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Hello, Papabear,

My question is not urgent at all. My question is one that I believe will only be answered by a well-experienced furry who is unbiased.

I've now been part of the furry fandom for about two months. I’m well underexperienced when it comes to a lot of topics. One topic I just don't understand: Why does the Furry Fandom and Brony Fandom not get along? Is it not two sides to the same coin?

I've tried posting it in a few forums but got a lot of negative responses only in return, which really surprised me. 

(Note, I’m straight) I ask the question also because I found a new guy at work and befriended him and after talking he said he was a Brony, and in response I replied I'm a furry. All was going really good; actually thought, "Hey, a new friend," but instead the conversation halted and he got up and left!

What?

Not to mention there are a couple of videos on YouTube of some furries hating Brony.

So am I missing something? Did a war happen that happen between the two fandoms?
I don't really understand.

White Tiger

* * *

Dear White Tiger,

I have to be honest with you: I have not had much exposure to Bronies, personally. I have seen the “My Little Pony” show, but had to stop because it was so excessively sweet I was fearful of getting Type 2 Diabetes. It makes me want to poke my eyes out with farm implements and rub salt into the sockets. But that is just personal taste.

This being said, I do not personally hate Bronies just because they like that show any more than I hate people who watch Honey Boo Boo. I also feel that, since they are fans of a show about anthropomorphized ponies, they fall well within the category of furry and should be treated as such.

I have done some research on the topic as to why furries hate Bronies. I believe that one reason is the crass commercialism of the show and how many MLP fans buy lots of MLP merchandise and go so absolutely gaga over all of it. In fairness, furries buy a lot of junk, too, but it is not all centered on just one show.

Another thing I read about is that furries often complain that Bronies are even bigger drama queens than many furries and that they see themselves as victims (like furries don't?). Furries have complained about the sense of humor of Bronies being overly punny, their tendency to turn everything into horse-related terms (like “clopping” for masturbation—as if furries don’t do the same thing), and of hijacking forums with incessant chattering about ponies.

Here is an interesting letter I found on the Internet written by a Brony that criticizes his fellow Bronies: http://theultamate.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-bronys-letter-to-other-bronies-why-i.html. So it seems that even Bronies hate Bronies. Ouch, I see a parallel, as I have come across furries who hate and criticize furries.

Again, this is all secondhand to me. I have never had any problems with Bronies, but then again, I don’t know any very well. I also feel that many of the complaints against Bronies are for offenses that I’ve seen furries commit themselves. Are Bronies more heinous about it? I have no idea, but I see a real case here of the pot calling the kettle black.

This entire furry v. Brony thing is just another example of unnecessary drama, in Papabear’s opinion. There is already too much hate and prejudice in the world; why add to it? And it works both ways: it’s not just furries hating Bronies, but Bronies hating on furries. It is such a shame that you were making friends with this Brony and he cut you off without a second thought just because you’re a furry. That’s pretty shallow, in this bear’s book. To me, that’s just as bad as hating someone for the color of their skin or their sexual orientation before you even get to know them.

It’s also a reason why I am still working on the American Furry Association, which will accept members of all kinds, including Bronies, as long as they are interested in anthropomorphic animals. The AFA will be a national effort to unite, rather than divide, furries and furry-related fandoms.

Long story short, White Tiger, nothing specifically happened between furries and Bronies to start this feud. It is even less logical than the tragic Hatfields vs. McCoys story—at least that feud started because of a murder. No one’s been killed here, so let’s just chill out. It is just another sad case of human nature in which people do not like those who are different in any way. None of the arguments I’ve heard against Bronies is a good reason to hate them or treat them badly.

The wise furry treats people on an individual basis, rather than writing off an entire group of people just because you don’t like what they might represent and enjoy themselves. Sure, some Bronies might be in-your-face about ponies and “Friendship is Magic” or whatever, but others probably are not nearly so derpy about it. In fact, I have a good furiend whose brother is a Brony and they get along great.

The reason some furries hate Bronies is the same reason some white people hate black people, some Catholics hate Protestants, some Americans hate Mexicans, yadda yadda yadda. It’s all about being narrow-minded, intolerant, and ignorant.

A true furry is someone who takes the best attributes of being human and being animal and combines them with perfection. A bad furry is someone who forgets that the fandom should be about acceptance and camaraderie and sharing in the fun and spirit of the anthropomorphic arts and community.

Perhaps you can be one of those good furries, White Tiger, who extends a paw to a pony hoof in friendship, leading by example.

Hugs,

Papabear

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Hello furs! This is just a quick throwaway account.

I developed an app a while ago called Yiffr. Long story short, I ended up stopping development and someone else took over. It eventually got pulled from the market a few weeks ago.

Anyway, for the past few weeks, I've been working on a completely separate furry app that's still unnamed (if you can think of a good name for it, let me know!). There's a much less emphasis on anything sexual (or hooking up) in this app and it has a linear forum type thing. It's also a lot cleaner and faster than the previous app (Yiffr was a bit like my "hello world" of Android, and was the very first thing I've done for Android). I ended up rewriting everything and it's actually not too shitty.

It's actually somewhat close to being finished, but I'm looking for people that would like to work on it or test it out. I am using git for version control.

Edit: I'll probably upload it and post a link on this subreddit once it's ready.

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Where have we been? Looks like even classic toys are taking on a furry angle. Legends of Chima is a new line of Lego toys the world-famous plastic brick system introduced this year. From the Wikipedia entry: “Chima is a land where anthropomorphic animals lived in peace with one another until a conflict caused a civil war with the eight animal tribes: Lion, Eagle, Raven, Wolf, Gorilla, Rhino, Bear, and Crocodile. The members of the factions fiercely battle over a powerful natural resource called Chi, which could allow its possessor to create or destroy.” The toy sets are already available — and a TV series based on the line has already been produced by Prime Focus for the Cartoon Network. Later this summer, a free MMORPG of Chima will be available on line as well.

image c. 2013 Prime Focus

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The guys go over furry humor, if it's a fetish, and spontaneous mental shifts.




Therian Documentory on Logo TV
http://www.logotv.com/video/what-i-think-im-an-animal/1706138/playlist.jhtml#vid=902354

Strikepaw Radio
http://strikepaw.blogspot.com/p/strikepaw-radio.html

Lady Bugs released in Mall of America
http://www.livescience.com/29002-ladybugs-mall-of-america.html

Donald Trump Hair Caterpillar
http://news.discovery.com/animals/insects/rare-caterpillar-resembles-donald-trumps-hair-130502.htm

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Welcome to another sexy, sultry adventure in Foxy Fridays. Due to technical difficulties involving alcohol and three different flavours of gelato I was unable to post last weeks Foxy Friday post. So thus you will have to make due with two.

First: Though this doesn’t really go under the term “foxy” it does relate to something all of us have experienced in some way. Be it from a one night stand, an online over friendly person, or someone you just met at a con. The article HERE talks about what it affectionately refers to as “The Little Mermaid Syndrome.” With some rather blunt examples the author points out that due to things like Disney romances where everyone lives happily ever after people are inclined to go to some rather drastic lengths for whom they believe could be their Prince Charming. The article is definitely worth a read.

Second: Okay, so I have no clue if this is for real or not. However I just read an article about three men in Saudi Arabia who were considered to sexy and were deported because of it! I mean seriously?! Send them over this way if you don’t like how hot they are, I’m sure we can find room in oh so many places. The article goes on to point out different “precedents” that go as far back as the Bible. So if this is true and it actually happened I just have to laugh because just imagine being one of those guys. Walk up to somebody at a bar and say “You know, I was deported from a country for being too sexy.” BAM! Done! Best. Pick-up line. EVER.

Artists Used in Descending Order:

Lion21

Trance87

Currently the Pan American Games, which will be in Canada for July 2015, is holding a contest to vote for your favorite mascot! These drawings are the 6 finalists that Canadian children have drawn and submitted. People can vote once a day until May 5th 2013. So be sure to vote for which one you want to see!

If you want to read more about the Pan Am Games click HERE.

To vote and see all 6 finalists click HERE.

This is a lightly-edited reprint of a column in Anthro Magazine that first appeared in Issue #14, in 2007.

Perhaps my favorite activity at conventions is having dinner with groups of friends at local eateries. Anyone who knows me well will recognize that I’m pretty fond of my chow to begin with, and to be able to share my dining experience with a (usually) mixed group of old friends and new acquaintances is, well, the highlight of my calendar. Usually, at least once during a con I’ll try and round up a suitable group, and off we go for what is always a memorable time out.

One of the most remarkable such con-dinners I’ve had in recent years took place in Memphis, during Mephit, at the Germantown Commissary. A group of about fifteen of us of mixed ages and of varying degrees of my acquaintanceship formed a convoy and ran across town to this trendy establishment, which allegedly sold the best barbeque in town. On the way our convoy broke up and some of us were separated, causing much anxiety. The Commissary proved to be the most highly-overrated restaurant I’ve ever experienced; it was crowded, the servers were rude to the point of surliness, and the food was okay at best. At any other time I’d have been very unhappy with my evening.

But because of the people I was with, the experience was absolutely magic.

I don’t know what it is about fen (a common slang-term for SF and other geeky-type fandom members), but within minutes of sitting down we were off and running as if we did this sort of thing every evening of our lives. I can’t claim to recall everything we discussed; the conversation was much too witty, free-ranging and articulate for me to remember it all. I do know that we went from ribald jokes to the nature of the universe and back several times in the blink of an eye. It was, in other words, the kind of stimulating and intelligent conversation that I spend most of my life starved for—that most of us fen, I suspect, spend our everyday lives starved for. Certainly, it was for me rain to a desert.

At one point, while we were discussing the finer points of terraforming, a good friend of long standing who’s also very interested in high-tech and has a degree from a prestigious university interrupted. “Wait a minute!” he commented. “We’re furs! We’re not supposed to be talking about this kind of stuff! Aren’t we supposed to be debating which part of the fox is the floofiest?”

The comment got a good laugh, but it also made me think. My friend was right, in that the dinner conversation at this particular meal had a very definite SF flavor. Even more, I realized, the same was true of most of the similar dinners I’ve enjoyed for all these many years now. We’re far more likely to discuss artificial intelligence at these affairs than vulpine floofiness, for example. And while fur-related subjects like gengineering probably get more than their share of air-time, even these conversations wouldn’t be out of place at, say, WorldCon. In other words, while the furry fandom did in fact (as near as I can tell, not having been around at the time) split off from the world of SF, there’s still an awful lot of SF left in us even these many years down the road. While this may not be true of all or even most fur-fans—I do have definite preferences in mind when selecting my dinner-companions, after all, and the ability to discuss a wide variety of subjects both amicably and intelligently ranks high among them—there’s certainly enough of us SF-derived types around to give the fandom a definite and recognizable flavor.

I had this brought home even more forcefully to me at Rain Furrest one year, where I (being one of the guests of honor) interacted quite a bit with the con chairman. He was strictly an SF fan, not a fur, and the local furs had drafted him to run their con because at that time no one else thought they had enough experience. He and I had a quite pleasant conversation about the differences between a furmeet and an SF con… and, frankly, there weren’t many. Furs consume less alcohol, as a rule, and require a little more in the way of costuming support. But all the major elements are pretty much the same, derived almost entirely from the SF cultural parent. Even much of the lingo is the same; I didn’t blink when he used the term ‘SMOF’ (Secret Master of the Fandom), and he recognized my use of ‘fen’ and ‘mundane’ (meaning anyone other than a fen) right off. I don’t recall if the terms actually came up, but if he’d told me that a mutual acquaintance had ‘gafiated’ (Gotten Away From It All) or ‘fafiated’ (been Forced Away From It All), I’d have understood him instantly. In other words, furs and SF fen share a private language.

I suppose I can understand how the split between furs and mainstream SF fans came to be. There are distinct cultural differences, and probably most furs aren’t as hard-science driven as the SF fandom. Even so, there’s enough of us tech-rooted types around that I’ve never had problems putting together dinner-groups at fur-meets which I’d match, man-for-man, against just about any similar SF-based group in terms of general geekiness and science-savvy. It’s a shame we’ve grown apart, in some ways, and even more a shame that in some circles there seems to be actual animosity between the two groups. We may be two distinct cultures, but we’re at least as alike as, say, Canadians and US citizens. We’re non-mundanes, in a world where non-mundanes are all too rare and precious. Therefore we should be treating each other as respected and beloved cousins, if not brothers and sisters. Not calling each other names, as I regret to report happens all too often.

We’re all fen together, is what I’m trying to say. Natural allies, not rivals. I mean, how many places can you find people who not only enjoy discussing terraforming over barbeque, but are good at it? Not many, in this sad and intellectually-declining world. And, while I can’t speak for anyone but myself, I fully intend to treasure such individuals wherever I may find them. Whether that be in a fursuit, wearing an Imperial Storm Trooper outfit, encased in a suit of armor, or behind a deck of Magic cards. We’re fen, all of us. And there just aren’t enough of us around to allow for snootiness when choosing friends.

Dear Papa Bear

I live in Northern Minnesota with my grandmother. I'm 19 years old and I've been looking for a job for the past two months. I was recently let go of my last job, and I haven't been able to find any. I've looked and looked, I've made calls, I've had interviews, but it doesn't seem like interested in hiring me.

My grandmother is getting rather fed up with me not having a job, but she puts up with me anyways. I have an option to move to Fargo, North Dakota and live with a friend so I can find some work; granted I couldn't find any last time I went there... Do you think relocating to an entirely new area is a smart choice? I just don't know who to turn to ask about this. I've asked myself several times and it always seems that I'm more trouble than I'm truly worth. :P

What do you think I should do?

Sammi Foxxpaw

* * *

Hi, Sammi,

It might very well be a good decision to move to look for work, but don’t put the cart before the horse. Before you make the leap anywhere, you can do a lot online to explore job opportunities in areas where you might like to live. Based on my reading, North Dakota could be a good place to move if you work in the health care industry. Places like Fargo (surprisingly!) have become retirement meccas because there is a very positive doctor-to-patient ratio, low crime rate, and reasonable housing costs. Another industry in North Dakota that is booming is the oil industry (seehttp://money.cnn.com/2011/09/28/pf/north_dakota_jobs/index.htm). 

The good thing about this is that whenever there is a boom in one industry, such as health care or oil, a lot of related and support businesses grow up around them as a result. Go online and look up newspaper sites where your friend lives and check out the want ads to give yourself an idea of what may be available for you.

Here’s a very interesting chart as well (source: http://wpcarey.asu.edu/bluechip/jobgrowth/jgu_states.cfm).
As you can see, North Dakota ranks at the top for job growth. But be a little wary of the stats because this is based on percentage of population. So, the number of jobs added in North Dakota is actually a lot fewer than in Utah, Texas, or Colorado, for instance.

You can see, too, that Minnesota ranks 14th in job growth, not too bad but not all that great. If you are having no luck finding work where you are not, expanding your search to other states is actually a sound choice. But, instead of moving to your friend’s place and then looking for work, search for jobs first, and then make arrangements to move. That’s the smart thing to do.

Another smart thing to do is to get more education. You say you are 19, so I am guessing you only have a high school degree. Remember, the more education you have, the easier it is to find work, as well as higher-paying work.

Good luck!

Papabear

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What's your favorite way to explain it to nonfurs? I tend to explain it as "trekkies but with animal costumes instead of spock outfits"

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