a conversation in another thread (http://www.bcfurries.com/forum/index.php?topic=6131.0), which I decided would be too far off-topic to discuss in that thread. None of the words hereafter are directed at anybody; they are simply the musings of a tired dragon who decided beer and internet were better than food and sleep after getting home from work at 3:30 in the morning. x.=.x
How many people recognize the terms, "Furry Drama," "Fur House," and in the case of the discussion this branched from, "Deadbeat Furries?"
From my observations over many years of having been a furry, I see that a good portion of us live in this dream wherein all furries are equally cool and interesting just because they are furry. A lot of us want to believe that this guy over here should act and behave as I do because he's a furry, just like me. Not many furs look at the community for what it is: a really fucking big conglomerate of people, all with different beliefs, interests, and ideas on how to act and behave. You put one furry in a room with another furry, the chance that they will get along with each other is just as great as the chance that they might be at each others' throats or sit in an awkward silence. This would not differ at all if you were to do the same with two non-furry people. The "furry" title is only skin-deep. It does not encompass all that we are as a person.
This misconception breeds a lot of frustration when events and gatherings are held, where many of us are quite happy and willing to go out of our own way to either host events, contribute to events, or even giving rides to people who would not otherwise be able to attend for lack of adequate transportation. Some people expect that a furry party is going to go down famously because everyone is there under one unifying banner. They forget that all this party is, is a gathering of individuals whose only common trait is this sharing of furry identities. A few of them might be deadbeats, but are easy to get along with. A few of them might be quite successful in life, but their demeanour is that of a pretentious snob that nobody can bear. The fact is: we cannot simply expect everyone to be responsible and share common sense; we must regard our furry cohorts as regular people who vary in degrees of likeability and usefulness.
Which brings me around to the whole "furry drama" thing. I know people LOVE to go off about "furry drama." What makes drama furry? The fact that it's between two people who happen to be furries? What if two Klingons started bitching at each other, would we call it "Trekkie Drama?" When two furries go at it--one of them a dragon, the other a crocodile--do we call it "Scaly Furry Drama?" Samsung's Galaxy tablet is shaped too rectangular for Apple's liking; that's "Patented Drama."
Drama is drama, guys. When two people have it out for each other, it's just drama. Being furry doesn't make it furry drama. When an artist traces furry art of another artist and calls it their own, that's not furry drama. Other artists have done this with non-furry artwork in the past; being furry doesn't make it any more special.
If you want to AVOID "furry" drama, then stop generalizing the furry community. Start understanding that we are all individuals, and need to be treated as such. If someone in our community starts ruffling your feathers, deal with it like you'd deal with any other person. Don't go thinking that people deserve special treatment just because they call themselves a furry, as do you.
It is true that in the end we are all individuals with different beliefs, for some furries its a hobby, others its a big part of their identity, and for others their connection to a species has more deeper spiritual roots even. Furries come in many different shades like you said. But the only point I really wanted to add was the fact that not just any deadbeat or mundane can truly be a furry (new before people read into that line as elitism let me explain)
To be an active furry who is actually out there still requires someone to have something of an open mind and at least a few typical personality traits. Not many people can just wake up one morning and go "im gonna be a wolf today" so its easy to see how many furs can assume something of at least a somewhat better than the average person personality of someone who identifies as a fur. (but yeah it can be a false sense of security with some) But as for deadbeat types, it is sad as I have seen way WAY too many of them in the last generation of furs I hung around with (and guess what, none of them are even in the fandom anymore). just furs who took advantage of the same shit people are doing today with meets and rides. people know how giving the fandom can be.. and if they were raised by your typical "business" minded family then there is a good chance they have a "take what ever you can" mentality drilled into them and the only real cure for that is to not even deal with them and not feed that attitude.
All of this is why events and larger organized rides have now gone pre-reg and its effectiveness really shows, this years FurBQ was totally pre-reg none of that "no worries man I can pay you at the door bro" crap, and you know what, the event has gone the most perfect I have ever seen the FurBQ go. I was around for the very first FurBQ events back in 06 and 07 and while they went good, they were still somewhat spoiled by the tag alongs who abused the kindness of others and pretty much pulled a dine-n-dash. Best example was a guy I knew who rented a 7 seater van so he could take a bunch of us islanders, notion was that if we each chipped in for the cost of the van, ferry and fuel then it would be much cheaper than if we all tried to grey hound our way there.. He managed to fill the van fast.. but you know what.. only three of us ever gave him the full amount he needed. The rest made empty promises or gave the guy like pocket change.. The guy regrettably came up about $400 short on the bill that he had to shell straight from his own pocket. In other words, pre-reg is the only way to go these days to reduce the scumbag levels because trying to talk to deadbeats only gets you more shallow empty words.
I think people who talk about "furry drama" must never have been part of any other geek group. I'd be surprised if leeches aren't just as prevalent in many other subcultures, too.
I love you. <3
Especially the bit about furry drama. I've been trying to explain the whole drama thing ever since I first joined.
Your post touched me. < : 3
Neox had read my mind and put down as I had tried to in the other thread..
Tiger.
*Claps FURIOUSLY* Thank you NEOX!
Amazingly said, and i commend you for saying things i've been trying to tell people for a long time now. (Sure, i use the term furry drama because its amusing to me and those i talk to. But we all understand that its just drama. Drama is everywhere. When we say furry drama its kinda poking fun at the community lol. )
: Silvermink August 22, 2012, 10:16:36 -06:00
I think people who talk about "furry drama" must never have been part of any other geek group. I'd be surprised if leeches aren't just as prevalent in many other subcultures, too.
Not even just a geek group, but ANY group. I've dealt with drama at the workplace just as much, if not more, than I've dealt with drama amongst my furry friends. Don't even get me started on high-school drama. I wonder if the KKK have their own drama? =P
: Renwaldo August 22, 2012, 11:06:25 -06:00
I love you. <3
Especially the bit about furry drama. I've been trying to explain the whole drama thing ever since I first joined.
Your post touched me. < : 3
BAD TOUCH. BAD TOUCH. BAD TOUCH!!!
: Neox August 22, 2012, 03:03:03 -06:00
Not even just a geek group, but ANY group. I've dealt with drama at the workplace just as much, if not more, than I've dealt with drama amongst my furry friends. Don't even get me started on high-school drama. I wonder if the KKK have their own drama? =P
I think it's a little bit more prevalent in geek groups just due to what happens when you gather together a bunch of people who aren't 100% astute socially, but point taken.
The Geek Social Fallacies (http://www.plausiblydeniable.com/opinion/gsf.html) don't help, either.
Something you didn't really include though neox, people who are furries often are predisposed to being so due to certain life events and/or personality types, for examples christians are less common among furries because many christians believe that being furry would conflict with their beliefs. Because of this, one could presume that it is indeed possible there is more drama among furries, or more deadbeats or whatever label you want to put on a particular person than if you generalized all people throughout the region, there really isn't any way to prove either way, unless you could somehow do an accurate survey of all furries.
I do however agree with the whole furries are not furries they are people thing, thinking otherwise could in fact be what causes the extra drama, assuming there is some.
Something to be considered though, is while this is all true, it should not discourage one from having large furry gatherings and trying to be furiends with other furs! The awesome thing about being furry is that its an excuse to gather with people you've never met and make new furiends! and its much more effective at doing so than, say, talking to a random person on the bus, and also provides a much larger number of people to interact with than something like a workplace, FURthermore; it provides a great platform for building a romantic relationship, because you are meeting people as furiends and building relationships from there (which is why dating sites suck, because the intent for romance is immediately displayed, and feelings are kind of forced instead of developed naturally) and you also already have something in common! to summarize:Don't assume that you will immediately be furiends with anyone else who is furry, but also don't let that dissuade you from trying!
its funny looking at that GSF page reminded me of various things I remember thinking in the past, several of which when I was like 15 but (for most of them) realized how stupid and impractical that belief is.
(just wanted to point out Sevrin, that i see an absolute TON of christian furries around. I was also raised christian :P Just because of something you were raised in, or your family still is, a lot of the time, wont stop a person from being furry. Just like a lot of family related things wont stop people from coming out as liking the same sex.)
really? that's weird, cause I've only ever, out of the hundreds of furs I've seen, seen one christian furry. (well only seen one that stated they were christian, at least) maybe I just don't ask enough questions O.o
Some of them dont say their religion. Just like some dont say their orientation either. But it doesnt mean they arent there :3
Some people separate furry from their home life. So it makes sense.
But i've known and seen many who openly say they are christian. ^^
-sorry for slightly off topic-
I could be going insane, but I think I made this statement, or something similar in the great diversity with Furries, and despite how people like to think we're different than the 'norm' we're not really aside from this broad umbrella of "anthro animals".
Like I have mentioned before, I more often then not don't get along with most furries. Nothing to relate to, mannerisms don't clash, or any number of other issues. Granted I think I struggle IRL to maintain friends with the whole 'travel' thing coming into play.
: Neox August 22, 2012, 03:03:03 -06:00
Not even just a geek group, but ANY group. I've dealt with drama at the workplace just as much, if not more, than I've dealt with drama amongst my furry friends. Don't even get me started on high-school drama. I wonder if the KKK have their own drama? =P
BAD TOUCH. BAD TOUCH. BAD TOUCH!!!
You filthy lizard fucker, you know that's not what I meant. ; )
: Temrin August 22, 2012, 09:54:00 -06:00
(just wanted to point out Sevrin, that i see an absolute TON of christian furries around. I was also raised christian :P Just because of something you were raised in, or your family still is, a lot of the time, wont stop a person from being furry. Just like a lot of family related things wont stop people from coming out as liking the same sex.)
^ truth.
: Sevrin August 22, 2012, 09:16:38 -06:00
Something you didn't really include though neox, people who are furries often are predisposed to being so due to certain life events and/or personality types, for examples christians are less common among furries because many christians believe that being furry would conflict with their beliefs. Because of this, one could presume that it is indeed possible there is more drama among furries, or more deadbeats or whatever label you want to put on a particular person than if you generalized all people throughout the region, there really isn't any way to prove either way, unless you could somehow do an accurate survey of all furries.
In many cases, you are right; but over the grand spectrum of the furry community, I think you will be disproved. I've been around the fandom for a long-ass time, and I've observed so many people from different backgrounds and composure. You might be referring to the typical teen furry: a kid going through his/her adolescent years, constantly fighting with their parents, full of angst, hormones, and wanting to be different from mainstream society, so they join the furry community. What better engine to power drama? No doubt that these people account for a good percentage of our ranks in the fandom, but I've seen an equal amount of folk who had the exact opposite childhood: folks who get along with their parents like best friends, loved going to school and love working, and otherwise have no clear predisposition that would have landed them here in the fandom. For me, it was my artistic talents that led me to become a furry; for others, it was their desire to emulate an animal of their liking. I've yet to find a fully composed a criteria for marking an individual who is destined to be a furry.
I speak with confidence because, over ten years of being fully immersed in the furry community, I've compiled my experiences and observations into what I believe to be a fairly accurate understanding of the community, and its plethora of sub-genres, cliques, and beliefs. Call it a cumulative "survey," if you will. I will never claim to have seen EVERYTHING; but I have seen a LOT. I will say that probably a good 50% of my life is ado with my friends and experiences in the furry community.
And also: I think that, out of my hundreds of friends and acquaintances in the fandom, I'd estimate that at least half of them are Christian or similarly religious. Some may not be so devout as others, but they still hold some faith in their beliefs.
Also ALSO: The use of the word "furiends" seriously makes me cringe. Seriously. :|
: Neox August 23, 2012, 05:00:01 -06:00
Also ALSO: The use of the word "furiends" seriously makes me cringe. Seriously. :|
"Fursecuted" is the one that makes me grind my teeth. :/
yeah... Seeing people putting "fur" into whatever words possible makes me cringe, so i hear ya.
The only exception being convention names lol.
: Elias.Ringtail August 23, 2012, 10:22:32 -06:00
"Fursecuted" is the one that makes me grind my teeth. :/
whats really terrible is when a furry uses the word fursecuted while talking to a non furry... thats just about the quickest way to make someone hate furries, that and talking about your sexcapades with other furs and constantly using the word "yiffing".
: Sevrin August 22, 2012, 10:12:28 -06:00
really? that's weird, cause I've only ever, out of the hundreds of furs I've seen, seen one christian furry. (well only seen one that stated they were christian, at least) maybe I just don't ask enough questions O.o
Given that Christians have been the butt of jokes and discrimination because of what politicians are proving themselves out to be on news, I wouldn't be surprised if a considerable amount of Christian furries try to closet their beliefs.
I digress.
@Temrin, Neox: True enough. Furpaccino? No thanks!
P.S. Neox, I really enjoy reading your posts man. No seriously.
You know, Neox, when I read your opening post, I find it easy to agree with everything that you're saying. It's like a matter of common sense: it seems so obvious...but only when someone says it.
I'll be honest, I've found myself struggling to understand this issue for a while, having been a victim of it many a time before. I've fallen into the trap of thinking "I know many furries who are nice. Here's a new furry to meet. They MUST be nice!" but it's never that easy. Lol, I dealt with a similar problem when I began working in an electronics store in a part of town just chalk FULL of old people. I thought to myself, "this won't be so bad. Old people are just like my grandparents. I'm sure they're all just as nice. It's what happens when you get old." Boy was I wrong! It didn't take me long to figure out that old assholes can and DO exist, and it's all because they used to be young assholes. Being old does not make you nice; you are who you were. In like manner, being a furry does not completely change who you are, or who you were.
Also, Neox, to add further support to what you're saying about how certain groups all claim to have their own brand of drama, I've given plenty of long-winded speeches to a good friend of mine, who is gay, before about how stupid it is to use the words "Gay Drama" in any sentence about himself or his friends. Nothing changes just because he's gay.
Funny story, though, you can make an anagram out of Gay Drama if you say A Mad Gary.
"You might be referring to the typical teen furry: a kid going through his/her adolescent years, constantly fighting with their parents, full of angst, hormones, and wanting to be different from mainstream society, so they join the furry community."
could it be that "becoming a furry" is the 1060's hippie of the 20teens?
Tokar, you probably mean 1960s furries? Furry can be a rebellion of some sort, especially if you are not part of the fathom. One regretful thing, when new and young members join the community (which we always welcome), they act out and experience things. For member who have been in the fathom for a long time this can be a damper but we are here to educate them.
Oddly enough the adding the "fur" feels acceptable to site a few examples:
http://www.furnation.com/wereman/az6.gif (http://www.furnation.com/wereman/az6.gif)
http://www.furnation.com/wereman/az2.gif (http://www.furnation.com/wereman/az2.gif)
http://www.furnation.com/wereman/az7.gif (http://www.furnation.com/wereman/az7.gif)
http://www.furnation.com/wereman/az8.gif (http://www.furnation.com/wereman/az8.gif)
Using altered words to non-furries is less acceptable indeed.
Back to a topic Drake posted earlier in this thread, pay your part of the ride when you are driven to an event. There is the saying the more you give the more you get back, though this doesnt always apply to everyone. Some need to pinch every penny they have, but if they cannot pay their part they need to face the consequences decline their participation. Then you have to make the decision that you have to save up to join an event in the future and pass on a current event
Wereman, those are all furry related -titles.- That it self is acceptable. Conventions do that every year for their theme titles as well as furry related websites and company people have made in relation to the fandom. (Furplanet for example.) Its when people, in every day chat, start saying fur instead of for, furiend instead of friend. paw instead of hand, and pretty much inserting "fur" into ever work ever possible to fit it into, as well as other words (like tail wagging, howling -both irl and online-, etc) on a more then an "every so often" thing. I've said paw instead of hand before. but i do not make a habbit of it. It sounds extremely childish in my opinion anyways. And as I've read, quite a few others think so as well. Just because we like cartoon animals (which to most people, seems childish) doesnt mean we cannot talk like mature adults. Talking like mature adults makes people respect us more. Many non-furries look upon edited "fur" text as immature, childish, and as a few have said to my face, when talking about the fandom, unbelievably stupid sounding. Since most furry websites are viewable to the public eye, the people who act very.. 'eccentric' about the fandom in these quirky ways are the ones that make a lot of outsiders go "wtf is this? a child circus?"
That is what i've heard from a lot of outsiders that had the balls to approach me and ask for clarification. Those people realized that not all of us are like that after i explained a lot of things. But what about all the rest right? Private forums and between IMs/notes/PMs the people, go ahead and say what you want in regards to fur flavouring your text. XD But this is just me saying that some outsiders think we all do this and think we are utterly immature.
Sorry if all that sounds extremely harsh to anyone.
Neox, I want to thank you for your opening post... I saw alot on the forums the last little bit, and sad to say it actually started to turn me away quite a bit. I became a fur due to personal feelings and beliefs, and I truly embraced it when I was able to meet other furs and just be me. I dislike alot of the posting regarding drama in other threads and the direction it was taking. I saw alot of mini wars breaking out and just as in highschool different groups of furs getting closer together and combating other furs in verbal arguements in the forums. That is NOT what the fandom is about, in fact its the exact opposite. I enjoy the fandom/lifestyle because we tend to be open and accepting and welcoming. I consider the furs like another ethnic background for this particular example. Show me any other culture/ethnic background, that does not have the same problems we encounter within our fandom/lifestyle. We are not perfect nor is any other culture out there. We have a common factor, being a fur, but we all have different personalities. This needs to be understood. Some of this "drama" that has been mentioned isn't just acting out, I know of a few furs that have underlying issues that are not fully within their control, and are just mislabelled as dramatic. We need to take that into consideration before just throwing out drama tags. Remember we have fought hard to have an acceptable image within our community and to the views of non furs, lets not digress backwards here to a sense of persecuting those within our fandom while we are on the verge of escaping persecution to some extent. That does not mean that childish and mooch type behaviour is acceptable. The people out there that are just abusing the furrie community for its generosity need to walk now because your all obvious as to who you are and you will eventually find a cold should everywhere you attempt to mooch or misbehave. But those with legitimate issues need to be respected too. Sometimes we may have something serious on our plates, and we might lash out or react in manners we dont normally, that isnt grounds to point fingers or paws and call out drama. I think talking to those in question will help, but if it persists, then remove the negative elements from the good bunch and lets move forward. I love my new found fur friends and community, but if we cant step up to the plate and act in the manner we demand the rest of the non furrie community to see us as, then I for one will not sit in the middle, i'll extract myself and stand as a solitary fur as I would feel thats better than the other option to stay in the middle and get caught up on wordplay, drama and wars. Love, acceptance and good hearted people wearing fur, thats the basis of the furrie community (or at least it was). Ya, i'm a new fur, but it doesn't take any value away from what I just said above...
: tokar August 25, 2012, 12:53:38 -06:00
could it be that "becoming a furry" is the 1060's hippie of the 20teens?
I think we're pretty far back in the line to claim that particular role. :)
: Ja'Nathun August 24, 2012, 11:56:53 -06:00
Funny story, though, you can make an anagram out of Gay Drama if you say A Mad Gary.
This made me laugh. xDDD
And as a new furry and new to this website I'd like to point out that I wasn't discouraged to join at all because of the drama I saw. I honestly wasn't surprised, it's in every forum site I've ever visited. No matter where you go there will always be people who cause drama and take advantage of other people.
@Nibi not all people are as understanding that drama is everywhere. Can cause some unneeded grief when you find those people who dont look at the bigger picture.
Thank you for sharing you viewpoint, Temrin. You will always have a group not linked to the fathom but who heard of it making falsified assumptions. One part of them are ready to be educated about it while the others stay with their assumption and even prejudice.
I think it took me several years to explain to one individual that we are not making love to animals (that b-word). It would not come as a surprise that several individuals who heard about the fathom may have such assumption.
: Wereman August 31, 2012, 09:54:35 -06:00
Thank you for sharing you viewpoint, Temrin. You will always have a group not linked to the fathom but who heard of it making falsified assumptions. One part of them are ready to be educated about it while the others stay with their assumption and even prejudice.
I think it took me several years to explain to one individual that we are not making love to animals (that b-word). It would not come as a surprise that several individuals who heard about the fathom may have such assumption.
I'm not going to lie when I say I first thought that's what being a furry was about. But then I started watching videos on YouTube of the cons and going onto furry websites and very quickly learned it had nothing to do with that at all. XDD
: Neox August 23, 2012, 05:00:01 -06:00
In many cases, you are right; but over the grand spectrum of the furry community, I think you will be disproved. I've been around the fandom for a long-ass time, and I've observed so many people from different backgrounds and composure. You might be referring to the typical teen furry: a kid going through his/her adolescent years, constantly fighting with their parents, full of angst, hormones, and wanting to be different from mainstream society, so they join the furry community. What better engine to power drama? No doubt that these people account for a good percentage of our ranks in the fandom, but I've seen an equal amount of folk who had the exact opposite childhood: folks who get along with their parents like best friends, loved going to school and love working, and otherwise have no clear predisposition that would have landed them here in the fandom. For me, it was my artistic talents that led me to become a furry; for others, it was their desire to emulate an animal of their liking. I've yet to find a fully composed a criteria for marking an individual who is destined to be a furry.
I speak with confidence because, over ten years of being fully immersed in the furry community, I've compiled my experiences and observations into what I believe to be a fairly accurate understanding of the community, and its plethora of sub-genres, cliques, and beliefs. Call it a cumulative "survey," if you will. I will never claim to have seen EVERYTHING; but I have seen a LOT. I will say that probably a good 50% of my life is ado with my friends and experiences in the furry community.
And also: I think that, out of my hundreds of friends and acquaintances in the fandom, I'd estimate that at least half of them are Christian or similarly religious. Some may not be so devout as others, but they still hold some faith in their beliefs.
Also ALSO: The use of the word "furiends" seriously makes me cringe. Seriously. :|
As another individual who has been around the fandom ironically just as long (a notion I do cringe about due to elitist sounding context when brought up), I can see what you mean... But haven't you kinda "shot down" your own point? Yes furs can come from many different places and have a very wide differentiation of backgrounds, but if we are gonna contribute the whole "drama" and "teen angst" shebang to being a product of the high teen population... then really it almost makes it pointless to even bring up other backgrounds and variables, "teen angst" is teen angst no matter how you slice it, Otherkin, Christian, Gay, Straight, Black, White, Raised by truckers or raised by hippies. Once you introduce the teenage hormonal bit, really all that other stuff now becomes of little relevance in the grand scheme cause its now vastly outweighed by the notion of simply being a spasmodic hormonal individual. For example, a spiritual youth VS a non-spiritual one. Both can easily try and claim the high ground and maturity, one can claim because he is non spiritual he has a more grounded view of the world while at the same time the spiritual one can claim a more enlightened view, and you know, what ever works for the individual really. But in the end, those two parties when now tossed in with the concept of teenage hormones and "angst/ drama" sadly will now just boil down to a contest of who can talk down to the other the most and parade around like a peacock holding their head in the air while trying to brag how much more mature, open and logical they are. (I believe this one rings a bell for the both of us given where we have hung around at times *chuckles*) Because now the whole situation now has nothing to do with the original context but now is nothing more than a contest of who can be the biggest fake while being convincing enough to fool others. IE: your talks of some groups in the fandom and the few topics of dead beat furs, what furry is, and this topic.
But if I had to whip out my most noted type of individual in the fandom that really stinks up the place it would have to be the "popufur" I have seen it totally destroy more furs than I can honestly count and in only so few of years too, so much so I swear I do have a 6th sense about people now and will stay away from some because I just sense they are a ticking time bomb waiting to get the right fuel to just rocket off into that type of shallow, plastic person that sadly gets so highly praised. But if there is a silver lining to these people its that their popularity and attitude starts to run out of fuel after a few years and soon they just disband the fandom entirely and leave their "friends" behind going "where is he/she?" "why are you not on ______ anymore?" its just sad that more people don't see those types for their true selves, someone who just wants to climb the furry social ladder and become some big-name regardless of how many people the back stab and how many cold shoulder their give to former friends who no longer fit their new attitude and reputation. In all my time around the fandom I can tell you one thing... The fastest to rise are the fastest to fall and true involvement in this fandom cannot be so easily based on such fleeting qualities like popularity, who you know or your species.
Not exactly sure what you're trying to disprove on my statement there, Drake. That argument had nothing to do with my OP, and was strictly addressing Sevrin's comment about most furries being predisposed to wanting to become furry. It's not an untrue fact that most kids DID get here through the channels of being able to delve into an exotic form of escapism, which usually stems from wanting to get away from reality at a young age.
However, more recently, I've met a LOT of people who started in the furry community at ages 20, 30, 40 and even 50. I've known a few of them to be surrounded in drama, too. It's not like I'm trying to call the whole drama-aspect on JUST the younger population.
What is a deadbeat furry? Is that a furry that is a deadbeat? Or something else?
The original post that this one branched off from was about people in our community who show up to parties, eat other peoples' food, drink other peoples' alcohol, and leave nothing in return.
On spirituality and potentially under-represented groups in the fandom.
I hypothesize the following: With regard to religiousness and spirituality I believe that there would most certainly be a majority of people in the community who would classify themselves as at very least "less than devout" followers of Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Judaism, or <insert any well established religion here>. Why? because we are also one of the very few groups who have a majority of GLBT. How weird is that? Crazy, I know, but that's another thread in and of itself.
If you happen to be among the majority who are GLBT you will probably agree quite readily...GLBT people TEND (this is not a sweeping generalization, but intended to represent the commonality of the group only) to disassociate with formal religion. For any number of reasons which I won't get into for the purpose of avoiding a rant-fest or flame war. If you're otherwise not a GLBT person, then you may have other reasons as mentioned by above posts such as furry being in and of itself offensive to god (somehow, worshipping the wrong lamb, who the hell knows.) I'm quite sure many people are spiritual in the fandom, they're just spiritual on a more private level, or have found alternative faith is more fitting to their life and beliefs.
With regard to other groups, most obvious example being race: Having grown up in rural Ontario, I'm a bad one to speculate on cultural differences. However I do know for certain that there is a definite under-representation of a number of cultures in the fandom, I'd be curious to know if anyone had any reasons for this beyond the one that I propose. My only idea here is that it's mostly white because it's mostly white...its self perpetuating. It sucks, but I just don't meet many East Indian, Middle Eastern, or Hispanic members of the community (those are only a few examples) Hell, for all of our close ties to anime there is an alarmingly small population of Asian furry bro's and sisters. How about First Nations? With all of their spirituality so tied to animals and nature it ought to be a no-brainer. I'm not saying there aren't members of these cultures in the fandom. Just that I'm surprised we're not more diverse in larger numbers as accepting and loving a group as we can be ;D
Because, here's where I'll try in vain to tie this all together, this one thing we have in common is kinda a big one for many of us. I, for one, have a decently large group of friends, all of whom are furs, not that everything we do is furry, in fact, usually its an afterthought or a side joke. But it definitely brought us all together. So in spite of the fact that we are all a mixed lot of various other groups (straight, gay, bi, black, white, age, introverted, extroverted, skinny, fat, man, woman, poor, less poor) we are brought together by this commonality. We have drama, its never because of the species we picked, or how we incessently pick on our foxes...its always about the differences of opinion that come from our various wide spread backgrounds.
Try to take what I say with a grain of salt. I'm a rural bumpkin, redneck, trailer park trash, honky-tonk cracker who grew up in the vaccum that is Northern Ontario for a long time. So it's just my two cents :P
: Kyroo October 26, 2012, 02:22:37 -06:00
Hell, for all of our close ties to anime there is an alarmingly small population of Asian furry bro's and sisters. How about First Nations?
Because, here's where I'll try in vain to tie this all together, this one thing we have in common is kinda a big one for many of us. I, for one, have a decently large group of friends, all of whom are furs, not that everything we do is furry, in fact, usually its an afterthought or a side joke.
We have drama, its never because of the species we picked, or how we incessently pick on our foxes...its always about the differences of opinion that come from our various wide spread backgrounds.
I'm an Asian furry and I don't like anime. xD; In addition, I may know one or two FN furries on the site.
Not everything we do is furry - I have to agree, and I cannot put it better than myself. Likewise for drama, which is...heheh...a topic that may have already been beaten to a dead horse already, but I nevertheless understand the risk of potential bigotry.
I'm an Asian furry and I don't like anime
Is the such a thing as a weeboo furry?
: Wildfire October 26, 2012, 11:24:24 -06:00
What is a deadbeat furry? Is that a furry that is a deadbeat? Or something else?
They're furries who don't pay their membership dues.