I'm not one to rant...
...but someone decided to push a few of my buttons.
Currently, we're helping a friend of ours, dustykat, as he's transitioning between getting out of the condo he was in and getting into a place of his own. ( Anyone reading his own journal has been aware of it.) Dusty is a lot of things: A scarily good SCA fighter, a very good mechanic, an artist, a motorcycle rider, a long-standing member of the furry fandom, and in that context, one who deals often with the branch of furry fandom associated with wearing a 'fursuit' (i.e. a full-body costume of the given furry character). Several of his hobbies overlap these passions of his.
In a rather neat twist of fortune, an associate of his (who wears a fursuit on occasion) dressed in his fursuit, put on an Aerostitch motorcycle outfit, and was then photographed wearing it with his bike. This actually made the cover of the 2007 Aerostitch catalog:
This caused a bit of an uproar.
Now, I'm all for people having their own opinions on matters, and I know that it is basic cognitive thinking that associates things together, and as such, strong emotional response for one concept will provide associated responses in associated concepts. But I'm trying to follow the logic pattern here:
I realize I'm getting strongly emotional about this: It's because a friend of mine who had a chance to see several of the things he likes all come together into something pretty uniquely positive instead had his local community suddenly have an equally negative response. And further, the reason for the negative response lies solely on a matter of bad publicity that been exceedingly difficult to overcome and for many in the given community represents a real sore point due to them being able to honestly say "But that's wasn't us!" I also admit to feeling some level of stigma, being a member of the furry fandom myself and watching such a negative reaction from an individual on something I hold as precious. I only wish I could offer reasons to perhaps change their negative opinion towards the furry fandom, but I don't think me coming out to say something is going to make any difference on this, and perhaps this too is what makes this rankle so much.
On a more rational note...
The quality of a company's product is not based upon the company's clientele. While the urge to buy a product may be influenced by the reputation of its consumer(s), the product itself stands on its own, for better or for worse, and no matter who uses the product, that won't change. Giving a Rolex to a street bum doesn't make a Rolex any more or less of a watch than when giving it to some high-ranking corporate executive. Here, all we're seeing is someone's opinion for one group directly influencing their opinion of another even though the two are for all intents unrelated. It's an illogical and unwise reason to not buy a product when the reasons one should buy or not buy a product speak clearly. In this particular case, it's even more so, since the product in question is one which is directly responsible for the safety and comfort of the individual during activities which put the person's life at risk.
Currently, we're helping a friend of ours, dustykat, as he's transitioning between getting out of the condo he was in and getting into a place of his own. ( Anyone reading his own journal has been aware of it.) Dusty is a lot of things: A scarily good SCA fighter, a very good mechanic, an artist, a motorcycle rider, a long-standing member of the furry fandom, and in that context, one who deals often with the branch of furry fandom associated with wearing a 'fursuit' (i.e. a full-body costume of the given furry character). Several of his hobbies overlap these passions of his.
In a rather neat twist of fortune, an associate of his (who wears a fursuit on occasion) dressed in his fursuit, put on an Aerostitch motorcycle outfit, and was then photographed wearing it with his bike. This actually made the cover of the 2007 Aerostitch catalog:
This caused a bit of an uproar.
Now, I'm all for people having their own opinions on matters, and I know that it is basic cognitive thinking that associates things together, and as such, strong emotional response for one concept will provide associated responses in associated concepts. But I'm trying to follow the logic pattern here:
- I hate furries.
- A furry is wearing a motorcycle suit from a given company
- I won't buy a motorcycle suit from this company.
I realize I'm getting strongly emotional about this: It's because a friend of mine who had a chance to see several of the things he likes all come together into something pretty uniquely positive instead had his local community suddenly have an equally negative response. And further, the reason for the negative response lies solely on a matter of bad publicity that been exceedingly difficult to overcome and for many in the given community represents a real sore point due to them being able to honestly say "But that's wasn't us!" I also admit to feeling some level of stigma, being a member of the furry fandom myself and watching such a negative reaction from an individual on something I hold as precious. I only wish I could offer reasons to perhaps change their negative opinion towards the furry fandom, but I don't think me coming out to say something is going to make any difference on this, and perhaps this too is what makes this rankle so much.
On a more rational note...
The quality of a company's product is not based upon the company's clientele. While the urge to buy a product may be influenced by the reputation of its consumer(s), the product itself stands on its own, for better or for worse, and no matter who uses the product, that won't change. Giving a Rolex to a street bum doesn't make a Rolex any more or less of a watch than when giving it to some high-ranking corporate executive. Here, all we're seeing is someone's opinion for one group directly influencing their opinion of another even though the two are for all intents unrelated. It's an illogical and unwise reason to not buy a product when the reasons one should buy or not buy a product speak clearly. In this particular case, it's even more so, since the product in question is one which is directly responsible for the safety and comfort of the individual during activities which put the person's life at risk.