Say what you want about the furry fandom but it’s become a staple of pop culture. Furries and their fursuits have appeared in shows like Lucifer and there have even been several award-winning documentaries about the unique subculture. Even Violent J from the Insane Clown Posse has a fursuit. Seriously, furries are everywhere.
However, not all is well within the furry fandom. As far back as 2017, websites like The Rolling Stone have been reporting on the community’s potential nazi problem and issues with those in the community having ties to the alt-right. Even as recently as 2019 alt-right figureheads like Milo Yiannopolous attempted to attend the largest convention in the fandom before being subsequently banned.
Still, it seems the community is still facing these issues. AWOO Association announced on Twitter today that they would be hosting a convention called Free Fur All in May 2022 also posting a video trailer for the event. Since the initial announcement, the fandom has been up in arms due to the questionable people behind the convention and its announced guest of honor — both of whom have ties to the alt-right.
One of the major minds behind the convention is Nicole “Peacewolf” Reno, a self-described Conservative-Libertarian according to their Twitter account @PeaceWolfRants. Reno has previously faced accusations of making racist, transphobic, and generally bigoted tweets by large parts of the furry community but has ties to a darker group — The Furry Raiders.
The Furry Raiders are an alt-right furry group lead by Lee “Foxler” Miller who is well known for his fursuit that features a nazi-esque red armband and whose name is a combination of the words fox and Hitler. Miller was previous charged with sex crimes against a minor and while charges were dropped, he did not prove innocence with an acquittal.
The Furry Raider’s ties to hate movements have been heavily documented and there are even known neo-nazis with membership in the group. One of their members even attended the now-infamous Charlottesville march. Reno has previously appeared in a Furry Raiders video which has raised concerns on the safety of having her head a convention.
The convention’s current Guest of honor also has ties to The Furry Raiders. Matthew “2 Gryphon” Davis has gone so far as to say he was “going to promote alt-furry” within a Furry Raiders chat room but that’s just the beginning of controversies surrounding the once-popular fandom comedian.
Davis has been recorded in several videos and well as in his written “rants” saying things that many found offensive about suicide, slavery, and sexual assault. He even has gone so far as to defend Foxler after he was charged with the sexual assault of a minor.
“Unfortunately, in 2016, his excursion in comedy was considered ‘canceled’ after being accused of being a ‘Homophobic, Transphobic, Misogynist, Racist, Nazi’ for the usual sin of publicly declaring a belief and passion for the concept of free speech.”
AWOO Association Website
The controversy surrounding the convention doesn’t just end there. The group is not only trying to trademark the well-used furry term Awoo, but even the charity Free Fur All has chosen is extremely questionable. Safari’s Sanctuary has faced multiple accusations of animal abuse with the USDA previously revoking its license to operate. A man was also killed after a lion-tiger hybrid mauled him to death at the facility.
There is even an entire Facebook group dedicated to sharing information about Safari’s Sanctuary, showing it even has ties to Joe Exotic who became infamous after the documentary Tiger King was released.
While there have already been calls to get the convention canceled, there is no word from the Tulsa Marriott Southern Hills on if they will be canceling their contract with the convention at this time. We’ll have to wait and see if the furry fandom is loud enough or if Free Fur All will go on as scheduled.
from We Got This Covered https://ift.tt/3kKk4Wx
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