Alt-right furries force regional furry convention to shut down
By News.com.au
Always be yourself and never let anyone change you, forever and always furry. Thanks to everyone and the #AltFurry for the support pic.twitter.com/WyaHAf9gNZ
— Foxler Nightfire (@starfoxACEFOX) January 27, 2017
An annual convention for furries has been canceled after a splinter group started promoting "altfur" symbols similar to those used by the Nazis.
Furries, a subculture of people who enjoy dressing up in animal outfits and develop "fursonas," have a series of conventions which they attend with like-minded people, including Rocky Mountain Fur Con.
It would seem, however, that not everyone in the furry community is as like-minded as some would think.
Rocky Mountain Fur Con was canceled this year because a group called the Furry Raiders started promoting intolerance and Nazi-like symbols.
But Foxler does, here my suit from last years photo shoot for Valentine Day, so I must not be a Nazi. Love Will Always Win. pic.twitter.com/lY1Uw4WrCa
— Foxler Nightfire (@starfoxACEFOX) February 15, 2017
"The furry community and Rocky Mountain Fur Con have always strived to be a place of inclusion; a place where furs from all walks of life, differing religious, political, social and personal views can come together to celebrate the thing that we have in common, the love of our fandom," Sorin, the chairman of Rocky Mountain Fur Con, wrote on Facebook.
The leader of the Furry Raiders, Foxler, wears an armband with a paw print that resembles those worn in Nazi Germany.
Foxler, however, told The Daily Beast that it was all one big misunderstanding.
He said he furry name is derived from his animal (fox) and his last name (Miller), not a mix with Hitler. His Nazi-like armband, he says, is based on a character from an old video game and the photo of him with his arm in the air was an accident.
While the community says there have always been "fascist furries," there is a rise in "altfurries," with #altfurry, now a popular hashtag for right-wing furries to find each other.
The furry community is not sure if they believe Foxler's explanation after some critics, including one user named Deo, received death threats on Twitter.
"My friend made a tweet and I responded with a joke saying 'can't wait to punch these Nazis,'" Deo said, noting that the comment was posted days after Donald Trump's inauguration when someone had punched white nationalist Richard Spencer in the face on TV.
Thank you @CUBoulderTPUSA and @CRsCUBoulder for allowing me the equal right of personal creativity and expression as Foxler at Milo's event pic.twitter.com/S1uOMFzSfX
Then someone on Twitter said she would enjoy watching Deo get shot at the convention.
Rocky Mountain Fur Con was forced to look into hiring security for its event.
"Last month, we were faced with a sudden and drastic increase in security costs amounting to more than a third of our entire existing operating budget," Zachary Brooks, chairman of the Fur Con, wrote in a statement. "This cost increase stemmed directly from the very public threats of violence against one another by members of this community, as well as the negative backlash from misinformation spread about the convention, its staff and attendees. Therefore, Rocky Mountain Fur Con 2017 is officially cancelled. I will no longer continue to subject my staff and our community to the lies, hate, violence and slander that was disseminated by a small, vocal minority."
Some argue and say tax evasion is the real reason for the event being cancelled.
It is unclear whether the event will ever return with organisers saying they are happy to be done with it.
Filed under alt-right	, conventions	, fetishes	, neo-nazis	, wtf	, 4/17/17
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