What is it that separates the Furry fandom from other sub-cultures?  It is the art.  In fact, art is the foundation of everything we do.  Art is the molecular substance that allows our community to exist!

To truly appreciate the depth of this truth, you must recognize just how far it goes.  It is not just art that allows our community to exist.  It is free expression.  Art, done right, is the ability to freely express oneself in a variety of ways, without restriction.

Without free expression, art would not exist.  It might be possible to create pictures and text and paintings and costumes without free expression, but those things would be dry, bland, and boring.  Art is not artistic when it is regulated, dictated, or controlled.  Art is the free expression of the soul.  Art is the free expression of emotions through skillful crafting of an idea in a physical medium until it can be conveyed in some form that others can appreciate.  Art, but its very nature, originates within the core of an individual and results in a solid state that can be observed by others.  The origin is internal, personal, and of the individual.

You know what I am talking about if you have ever been commissioned to create something artistic for someone else.  Have you ever noticed how much more difficult it is to be creative when someone else is dictating the details of the project you are working on?  Have you ever noticed how difficult it can be to work with another artist when you are the one dictating the details of the project?  Artists are notoriously difficult to work with, because art is the free expression of yourself.  It can be harnessed for other purposes, but art will always be out of its element when it is being used for anything other than the free expression of the one who is creating it.  That is why I always try to allow an artist whom I have commissioned to create the piece I am paying for in a way that affords them the maximum amount of leeway.  Yes, I have some details that must be adhered to if it is going achieve the results I am looking for.  However, I allow the artist to express my idea “their way”.  It is their interpretation of my project.

For art to be good, it must incorporate some level of free expression.  Art that is devoid of free expression is dry, stale, boring, and dead.

All this is to say that you, as a member of this community, can never adopt a mentality of regulation when it comes to art.  You MUST allow others to create art that is free from dictation, regulation, and “standards”.  Whether the content is political or social, art must be unbridled and unburdened of rules.  As a community, you must never use policy or public shaming to regulate the art we create.

Are there risks associated with free expression?  Yes.  There will always be inherent risks in allowing the free expression of ideas in any human society, but the inherent risks of free expression are far less than the inherent risks of strictly regulating “expression” in art.

Calls to restrict, regulate, demonetize, or shame the art that is created by others is anti-furry.  Furry, as a community, was built on the idea that you are free to express yourself through your art.  The push to remove this freedom from our fandom is a push to remove the cornerstone that our fandom was built on.  You cannot have real, true, quality art without free expression and there is no Furry community without real art.

-Sisyphus

I am old enough to remember when being a furry meant being open to anyone who walked in the door.  No one asked you anything about yourself unless they were genuinely curious about you.  No one was looking for a reason to eliminate you from the group.  There were no “disqualifying attributes” outside of the basic rules for civilized society.  Furries were just furries and nothing else mattered.

Those days are gone.  We have traded those values for new “values”.  Who do you pledge your allegiance to and what pronouns are you using?  The wrong answer will send you to the door.  The new environment is hostility, authoritarianism, and vitriol.

You would think I was talking about something that happened twenty years ago, but that is not the case.  In fact, even if you have only been in the fandom for about three years, you probably remember “the good old days” as much as I do.  These days, if you want “old school” furry meetups, you have to meet in secret, away from social media discourse and commentary.  Seriously, if you really want to kill your new meetup in the womb, just post an announcement on social media.  Unless you have an iron will, you will cancel your meet before the social media hate mob has a chance to do it for you.

I applaud those who are running their meets in secret.  Secret meets have enormous benefits.  I explain that here.  It is a positive side effect of living in the new, toxic environment.  Wide spread acceptance may be dead, but the cell group will thrive like never before.  I love my local group.  They are getting better every day.

This does not mean that you cannot hold public meets.  It does mean that if you want to do that, you will need to choose the hard right over the easy wrong.  The alternative to this will be to hold a public meet that publicly vows strict adherence to all the religious tenants of the furry hate mob.  You must PUBLICLY vow your elegance, or you will be targeted as a heretic.  And do not worry, they have ways of determining if you followed through with your public declaration.

It is easy to capitulate to the social media hate mobs who demand segregation and discrimination.  It will take a lot of discipline and an iron will to resist their demands in the face of threats and defamation.  If you want to hold a meet that adheres to those “old school” furry values, you need to be prepared for what the hate culture on social media will do to you.  There is no slander, accusation, or threat that is too great for anyone who refuses to bow to the new norm.  You must be a pioneer of the old ways and willing to accept the consequences for standing by your principles.  I do not necessarily recommend that you try it, but I do have a high level of respect for anyone who does try it.  Running public meets in today’s environment is not for the faint of heart.  Crafting a meet built on our values of actual tolerance is a lofty goal and you will pay dearly for your impertinence.

~Sisyphus