Hi. You probably don't know me, as I pretty much lurk nowadays. I pretty much
always lurked, actually. I'd never read enough of the stories to get to a point
that I'd feel comfortable writing a story, and I kinda drifted away after that.
I still read all of the mailing list emails, though. I'm... Actually, I'm not
sure what adjective could possibly describe me, but complicated is a broad term.
So why am I suddenly sending the reading list an email? The incident at Midwest
Furfest basically punched me in the gut, raised my proverbial hackles, and kept
me awake with appalled thoughts that someone could hate creativity so much that
they'd want to harm people. So what did I do about this? I wrote a really long
tweet. Yep. It's really the extent of which I can do, and I needed to work off
some mad, disbelief, and more mad. Of course, I probably got at least 3 major
facts wrong, and made assumptions that make me out to be an imbecile, so with
that in mind here's the link: http://tl.gd/n_1sj27av
I'm a bit long-winded, so if you don't want to read it, or trust a link from
some random lurker, I'll summarize it below.
"Why is the public view of the furry fandom so skewed? Blah, blah, blah,
explanation of the fandom, blah, blah, blah. Why can't we all just get along?
[Insert reading list suggestions here] (Spoiler alert: Metamor made the list.)
Be good to one another. [Insert a scattering of references to popular games and
movies] Fin."
So yeah, I basically ranted. And educated. It's how I work off my mad. Some
people punch suspended bags of sand, others work on Drive Exte- I mean cars.
Yep. Definitely cars. (Please ignore any references to technology that has been
banned from export by your local planetary authorities. If you do not
understand what I mean, then the HIA cannot interrogate you for hours on end.
If you do, great. Now I don't feel like a complete tool by referencing a story
setting in another setting's mailing list.)
Oh, and I also try my best to use that complex sociological concept known as
"humor".
I suck at it, in case you couldn't tell and actually laughed at my attempts.
Anyways, I hope anyone involved escaped unharmed, and that those less fortunate
manage a swift and complete recovery.
I also hope that the parties responsible are apprehended and tried to the
fullest extent of the American Legal System.
Uh, this did happen in America, right? I'm not missing some key fact that would
render the above statement inaccurate? Either way, I hope they see justice.
As a side note, this has not deterred me from conventions (partly because that
would play right into "their" hands and partly because if it happens at a con
I'm attending, I wouldn't be able to stop or prevent it, and I would be loath
to have something like that stop me from doing something. If I did, I wouldn't
leave the house, because someone might run a car into me, and I wouldn't be
able to stop or prevent that.) and has quite possibly strengthened my resolve
to actually attend one. I've been to local "super generic nerd-culture
conventions" before, but that's an entirely different animal.
Aw, look. I got sidetracked. Again. Damn, I'm really bad at staying on-topic...
Well, if you're in need of moral support, I'm here. There's not much else I can
do, after all. Well, besides writing a rant. I'm pretty good at that.
May whatever random omnipotent being(s) that may or may not exist hold you in
their favor. (Can you tell I'm a pragmatist? Don't like offending anyone.) If
you're a... Ugh, victim. Really hate using that word. I hope you are well or
that you end up well. Stay strong.
I'll just go back to lurking now. I've said my piece.
Warmest regards,
Dan
Crusader, Gamer, Author, Tiger
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