VICE looks back on the Midwest Furfest attack, earning kudos for thoughtful journalism.
by Patch O'Furr
You can’t get inside (The Hooded Utilitarian, 1/5/15) is one of the few best “mainstream” articles about furries. ‘Mouse’ wrote it with the perspective of an insider looking at outsiders who want an inside look:
“Furries are a little ridiculous. We have an understanding about that. But every blip of attention, even an attack on our second-most populated convention, investigated by authorities as an intentional act, is an occasion for poking fun. Midwest Furfest is in Rosemont, Illinois, and this year it attracted 4,571 fuzzy folks. My wife and I are regular attendees, though this year work obligations found us elsewhere. Very early Sunday morning on December 7th, someone laid chlorine powder in a ninth floor stairwell. Nineteen people hospitalized (one of them a good friend of mine), and hundreds endangered and inconvenienced, and all of them odd ducks. Please remember how odd they are, and that they sometimes have sex, which is odder still. So the gorge of distrust between our community and the media grows wider. “We’re just not going to talk to you people any more,” we tell ourselves periodically, when the eye of mainstream culture is upon us. Mainstream culture then obliges us. A pity, because insulation from outside scrutiny is poisonous for any human endeavor. But who is ready to cover us?”
The Midwest Furfest attack was perhaps the biggest spotlight moment for how furries and the media look at each other. The media didn’t come out looking so great. It was strange when a bunch of silly misfits kept the higher dignity.
A new article in VICE (2/11/16) breaks through that recursive mirror. It’s a refreshingly direct look back, engaging us personally with no giggling about the misfortune of strangers. It leaves outsider baggage at the door, while reminding us where it is. The attack is unsolved, but the lack of conclusion doesn’t matter. It’s about recognizing how impactful the story is. 