An message to Doug TenNapel and Ethan Van Sciver.
I'm writing you guys today to let you know how the battle against the destructive forces you fight against isn't just focused on your area of the culture war but that it's effecting us in every interest group besides comics as well.
To Doug,
I know you don't like furries and if anyone on the planet would have a legitimate grip against them it would be you. I've only heard a little bit about the harassment they've given you but it sounds awful. Please know that we're not all like that though. I'm a traditionalist Catholic, USMC veteran and blue collar professional. Since furry has tracked with all popular culture I've watched it get more and more toxic. You'll understand then what a risk I was taking when I did something I'd never done before at a fur con. At the con I just attended in Dallas I submitted to be a panelist. Considering the nature of my panel I was amazed it was approved but I was still concerned with what would happen because I submitted for a Sunday morning slot for a panel in which I would lead a rosary. At first I thought there might be people who'd come into to disrupt it by mocking it. After the other thing I did which I'll describe in the section to Ethan, I thought there might be some who'd come in to disrupt it with violence. Luckily though with the grace of our Lord no such thing occurred. Neither did my other concern which was that it would be empty. It was lightly attended by a couple who are my friends in the fur community who live in Dallas, a few rather young con attendees and their parents and even a few individuals. Except for 1 or 2 verbal trips ups due to my inexperience in public speaking it went off without a hitch.
It was a small victory though. There was a couple in this fandom who I considered good friends for a decade. But as time went on they became more and more poisoned inside by 'social justice'. I lost touch with them for a couple years and when I finally found them again they weren't the same people I'd known anymore. She'd had once been a huge fan of yours but now she was nearly unintelligible with transrage. He was a shadow of himself and eventually cut off contact with nearly everyone as he slipped into depression and social justice angst.
In closing please know that there are those of us in furry who aren't like the jackasses you deal with online. We have traditional values and try to treat others fairly and with respect.
To Ethan,
As you read in the section to Doug I'm a part of furry and we've been dealing with all the same crap you folks in Comicsgate have been. I fact I've been dealing with it so much and for so long that I didn't even realize how much you guys in other mediums had been doing so as well. I consider myself a rather political person but I didn't even know about GamerGate until it was almost over. I've been trying to keep up with Comicsgate but I'll admit I'm not fully up to speed.
I did think though that something I went through this weekend you might find an interesting parallel to your guys fight. Over the last couple years the attempted gate keeping and "nazi" hysteria has been reaching a fever pitch in furry. There's online movements to drive alleged "nazi furs" (what a ridiculous concept) and "white supremacist furs" out the fandom. It's gone so far as proposals to ban any such guilty by accusation persons from conventions and the biggest furry convention in Europe handing out "Nazi Furs F*** Off!" badge ribbons at registration (and without the censoring I just gave them either).
All the hate and division that was growing in what used to be a fun hobby was making me sick. So I decided to make my own badge ribbons to hand out. They simply read "No Politics - Just Fun". I had them made with black matte text on a white background because frankly I believe it's a black and white issue. I think that cons and other irl meetups should be somewhere where people can just relax and have fun away from the vitriol of the world. I'm not telling people they can't have opinions or talk about things. I'm just asking that for 72 hours in 1 place that everybody just leave that stuff at home.
The results were not what I'd have preferred.
( Click here to see the tweet I made announcing them.) You don't need to even read that far into the comment threads to see how off the wall insane the reaction was. I was called every name you can imagine (as I have been for years now), told I wanted genocide of acronym soup people, had people tagging in the convention trying to get me removed and even got some outright threats. I think at one point I was told that my mindset was "in league" with the NZ shooter. It all blew up into a giant s-storm that had 1/2 the fandom chiming in on one side or the other. Thankfully support and likes have been running at least 3 to 1 positive.
Had the haters just ignored it and moved on with their day I'd have most likely have just sat at a table in the common area, passed out some ribbons and that'd have been it. But since they went for my virtual throat, now I've got people around the country and even a few internationally asking me to send them some.
I'm a nobody guys but I try to do a little something here and there. I've never been a comics person but I've backed Bloodhoney just to piss off the people who want to see you fail Ethan. I've donated to the legal funds of Sargon, the Quartering, Dankula, Vic and bought a pass to Kamehacon because I don't want to see the toxic people working against them succeed.
It makes me wonder if the sjws will ever realize what they're doing. I never knew or cared what Gamergate was until I was forced to take a side. I'd most likely never have heard of Comicsgate until they made a literal federal case of it and now people who'd never have known my virtual name are asking me to send them stuff. The left's insane overreaction to every thing doesn't destroy their enemies, it's creates them.
Well guys, I just wanted to reach out and let you know what's going on in our little corner of the internet. Know that your not alone and that while we might not be fighting on the same fronts we're in this battle together. Good hunting.
To Doug,
I know you don't like furries and if anyone on the planet would have a legitimate grip against them it would be you. I've only heard a little bit about the harassment they've given you but it sounds awful. Please know that we're not all like that though. I'm a traditionalist Catholic, USMC veteran and blue collar professional. Since furry has tracked with all popular culture I've watched it get more and more toxic. You'll understand then what a risk I was taking when I did something I'd never done before at a fur con. At the con I just attended in Dallas I submitted to be a panelist. Considering the nature of my panel I was amazed it was approved but I was still concerned with what would happen because I submitted for a Sunday morning slot for a panel in which I would lead a rosary. At first I thought there might be people who'd come into to disrupt it by mocking it. After the other thing I did which I'll describe in the section to Ethan, I thought there might be some who'd come in to disrupt it with violence. Luckily though with the grace of our Lord no such thing occurred. Neither did my other concern which was that it would be empty. It was lightly attended by a couple who are my friends in the fur community who live in Dallas, a few rather young con attendees and their parents and even a few individuals. Except for 1 or 2 verbal trips ups due to my inexperience in public speaking it went off without a hitch.
It was a small victory though. There was a couple in this fandom who I considered good friends for a decade. But as time went on they became more and more poisoned inside by 'social justice'. I lost touch with them for a couple years and when I finally found them again they weren't the same people I'd known anymore. She'd had once been a huge fan of yours but now she was nearly unintelligible with transrage. He was a shadow of himself and eventually cut off contact with nearly everyone as he slipped into depression and social justice angst.
In closing please know that there are those of us in furry who aren't like the jackasses you deal with online. We have traditional values and try to treat others fairly and with respect.
To Ethan,
As you read in the section to Doug I'm a part of furry and we've been dealing with all the same crap you folks in Comicsgate have been. I fact I've been dealing with it so much and for so long that I didn't even realize how much you guys in other mediums had been doing so as well. I consider myself a rather political person but I didn't even know about GamerGate until it was almost over. I've been trying to keep up with Comicsgate but I'll admit I'm not fully up to speed.
I did think though that something I went through this weekend you might find an interesting parallel to your guys fight. Over the last couple years the attempted gate keeping and "nazi" hysteria has been reaching a fever pitch in furry. There's online movements to drive alleged "nazi furs" (what a ridiculous concept) and "white supremacist furs" out the fandom. It's gone so far as proposals to ban any such guilty by accusation persons from conventions and the biggest furry convention in Europe handing out "Nazi Furs F*** Off!" badge ribbons at registration (and without the censoring I just gave them either).
All the hate and division that was growing in what used to be a fun hobby was making me sick. So I decided to make my own badge ribbons to hand out. They simply read "No Politics - Just Fun". I had them made with black matte text on a white background because frankly I believe it's a black and white issue. I think that cons and other irl meetups should be somewhere where people can just relax and have fun away from the vitriol of the world. I'm not telling people they can't have opinions or talk about things. I'm just asking that for 72 hours in 1 place that everybody just leave that stuff at home.
The results were not what I'd have preferred.
( Click here to see the tweet I made announcing them.) You don't need to even read that far into the comment threads to see how off the wall insane the reaction was. I was called every name you can imagine (as I have been for years now), told I wanted genocide of acronym soup people, had people tagging in the convention trying to get me removed and even got some outright threats. I think at one point I was told that my mindset was "in league" with the NZ shooter. It all blew up into a giant s-storm that had 1/2 the fandom chiming in on one side or the other. Thankfully support and likes have been running at least 3 to 1 positive.
Had the haters just ignored it and moved on with their day I'd have most likely have just sat at a table in the common area, passed out some ribbons and that'd have been it. But since they went for my virtual throat, now I've got people around the country and even a few internationally asking me to send them some.
I'm a nobody guys but I try to do a little something here and there. I've never been a comics person but I've backed Bloodhoney just to piss off the people who want to see you fail Ethan. I've donated to the legal funds of Sargon, the Quartering, Dankula, Vic and bought a pass to Kamehacon because I don't want to see the toxic people working against them succeed.
It makes me wonder if the sjws will ever realize what they're doing. I never knew or cared what Gamergate was until I was forced to take a side. I'd most likely never have heard of Comicsgate until they made a literal federal case of it and now people who'd never have known my virtual name are asking me to send them stuff. The left's insane overreaction to every thing doesn't destroy their enemies, it's creates them.
Well guys, I just wanted to reach out and let you know what's going on in our little corner of the internet. Know that your not alone and that while we might not be fighting on the same fronts we're in this battle together. Good hunting.