Alternative to pride parade (cough it up)

[Ravenwood]

It's rather arrogant to compare human-rights issues to Furry.

Furs aren't getting lynched, executed, or hiding in abject fear for their lives.

[Kell]

I'm not tryin to equate gay rights to furry's standing in the media, I was just pointing out my problem with going around showing off the fact I'm gay, and my problem with saying I'm furry.

People will hold their views on things, if somebody wants to hate me becuase I'm not straight, that is their problem, and as somebody that feels fully able to look after themself, I'm not much worried about people finding out. I don't care what they think of what I do in private. What offends me far more than ANY gay basher, is people trying to tell the world what I am.

Fighting for gay rights is great, fighting to make laws and the world at law treat us like people is vital. Doing it by equating me, or any of gay person, to somebody that marches around in parades in leather gear, pisses me off.

Now, I know, lots of NORMAL people show up at gay pride, its a very few that go over the top (or all out, depending on how you view it) and show just how difrent they have every right to be. That WOULD be fine, if the media was gone. Will the people in the background, the people you work with every day ever be noticed? If I tell my (rather liberal and accepting) family that I'm gay, and when I did, do you think the first thing they thought of was an every day person, me and my boyfriend holding hands? Or do you think the first thing that came to mind was hairy men in leather gear?

That, is what offends me.

By flaunting such things, you set that as the public perception, ALL groups are judged by the lowest, loudest, or 'worst' members, all groups will be equated to the most unpleasant members. Look at political groups, religions, other fandoms, gay rights, the furry fandom, or ANY group in the public eye. Do we think of the every day members, or the hard right republicans and the crazy trekies? Its the same thing with the furry fandom, we will be equated to what we show, and not by the best, but by the 'worst'.

Furrys don't NEED to be accepted. How many of us are being jailed, abused, or actually attacked (in real life, e-drama is only a problem for those far too thin skinned)? How many of us just don't want to be seen in a bad light because of something harmless we enjoy that is misunderstood?

So, looking at things in the light of that, how likey is it that going around the place in fursuits is going to win us any hearts? The media will lie, the goons and 4channers will say what they will say, people will see the bad not the good. How did trekkies get accepted? They hung around until people just gave up over reacting and started shaking their heads, same goes for every other missunderstood subculture and internet culture. It doesn't matter if it is BDSM, Furries, startrek or anime, it will take TIME for people to get over it, and flaunting the very things they hate in their faces will do nothing more than make those that dislike us dig in their heels.

Gay rights moved forward because it HAD to, but at the same time, even with how accepted we are today (in comparison), and with how vocal many people have been for years, you still see in the media the bad. I'd put money on people having the balls to come out and simply causing their friends and family to realize they ARN'T freeks, more people have come to accept homosexuals than any gay pride event has ever convinced, They are demonstrations, they are important for political and social changes, but I have heard of very few people's minds changed...

So it comes down to this. Do a few people have any right to, if they think about it, set the public opinion of a group of people? A large and diverse population, is effected in some way, most often negitively, by every public fursuiting event and every time furry is thrown infront of the media. If you honestly think our fandom is able to out-do the mindwashing of the media, your insane, but go on with trying to change the public opinion...

Or, you could just sit back, laugh at the trolls and lol at the haters, and let people get over it... We are not being locked in jail or stoned for going to FA, we are being trolled and loled at. We will be trolled and loled at till the end of the internet, and why anybody but fellow furrys needs to know you have a fursuit is beside me, they likely just don't give a damn.

[Coal Silvermuzzle]

Ok so lets stop the bickering, lets deal with the mater at hand and that is other ways to let people know what furry is and not what the "others" think it is. If you want to keep furry and gay quite for yourself, I am not saying otherwise. If I offended then I apologize, if you do not want to take part that is fine. No one or should I say I hope no one will say "Kell is a gay furry" at least not I. So once again I will say sorry if I offended.

Now lets look at the alternatives to pride parade and look for some other good ideas like Velvet suggested A furry bbq in a park. One I suggested a furry auction open to the public, with things like furry art, fur suit show and any ideas you can come up with.

[Kell]

*sighs*

People are wonderful at totally missing people's meaning.

I would love for people to say I'm a gay furry, I'd welcome it, I'd put it on a shirt.

The day that somebody sees 'Furry' and thinks somebody that likes animated characters or anthropomorphic, rather than people having sex in animal costumes...

If you want to, and insist on, trying to raise furry awareness, your best bet would be to have a lot of people for a bbq talking about art and maybe drawing, acting like normal people, not running around in animal costumes flaunting the most known and 'worst' part of our fandom in people's faces.

But then, where is the fun in it if nobody is offended or mad or mean?

[Ixiah]

Ok so lets stop the bickering, lets deal with the mater at hand and that is other ways to let people know what furry is and not what the "others" think it is. If you want to keep furry and gay quite for yourself, I am not saying otherwise. If I offended then I apologize, if you do not want to take part that is fine. No one or should I say I hope no one will say "Kell is a gay furry" at least not I. So once again I will say sorry if I offended.

Now lets look at the alternatives to pride parade and look for some other good ideas like Velvet suggested A furry bbq in a park. One I suggested a furry auction open to the public, with things like furry art, fur suit show and any ideas you can come up with.

Start reading ALL of what people are saying. instead of going about three words in and then disregarding the whole thing.

[Kell]

Thanks Ixiah, I hate having to tell people that myself...

[velvetkytten]

i dont want to step on anyone's issues but.. isnt this thread for alternatives for furry outing.. not... the .. thread for... all the upset of being gay or furry ? I added my idea and its like I wasted my time so people can be upset... that makes me upset. :(

[Silvermink]

i dont want to step on anyone's issues but.. isnt this thread for alternatives for furry outing.. not... the .. thread for... all the upset of being gay or furry ? I added my idea and its like I wasted my time so people can be upset... that makes me upset. :(

I think the concept is so charged that anything in this direction is going to be hard-pressed to avoid the politics.