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"You love the intoxication of the speed, the roar of the engines, the smell of gasoline and burnt rubber? Then you are exactly right here! Because here everyone can become a racing driver. Well, almost everyone. Whether it is a frog, a squirrel, a lion, an orangutan or a pig, all the animals in the Opel become a racing driver." This ad was made the "The Mill" [1] which is the same effects house that worked on many seasons of Doctor Who. Here is a making of: https://youtu.be/0jq64gXi7uo Also by The Mill: https://youtu.be/nd1MrTqnDd0 [1] http://www.themill.com/
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Greetings, Dogpatch Press readers. We hope you’ve been enjoying the run of What’s Yiffin’? on this website; it’s time for April’s edition! One thing you’ll realize over the course of watching our show is sometimes events happen so close to production time that we can’t include them in the show and they are delegated to next month’s release. The firestorm surrounding RMFC is an example of one such event. Literally a day or two after we wrapped up this episode that whole mess happened, sort of like how the story about 2 Gryphon was pushed back to this month for the same reason. Speaking of 2, here’s the news that’s fit to print!

More details and some additional insight from the show’s writers:

2 UNLIMITED

Furry Hall of Fame (yes, it’s apparently a thing) inductee “2 The Ranting Gryphon” was recently let go by Anthrocon’s board of directors, ending a near two decade run of stand-up comedy shows starting as far back as 2002. Uncle Kage, a personal friend of 2, voted against removing him from the entertainment lineup.  However this did not seem to shift the tables in 2’s favor, as the majority still spoke and the majority said “get out”. It’s important to note that 2 has not been banned from the convention. He just doesn’t have any stage time for a show this year.

2’s style of humor has often been compared to that of George Carlin, due to it’s vulgar yet socially poignant nature. When word got out that he was dismissed, he blamed the fandom’s shift in taste on “SJW’s” (Social Justice Warriors, far-left liberals who are strongly in favor of political correctness and racial/class issues). There was also a stray Twitter account involved named “@0ffensiveFacts” that had been dead for a year and previously had some interesting things to say about Jewish people. Naturally, these kinds of accusations result in drawing attention to the content in question. People began to scrutinize 2’s material to try and see why this paragon of the fandom was kicked out of said fandom’s largest convention.

“What is sexual molestation? The physical nature of it is obvious, but what what does it represent emotionally to the victim? A loss of control. Helplessness. Perhaps some pain. Being forced to do something you don’t want to. Shame and embarrassment. These are all unpleasant things. But they’re also unpleasant things that most people experience nearly every day from their bosses or co-workers at their jobs or from teachers and other students at school.”

The preceding quote comes from a rant blog post on 2’s website from 2012. This isn’t “edgy” humor. This isn’t even humor at all. What this is, is someone who’s never been through the trauma of molestation, before thinking he can be an edgelord about it and look “cool” by telling people to just walk it off. 2, I don’t know how much money you make doing stand-up, so I don’t know if you’ve ever held a job before, but when someone comes home and goes “man the boss really screwed us today”… the boss didn’t literally screw anyone.

2’s response to this criticism was to double-down on his fame, and say when this all blows over he’ll still have 25,000 people watching his videos. (Referring to the number of subscribers on his YouTube channel). That’s not how it works, 2. You have 25,000 subscribers, but most of your content gets about 400 views on average. To put this into perspective this dumb fake news show will average about 200 and the up and coming Gatorbox channel only has 1,000 followers. Your comedy career is fishtailing in a very dangerous manner, 2, and as entertainers ourselves we can only caution you about the next steps you take because — in regards to your career — they very well might be your last ones. Show some humility.

STILL CAN’T ENJOY HER SANDWICH

Nick Robinson, better known as “the guy from Polygon’s Car Boys who isn’t Griffin McElroy”, is an Internet comedian and videographer. The aforementioned Car Boys is arguably his most popular work, but he works on other projects for Polygon as well. Nick is not a furry, but he’s certainly aware of our culture and its memes. Toward the end of last month he tweeted out a joke about how everyone masturbated to Krystal from Star Fox Adventures “and anyone who acts like they didn’t … is lying to you”.  Simple enough. Not the funniest thing we heard that month, but still a solid 5/10 performance from a guy whose usual schtick is commentating a game where he drives a school bus into a spinning hammer.

This tweet would be unmentionable, had it not been for the fact that it attracted — of all people — Feminist Frequency, who were quick to shame Nick and everyone else for participating in this. “Nobody in our office feels that way about Krystal,” the tweet chain began. What, did Anita Sarkeesian herself go around personally asking everyone in the Frequency offices if they jerked off to a cartoon fox from some awful early 00’s video game, or something? Their message to Nick (and presumably everyone else) continued: “she’s literally trapped in a crystal. Finding a female character who is damseled and stripped of her agency arousing is kinda gross. Attitudes like this are indicative of just how male-dominated gaming culture remains.”

Good lord, all this hub-bub over a groaner of a joke. Congratulations, you’ve now propelled Nick and his joke into the spotlight, while shining another that serves to show the world how ridiculous you are that you can’t understand humor. Was the joke sexist? Of course it was, but we don’t see any contrary publications getting into people’s faces for saying gross things about that Guzma character from the latest Pokémon game. Fantastic double standard there. Also, nowhere in Nick’s tweet did he mention anything about getting off on the fact that she’s “in bondage”. We don’t even think her damsel status crosses the minds of the weirdos who obsess over her. We’re 100% certain the only thing they’re focused on is right there on Krystal’s chest.

Everyone has jerked off to Krystal at least once in their lives. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to you.

SOME DAYS YOU’RE THE DOG

Every year Bad Dragon releases a joke product on April Fool’s Day that’s available for only 24 hours. This year they continued the tradition by releasing a massive 10 inch silicone fire hydrant. The hydrant, 11 inches around at its widest point, was offered in bright red or safety yellow and ran you a cool $100 (plus shipping). Previous years’ toys have included silicone crowbars (“The Freeman”), shot glasses, bowling pins, flashlights… and a human penis billed as “The Ultimate Pleasure”. The What’s Yiffin’? staff (all two of us) agree that “The Ultimate Pleasure” was their funniest one.

Anyways, a hundred bucks in the year of Our Lord 2017 landed you one rubbery fire hydrant, plus matching collectible “Teeny Weeny” and plastic keychain hydrants. The hydrant also came with a free liquid tube upgrade. You know, for shooting water out of it… because it’s a fire hydrant. Get it? Bad Dragon’s sale and store page for the hydrant include the disclaimer that these “toys” are for “novelty purposes only”. But you know people are going to disregard that (LINK IS NSFW).

If you missed out on nabbing yourself one of the hydrants, then you’re out of luck. You’ll have to turn to the secondhand Bad Dragon collectors’ market and pay an inflated collectors’ price. We don’t actually know if there’s a secondhand market for Bad Dragon toys, but none of us are willing to put that term in our search history, especially with congress apparently getting ready to sell that information to anyone with deep enough pockets. No thanks.

WORLD’S CHILLEST MANAGER

2017’s Texas Furry Fiesta took place at the end of last month. The good news is nobody crapped in a place they weren’t supposed to, and nobody blacked out from drug use or had the cops called on them, so all in all it was a good convention. Good by 2017 standards, at least. Furry conventions that take place at hotels are always full of strange people, but often times we forget about the everyman in these situations – people who just so happen to be staying at the same hotel at the same time either for business or personal leisure purposes. Nicola Craig, one such normie, was a guest at the Intercontinental Dallas hotel during the weekend of Furry Fiesta. She left some choice words for the management in a review posted to TripAdvisor.

“Paid $330 a night and it sucked, this place was dirty and had a furry convention on with no warning to other guests. manager is an [sic] BAD. I do not recommend. Also they are on priceline for 89 a night. Wouldn’t even bother. Manager should be fired”

Naturally, she left all one-star reviews for every available amenity category. So, two things. One, hotels don’t usually “warn” people about conventions. If you’re this concerned over sharing a hotel with a convention, most venues have schedules posted on their official websites. If they don’t, you could always call them and ask. Two, you probably should’ve booked on Priceline you idiot. Speaking of calling people, this entitled winner was so displeased with her experience that she apparently did call the hotel at some point and demanded to speak to a manager, because that manager, Stefan Huber, responded to her TripAdvisor review.  He reminded Nicola who’s court she was playing on:

“I have to admit that I am offended by this review for several reasons. I don’t understand how you, particularly as a travel agent, can feel right about insisting on certain guests being better than others … you are harming our reputation simply because I would not compensate you for your guests’ expectations to be surrounded by “like” individuals.”

We can feel the heat coming off that burn all the way from where we are. The 13th Amendment made it illegal to own people like that. We’d kill to know how blasted Nicola became upon reading Mr. Huber’s response, but sadly this is where the paper trail ends. We may never know. One thing we do know, however, is that next year Nicola and her “like individuals” won’t be there ruining the fun for everyone at Furry Fiesta 2018; they’ll be staying a Motel 6 or something instead.

And that’s what April has to offer! We sincerely hope you enjoyed this installment of What’s Yiffin’?, and if you did please consider giving us a subscription on YouTube and a follow on Twitch. What’s Yiffin’? is broadcast as a part of the show Gatorbox, which is live every Friday night at 9PM (US Central). What’s Yiffin’? is performed on the first Friday of every month. Take care, and we hope everyone has a fantastic Easter weekend!

– André “Dracokon” Kon & Rob “Roastmaster” Maestro

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon, where you can access exclusive stuff for just $1.  Want to do something REALLY awesome? Ask two friends to share the link.  Thank you – Patch

 

In the United States and Canada, the month of April is celebrated as National Poetry Month, a tradition in the United States since 1996 and in Canada since 1998. Many literary magazines, libraries, authors, schools, and websites participate in this in a wide variety of ways. Since 2015, writers of the furry community have been celebrating their own version of this, which we may now call Furry Poetry Month.

The writing of poetry by furries, whether they be dedicated writers or occasional writers of poems, is not just a recent development. Poems can be found online in the Usenet newsgroup alt.lifestyle.furry, of the 1990’s. A once-active site that featured furry literature was Anthrozine. Starting as early as their second issue in 2005, twenty-six furry poems were published over the years that the site was maintained by Michael Bard and Quentin Long.

Poetry probably appeared on Fur Affinity user pages soon after it’s beginning in 2005.  Over the years, approximately eight groups have been created to feature poetry and other writing. Most of these groups have had little activity in recent months, some of them not for several years. The Poets Guild began in 2009 features two poetry anthologies and four dozen individual poems that are posted on the site. Their activity declined for a year or so but has recently had an increase in posting. The most active FA group for poetry at this time is Poetic Furs. Begun in 2015, they have featured an interview with a different poet each month.

Over the years there have been some printed versions of furry poetry. This writer still has his copy of the 1999 Conifur NorthWest furcon con book and we find on page 41-42 what might best be described as a rap, but it’s still poetry, titled “I Am The Very Model Of A Furry Individual” by Mee-Shee.  Another example was the first volume of Allasso in 2012, edited by Brian Lee Cook, which contained seven poems along with fiction short stories.

More recently, poetry has been featured on Adjective Species.  Their first publishing of a furry poem, “Whiskey Sour”, by Lunostophiles, appeared in 2013.

In March of 2015 an essay written by this writer, titled “Finding the Animals in Modern Poetry”, was followed by the creation of the “Inaugural Adjective Species Poetry Collection”. It was curated by Lunostophiles. This featured original animal themed poems from thirteen writers of the furry community. The following year in April, Adjective Species published another essay by this writer, “Finding the Animals in Cowboy Poetry”, which was soon followed by the “Second Adjective Species Poetry Collection”, with nine poems contributed. This was curated by a prominent furry writer, Poetigress.  Also at that time seven original poems written by Poetigress were published over three days.

The Furry Writers Guild was founded in 2010 to be a group for writers to share their experiences and to provide information about writing and publishing. In April of 2015 on their site forum, a new discussion board for poetry was created.  Also at this time, Laura “Munchkin” Govednik and Altivo Overo developed the idea for a book of poetry featuring animal themed poems from Furry Writers Guild writers. The sales of the book would be donated to an animal charity.  This successful project, titled “Civilized Beasts”, appeared in December 2015, published by Weasel Press.

In 2016, the project was begun again, as reported here on Dogpatch Press. Poem submissions are closed at this time and the release of the new book has not yet been announced.

Finally, the enjoyment of poetry does not have to be just a solitary, silent, experience. There are many un-traditional ways of creating and experiencing poetry. Recitation and performance of poetry occasionally occurs in the furry community. Fursuiter rap performances on Youtube are a good example, and this writer enjoyed poetry readings by two furry writers at Rainfurrest 2015.  You might find a way to poetically express yourself with some of these activities: https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/30-ways-celebrate-national-poetry-month

Poetry comes in many shapes, sizes, and colors, much like the fursuits of the furry community. Poetry written by others can put into words the ideas and emotions that we ourselves may not have the skill to express.  Poetry that we write can be a way to gather together our thoughts and emotions and get a clear look at them.  Somewhere out there in the world there is a poem, or maybe many poems, that is good for each one of us.

– Shining River

Later this month, Magnetic Press will be releasing the next installment of the Klaw series entitled Klaw: The Second Cycle. Once again it’s a hardcover graphic novel written by Antoine Ozanam and illustrated by Joël Jurion. As you may recall, in the first issue of Klaw we met young Angel Tomassini, who discovers several scary things at once: When he’s angry he turns into an anthro-tiger, and his father is a vicious crime boss, and there is a whole society of were-creatures who do not always have each others’ best interests at heart. And now: “The second volume in the series follows Angel and his girlfriend Lisa as they flee across the globe from the many dangerous forces that would steal their were-animal spirit for their own nefarious, criminal use.  As if spotting and defending themselves from these hidden enemies isn’t hard enough, they also have to keep their own delicate control of their powers in check… innocent lives can get caught in the crossfire, and all the power in the world is useless if you can’t protect your friends and loved ones…” Check out the preview pages.

image c. 2017 Magnetic Press

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Hi there! My friend told me you were knowledgeable about things and I think some outside opinions would help. 

The situation is not dire I'm just simply questioning. I've always been a little bi-curious but usually been pretty good at ignoring it until it went away. That was, until I attended my first furry con and I saw the happy couples and I felt that I wanted that. 

I guess my question is what should I do about this possible budding bisexuality. Might it be legit or am I simply starved for affection and looking to open new avenues for romance, how would I know what it is? Should explore it how could I start?

Thanks in advance :)

Lyle (age 21)

* * *

Dear Lyle,

There is no such thing as 100% straight or 100% gay. We all lie somewhere in the middle, although we usually lean one way or another. Those who call themselves bisexual feel they are about halfway between the two extremes.

When it comes to relationships, disregard race, nationality, religion, money, and sex. Look at the person. It is a person you truly fall in love with, not their outer shell (those who do fall for the shell are always disappointed in the end). If you fall in love with someone who is male or female and you get along in all the important ways (and the sex is good), then you will have a happy relationship.

Whether you are bi or "starved for affection" or simply really horny, I cannot tell from such a brief missive as you have sent. But I can tell you that you shouldn't grasp onto a relationship because you want sex or even because you want affection. Genuine relationships aren't about you satisfying your needs. In other words, do not go into a relationship for selfish reasons. Do so because you are in love and bringing the other person happiness is just as important as the happiness they bring you.

Hugs,
Papabear

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

The King of Las Vegas, by John Van Stry
Seattle, WA, CreateSpace, March 2016, trade paperback $10.99 (234 pages), Kindle $3.99.

John Van Stry has written four Hammer Commission novels; The Hammer Commission, Wolf Killer, Loose Ends, and The King of Las Vegas. They are set in a world where demons, devils, monsters, and vampires are real. Three of the four feature Mark Levin, a demon-devil-monster-vampire hunter for the FBI and Interpol who is a monster himself. Mark and his French partner Jake are minor characters in The King of Las Vegas, which features a rakshasa.

A traditional rakshasa is an Indian (Hindustani) demon, usually described as a huge fanged cannibal who can shape-shift and live hundreds of years. In Van Stry’s novel, it’s a tiger-striped shape-shifter who can turn into a tiger (not a were-tiger; the distinction becomes important in the story) that happens to be a good guy. Rafael is an American college student on vacation in India who is captured and enslaved by a Rakshasa (Van Stry sometimes capitalizes it) and is turned into one himself.

Eleven years later Rafael escapes to American Catholic missionaries in India, and is turned over by them to Mark and Jake. When they determine that Rafael doesn’t want to prey on anyone, he just wants to return to America, they help him out. As a rakshasa, he needs lots of meat, he feeds on strong emotions, and he has to be near tigers. The best place in America for that is Las Vegas – the casinos provide plenty of cheap meals, the gamblers provide the strong emotions, he can pass his tiger stripes as makeup or tattoos for an act, and several Las Vegas attractions and magicians have live tigers.

Van Stry makes the rakshasas part of civilization. The Indian government encourages them to settle along the Indian-Chinese border to discourage Chinese invasion. Rafael’s abusive slave-master has used his Rakshasa powers to make himself a billionaire, and Rafael sues him for enough to make himself independently wealthy.

So Rafael settles in Las Vegas. He can’t go back to college, but he’s not hurting. He’s got all the money he needs. His head-to-toe tiger stripes make him popular with the girls. He can wander through the casinos and drink in the excitement and joy, filtering out the negative emotions like greed and disappointment. Later he uses his shape-changing ability to become a popular Elvis imitator, and he has all the positive emotions he could need.

Here Rafael discovers that he has matured further as a rakshasa without the supernatural power of his former master holding him back. (This also displays CreateSpace’s lack of proofreading.)

“He opened his eyes and looked down at his body. He was covered in fur, but not the light coat he’d had after Janet, no this was the fur of a tiger, and it matched the patterns of his markings.

Examining the palms of his hands, and the soles of his feel [sic.]. he now had dark pads, his fingernails and toenails had disappeared, and when he flexed his fingers, long wicked claws slid out of their hiding places in his fingertips.

Standing up then, he moved across the room in almost a glide as he came to the mirror and looked himself over. He felt stronger than he had before, more balanced, more in tune with his being. Then he noticed his face.

He had a tiger’s head.

He looked a bit closer and longer, it wasn’t actually a real tiger’s head, but it was close. It was a bit more humanoid, and more sized to fit his body. Turning to look at his profile and take the time to admire himself, he noticed he had a tail now as well.” (pgs. 67-68)

Tigers are also very territorial, and Rafael settles into Las Vegas as his city. So he isn’t happy when he senses the death and corruption that he associates with vampires.

“He caught a whiff of it then. He froze, the hairs on the back of his neck starting to rise, and looked around carefully sniffing at the air. Tt was faint; he could just barely detect it. Seeing that there was no one around, he shifted into his full rakshasa form, that he’d achieved for the first time only just hours ago. He grumbled a little as the seat of his trousers split, he’d forgotten about the tail, and his clothing felt a little tighter now, with the fur sprouting from his skin, but with the tiger’s head, came the much stronger tiger’s sense of smell.” (p. 74)

Rafael scents the vampire and gets rid of it and its followers. Then Rafael and his girlfriend Janet Hoskins find another vampire. And another. Las Vegas turns out to be the vampire capital of America. And Sonny Capridella, the Godfather of all the vampires (who also controls the drug dealers and all organized crime in Las Vegas) sets them all to finding out who is conducting a one-monster war against the Vampire Mob.

I don’t review werewolf horror fiction, but The King of Las Vegas (cover by eBook Launch — prices start at $349) is more of a furry superhero against vampires/the Mob action thriller. Problems: besides the lack of proofreading mentioned above, there is Jake’s pathetic French accent:

“‘He is not being zee rude,’ Jake said leaning forward and flashing a rather devastating smile. ‘Your boyfriend, he has zee powers zat make him zee most powerful being in zee city. Zat comes with a responsibility, no? So it is for zee best zat he always remember what he is. It is safer for all involved, most especially for himself.’” (p. 184)

If you want something besides pure furry fiction and you like a good-monster superhero fighting vampires who are also gangsters, try The King of Las Vegas.

– Fred Patten

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This week, Savrin and Fuzz have a lot to discuss. Savrin is back from FWA and tells you all about it, we gush over the Thor: Ragnarok trailer, and then we get to the actual meaty bits of the episode: the self inflicted destruction of RMFC. Then there's a handful of emails. Woo~ Also, a book recommendation that came in from the Patreon folks regarding poly relationships: “Opening Up” by Tristan Taormino. We reference several links in the episode, so here they are: http://lawyersandliquor.com/2017/04/free-furry-of-the-land-when-sovcits-and-furries-collide/ https://www.flayrah.com/6903/rocky-mountain-fur-con-canceled-following-neo-nazi-associations-tax-irregularities http://dogpatch.press/2017/04/10/rocky-mountain-fur-con-threat/ And the catchy Boozey Badger jingle by Rhubarb. https://www.furaffinity.net/view/23203969/ Want to help support the show? We have a patreon! www.patreon.com/knotcast Episode 346 - Sympathy For The Devil

Art by Teagan Gavet

April 2017’s Book of the Month is Rechan’s short story collection, Intimate Little Secrets.

From just a fleeting spark to the last burning coals, relationships burn our fingers and set our passions aflame. Even when extinguished, the embers can still smolder and scorch.

When Luis’s ex comes back into his life, the cost of what he wants might mean the loss of something more. Jacob needs peace with his family, an order perhaps too tall for Desiree to provide. Marjani must make amends for an indiscretion. A confession falls apart, leaving Janine caught in the gears of a messy arrangement. Strait-laced Conner has to navigate a new world both confusing and rife with hurt feelings.

In these nine stories, imperfect people brave the fire for moments of perfection.

Intimate Little Secrets is available now in print from FurPlanet and DRM-free ebook from Bad Dog Books, and may be available on Amazon and other ebook retailers.

Porn. It's an undeniable part of the furry fandom. But what is the relationship it has to the fandom? Fenryk joins Roo and Tugs in studio to discuss this topic which strikes at the heart of almost every single furry out there. What's the appeal? What role does porn serve for furries? What happens if it is taken away? We explore all this, using your emails (including some deeply personal stories), and more! We also have loaded this episode with all kinds of absurd surprises, Space News, Fifty Sheds of Grey, Olde Timey Ads, and Get Psyched!





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Reminder! We're up for the Ursa Major Award!
If feel we are worthy of this award, check out how to vote out at www.ursamajorwards.org.

Show Notes

Special Thanks

Fenryk Wolffe, our guest
Anonydog
Blaze
Docos
Phoenix the Fox, for the email and suggesting this episode's topic
Lyra the fox
Clunk
Snares
Levvy the Freaky Fennec Fox
Seiichi Raccoon
Mfalme Lion, for email and the ident
Kyn
Miski

Music

Opening Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Some music was provided by Kevin MacLeod at Incompetech.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. We used the following pieces:

Spy Glass


Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Closing Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Headnodic Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Some of our sexy music was from Bensound. You can get it at this link or at Bensound.com.

Show Bonus!
We have more of "How Google Transcribed It" with a second voicemail! Check it out!

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The following people have decided this month’s Fur What It’s Worth is worth actual cash! THANK YOU!

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Want to be on this list? Donate on our Patreon page! THANK YOU to our supporters once again!

Next episode: While our episode on porn is in post-production, we are taking comments on our next episode: Zoophilia versus Beastiality and its relationship with the fandom. It's a sensitive topic and one almost everyone has an opinion on. Send yours by April 20, 2017!

Did you read this far? That isn't a woman moaning. We're furries. Those are two turtles mating. That's the sound turtles make when they mate. S6 Episode 14 – The Dirty and Sinful - Porn. It's an undeniable part of the furry fandom. But what is the relationship it has to the fandom? Fenryk joins Roo and Tugs in studio to discuss this topic which strikes at the heart of almost every single furry

After a rather disastrous live action movie (which they had nothing to do with!), American Mythology Comics have decided that Underdog deserves a new coat of paint — and a new comic book series all his own. Created in 1964 by W. Watts Biggers for Total Television, the original Underdog animated series told the story of an anthro dog (known only as “Shoeshine Boy”) who had the secret ability to transform into the flying caped crime-fighter known as Underdog. Now, many years later, American Mythology present the new full-color comic written by Batton Lash and illustrated by Bill Galvan. It’s hitting the shelves this month, and Previews World has an interview with the creators.

image c. 2017 American Mythology

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In this busy episode we feature multiple interviews about recent convention ending drama, following that up with loads of other news & links.

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Watch Video Interviews:

• First, our friends @Digivolve and @Rawr_Jesse join us for some insight on RMFC’s timeline.
• Then we were joined by @BoozyBarrister. A lawyer, blogger and confirmed badger furry, to talk about his blog’s writeup of the RMFC Cease and Desist letter.

Link Roundup:

• RMFC Related News & Links:
  • [Dogpatch Press] Rocky Mountain Fur Con backs neo-nazis, sex offender to intimidate critic for reporting threat.
  • [Flayrah] Rocky Mountain Fur Con canceled following neo-Nazi associations, tax irregularities
  • [Lawyers And Liquor] Free Furry of The Land: When SovCits and Furries Collide
  • [Rolling Stone] Does the Furry Community Have a Nazi Problem?
  • FA User RhubarbTheBear’s Boozy Barrister Badger Jingle
• What Killed Rainfurrest 2016 – Trappa Explains at VancouFur 2016
• Furry Psychology with Nuka at Texas Furry Fiesta 2017
• WiFi Sex Toy can be hacked
• How Does a Centaur Eat?
• Draw A Centaur Day is April 16th!
• Tables Turned On Drunk Driver
• Neural Network Generated Pickup Lines
• Woman Brings Therapy Dog to MCFC
• Spawts’s Cardboard Cutout has a Twitter Handle
• CSI Fur Fest: The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention
• How Cats Became Our Feline Overlords (feat. It’s Okay To Be Smart)
• Digital Media Primer with Monty Montgomery
• Update: Sozan’s life is still a disaster
• MFF staff reassures they do audit for multiple bookings

News:

• Engineer ‘Marries’ Robot He Built And It’s Totally Not Creepy At All
• Tyrannosaurus rex was a sensitive lover, new dinosaur discovery suggests
• Artificial Intelligence Systems Are Learning Our Racism And Sexism
• Cheeky Hackers Trigger All Of Dallas’ Emergency Sirens Simultaneously
• Being A Night Owl Might Be Written In Your Genes

FC-263 Technicolor Zoo - In this busy episode we feature multiple interviews about recent convention ending drama, following that up with loads of other news & links.

In this busy episode we feature multiple interviews about recent convention ending drama, following that up with loads of other news & links.

Download MP3

Watch Video Interviews:

• First, our friends @Digivolve and @Rawr_Jesse join us for some insight on RMFC’s timeline.
• Then we were joined by @BoozyBarrister. A lawyer, blogger and confirmed badger furry, to talk about his blog’s writeup of the RMFC Cease and Desist letter.

Link Roundup:

• RMFC Related News & Links:
  • [Dogpatch Press] Rocky Mountain Fur Con backs neo-nazis, sex offender to intimidate critic for reporting threat.
  • [Flayrah] Rocky Mountain Fur Con canceled following neo-Nazi associations, tax irregularities
  • [Lawyers And Liquor] Free Furry of The Land: When SovCits and Furries Collide
  • [Rolling Stone] Does the Furry Community Have a Nazi Problem?
  • FA User RhubarbTheBear’s Boozy Barrister Badger Jingle
• What Killed Rainfurrest 2016 – Trappa Explains at VancouFur 2016
• Furry Psychology with Nuka at Texas Furry Fiesta 2017
• WiFi Sex Toy can be hacked
• How Does a Centaur Eat?
• Draw A Centaur Day is April 16th!
• Tables Turned On Drunk Driver
• Neural Network Generated Pickup Lines
• Woman Brings Therapy Dog to MCFC
• Spawts’s Cardboard Cutout has a Twitter Handle
• CSI Fur Fest: The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention
• How Cats Became Our Feline Overlords (feat. It’s Okay To Be Smart)
• Digital Media Primer with Monty Montgomery
• Update: Sozan’s life is still a disaster
• MFF staff reassures they do audit for multiple bookings

News:

• Engineer ‘Marries’ Robot He Built And It’s Totally Not Creepy At All
• Tyrannosaurus rex was a sensitive lover, new dinosaur discovery suggests
• Artificial Intelligence Systems Are Learning Our Racism And Sexism
• Cheeky Hackers Trigger All Of Dallas’ Emergency Sirens Simultaneously
• Being A Night Owl Might Be Written In Your Genes

FC-263 Technicolor Zoo - In this busy episode we feature multiple interviews about recent convention ending drama, following that up with loads of other news & links.

In this busy episode we feature multiple interviews about recent convention ending drama, following that up with loads of other news & links.

Download MP3

Interviews:

• First, our friends @Digivolve and @Rawr_Jesse join us for some insight on RMFC’s timeline.
• Then we were joined by @BoozyBarrister. A lawyer, blogger and confirmed badger furry, to talk about his blog’s writeup of the RMFC Cease and Desist letter.

Link Roundup:

• RMFC Related News & Links:
  • [Dogpatch Press] Rocky Mountain Fur Con backs neo-nazis, sex offender to intimidate critic for reporting threat.
  • [Flayrah] Rocky Mountain Fur Con canceled following neo-Nazi associations, tax irregularities
  • [Lawyers And Liquor] Free Furry of The Land: When SovCits and Furries Collide
  • [Rolling Stone] Does the Furry Community Have a Nazi Problem?
  • FA User RhubarbTheBear’s Boozy Barrister Badger Jingle
• What Killed Rainfurrest 2016 – Trappa Explains at VancouFur 2016
• Furry Psychology with Nuka at Texas Furry Fiesta 2017
• WiFi Sex Toy can be hacked
• How Does a Centaur Eat?
• Draw A Centaur Day is April 16th!
• Tables Turned On Drunk Driver
• Neural Network Generated Pickup Lines
• Woman Brings Therapy Dog to MCFC
• Spawts’s Cardboard Cutout has a Twitter Handle
• CSI Fur Fest: The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention
• How Cats Became Our Feline Overlords (feat. It’s Okay To Be Smart)
• Digital Media Primer with Monty Montgomery
• Update: Sozan’s life is still a disaster
• MFF staff reassures they do audit for multiple bookings

News:

• Engineer ‘Marries’ Robot He Built And It’s Totally Not Creepy At All
• Tyrannosaurus rex was a sensitive lover, new dinosaur discovery suggests
• Artificial Intelligence Systems Are Learning Our Racism And Sexism
• Cheeky Hackers Trigger All Of Dallas’ Emergency Sirens Simultaneously
• Being A Night Owl Might Be Written In Your Genes

[Live] Technicolor Zoo

And... another one...
http://www.avclub.com/article/even-furries-are-no-longer-safe-neo-nazi-meddling-253748?utm_content=Main&utm_campaign=SF&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing



From the A.V. CLUB
Even furries are no longer safe from neo-Nazi meddling
By Alex McLevy @alexm247
Posted yesterday at 12:59 p.m.


Photo: Carston Koall/Stringer/Getty
Photo: Carston Koall/Stringer/Getty

“First they came for the men dressed as giant furry rabbits, and I did nothing.” This is a sentence you may yet see when the future history of the rise of the “alt-right” (read: fascist neo-Nazis) in our contemporary era is written. A recent online conflagration that led to the cancelation of a furry convention in Colorado has shown that even the world of people who enjoy walking around as giant plush animals isn’t safe from incursion by assholes. The Daily Beast reports that Rocky Mountain Fur Con, an annual summit held in Denver for furries, has been shut down due to the activities of a group known as “Furry Raiders,” a name that actually pairs quite well with “Sad Puppies” and other like-minded groups that appear to have a real problem with minorities.

However, Furry Raiders has done its best to distance itself from these reprehensible ideologies. Or at least they’ve tried to make a show of such distancing. It doesn’t help that the group’s leader is named “Foxler” and dresses in a red armband that is identical to a Nazi armband, save for replacing the swastika with a paw print. If you listen to a lengthy YouTube video he posted last month, Foxler (who is quick to assure people it’s a portmanteau of “Fox” and his supposed surname “Miller,” and not a much more obvious play on “Hitler”) does his best to use the language of diversity and inclusion, saying the Furry Raiders welcome all people of all stripes or species, and that personal expression of any kind is very important to them. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that the main kind of free expression Foxler wants to defend is the right to dress like an anthropomorphic Nazi fox. Also, if you’re pleading for respect for diversity in your desire to dress like a Nazi, maybe don’t send an empathetic tweet of that desire to Richard “I’ll always be the white supremacist who got punched in the face” Spencer. It looks bad.

https://twitter.com/starfoxACEFOX/status/823998732601622529/photo/1

Nonetheless, Foxler, who claims to have been ignorant of WWII history and any resemblance to literally one of the most notorious ideologies in world history, says the events that led to Fur Con’s cancelation are a big misunderstanding. It seems the rise of #AltFurry, a hashtag for furries who presumably don’t care much for women or people of color, led to condemnations of the look and ideas behind Furry Raiders, a group with a “very confusing past and a very confusing history,” according to Fur Con chairman Zachary Brooks, who might have a bit of his own confusion about the difference between the past and history. Regardless, in 2016, after it was announced what hotel the convention would be at, Furry Raiders quickly booked a massive block of rooms, preventing others not affiliated with the group from making any reservations. (“I had like a spare 10 extra rooms,” Foxler notes.) It was “seen by many as a malicious act by them to try to control who could and couldn’t attend. So that’s what really began the controversy with them,” Brooks continued.

From there, other furries began to discover overlap between the Fur Con board and Furry Raiders, and when a furry named Deo (who hadn’t even planned to attend Fur Con) made a crack on Twitter about how she “can’t wait to punch these Nazis” (this was right on the heels of Spencer getting clocked for all the world to see) and got the response that someone would “enjoying watching Deo get shot at the convention.” She notified the authorities, the hotel informed Fur Con it would require a security force that would cost more than twenty thousand dollars, and that was pretty much it for the convention. Whether Foxler himself espouses fascist ideology is unknown—Furry Raiders have started making rainbow armbands, among other colors, as a way to show its commitment to diversity—it seems obvious there are some in the #AltFurry community more than happy to wreck other people’s enjoyment of the non-fascist things in life, like being very, very committed to dressing up as cartoonish mammals.

There’s a whole other aspect to the story that involves a member of the Fur Con board being involved with sovereign citizen activities and also a convicted sex offender, which is probably not high on the list of things with which furries want to be associated. Also, other furries discovered Fur Con, which claimed to be run by a nonprofit, had actually had that status revoked back in 2011 for failure to file statements with the IRS. Basically, it’s a whole mess, and a lot of it can be chalked up to a likely small group of guys who start statements with things like, “I’m not a neo-Nazi, but...” This is why we can’t have nice things, or even harmless but slightly unsettling things, depending on your views of the furry community.

And... another one...
http://www.avclub.com/article/even-furries-are-no-longer-safe-neo-nazi-meddling-253748?utm_content=Main&utm_campaign=SF&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=SocialMarketing



From the A.V. CLUB
Even furries are no longer safe from neo-Nazi meddling
By Alex McLevy @alexm247
Posted yesterday at 12:59 p.m.


Photo: Carston Koall/Stringer/Getty
Photo: Carston Koall/Stringer/Getty

“First they came for the men dressed as giant furry rabbits, and I did nothing.” This is a sentence you may yet see when the future history of the rise of the “alt-right” (read: fascist neo-Nazis) in our contemporary era is written. A recent online conflagration that led to the cancelation of a furry convention in Colorado has shown that even the world of people who enjoy walking around as giant plush animals isn’t safe from incursion by assholes. The Daily Beast reports that Rocky Mountain Fur Con, an annual summit held in Denver for furries, has been shut down due to the activities of a group known as “Furry Raiders,” a name that actually pairs quite well with “Sad Puppies” and other like-minded groups that appear to have a real problem with minorities.

However, Furry Raiders has done its best to distance itself from these reprehensible ideologies. Or at least they’ve tried to make a show of such distancing. It doesn’t help that the group’s leader is named “Foxler” and dresses in a red armband that is identical to a Nazi armband, save for replacing the swastika with a paw print. If you listen to a lengthy YouTube video he posted last month, Foxler (who is quick to assure people it’s a portmanteau of “Fox” and his supposed surname “Miller,” and not a much more obvious play on “Hitler”) does his best to use the language of diversity and inclusion, saying the Furry Raiders welcome all people of all stripes or species, and that personal expression of any kind is very important to them. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that the main kind of free expression Foxler wants to defend is the right to dress like an anthropomorphic Nazi fox. Also, if you’re pleading for respect for diversity in your desire to dress like a Nazi, maybe don’t send an empathetic tweet of that desire to Richard “I’ll always be the white supremacist who got punched in the face” Spencer. It looks bad.

https://twitter.com/starfoxACEFOX/status/823998732601622529/photo/1

Nonetheless, Foxler, who claims to have been ignorant of WWII history and any resemblance to literally one of the most notorious ideologies in world history, says the events that led to Fur Con’s cancelation are a big misunderstanding. It seems the rise of #AltFurry, a hashtag for furries who presumably don’t care much for women or people of color, led to condemnations of the look and ideas behind Furry Raiders, a group with a “very confusing past and a very confusing history,” according to Fur Con chairman Zachary Brooks, who might have a bit of his own confusion about the difference between the past and history. Regardless, in 2016, after it was announced what hotel the convention would be at, Furry Raiders quickly booked a massive block of rooms, preventing others not affiliated with the group from making any reservations. (“I had like a spare 10 extra rooms,” Foxler notes.) It was “seen by many as a malicious act by them to try to control who could and couldn’t attend. So that’s what really began the controversy with them,” Brooks continued.

From there, other furries began to discover overlap between the Fur Con board and Furry Raiders, and when a furry named Deo (who hadn’t even planned to attend Fur Con) made a crack on Twitter about how she “can’t wait to punch these Nazis” (this was right on the heels of Spencer getting clocked for all the world to see) and got the response that someone would “enjoying watching Deo get shot at the convention.” She notified the authorities, the hotel informed Fur Con it would require a security force that would cost more than twenty thousand dollars, and that was pretty much it for the convention. Whether Foxler himself espouses fascist ideology is unknown—Furry Raiders have started making rainbow armbands, among other colors, as a way to show its commitment to diversity—it seems obvious there are some in the #AltFurry community more than happy to wreck other people’s enjoyment of the non-fascist things in life, like being very, very committed to dressing up as cartoonish mammals.

There’s a whole other aspect to the story that involves a member of the Fur Con board being involved with sovereign citizen activities and also a convicted sex offender, which is probably not high on the list of things with which furries want to be associated. Also, other furries discovered Fur Con, which claimed to be run by a nonprofit, had actually had that status revoked back in 2011 for failure to file statements with the IRS. Basically, it’s a whole mess, and a lot of it can be chalked up to a likely small group of guys who start statements with things like, “I’m not a neo-Nazi, but...” This is why we can’t have nice things, or even harmless but slightly unsettling things, depending on your views of the furry community.

Yep...even the Rolling Stone mag has it...

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/does-the-furry-community-have-a-nazi-problem-w476466


The Rocky Mountain Fur Con has been hosting huge annual conventions for a decade – but will infighting mean the end? Furry Raiders

Rocky Mountain Fur Con 2017 – a convention for enthusiasts who wear animal costumes ingrained with human characteristics for roleplaying – has been canceled. On Monday, the RMFC board of directors organizing the 10th annual event, set to be held in Denver next August, posted a statement that a "movement has grown into a community that promotes violence" which resulted in a "sudden and drastic increase in security costs" exceeding a third of the event's operating budget.
Related
'Radically Mainstream': Why the Alt-Right Is Celebrating Trump's Win

"We've been legitimized by this election," says movement leader Richard Spencer

The announcement came after the founder of the Furry Raiders, an outlier group within the anthropomorphic subculture, adopted an armband which featured a black paw on a red background that some thought had a striking resemblance to a part of the Nazi uniform. Convention chairman Zachary Brooks did not directly name the Furry Raiders in his account, but convention staff identified the Furry Raiders as being at the center of the controversy after being labeled a neo-Nazi group throughout the community, which largely exists online.

Lee Miller, the 29-year-old Fort Collins furry who wears the armband as his Foxler Nightfire fursona, has in turn been accused of being a neo-Nazi. He denies any connection between his armband and that of the Third Reich. Online forums have characterized the Furry Raiders as a "neo-nazi cult-like group" recruiting members with "gifts, grooming and manipulation," according to Dogpatch Press, a blog covering the furry community. But Miller does not agree with such descriptions. "We have a strong stance about keeping equal rights and personal creativity within the fandom," says Miller, who adds that he has never been banned from a convention contrary to other furry beliefs.

On January 26th, a furry identifying as a Tasmanian Devil named Deo tweeted, "Can't wait to punch Nazis," which led another furry with a now-deleted Twitter handle of @Oliviameles to comment, "Watching you get shot by someone defending themselves from unprovoked assault will be far more entertaining."

The Denver Police eventually investigated the comments and found the threats credible enough that convention host Marriott Tech Center demanded $22,000 to hire off-duty officers for security, according to Flayrah, an online news magazine for furry fandom. "People overreacted," Brooks told the Denver Post. "As it got more and more heated, people started talking about beating up people wearing the symbol. They said, 'We've got a right to protect ourselves and we are going to bring weapons.'"

The RMFC board puts on one of the top-10 attended conventions in the United States, and expected over 2,000 furries to attend this summer, according to David Gonzalez, director of marketing at RMFC in Colorado. Their parent company, Mid-American Anthropomorphic and Arts Corporation (MAAAC), is now focused on issuing refunds for the cancelled convention. "The board of MAAAC has not voted to dissolve the corporation, but the continuation of RMFC beyond 2017 does not look very likely," says Gonzalez. Turns out the in-fighting has been an ongoing situation for at least the past year and a half. "The casual threats they were tossing at one another were the final straw," says Gonzalez. "It may be the end for RMFC, but the online threats of violence will crop up again for other conventions." To shed light on the recent cancellation, Rolling Stone interviewed furries to find out what's happening in their community.

Rocky Mountain Fur Con was created for all persuasions
In 2007, the MAAAC hosted the first RMFC convention for the growing number of furries seeking acceptance in Colorado. The social events have since attracted furries mostly of Millennial age to mingle, dance, listen to guest speakers and attend literary events, as well as hosting informational panels. "It's just like any fan-base conference," says Gonzalez. Furry comedian 2 Gryphon often makes appearances and artists sell paintings of their part-animal, part-human avatars. Last year, the RMFC welcomed about 1,670 furries, 65 vendors and 35 artists.


The Furry Raiders group was started on the website Second Life, and now has roughly 1,000 members. Furry Raiders

The Furry Raiders say they have no political agenda
The year of the RMFC debut, a small group of furries started the "Furry Raiders project" formed in the online virtual world Second Life, with no goals other than to "help furries purchase items in the game," says Miller, the founder. The group grew to 1,000 members over three years and he backed out because he could not afford to give furries real money to buy hairstyles for their characters or gardens and castles for their in-game properties. But in 2014, Miller resurrected the Furry Raiders after seeing media accounts describing their community not as a creative safe zone but as a world for kinky fetishists.

"Our goal became to continue the furry fandom in the way it was founded, where everyone has the chance to express themselves and have the creativity they desired," says Miller, who joined the community as a 12-year-old loner struggling with the death of his father. But after a while, he realized some furries were not as accepting as he thought. "People were governing the image of what furry fandom should be," says Miller, referring to furries who told him to remove his armband. "We realized we can't pick and choose what people do. There are furries that are into bestiality. Others draw younger characters and it gives them a creative outlet in a safe manner. If they continue to stay in a creative community like this they won't harm people or animals. We can't just say we hate you."

Despite Miller's comments, furries like Crummles Upton believe that the Furry Raiders are "notorious for breaking rules under the guise of free speech." In an interview conducted with Rolling Stone via Twitter, the furry mentions examples of how group members troll furries online and spread hate speech at conventions. "The Raiders have an M.O. of publicly saying stuff along the lines of wanting inclusiveness and just getting along with people, but in person or in DMs they act contrary to that," according to Upton.

Foxer Nightfire's arm band is a furry symbol, he says, not a nod to neo-Nazism
Miller discovered the infamous armband in 2007 as a free item in Second Life. The Furry Raiders then spent over $700 to physically make 100 armbands that varied in color. "The red armband became part of my persona, but people started telling me I had to change and I wouldn't do that," says Miller. Five years ago, furries began calling him a neo-Nazi because they felt there were similarities between his armband and those of the Nazis, as well as a resemblance to armbands worn by the "Furzis" on Second Life, a contentious group of furries interested in German history and World War II. Miller, who describes himself as a high school dropout "knowledgeable in computers but uneducated in history and politics," reached out to actual actual neo-Nazis via online forums. "I told them I was a furry and they said, 'What the fuck is this shit?'" says Miller. "They found out 60 percent of furries are gay males and told me, 'Get the fuck out of here.'"

Last year, Miller wore an armband to the RMFC. "It grew into a big problem," says Miller. After the election last November, a group calling themselves Anti-Fascist Furries organized and tried to get Nazi Furs banned from such conventions, and also encouraged furries to "boycott events that didn’t ban the Furry Raiders from attending," according to Vice.


Last Year's RMFC 2016 might have been the last Rocky Mountain Fur Convention, according to an organizer. Furry Raiders

In January, the RMFC board issued a statement announcing that in light of the controversy, they would ban all clothing and accessories showing "offensive messages or symbols." The RMFC board struggled to weigh the balance between total acceptance and having to get a handle on furry in-fighting. "It's kind of difficult for any kind of convention to police anybody's outside behavior," says Gonzalez. "Ostensibly, we would have a lot of people banned." That same month, Miller tweeted a photo as Foxer Nightfire wearing an armband with the hashtag #altfurry. He believes some furries have abandoned their original message of acceptance. "People have given us a lot of shit for the arm band that I wear," says Miller. "If you want to accept everyone else, I should be welcomed, too."

So, is Miller a neo-Nazi? "I don't know politics," says Miller, who notes that he voted for Foxer Nightlife in last year's presidential election. "I'm not in a position to make any decision on Nazis, Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. I stick with the furry concept. Some ideas in America need to be protected." Furzis, Nazi Furs and Soviet Furs have asked him about the armband, and he believes they are questioning him because they are "non-political, history buffs, nothing more."

"I do not see my armband as National Socialism," says Miller, who makes a point to say that he has German and Thai lineage and is now dating a man who identifies as African-and Asian-American. "I see the armband as a symbol of furriness. It's not a tool or device to promote Nazism. It's a roleplaying tool. Anything in the furry community is just created out of fantasy and taking it seriously is just asinine. Given my background, Hitler would be rolling in his grave."

A MAAAC board member sent a cease and desist letter to a furry
In January, Deo reached out to the RMFC board via Twitter and sent an email to their security team to report the threats, she tells Rolling Stone through Twitter. There was no response until April 3rd when she received a letter from Kendal Emery aka Kahuki, a board member of MAAAC and RMFC, who personally sent a cease and desist letter to Deo's house. Emery, who stepped down as RMFC chair after a 1993 felony conviction for Criminal Sexual Contact with a Minor was revealed in 2008, wrote that Deo's "false statements" caused "substantial commercial injury damage" and mentioned the possibility of a class-action lawsuit. He ended the letter with a red ink thumbprint, according to Deo. The FBI views such seals and content as representative of the Sovereign Citizens Movement, a lethal subculture whose followers "hold truly bizarre, complex antigovernment beliefs" that are "rooted in racism and anti-Semitism," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, he denied any association with that group, noting that the fingerprint "just means it's me that wrote it."

After receiving the letter, Deo contacted police in her home state, along with a Colorado lawyer. "I do not take lightly to convicted felons mailing me threatening things," says Deo. On April 10th, she went public with the letter to "warn my furry community of these unstable individuals." Later that day, Brooks announced that the RMFC was cancelled. Deo maintains that her tweeting about punching Nazis was a "joke I said to my friend" referring to a meme of Alt-Right leader Richard Spencer.

The RMFC board became aware of Emery's letter after it was made public. "We're not pursuing it," says Gonzalez, speaking as a member of the organizing committee for RMFC. "We deeply regret it was ever sent and contacted the recipient." (Emery told the Daily Beast that he had the full approval of the board to send the letter.) Today, the furry community is heartbroken, angry and confused. "We try to be as inclusive as possible," says Gonzalez. "But furries have become far more politically polarized and there's a greater willingness to call someone out publicly and try to force them to act. That's what happened here. It's fair to say that we're not prepared for that."

Miller, who remains perhaps one of the most polarizing of figures in the furry community, claims that he has been "trolled, slandered, harassed and threatened" over the past year. From his computer, Miller watches the online bickering and he is filled with shame to see the MAAAC and RMFC crumble. "For me, being a furry is a personal outlet to understand the real world," says Miller. "Others find it fun. Others find it spiritual. And others go for sexual purposes. People take on completely different characteristics and sometimes I can't even tell who's in the suit. I'm the same person in and out of the suit."

Yep...even the Rolling Stone mag has it...

http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/does-the-furry-community-have-a-nazi-problem-w476466


The Rocky Mountain Fur Con has been hosting huge annual conventions for a decade – but will infighting mean the end? Furry Raiders

Rocky Mountain Fur Con 2017 – a convention for enthusiasts who wear animal costumes ingrained with human characteristics for roleplaying – has been canceled. On Monday, the RMFC board of directors organizing the 10th annual event, set to be held in Denver next August, posted a statement that a "movement has grown into a community that promotes violence" which resulted in a "sudden and drastic increase in security costs" exceeding a third of the event's operating budget.
Related
'Radically Mainstream': Why the Alt-Right Is Celebrating Trump's Win

"We've been legitimized by this election," says movement leader Richard Spencer

The announcement came after the founder of the Furry Raiders, an outlier group within the anthropomorphic subculture, adopted an armband which featured a black paw on a red background that some thought had a striking resemblance to a part of the Nazi uniform. Convention chairman Zachary Brooks did not directly name the Furry Raiders in his account, but convention staff identified the Furry Raiders as being at the center of the controversy after being labeled a neo-Nazi group throughout the community, which largely exists online.

Lee Miller, the 29-year-old Fort Collins furry who wears the armband as his Foxler Nightfire fursona, has in turn been accused of being a neo-Nazi. He denies any connection between his armband and that of the Third Reich. Online forums have characterized the Furry Raiders as a "neo-nazi cult-like group" recruiting members with "gifts, grooming and manipulation," according to Dogpatch Press, a blog covering the furry community. But Miller does not agree with such descriptions. "We have a strong stance about keeping equal rights and personal creativity within the fandom," says Miller, who adds that he has never been banned from a convention contrary to other furry beliefs.

On January 26th, a furry identifying as a Tasmanian Devil named Deo tweeted, "Can't wait to punch Nazis," which led another furry with a now-deleted Twitter handle of @Oliviameles to comment, "Watching you get shot by someone defending themselves from unprovoked assault will be far more entertaining."

The Denver Police eventually investigated the comments and found the threats credible enough that convention host Marriott Tech Center demanded $22,000 to hire off-duty officers for security, according to Flayrah, an online news magazine for furry fandom. "People overreacted," Brooks told the Denver Post. "As it got more and more heated, people started talking about beating up people wearing the symbol. They said, 'We've got a right to protect ourselves and we are going to bring weapons.'"

The RMFC board puts on one of the top-10 attended conventions in the United States, and expected over 2,000 furries to attend this summer, according to David Gonzalez, director of marketing at RMFC in Colorado. Their parent company, Mid-American Anthropomorphic and Arts Corporation (MAAAC), is now focused on issuing refunds for the cancelled convention. "The board of MAAAC has not voted to dissolve the corporation, but the continuation of RMFC beyond 2017 does not look very likely," says Gonzalez. Turns out the in-fighting has been an ongoing situation for at least the past year and a half. "The casual threats they were tossing at one another were the final straw," says Gonzalez. "It may be the end for RMFC, but the online threats of violence will crop up again for other conventions." To shed light on the recent cancellation, Rolling Stone interviewed furries to find out what's happening in their community.

Rocky Mountain Fur Con was created for all persuasions
In 2007, the MAAAC hosted the first RMFC convention for the growing number of furries seeking acceptance in Colorado. The social events have since attracted furries mostly of Millennial age to mingle, dance, listen to guest speakers and attend literary events, as well as hosting informational panels. "It's just like any fan-base conference," says Gonzalez. Furry comedian 2 Gryphon often makes appearances and artists sell paintings of their part-animal, part-human avatars. Last year, the RMFC welcomed about 1,670 furries, 65 vendors and 35 artists.


The Furry Raiders group was started on the website Second Life, and now has roughly 1,000 members. Furry Raiders

The Furry Raiders say they have no political agenda
The year of the RMFC debut, a small group of furries started the "Furry Raiders project" formed in the online virtual world Second Life, with no goals other than to "help furries purchase items in the game," says Miller, the founder. The group grew to 1,000 members over three years and he backed out because he could not afford to give furries real money to buy hairstyles for their characters or gardens and castles for their in-game properties. But in 2014, Miller resurrected the Furry Raiders after seeing media accounts describing their community not as a creative safe zone but as a world for kinky fetishists.

"Our goal became to continue the furry fandom in the way it was founded, where everyone has the chance to express themselves and have the creativity they desired," says Miller, who joined the community as a 12-year-old loner struggling with the death of his father. But after a while, he realized some furries were not as accepting as he thought. "People were governing the image of what furry fandom should be," says Miller, referring to furries who told him to remove his armband. "We realized we can't pick and choose what people do. There are furries that are into bestiality. Others draw younger characters and it gives them a creative outlet in a safe manner. If they continue to stay in a creative community like this they won't harm people or animals. We can't just say we hate you."

Despite Miller's comments, furries like Crummles Upton believe that the Furry Raiders are "notorious for breaking rules under the guise of free speech." In an interview conducted with Rolling Stone via Twitter, the furry mentions examples of how group members troll furries online and spread hate speech at conventions. "The Raiders have an M.O. of publicly saying stuff along the lines of wanting inclusiveness and just getting along with people, but in person or in DMs they act contrary to that," according to Upton.

Foxer Nightfire's arm band is a furry symbol, he says, not a nod to neo-Nazism
Miller discovered the infamous armband in 2007 as a free item in Second Life. The Furry Raiders then spent over $700 to physically make 100 armbands that varied in color. "The red armband became part of my persona, but people started telling me I had to change and I wouldn't do that," says Miller. Five years ago, furries began calling him a neo-Nazi because they felt there were similarities between his armband and those of the Nazis, as well as a resemblance to armbands worn by the "Furzis" on Second Life, a contentious group of furries interested in German history and World War II. Miller, who describes himself as a high school dropout "knowledgeable in computers but uneducated in history and politics," reached out to actual actual neo-Nazis via online forums. "I told them I was a furry and they said, 'What the fuck is this shit?'" says Miller. "They found out 60 percent of furries are gay males and told me, 'Get the fuck out of here.'"

Last year, Miller wore an armband to the RMFC. "It grew into a big problem," says Miller. After the election last November, a group calling themselves Anti-Fascist Furries organized and tried to get Nazi Furs banned from such conventions, and also encouraged furries to "boycott events that didn’t ban the Furry Raiders from attending," according to Vice.


Last Year's RMFC 2016 might have been the last Rocky Mountain Fur Convention, according to an organizer. Furry Raiders

In January, the RMFC board issued a statement announcing that in light of the controversy, they would ban all clothing and accessories showing "offensive messages or symbols." The RMFC board struggled to weigh the balance between total acceptance and having to get a handle on furry in-fighting. "It's kind of difficult for any kind of convention to police anybody's outside behavior," says Gonzalez. "Ostensibly, we would have a lot of people banned." That same month, Miller tweeted a photo as Foxer Nightfire wearing an armband with the hashtag #altfurry. He believes some furries have abandoned their original message of acceptance. "People have given us a lot of shit for the arm band that I wear," says Miller. "If you want to accept everyone else, I should be welcomed, too."

So, is Miller a neo-Nazi? "I don't know politics," says Miller, who notes that he voted for Foxer Nightlife in last year's presidential election. "I'm not in a position to make any decision on Nazis, Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. I stick with the furry concept. Some ideas in America need to be protected." Furzis, Nazi Furs and Soviet Furs have asked him about the armband, and he believes they are questioning him because they are "non-political, history buffs, nothing more."

"I do not see my armband as National Socialism," says Miller, who makes a point to say that he has German and Thai lineage and is now dating a man who identifies as African-and Asian-American. "I see the armband as a symbol of furriness. It's not a tool or device to promote Nazism. It's a roleplaying tool. Anything in the furry community is just created out of fantasy and taking it seriously is just asinine. Given my background, Hitler would be rolling in his grave."

A MAAAC board member sent a cease and desist letter to a furry
In January, Deo reached out to the RMFC board via Twitter and sent an email to their security team to report the threats, she tells Rolling Stone through Twitter. There was no response until April 3rd when she received a letter from Kendal Emery aka Kahuki, a board member of MAAAC and RMFC, who personally sent a cease and desist letter to Deo's house. Emery, who stepped down as RMFC chair after a 1993 felony conviction for Criminal Sexual Contact with a Minor was revealed in 2008, wrote that Deo's "false statements" caused "substantial commercial injury damage" and mentioned the possibility of a class-action lawsuit. He ended the letter with a red ink thumbprint, according to Deo. The FBI views such seals and content as representative of the Sovereign Citizens Movement, a lethal subculture whose followers "hold truly bizarre, complex antigovernment beliefs" that are "rooted in racism and anti-Semitism," according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. In a recent interview with The Daily Beast, he denied any association with that group, noting that the fingerprint "just means it's me that wrote it."

After receiving the letter, Deo contacted police in her home state, along with a Colorado lawyer. "I do not take lightly to convicted felons mailing me threatening things," says Deo. On April 10th, she went public with the letter to "warn my furry community of these unstable individuals." Later that day, Brooks announced that the RMFC was cancelled. Deo maintains that her tweeting about punching Nazis was a "joke I said to my friend" referring to a meme of Alt-Right leader Richard Spencer.

The RMFC board became aware of Emery's letter after it was made public. "We're not pursuing it," says Gonzalez, speaking as a member of the organizing committee for RMFC. "We deeply regret it was ever sent and contacted the recipient." (Emery told the Daily Beast that he had the full approval of the board to send the letter.) Today, the furry community is heartbroken, angry and confused. "We try to be as inclusive as possible," says Gonzalez. "But furries have become far more politically polarized and there's a greater willingness to call someone out publicly and try to force them to act. That's what happened here. It's fair to say that we're not prepared for that."

Miller, who remains perhaps one of the most polarizing of figures in the furry community, claims that he has been "trolled, slandered, harassed and threatened" over the past year. From his computer, Miller watches the online bickering and he is filled with shame to see the MAAAC and RMFC crumble. "For me, being a furry is a personal outlet to understand the real world," says Miller. "Others find it fun. Others find it spiritual. And others go for sexual purposes. People take on completely different characteristics and sometimes I can't even tell who's in the suit. I'm the same person in and out of the suit."

Hi, Papabear.

I don't know who else to turn to. I'm to ashamed to talk to my family about this or anyone else. 

I recently had a concussion and had to go to the hospital. Everything was progressing just fine until another box hit me in the head. Not as hard but it hit me. I didn't notice anything different until much more recently. 

I've started having panic attacks which I've never had before. Never ever.

Today even while I'm writing this letter. I am at a family gathering and we were going to go tubing, well I get down there and... I don't want to do it anymore. I run upstairs and I locked myself in the bathroom. I started crying and hyperventilating. I'm physically fine. But I don't know why I ran or came to the bathroom. I don't know who else to ask or how to search up what's wrong with me. I know this may be asking to much. But if there's anything you can do or say? Please please tell me.

Anonymous (age 21)

* * *

Hello, Furiend,

When you went to the hospital, what was the diagnosis? Were you treated for a concussion?

Papabear

* * *

Yes. I was treated for the concussion. It was a small pinpoint bleed in my brain. The doctor said there was nothing seriously wrong and said it would be best to just take it easy and take acetaminophin and I did. But now I've started having panic attacks whenever I'm in uncomfortable situations so now. I don't know what's going on. I don't know if it's because of the concussion or because of my new promotion or both. 

* * *

Hi, Furiend,

Okay, a "pinpoint bleed in my brain" is key here. It would be very important to know where, exactly, the brain injury occurred. Depending on what part of the brain was injured, different symptoms can arise. If you suffered injury to the amygdala, for example, that could definitely lead to panic attacks. The amygdala controls the body's limbic system, which controls many of the functions associated with symptoms of panic.

The brain is a very complicated organ, and damage elsewhere in or on the brain could also cause behavioral changes. Brain trauma is also often associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information website, PTSD is diagnosed when the following are true: "First, one must have been exposed to or witness an event that is threatening to safety, and one must respond to this event with fear, horror, or helplessness. Second, one must report a re-experiencing symptom, which may include intrusive memories, nightmares, a sense of reliving the trauma, or psychological or physiological distress when reminded of the trauma. Third, there need to be at least three avoidance symptoms, which can include active avoidance of thoughts, feelings, or reminders of the trauma, inability to recall some aspect of the trauma, withdrawal from others, or emotional numbing. Fourth, one must suffer marked arousal, which can include insomnia, irritability, difficulty concentrating, hypervigilence, or heightened startle response. These symptoms must cause marked impairment to one's functioning, and can only be diagnosed when they are present at least 1 month after the trauma."

I would consult with a doctor and tell them everything you are experiencing since your head injury. You don't have to go to the same doctor who originally treated you. In fact, I wouldn't because a second opinion very much seems in order here.

Please see a doctor, and good luck!

Papabear