Author Topic: Pushed Around (Read 9382 times)

Vulpes · « **on:** November 15, 2003, 02:19:10 pm »

am i an outcast? am i afraid to tell people who i really am? will people accept me for who i really am? I ask myself these questions quite frequently and i've come to one conclusion: life in reality sucks. quite frankly, you could go up to anyone and say, "hey, i am a furry" and you would be imediately shunned. whats is wrong with everyone? can't they just accept us for who we are?

I guess the whole reason i started this topic was because i'm wondering if anyone else feels the same way i do. so feel free to discuss how you feel about how our society cannot accept what is different.

Running_Wolf · « **Reply #1 on:** November 15, 2003, 02:33:08 pm »

If you ask me, you have to tell the right people first. Dodgers and RedDragon were the first to know (they're close buddies) and now their furries too. My sister was next, then another friend of mine. Hopefully, my parents will pick up on the artwork stuck up on my bedroom walls before the CSI episode comes to be, or I'm totally Donald Duck-ed, to say the least.

naquadria · « **Reply #2 on:** November 17, 2003, 10:43:15 pm »

The way I keep from getting picked on in real life is by simply not telling anyone anything about my self. The problem was I was always afraid of what people would think of me. In fact the only people who know I'm a Furry are on this forum. To tell you the truth I didn't really have any friends untill I came here and found people who I could talk to and who would understand.

Tobodai · « **Reply #3 on:** November 17, 2003, 11:52:47 pm »

aww, I know what you mean though, only a slect few people know Im furry in RL

Which is odd because Im so open about most things

beyond the darkness · « **Reply #4 on:** November 18, 2003, 06:04:36 am »

Same with me on most counts, real life and some people in it can be a pain!

Running_Wolf · « **Reply #5 on:** November 18, 2003, 12:29:27 pm »

As i said in a seperate post, my parents are fine with the furry art in my room. The bad thing is, they only think of me as a fur-fan, not a furry. That's gonna be a bit hard to explain to them.

Vulpes · « **Reply #6 on:** November 18, 2003, 06:01:43 pm »

thats cool, my parents dont even know what a furry is.

Tobodai · « **Reply #7 on:** November 18, 2003, 09:24:03 pm »

neither do mine, but Im sure that they wouldnt care much!

Lobar · « **Reply #8 on:** November 18, 2003, 11:05:44 pm »

My parents and my friends know that I'm 'obsessed with squirrels', because I was 'furry', sorta, before I knew there was a furry fandom (and before I knew there was anti-furry, which is why I had been so open about it ':p'

) People think I'm a bit odd, but nobody's shunned me for it (because most of them are a bit odd themselves!

'> ). Still, I've yet to use the word 'furry' when describing myself. People already know what I am, no need to slap a label on top of it too.

TheIronMaiden · « **Reply #9 on:** November 19, 2003, 08:34:56 am »

I've told a few people about being a furry (my parents and some of my friends) and no one has shunned me or anything. But yeah, like someone else said, it mainly depends on the people you tell.

beyond the darkness · « **Reply #10 on:** November 19, 2003, 08:48:44 am »

In my college class there are a couple who "know" that we (counting Chimera) are furries and they are ok with it.

Vulpes · « **Reply #11 on:** November 19, 2003, 04:51:08 pm »

I know that your parents won't shun you, its their job to support your decisions. they may not approve, but they will embrace

Gryc_ueusp · « **Reply #12 on:** November 20, 2003, 07:24:56 pm »

well...living in a tiny protestant town where witches are green and ride on broomsticks, where people who wear black are satanist, where Crowley was some satanist, where Manson is some satanist rock singer, where homosexality is satanist.

For my own self preservation, I will have to not let anyone know whom I cannot trust.

throughout my life, I have been a watcher, an observer. always noticing the small things. I noticed people werent all that accepting of alternate religion. that they werent all that accepting of alternate sexuality. that they are not accepting of Furriness.

lately I feel backed into a corner...
maybe gryc'll take over soon and handle everything...

--gryc

River Ceed · « **Reply #13 on:** November 21, 2003, 03:14:28 pm »

If you are feeling like you really want to be comfortable and open about who you are, at least to a few people...then use some common sense when choosing what and who to tell.

Start with people you trust and who matter most to you. And in fact, tell only those who matter to you. Why should you need to speak about yourself to anyone who disrespects you to begin with... example.. the bully of school who won't let up on you for a moment. Screaming it out to the world without care would just be asking for more teasing.

Being yourself and who you are, no matter what type of lifestyle you lead is important. But with that realization comes, hopefully, the ability to understand that your own happiness (and that of any mates you may have in the future) is really the only thing that truely matters. It is your life. It is your secret. It is your sanity. No one else's. Do what makes you happiest.

The questions you asked

Quote

am i an outcast? am i afraid to tell people who i really am? will people accept me for who i really am?

are ones that teens for ages an ages have been asking, no matter what their personal lifestyle. Teen years are some of the hardest to live through, both socially and emotionally, due to all the changes which happen during that time. Kids are meaner often because they see imperfections in themselves and, due to fear of others seeing them, they lash out at easy targets...people who are visibly different...to take heat off themselves. It isn't fair and it isn't fun to anyone who feels different or alone. No matter what they show on the outside, everyone in teen aged years is going through some sort of uncertainty.

Biggest thing for you all who are feeling like you will never be accepted to realize is... no one is ever totally accepted by anyone.. AND acceptance by those whom you deem as important to you is all that matters. And, in the event that those important to you do not accept you,...then they need to be removed from your "important to me list". True love and acceptance of who you are, regardless of personal differences or preferrences, is a requirement for being on that list.

Tell you what... start with a blank piece of paper. Write your name on it. When you are comfortable with yourself and who you are... start adding others to the list. Once you are totally confortable with yourself, using your own inner happiness as the building blocks for your life, you will see that the list need not get too much longer. No one should hinge their happiness and sanity on anyone else's acceptance or love. It all starts from within.

Once you are content with yourself, everything else falls into place and perspective,... and the world doesn't look so bleak.

~River

Tobodai · « **Reply #14 on:** November 21, 2003, 11:01:15 pm »

Amen to that!

Mallory · « **Reply #15 on:** November 21, 2003, 11:57:03 pm »

I feel kinda lost, I have only been on this list for about 4 days, can someone define to me what "being furry" means? Or are there different meanings for everyone? I've been teased ever since I can remember about my apparence, my hobbies, and my choice of friends.

~Woof~

Benjamin · « **Reply #16 on:** November 22, 2003, 01:00:09 am »

Furry means something different to just about anyone that's in the fandom. Some are just casual comic or art collectors whereas others make it a big part of their lives.
Basically, what you put into furry is what you get out of it. There's no way to really gauge what being furry is all about. You have the essential core of the definition of furry, which is the interest in anthropomorphic animals... and then all hell breaks loose after that point.

'>

Benjamin

BlueNinja · « **Reply #17 on:** January 18, 2004, 04:49:49 pm »

I remember reading someplace, along the lines of ...

Ask ten furries what exactly "furry" means, and you've get a dozen different answers.

Most of my friends know I lean towards the furry side - that I like furry stories and artwork, and I occasionally think of myself as a large cat. Some of them don't really understand it, but none of them condemn me for it. Another old friend I've had since junior high said she knew I was furry since she first met me, and asked why it had taken me so long to realize it!

User_of_Shadows · « **Reply #18 on:** January 18, 2004, 05:01:20 pm »

Well I was going to tell Father Vincent next semester that I am a furry. (If you cant tell your priest anything who can you tell) but he "quit" due to diffrences with the principal.

The only common thing about all people who are furries are their intrest in animals.

Skunki · « **Reply #19 on:** January 24, 2004, 01:22:49 am »

Quote (User_of_Shadows @ Jan. 18 2004, 4:01 pm)

The only common thing about all people who are furries are their intrest in animals.

and how much more accepting we are about others differences.

Shiromatsuri · « **Reply #20 on:** January 25, 2004, 06:09:21 am »

A few times since my first steps into furdom I've been called rather mean things by people who would overhear my conversations about furry stuff with my friend Jenna. Things like "animal *censored*" or other such rubbish. It hurts me, because I'm a very emotional person and take insults close to heart, but it doesn't make me want to stop being who I am.

Am I an outcast? So what if I am? It won't be the first or the last I will be shunned by others because of my lifestyle. Not to say I will lash out against those who shun me, but I won't let them push me around either. I will either inform them differently that I do not get frisky with animals or just take my business elsewhere.

I take great pride in being furry, and that alone helps me cope with the teasing and the snickering.

BlueNinja · « **Reply #21 on:** January 28, 2004, 09:19:29 pm »

Quote

Am I an outcast? So what if I am?

Good attitude. I've been an outcast for all of my life, so I'm rather used to it by now. Besides, most of my fellow outcasts make better company.

'>

Skunki · « **Reply #22 on:** January 28, 2004, 11:52:52 pm »

if i came out about furryness, i feel i would be an outcast to many people. so i would have to go hang out with the other outcasts which wouldnt be so bad. i am tired of living a life of lies, and i am tired of people who don't act like they truly are. if i was an outcast, at least i would be telling the truth about who i am.

siiwolf · « **Reply #23 on:** January 30, 2004, 02:16:41 am »

I've been pushed around a lot, but I think it has a lot more to do with my size than anything else. I'm not the biggest guy around. That, and I've grown up since 4th grade in a pretty rough area so maybe I'm just used to it and don't think about it as much anymore, I don't know

'> But as far as furry is concerned, in HS I used to do book reports on books like Redwall all the time, and draw animal characters based on the series or fantasy, and nobody really thought anything about it. In fact, my freshman and sophomore English teachers were so impressed by my massive reports that they actaully got the entire redwall series in the library my Junior year, and I guess they are checked out regurarly ^-^

I know it's been said a million times before, but if you just ignore the bully, usually they do go away. Most people don't like being faced with the sudden and obvious fact that someone doesn't like them, and I'm sure bullies are included. That, and people that were complete jerks to me and others back in High School, I see them now occasionally and it's so wierd how much their attitudes have changed. My mom knows I go to cons, and I buy furry artwork, and I've even shown her all of it (it's nonyiffy so that's a plus). I've always been the odd one and frankly I'm glad. Would be a dull life I'd lead if I was "normal"

'>

"If you are different because that is you, be different. If you are different to be different be you."

« **Reply #24 on:** January 30, 2004, 09:28:20 am »

I've been picked on a lot, partially because of my size-though, unlike siiwolf, I'm just tall. In elementary school, I was a straight 5-6 inches above everyone else (except for patrick, but he was another issue alltogether)

People judged me on my looks. I didnt want to wear the girly cool clothing. I didn't want to be going out with another guy every week. You see a ring on this finger? No? Yeah, that's the point, jerks. I was involved in sports, but I didn't really go anywhere else. I hung out at home, moping half of the time.Whenever I was at school, I hated myself. At home, I hated myself. When I went to something new-such as an art class-I jumped wholeheartedly into it, and gained freinds fast through the personality no one else knew I had. That was about 4-5 years ago, and I only just lost contact with someone from the art class (she moved and has no access to the net). I had short hair, too, like shoulder length, not the long wavy mane that every oher chick had.

I was very nice to the bullies, which made it harder to insult me for them. I had a few people that were nice to me, but I wanted none of their pity. To me, acting as though you like someone is far worse than hating.

Then I entered middle school and found people like me who like me for me. Though I only just told one of my furryness (actually two, but he regarded it as a joke-good ol john, always there to be an butt when others won't

'> ) and she took it surprisingly well. I'm gunna tell a couple more before I wear my homemade 'furry' shirt (complete with fuzzy lettering!

'>