I'm not going to let a pair of dipshits drive me out of the fandom.

It fucking sucks :(

Of course there's a couple idjits out there in fandom. There are idiots in every segment of society. People screw up driving, end up in the ER with embarrassing BDSM-related injuries, and talk each other into asinine made-for-tv criminal plots. Occasionally all three at the same time, if we're talking road head.

I'm probably more into video games than art or roleplay. I'm fully aware that some fools have managed to kill themselves with sleep deprivation while gaming. This doesn't affect me directly, for a simple reason. I have enough common sense to sleep when I'm too tired to enjoy a game. I have my priorities in that order, and will not die from a gaming habit. Similarly, I don't try to talk people on the 'net into assaulting my own family, so I can't really feel threatened by this community.

I can't even say that story even relates to the 'net. It happens occasionally in public schools. That level of crazy isn't a function of furry, forums, or fandom... it's human. Everybody has a couple screws loose. Different ones. Some more than others. Some talk to themselves, some walk in funny patterns on tile floors, some eat their meals according to the colors of the rainbow... and a few will take you seriously when you ask them to do something very wrong for you. Most are harmless, but a few ain't... do you give up talking to people because only 98% are sane?

Good ol Danny boy has a point. The bottom line is to each their own. If an isolated incident made your friend want to disassociate with a fandom to which he claims to be a part of, then let him be. Perhaps he wasn't really into it as much as he claimed, or he's one of those that follows society's course rather than make his own decisions in lifestyle.

Hell, take me for example. Toss my name around many of the furs that are familiar with my gallery and they'll give you a fearful/disgusted look, automatically assuming I'm sort of sociopath, potential serial killers when deep down I'm probably more sane than 80% of all furs. There's a fine line between fantasy and real life, some don't know how to tell the two apart and when they cross, that's when you have incidents like so. I am well aware of the line and respect it, those that don't... well too bad for them, bad shit'll be bound to happen. Just keep doing your thing and maintain your balance of the two. Sorry about your friend, but hell, he may have not been a fur to begin with. I have a friend that loves anthro art and draws it, but he "hates" furries and the second he heard of this incident he's been throwing it on my face on how fucked up furries are... to each their own...

Well, I'm feeling a bit better now. Thanks for the comments.

"There's a fine line between fantasy and real life, some don't know how to tell the two apart and when they cross, that's when you have incidents like so. I am well aware of the line and respect it, those that don't... well too bad for them, bad shit'll be bound to happen."

i fully agree with that... =3

"The bisexual pair are alleged to have hatched the plot after meeting on an internet site about "Furries" – people who pretend to be animal characters and share sexual role-playing fantasies."

What a load of one-sided, unresearched, 'so-I-heard' horseshit! This reporter either doesn't know what she is talking about, or she's an ass.

Fastbreak, don't let this upset you. There are fucking wackos in all corners of society. If your friend can't see that this was an isolated incident and does not reflect on the other 99.99% of furries, then he has problems. Whether he wants to be a part of the fandom is one thing, but thinking this is a "furry" problem is just plain wrong and illogical.