Y'all, it's been a long time coming! Allow me to set the scene...

I was viewing an art piece posted during Pride Month by  tsaiwolf, one of my favorite artists. It was a "redux" as Tsai felt it wasn't finished originally and they wanted to redo the lighting, plus they added Blaidd from Elden Ring because why not? More seriously, however, Tsai wrote candidly in their description about the turbulence facing the queer community for the past few years before apologizing "for the PSA." Hell, I couldn't work shifts this past Pride Month without hearing customers whine or snicker about our modest merchandise and one such customer leaving abruptly after they interrupted my sales pitch to ask, "Did you say 'Pride?'" It's all incredibly stupid and disheartening, but I made it my mission to protect my workplace and no one defaced our display like at Target. In fact, I mentioned the store chain in a comment as a fresh example of right-wing terrorism, their plan B when boycotts fail, against all things queer.

I got this smooth-brained response four months later:
I can tell you were born after 2001 just from that sentence alone. Complaining about rainbow underwear at Target is a little silly, yes, but terrorism? Do you even know what that word means? The fact that you see some people who disagree with you over a bill that reads "18 or older" and think it's akin to a mass tragedy says more about you and your naïve beliefs than anything else.
So let me get this straight (pun absolutely intended): this invertebrate basically said "it's bad, but not that bad" before mustering what few IQ points they could scrape from the bottom of their skull to justify homophobia because they think Pride merch is pretentious. I replied swiftly with citations not to persuade them, but to show others how this user never cared about the facts.

I don't know about you, but I remember multiple idiots on social media who shared the same sort of bio while not practicing what they preached. "If you're reading this, I made you mad and you're looking for ammo to use against me," or shorter depending on character limits. I don't need to write so on my socials like FA because "Indict Trump and the insurrectionist GOP" repels idiots just fine, but I don't expect it to be 100% effective. That's why I wasn't surprised to read a notification that the same guy commented on my journal about Ethan is Online's video on modern art, claiming they watched it and their only takeaway was it "demonize[s] valid criticism," but not without hiding their first comment like a coward.

Or, you know, it's just that most reasonable people simply see it as pretentious nonsense with no real effort put in. This whole "modern art" trend is probably the most blatant example of the emperor's new clothes in existence right now. Can we please stop pretending that someone taping a banana to a wall is on the same level of talent and creativity as Michelangelo? If you're looking for real art, there are plenty of examples right here on this website with images that show their value through their attention to detail, whether it's just commissioned character sketches done over a weekend or complete digital art pieces with months of work behind them. You can't blame people for getting angry when someone tells them that dumping a bunch of empty cardboard boxes on the floor is somehow just as valid and deserving of praise. It's insulting to people who actually try.
This isn't even about politics. You're just so indoctrinated by this culture war obsession of yours that you think everything has to be about "the left" or "the right" instead of real life experiences. Consider seeking out content creators beyond the BreadTube bubble. I almost went down the same radicalization pipeline back when I used to watch The Young Turks and Cult of Dusty several years ago during my "done with Christianity" phase. I snapped out of it when I realized I was just being spoonfed biased talking points and not actual facts. It's honestly terrifying to think that if I hadn't decided to start thinking for myself, I probably would've ended up like you.
Whew, they're worse than I thought. This is what people mean when they say "touch grass," but not only in the sense of taking a good break offline or enabling parental controls on big brats like this guy. Going to art museums or arthouses in person is a vastly different experience to consuming art through a biased commentator on a screen with only so many pixels and without learning about the art itself. I even shared a fact I learned from the video that Vincent Van Gogh's view from inside an asylum inspired him to paint The Starry Night, though the village in it wasn't real. Also, remember when they whined about "SoMeOnE tApInG a BaNaNa To A wAlL?" That was by Maurizio Cattelan, whose work is generally tongue-in-cheek. I also let them have another hard pill to swallow from the same video: they allowed their frustration with understanding modern art make them think they're being scammed, not allow themselves to embrace and understand their feelings with the art.

Of course, they didn't like that.
You completely missed my point. This is FurAffinity, an art website, yet you're telling people to "touch grass and go to an art gallery" as if the artwork we make isn't "real" art because we prefer concrete objectivism over amorphous excuses for low effort.
In actuality, art is supposed to be self-explanatory, conveying its deeper meanings through the subjects depicted, not explained away through endless third-party speculation. For example, pretty much any drawing on this website makes it easy to tell at a glance that the characters involved are meant to represent their creators in one way or another. Now let's look at Bridge by Robert Ryman. What's the meaning there? Is it meant to be abstract, minimalist, or a parody of the current state of the art industry? No one really knows, and when it's all said and done, it's ultimately just white paint on a board. If you can't instantly understand and connect with something when you see it because there's just not enough effort put into the source material to work with, should it really count as art? This isn't about some secret political agenda to oppress people. It's about what actually makes art special.
It was at this point I was talking to a brick wall and left them to seethe without a word. I'm all good, though! I'm just amused they went to unnecessary lengths to justify terrorist threats against Target's Pride wear and the appropriation of art. If you ever stumble upon anyone like this on any social platform, block them unless you know how to push their buttons. Until next time, call a spade a spade, enjoy breaks offline, and celebrate queer pride year-round!