“Furry Panic” sparks an outrage amongst Trump supporters and the radical right, as blatant rumors spread about Midland Michigan Schools are accommodating children that identify as a furry—even though these accusations haven’t proven to be founded on any substantial evidence.
Where there is fear there is usually ignorance. The furry subculture consists of people who are “interested in anthropomorphic animals, or animals with human qualities” according to WebMD.
The website furthers the explanation, “Many furries create their own animal character, known as a fursona, which functions as their avatar within furry communities.”
The furry community is known for the vast diversity and acceptance. One-third of the furry community identifies exclusively as heterosexual. However, furries are five times as likely to identify as belonging to the LGBTQ community than the general population.
Although the furry community is relatively positive and full of belonging and acceptance, that didn’t stop an irate anti-LGBTQ parent who started a malicious rumor online, falsely accusing a Midland Michigan school of setting up litter boxes of their students who identified as furries.
The false accusation was put to rest by Michael E. Sharrow, the superintendent of the school, who directly addressed concerned parents, in an email he wrote:
“It is unconscionable that this afternoon, I am sending this communication,” Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow wrote in an email to parents, “however, our Midland PS stakeholders may be confused about a false message/accusation that has resurfaced this week and is gaining traction in the social media realm.”
“Let me be clear in this communication,” Sharrow echoes. “There is no truth whatsoever to this false statement/accusation! There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools.”
Per usual, the fuss didn’t stop there. At the school MPS board meeting, Lisa Hansen, “a concerned mom trying to protect her child,” states, “I was stunned. And today, I am equally stunned, and a little bit upset—well, not a little bit, a lot of bit upset. Furious—I would even use that word.”
Hansen adamantly believes an “agenda … is being pushed through our schools is—just my opinion—but somewhat nefarious when it comes to some of the activities.” She goes on to say that this is a “nationwide issue.” “I’m all for creativity and imagination, but when someone lives in a fantasy world and expects other people to go along with it, I have a problem with that.”
Hansen’s ignorant retorts gained momentum after Meshawn Maddock, chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party, shared a video of the school board meeting on Facebook.“Kids who identify as ‘furries’ get a litter box in the school bathroom,” Maddock ignorantly utteres in a Facebook post. “Parent heroes will TAKE BACK our schools.”
Perhaps the Right needs a reminder that children who identify as a furry, or anything else for that matter, are worthy of human decency, and the “push” they speak of is called self-love; let’s all try it on.
