The end of Rocky Mountain Fur Con didn’t cure the problem that caused it.

by Patch O'Furr

Article series: 1) Original story about RMFC – 2) A false rumor – 3) Interview with the Chair.

There’s a tumor in the community. It killed Rocky Mountain Fur Con. Look no further than the “Furry Raiders” and their leader “Foxler”, who calls himself “The Hitler of Furry Fandom“.  They hide behind a false front of acceptance, using regular people to help them play innocent while lying about themselves and their beliefs.

There’s a lot of denial about what’s going on.  Recently, that includes a confession that Foxler paid to join a real neo-nazi group, wants to wear a swastika, and threatened RMFC itself. Not-nazis don’t do that. That’s the long and short of it. It doesn’t matter whether it’s sincere or a game. It makes them either neo-nazis or two-faced liars about it. Either way is indefensible and incompatible with a creative fandom. (Keep in mind how historical nazis were toxic to art).

Colorado fur Crummles says:

“I’ve seen the Raiders go way out of their way to antagonize people. Specifically Foxler and (partner) Kody. They’ve shown up places they know they’re banned from, refused to do simple requests, like take down a picture, they have a habit of publicly saying one thing, then through actions or through private conversations they do the opposite.  After antagonizing people, Foxler will turn around and play the victim.  Or he’ll ask how to improve the Raiders image, and when people say something simple, like “ditch the arm band” he’ll completely change the subject, along the lines of “Stop telling me to not be myself!” As a result of his rhetoric and victim complex, he attracts a LOT of super far right people to his inner circle.”

Colorado fur Boiler says:

“The craziest thing is how they continue to deny they have literally done nothing wrong. Foxler and Kody specifically. They refuse to change their behavior and act like screaming chimps when you show proof of their bad behavior. They’ve bullied, they’ve assaulted, they’ve doxxed, they’ve intimidated and they’ve influenced the Colorado community in an exceptionally negative way. They put on this rainbow supportive huggy front, which is absolutely a sham. If you decide to decline their (awful) company for ANY meet, they throw a shit fit and come after you.”

Remember when RMFC 2016 was dragged down by what staff called their “obscenely unfair behavior“?  Still, Raiders were on staff and the con wouldn’t dislodge them.  They couldn’t even ban a single bad apple.  There were diplomatic explanations about it, leading to feedback like this:

The Furry Raiders split the community in 2016 (before anyone like Deo spoke up).  Of course, when RMFC died the community didn’t magically come together.  There’s a persistent problem that won’t go away until there’s accountability.

Credibility and trust reached an all-time low with collusion between Furry Raiders, RMFC’s CEO Kahuki, and board member Scorch. The RMFC story is the big one, but here are a few extra signs of why people are on edge about leadership.

A Colorado Furries meet announcement invited teenagers to enjoy porn at a sex offender’s house.  On Facebook, Kahuki has been sharing monthly parties hosted with Scorch at the address Kahuki lists for his sex offender registry page.  They’re welcoming teenagers with astonishing language about porn and age of consent.  (Since when do parties advertise that?)

Who went to that party 5 days after RMFC closed? (There’s also video of Foxler and Kahuki being buds at RMFC 2016).

A house resident speaks.  This FA note was sent to Deo about experience of living with Scorch.  I spoke to this person to verify it is their story, with permission to share.  This is shared as context about leadership.

Do these give you an impression of professional, trustworthy leadership?  Or does it explain how the Furry Raiders were allowed to do so much antagonizing?  Many furs are fed up, and now they’re working to build a new con, take charge of their meets, and make a better community.

Colorado fur Crummles says:

“In my opinion, the best way to deal with Foxler and the raiders is to shine a spotlight on their terrible views and opinions. Call them out when you see their bullshit and spread the knowledge of their awful behavior. Until they change they are going to be a problem, and ignoring them keeps people ignorant and doesn’t let the community put pressure on them to be less awful. They’ll just fester and grow like a mold if they are ignored.

Ideally they would just… change. Even a little. Admit to mistakes, antagonize people less, and make an earnest attempt to improve their image and faults. If they did that maybe they could be more accepted and less of a detriment to the community, because right now they are a face of the fandom to the outside, and it’s a face that the rest of the fandom doesn’t want associated with them.  Although at this point it’s an effort that Foxler is unwilling to make.”

Colorado fur Boiler says:

“I’m currently monitoring the situation, and working with friends to find appropriate solutions. There will always be those in this community who refuse to see how problematic these individuals actually are. Not everyone under the Raider banner is a total prick, but they are definitely led by an ugly, hateful individual that speaks for all of them when he speaks. I think if we all banded together and created meets where the Raiders weren’t welcome, the allure would diminish. Being a social pariah is fun for about five minutes until you realize you can’t see your friends and the friends you have made are all negative, shit-spewing asshole trolls just like you, which is miserable in the long term.

I really want to see this community thrive. I don’t want to see us separated, but toxic individuals who think it’s funny to be hateful really shouldn’t have a place in our community. I’ve been in the fandom 22 years now. I’ve seen a lot. Our community was based on acceptance, not fear and trolling. Foxler and Kody have created a group in which everyone is welcome, even pedophiles and zoophiles and racists – essentially giving them a built-in “in-crowd”. A lot of them are young, and ignorant, and angry. I know how people need to seek acceptance – but we don’t have to tolerate trolling, hatespeech, and toxic behavior in our fandom (like the awful Burned Furs movement).  I think people are realizing that, and I think where we need to go from here is making sure our community is healthy, and happy, and not full of racists and trolls who do nothing but spread fear and negativity.

Saying ‘no’ is just as healthy and important as saying ‘yes’.”

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