I, for one, feel we must immediately go after anyone who draws or views any
form of furry pedophilia, because they might act on it. Further, we should
lock up anyone who draws or views any sort of furry art depicting vore,
because they may decide to eat someone. We can apply this reductio ad
absurdium to pretty much all our favorite fetishes, which are all probably
illegal somewhere. Frankly, the whole idea is silly. As a rubber unicorn
once said "Furry fandom is what furries do". I've been around since '88,
and back then, the fandom was smaller and we were ALREADY arguing about
things like fursuiting, lifestylers, gays, public displays of affection, and
so on. It's premature to throw anyone out - babyfurs, zoophiles, dope
smokers, Christian furries, and so on. Sure, throw people out of
conventions who are doing something illegal or disruptive, but it's not
illegal to draw, and it's not illegal to think.
From: SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com [mailto:SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of spudugly_at_aol.com
Sent: Saturday, June 06, 2009 3:54 PM
To: SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [SkunkworksAMA] Something wicked this way comes...
Does anyone remember the "Burned Fur" movement? I hear the rumblings of it
again.
While the Burned Furs went a little beyond "return to roots" and went closer
to "ethnic cleansing", it sounds like their initial motivation is still just
as chaffing a subject.
I'm not going to deny that lines have to be drawn in the fandom - but who
will draw those lines? How can the fandom be both welcoming, and exclusive?
D.O.P.R
-----Original Message-----
From: Take a wild, friggin guess <a_change_of_plans_at_yahoo.com>
To: SkunkworksAMA_at_yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, 6 Jun 2009 1:55 am
Subject: [SkunkworksAMA] Something wicked this way comes...
...Or maybe it's already here. I don't know, to be quite honest. But I've
noticed a lot of various forums and places discussing the current status of
the "furry fandom"; I've even noticed some discussion of it here over the
past couple weeks.
Now, perhaps because of my age, or the fact that I'm pretty much on the
fringe outskirts of the fandom, I cannot help but notice the changes that
have been occurring over the years. Granted, the fandom has always had it's
share of nutjobs and fruitcakes, and maybe I'm over-reacting. Maybe it just
seems more noticeable because there are more people in it than there used to
be. Maybe the younger people are totally fucked up because of the various
medications and mental disorders doctors like to pass out like lollipops
these days. Maybe the older people have always been clearly insane, and I
just never noticed it until now.
Back in 1995, when I attended my first convention, there were a few
dog-collar-wearing oddballs in attendance. But just a few. Mostly, I saw
single people, married (or unmarried) couples, senior citizens and kids. The
artwork was unique and easily identifiable by even the newest fan, and
comics with enjoyable, often well-written stories could be found everywhere.
Fanzines were popular, and were instrumental for aspiring artists to get
their work out into the public eye.
Now, I realize a lot of folks use the internet nowadays instead of things
like fanzines or comics. Let's face it, anyone with a webpage and a scanner
can churn out a webcomic. But somewhere along the way, Style got tossed into
the back seat along with Worthwhile Stories and Innocent Enjoyment. The
driver's seat was taken over by Insanity and the passenger seat was soon
occupied by it's close friend Fetish. The pedal is pinned to the floor, the
kids are screaming in the back seat, and there's no way that car is going to
pull over anytime soon.
At what point did the furry genre become a "sexual fetish" or a "lifestyle"?
I always thought it was about funny animals, cartoons, and science fiction.
Sure, there was sex sometimes, but it was usually fairly normal stuff, not
some of the weird shit that populates Fchan's /ah/ board. Where exactly does
diaper-wearing, dismemberment, horribly-prolapsed internal organs or any of
the other soul-searing crap come into the picture? How can some fans
honestly function on a daily basis when they truly believe they are the
spirit of some 500-year old wolf/dragon creature? Methinks the kiddies got
their brains severely fried on Lucky Charms and too many episodes of
Pokemon.
These days, it seems conventions are used as "meat markets". Many people
(who probably have no interest in artwork or stories) seem to use these
events to hook up with potential partners, attempt to get laid (even MY mind
refuses to picture what that must look like), get wasted on recreational
drugs or get drunk. So where, exactly, does "furry" make it's presence known
in that sordid little concoction?
Answer? Nowhere. That sort of behavior has nothing to do with
anthropomorphic stuff. "Furry" seems to be used as a loosely-binding glue to
adhere to people of questionable character and motives. Unfortunately, that
same glue is making them stick to the innocent fan, damning them by simple
association. No one likes to be grouped in with the likes of animal-abusers,
kiddy-diddlers and the like. But, unfortunately, the fandom's "open arms"
policy has presented a severe chink in the armor, and all the outcasts are
using it to find a haven.
Now the question is: what are you going to do about it? Doing nothing and
whining is easy; I see people do it all the time ("Maybe someone should go
over and save so-and-so's gallery before they close it down. I would, but
I'm too fucking lazy and preocupied with video games. By the way, can
someone else call 911 for me? My house is one fire, but I've just got to
beat this next level!") What do you think should be done, or how do you
think it COULD be done?
As I posted on CYD, I believe that artists are just as resposible for the
situation. An aspiring artist gets a few fans, some of them ask if he can
draw some enormous dog cock drilling some 4-year-old beheaded cub herm (and
offer him money for it), and the artist does so. Boom! Now he's getting
money and all sorts of fans, but are these the kinds of fans he really
wants? Was that little bit of money worth opening the floodgate?
I have mentioned in the past that I am changing how I do my work. I still
plan on doing portfolios (I have several drafted already, as a matter of
fact), but I will be focusing more on stories. I will be using Caterwaul
Inc. as my vehicle for this adventure. I will also be putting a lot of my
"mainstream" work into these comics, and I hope it will be evident in the
camera angles, lighting, and detail. I will be focusing on the characters
and the stories they have to tell. The stories are not G-rated (there's
nudity sometimes), but they're also not XXX-rated spank magazines. If you
want something of that nature, well, that's what the portfolios are for.
Speaking of which, I have mentioned to some folks on the group that a lot of
the future folios are considerably tamer than my older material. In fact,
the roughs for "Skunkworks VII" look more like Playboy/early Penthouse than
Hustler. There are still the occasional hardcore pieces, but not quite as
prevalent as years past. I hope that folks will enjoy this change. My reason
for changing my formula? I want to produce a high-quality item that even
someone not involved with the fandom would be interested in reading or
looking at. Something that one wouldn't feel the need to hide from everyone
else because it's not the usual thing. I'd like to try to transcend the
"furry" genre and try to steer my little corner of it into a greener
pasture, a place where the nutjobs aren't welcome and won't find anything
fap-worthy for their disturbing fetishes.
I don't know if any other artists are willing to set standards such as this
or not. But if they keep drawing the more unsettling material, they're going
to keep attracting the undesireables, and that won't be good for anybody.
So what do you folks think? What should, or COULD, be done? Realistically,
mind you. I really don't want to hear how someone would take their Level 9
Ninja-assasin wolf character and defeat the opponent. I want this to be a
sensible, logical, and hopefully drama-free discussion. Your advice,
comments, or ideas are most certainly welcome. This was just something I'd
been thinking about for awhile and finally took the time to write it all
down and post it here.
--JMH
_____
Wanna slim down for summer? Go to America
<
http://www.aolhealth.com/diet/weight-loss-program/?ncid=emlcntusheal0000000
1> Takes it Off to learn how.
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Received on Sat Jun 06 2009 - 19:36:31 CDT