The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

I am annoyed, and I wrote a rant. You can skip it, and that may be for the best, but it’s written, so it’s getting posted. Come back tomorrow for something less stupid. For now, here we go.

I love the internet. I would have it’s babies, even though they would be the most frightening monsters you ever saw. While internet is just wonderful, though, it is also an incredibly caustic place. I’m okay with that. It’s just part of what comes with the freedom the internet provides. You just don’t take it personally, and move on. You take the high ground, and you make yourself better without being a dick about it, and then people take you seriously. That’s how things work.

At the same time, we all have our sanctuaries. We all have places we go where we want to relax, and be ourselves without having to do that. Where we want to let our defenses down and let our freak out. Most of the time, those sorts of places are extremely clearly marked. If you go to fchan, it is your own damn fault if you’re shocked that there is tons of weird furry porn there. I mean, seriously. If you go in there, and post that furries are stupid, then hell, people are going to complain at you. That doesn’t make them bad people. I complain when someone attempts to reorganize my room, because I want it to be my way. It’s natural to defend your spot. Furries are going to complain when you come on their turf and insult them. Anyone would do the same.

However, people on the internet have this concept of “fursecution” in their heads. This is the idea that furries are a bunch of whining bitches that go, “You have to accept me and my weird fetishes!” This means that this natural defense is somehow something that, if a furry does it, just goes to show how immature and retarded they are, instead of being something that anyone would do. Which they would.

I mean, fuck. Furries are weird as shit, and some are weirder than others. But that is perfectly fine. Everyone has their stupid bullshit. Some is crazier, certainly, but everyone has something like that, and it’s really not a problem. It is a problem when you let that get out and force it in people’s faces. That’s a problem. Then, after doing that, when you complain, that’s a problem. Those people piss me off too. But they’ve created this image that makes me have to double-think my own reactions, and that is making me mad right now.

Basically, I started writing this because I was reading stuff over at the Bad Webcomics Wiki. A lot of the articles will get the “yes, this is a furry comic” thing out of the way, just to get it out of the way, and then actually talk about what the problems are with certain comics. (And yes, many furry comics have serious problems, writing and artwise, that aren’t furry-related, and are very fair to bring up.) I ran across one, though, that was all like “Man, this guy has so much talent, why does he have to waste it drawing furry garbage?” I got mad. The comic in question had problems, completely, mostly in characterization and sometimes getting lost in fanservice, but it’s not like the fact that it was furry was harming that in any way.
But then I found myself trying to squash my annoyance. Because I don’t want to be described like that. I’m not one of those fursecution types, right?

And then I realized. FUCK THAT.

Seriously, oftentimes with this stuff, “furry” is part of the initial construction of what such a thing is. It’s claimed as such. It’s “furry” space. If you don’t like that general conceit, then fine. It is often stupid and just there because the artist is furry or whatever, sure. But it’s just part of what’s being done. The art can be bad, the plot can be bad, the characters can be bad, and you are free to point out all those things, but if you don’t like the fact that it’s furry, just don’t read it. If I wrote a fanfic about Code: Lyoko (Why did I pick that for this example?) and you hate Code: Lyoko, it’s not constructive, useful, or a good use of anyone’s time to point out how horrible it is because it’s about the horrible show Code: Lyoko. If I’m not being true to the horrible characters, fine, tell me that. If my word choice is awful, awesome, let me have it. But critique should be focusing on “is this a good Code: Lyoko fanfic” and not “this is awful because it isn’t what I want it to be.”
That’s not to say one can’t say “Man, I wish he would do something not tied to this property” or “Goodness, she could draw much better art if she’d focus on something else.” That is also fine. You can say all kinds of things. You can hate. But it’s stupid to hate on something because “it’s furry and they’re stupid lol,” just like it’s stupid to hate based on anything so vague and unsupported. It’s okay to get angry about such a claim, especially on your turf. It really is.

And yet, for some reason I felt so much like I had to prove myself to internet assholes that I tried to squelch that annoyance. They made me believe that I couldn’t be mad. That I didn’t have the right to be mad. They made me believe that they should control my emotions, and that’s bullshit. Granted, I shouldn’t do something stupid with those emotions, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have the right to feel frustrated. Not at all. I can feel frustrated just fine without being an ass.

So there. I said it. Sometimes I get frustrated for people writing off things because a furry was involved. I get frustrated because some of my best friends are furries, and they are completely functional, completely awesome people whom I love very much. It’s okay for me to be mad because of this. I can be mad, and it’s not wrong. I can be frustrated, and not be a fursecution asshole.

And now I’ve ranted, now I’ve been frustrated, and now I feel better. I said it on my turf, and it’s not in anyone’s face who doesn’t want to check it out. I’m not a dick. I just have perfectly normal emotional responses to things. Nothing wrong with that.