Altfurry is the term used by a tiny fringe of hateful bigots in the furry fandom. (It’s accurate to replace “alt” with “anti”, as you can see below). Last week they encouraged members to attend the “Unite the Right” rally where neo-nazis attacked and killed protesters. (archive)
For a good many of us, summer vacation is almost over and it’s time to return to the reality of classes, or just another day at work if you’re no longer in school. This past summer has been home to a number of controversial events at conventions and in the fandom alike. We’ve got four more to round things out before all is said and done. Mercifully, there’s no convention drama this month… well, not unless you count Pokemon GO Fest as a “convention”. There’s a lot of things we’d call that disaster, but “con” isn’t one of them (unless you mean “con” as in “to trick”). Anyways, on with the news!
2016 FURRY OSCARS
It’s that time of year again, Oscar season! Not the actual Oscars, mind you, but the fandom’s equivalent of them: the Ursa Major Awards. Awarded to people and projects who go above and beyond in the name of anthropomorphic entertainment, the Ursa Major Awards are community-driven, with initial nominations and ultimately voting open to the fandom. This past month the winners for 2016’s Ursas were announced. The results were full of emotions, ranging from surprise to “ugh, not again”.
First off, the big daddy title of Best Motion Picture went to Zootopia… to the surprise of literally no one. If there’s such a thing as “Ursa Bait”, this was it; in the past decade there’s probably not been such an obvious shoe-in winner since The Fantastic Mr. Fox. Right behind Nick & Judy’s furry fling was Pixar’s Finding Dory, which, while this was a great movie in its own right, stood no chance against Disney’s powerhouse. The results of the Ursas are posted in order of who received the most votes, and coming in dead last was The Secret Life of Pets, a godawful CGI movie. In what we imagine must have been a three-way tie for last place, Sing and Kung Fu Panda 3 also made the bottom of the list.
Do you like Scooby snacks? The first time I ate a weed cookie was at a Really Really Free Market. That’s a swap meet seasoned with radical/hippie idealism. People who love principles of mutual aid get together and trade crap they don’t need with others who want it. It keeps stuff out of the dump and helps people without money. It’s a place to score old books, music or some wiggy threads. They may have potluck food or dumpster dived treasure. Or both at once. (I once lived for two years with Freeganism – oh the stories I have.) And you might score weed (for adults where it’s legal, of course.)
The meet was in a 5th floor artist loft full of good music and fun people. There was a spread of free cookies with a sign to beware of overmedicating. I took one and nibbled a corner. Nothing happened so I went whole hog. Then it happened… oh boy it happened.
My personal pile of treasure was all donated, so I took the exit to the twilight zone. On the way down the stairs, I turned a corner and suddenly they weren’t going down… they were going up. What the heck!? I continued to fumble my way out while a faint satanic chanting emanated from behind the doors. Somehow I found the street and got home. I sat down and time-traveled. When I looked up, I realized that I forgot to shut the front door. And there was a hooker in my living room (it was that kind of neighborhood). She asked for a ride, so I told her to try one of those cookies for a real trip.
I wish there was a way to travel to a world full of furries. That would make some amazing blogging for you. But you can make it happen where you live. The coolest thing about this fandom is how it’s so DIY. It’s like a sandbox for whatever you want to make of it. If you live anywhere that has furries within petting distance, try getting together with them to throw cool events.
Vice’s Furries topic has excellent news reporting. You can find a few missteps, but it has some of the best focused attention that the media has ever given to the fandom, way beyond Furries 101. One outstanding article is CSI Fur Fest: The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention. Writer Jennifer Swann got an Ursa Major award nomination for it. Their most recent is Who Makes Those Intricate, Expensive Furry Suits? (Fred Patten and myself were proud to assist writer Mark Hay – I sent a long summary of history, makers, details to investigate, and links.)
Super thanks to @GoraLadka for consulting @phoenixwuff, me, @furbuy for this fabulous #fursuit article! @Spottacus https://t.co/0EjnvcMwg3
— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) July 28, 2017
Those show that not all media is bad, and talking to them has good results. That’s different from prevailing attitudes against “sensationalism” that blindly treats “the media” as an epithet – as if PBS is the same as the National Enquirer. There’s a world of difference between trashy daytime TV and well-researched long-form reporting. But a fandom grudge persists, for as long as 16 years after stale old incidents we all know and hate. There’s even backlash at members who step out of line. This friend of ours experienced it:
Ignoring all the evidence out there, let's just look the purported events about what happened. Deo says "can't wait to punch those nazis" 2/
— perpetual inadequacy (@GunRoar) July 21, 2017
It’s very possible you’ve heard the assertion that Deo (DeoTasDevil) is responsible for the demise of Rocky Mountain Fur Con. There’s been a lot of back and forth about it, and allegedly she’s the main and even sole party responsible. Let’s put aside the various instances of the fallout and just examine the sequence of events pertaining to Deo’s participation.
Get ready for a big topic about toxic behavior, the cult-like groups doing it, how they’re targeting kids, and how the fandom is cutting ties with it for positive progress. This is a followup to last week’s article: “The Confederate fursuit incident shows how you can’t be a troll and a victim at the same time“. It focuses on the source of the problem:
Anthrocon’s letter recognizes how the troll was pushing a “political message” on others. It’s an example of recent fandom activity by alt-right altfurs and their enablers. They do it with a twofaced pose that they want freedom, want politics out of fandom, and are just giving their side. But their side relies on false middle ground. (In other words, saying the earth is round doesn’t require Flat Earthers to give their side. Newspapers don’t interview vandals to get their side.) The real goal is to exploit and undermine the fandom behind a false front of “freedom”. That includes grooming and recruiting kids, trolling and harassing, dodging accountability, and worse things like welcoming literal neo-nazis (see below.)
2017 is officially halfway over, and boy has it been one hell of a year for the fandom. We’ve covered the official demise of Rainfurrest, 2’s fall from grace and subsequent cancellation at Anthrocon, and more than one fake bomb threat being called into a convention… and we still have six months left to go! Fret not, because while we’ve collected four more of the top stories in the fandom to present to you today most of them aren’t that soul crushing. Most.
TROLLING ANTHROCON
The infamous Confederate fursuit got a lot of views on social media. The issue started with complaints during Anthrocon and Midwest Furfest in 2015. By no coincidence, the symbol was pushed on the fandom at the same time as racist mass murder by Dylann Roof led to taking down Confederate flags across the USA. Then in 2017, during a huge amount of positive news about Anthrocon, the issue bubbled up again like a turd in a punchbowl.
The fursuiter is Magnus Diridian, AKA Rob Shokawsky. He was previously known for causing disturbances by copying the fursuit of Lemonade Coyote to exploit his death for attention. For several years, Magnus was reputedly banned from MWFF and Anthrocon. He came back to troll with the Confederate fursuit and a Trump sign that violated AC’s Code of Conduct:
Any action or behavior that causes significant interference with convention operations, excessive discomfort to other attendees, or adversely affects Anthrocon’s relationship with its guests, its venues or the public is strictly forbidden and may result in permanent suspension of membership.
Harassment includes … Conduct, dress, or speech that targets, threatens, intimidates, or is otherwise intended to cause distress to other attendees, or to members of protected classes (such as those based on race, age, religion, national origin, disability, gender, or sexual identity).
Magnus chose to bring that suit even though he has many others. There’s no pretending that it was anything but forcing politics on others, since he admits he did it because of “attack” on the flag. According to his helper, he was even “ghosting” the con to do it. He could have attended like anyone else if he didn’t set out to cause entirely predictable negativity. To be perfectly clear, Magnus was an antagonistic outsider who did not register or support Anthrocon.
July 3, 9:30 PM – 2:30 AM
DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, San Francisco
“Bring a dead stiff squirrel and get in free!” Yes, that’s a real long-time promise by Death Guild. I can’t say what happens to the squirrels, but I can tell you about this legendary club night. It’s the longest running one for weird dark music in North America. That means gothic rock, industrial, darkwave, EBM and synthpop, with an ambiance like The Addams Family gone cyberpunk:
In front of millions at San Francisco Pride 2015! (Thanks: Chrisastro.com)
Bay Area Furries are marching in the 2017 San Francisco Pride Parade on Sunday, June 25. It’s one of the largest and most colorful events in San Francisco and will be on TV. There have been better and better responses each time, and 70 or more are signed up. Get ready for the best parade ever! (See previous announcement about how to join, and the Meetup page for RSVP and discussion.)
Here’s what you need to know:
Pic by Vincent.
Marchers: Arrive at 100-150 Main Street. Be no earlier than 9:30am and no later than 11:40.
Volunteers: Arrive at 100-150 Main Street. Be no earlier than 9:30am and no later than 11.
To arrive from BART, exit at Embarcadero Station. Go up on the Main St. / Beale St. side.
Watchers: Be anywhere along the Market Street parade route, and the parade starts at 10:30.
Parade start: 12:30pm-1pm. (Last time we were in the parade, starting was delayed by hours due to being way more busy than they planned. Do be patient, but don’t be late. The parade doesn’t wait for latecomers.)
