Part 5 - June 9, 2006
It's been a while since I last talked about the State Of The Fandom, and as I've been pretty busy the past week or so all the stuff I've wanted to post here have just been piling up in the background. So this is going to be long and rambly.
Our time has come
We're gonna walk in the sun, oh
Packed my hopes
We're ready to roll
We're on our way!
With a little faith we can
Step from the shadows and
Tell everyone
Turn the spotlight on
And now our time has come
Pointing out the good press furries get is a thankless job, but someone has to do it:
Why are these notable, you ask? Because the media (including the Philadelphia Inquirer
which did the semi-snarky article on us a few years ago) finally seems
to be getting a clue and using the term "furries" to describe
anthromorphic animals.
You heard correctly.
Over The Hedge? A movie with furries in it.
Care Bears? A musical with furries in it.
Hey, just the other week there was an article about Second Life that defined furries as "cuddly talking animals." We've got a good thing going here, folks.
Our time has come
We're gonna walk in the sun, oh
Packed my hopes
We're ready to roll
We're on our way!
With a little love we know
Nothing can stop us, so
Tell everyone
Turn the spotlight on
'Cause now our time has come
Chipotle and Norman Rafferty made some very well-thought out posts earier this week, entitled Those People and Debunking Furry Myths. They are well worth a read.
(The entry which prompted those, not so much, so I'm not linking to it. It's basically just a disgruntled fan who feels the need to take out all his frustrations on the rest of us, and who needs that?)
I recently stumbled across a little something I wrote about this back in 2004, but oddly enough hadn't archived it in my journal:
Do you know why people feel the need to say they're leaving the fandom?
It's because then all the other people who've "left" (but are still here!) will give them the attention they want.
Actually, I don't know. That's just a (probably pretty accurate) guess.
Maybe they just don't have the courage to admit when they're wrong?
They keep saying how Furry fandom is such a horrible place, yet the
fandom continues to grow every year. They bemoan the "decline of the
fandom" even though they haven't attended a furry con in half a decade;
meanwhile, everyone else is busy going to cons and creating stuff and
having a good time. Eventually, they have no choice but to warn us of
some mythical Hiroshima Cluehammer that's going to destroy the fandom
once and for all, and try to convince everyone to turn tail and run
away.
"Away! To the hills! Only the strong will survive!! Who's with me???"
Except most people in this fandom are too busy going to cons and
creating stuff and having a good time to notice. And years later,
they're still going to cons and creating stuff and having a good time,
because the mythical Hiroshima Cluehammer never showed up. (Or,
wait—maybe it did and we were all too busy having a good time to
notice! Oh no! We missed it!)
Either way, everyone's having a good time. Well, everyone except the
guy who said he was leaving. He's still hanging around and wondering
why everyone else is enjoying themselves.
Xydexx's Theory Axiom Of Fandom Enjoyability states if you hang around with a bunch of
people who go around saying how much Furry fandom sucks, you will
eventually start to believe it's true. So, like, don't do it. Seriously, remember Aesop's story about the Fox And The Grapes? It's kinda like that, only worse... those guys will drag you down with them.
Instead, go find someone who likes the fandom who shares your interests
(unless you're only interested in looking for things to complain about,
in which case none of what I'm saying will work for you) and hang out
with them. Don't be shy. Most folks in the fandom are pretty friendly,
except for a few grumpy folks who only want to hang around with other
grumpy folks. Go bounce ideas off each other and Do Something. Draw
some art. Publish a zine. Write! Create! Build! Explore! Dream! Soon,
you'll have all the attention you ever wanted without the messy
counterproductive psychodrama or pointlessness of "leaving the fandom."
It's furry fandom. Love it or change it.
CAN YOU FEEL THE POWER NOW!
The day is ours!
For you and I
There comes a time
To hold our heads high!
Make a little history
Each time we dare to dream
Tell everyone
Turn the spotlight on
'Cause now our time has come!
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