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Important notice to those going to Megaplex
2 years ago
General
You have to keep a little crazy hidden away in your back pocket just to maintain your sanity.
Vixyy Fox
Vixyy Fox
My thanks to 
Judy_Judith for bringing my attention to this news report.
https://www.cbr.com/florida-furry-c.....-ron-desantis/
This is a total shame as seeing children at the convention has always been a joy to my old heart. I am 70 years old now and knowing that the fandom will continue long after I'm somewhere else (hopefully the Whackadoodle Inn - yes I am smiling) has always been a joy to know.
Also, seeing the parents with their children was a joy as well. I have a little children's book called The Little Airplane that has been my give-away for cons, and when I would see such a parent, I would hand it to them. One mother looked at it and said 'This is wonderful, how much is it?' Her expression, when I told her it was a free gift, was priceless.
We had a girl of about 12 years of age attend one of our Thursday Prompt panels and ALL OF US were amazed at her writing abilities. She was a born writer.
I think, perhaps, it would have been better to list the individual events with the age limits rather than ban children altogether. Seeing the youngsters in the fursuit parade just makes you want to dance.
Do not misunderstand me. I do believe in the protection of young minds. There is a time and place for everything, and we all go through the growing process. To my thoughts, in this day and age, things have simply gotten totally out of paw.
Now... before anyone hammers me for my thoughts, which I am allowed to have, my only concern in even posting this is for the children - so be kind, considerate, and tolerant, eh?
Vixyy
Judy_Judith for bringing my attention to this news report.https://www.cbr.com/florida-furry-c.....-ron-desantis/
This is a total shame as seeing children at the convention has always been a joy to my old heart. I am 70 years old now and knowing that the fandom will continue long after I'm somewhere else (hopefully the Whackadoodle Inn - yes I am smiling) has always been a joy to know.
Also, seeing the parents with their children was a joy as well. I have a little children's book called The Little Airplane that has been my give-away for cons, and when I would see such a parent, I would hand it to them. One mother looked at it and said 'This is wonderful, how much is it?' Her expression, when I told her it was a free gift, was priceless.
We had a girl of about 12 years of age attend one of our Thursday Prompt panels and ALL OF US were amazed at her writing abilities. She was a born writer.
I think, perhaps, it would have been better to list the individual events with the age limits rather than ban children altogether. Seeing the youngsters in the fursuit parade just makes you want to dance.
Do not misunderstand me. I do believe in the protection of young minds. There is a time and place for everything, and we all go through the growing process. To my thoughts, in this day and age, things have simply gotten totally out of paw.
Now... before anyone hammers me for my thoughts, which I am allowed to have, my only concern in even posting this is for the children - so be kind, considerate, and tolerant, eh?
Vixyy
Vix
i think this is where the human race has to go if it wants to get outta the 2030s. its always come down to parenting, and i tell you what, if i was a kid again, i would feel incredibly better being in adult venues if i had my mom or dad there with me, to let me know whats going on, the whys and hows. The kids want to do what they want to do. I say LET THEM. (if the parental unit is there too) I see NO harm in this....... i too think young minds should be protected but i think also with good, open minded, willing parents around them... the world doesnt have to be that bad
.
Aside this, Disney has about 200,000 employees.
Im betting none of them are voting for Ron. :D
Vix
Vix
more appropriate forums. So I'll say here that it's a
real shame kids are now being bared from a convention
that would fire their little imaginations, like few other
things can.
Vix
I just heard of this news and it's so sad. Things have gotten so out of hand. There's a difference between shielding them from harmful content, and fully removing them from safe spaces.
Vix
I know from my local con, (FC) that it's completely safe for children, and they tend to have a blast there.
If I were someone involved with Megaplex, I would have called for it being moved somewhere across the state line this year. People shouldn't be traveling to Florida or doing business there at this point anyway. That goes for any other states promoting these bogus moral crusades as well.
Obviously there are things that are suitable for the whole family lol, let's take it all away. Ensuring the safety of children is more difficult than simply banning children from entering. I could understand the ban on the participation of minors without guardians or parents - it makes sense. But to forbid everyone without exception? What the hell.
Vix
Vix
Vix
"Local and federal authorities will actively prosecute any individuals or businesses that expose a minor to pornography. Florida State Statute 847.013 states that anyone who knowingly exposes a minor to pornography can be charged with this sex crime. (Source: http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0800-0899/0847/Sections/0847.013.html) This is political pandering. If there was any major danger the convention would have been shut down ages ago.
Vix
Vix
Something a lot of people outside of Florida just don't seem to be grasping is that this could easily be wielded by delusional individuals to criminalize most any event/venue that makes them slightly uncomfortable. Mention anything on LGBT or sexuality, even obtusely, and that potentially opens them to legal action by these maniacs. This results in ever more places being closed to down access by minors that in prior generations were, or the places themselves close down and we are left with an ever more limited, sanitized, and controlled, cultural space where everyone is looking over their shoulder, and having to consult a lawyer to make sure they don't run afoul of some creative interpretation of newly established esoteric legal code (sound familiar?).
I'm saying this as someone who btw would agree that there have been some cases where people on the opposite of the conservative end have indeed gone too far. That is no excuse though for this crude and uneven handed (to put it diplomatically) approach to dealing with this issue.
Vix
Sociologists and Psychologists agree that kids under a certain age are more vulnerable as they have difficulty differentiating between fiction and reality. Therefore the visuals, and language as well as the way characters act, can negatively influence their growth and development. Long story short, in Florida, the precedent stood that explicit material is to be hidden from easy view by minors, it won't stop every kid from getting their hands on the stuff but it does prevent passive exposure.
I agree this is politically driven.
Vix
Vix
Vix
I even had some stupid bint raise the 'cat litter' canard to me earlier this month at the local writer's group I attend.
Vix
Vix
Vix
Over the years conventions went from a happy place where anyone could go and express their furryness in a nice family friendly place. Now however, they are filling quickly with people wearing fetish gear and where once murrsuits were banned outright, well, they are now openly accepted. Instead of rejecting negative stereotypes people are now jumping on soapboxes screaming that they are true. Also, I dont think we've gone a single year where you dont hear about people needing to be rushed to the hospital because they had been drugged at a con or that a sexual predator had been arrested.
I flat out admit now that I havent been to MegaPlex, with the exception of the GreyMuzzle breakfast last year, due to the fact that MegaPlex with the outting of Yappy can now basically ban you from the con if they find out you're what they consider to be the wrong political affiliation.
Anywho, this entire thing could have been avoided if they just enforced their own rule of no fetish gear in public and hide NSFW material from public view, but they won't ever do that because that's what at least half the attendees are there for now.
oh yeah - enjoyed your hot sauce again yesterday on my taco salad...
Vix
This. Had they taken responsibility and put their foot down. They would have been less likely to end up in the crosshairs when the Fascists started their moral panic - although since the lawmakers and their base have targeted events as innocuous as drag (not inherently sexual, much like furry) and story hours, basically anywhere with a sizable LGBTQ+ presence, they would have come for conventions eventually. Still, MP would have had a better chance of staying under the radar if they enforced their rules as they claimed to.
"The laws in Florida came to be to keep overtly sexualized imagery and performances away from children. By Megaplex banning kids they admit that they would rather it turn from a family friendly."
That was what we were told by the state government, yes. With how vaguely worded the laws were though, a read of the fine print revealed they were written with the intent to silence discussion of other orientations and gender identities in our school systems after a misinformation campaign sowed the seeds (much as they had done with race, which sparked the panic over CRT prior.) They were able to hide behind the mask of " wanting to protect the children" as they had during the Satanic Panic.
This doesn't seem like it would be relevant at first, but pretty much all that has happened by this point has been, in a sense, an extension of those initial laws.
Vix
Those who know me well will probably know my opinion on DeSantis, but the short version, told in the kindest way possible, is the man needs to take a long walk off of a short pier.
Vix
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