Important Update | June 4th, 2020
Added 2020-06-04 21:37:37 +0000 UTC*Note: I've probably deleted and retyped this post several times trying to get my thoughts in order. I hope things come across clearly!
Hey everyone, only a few days into June here and with everything going on I really felt the need to reflect on myself, the furry community, and my goals within it. There are important updates in here that I'll post at the end as well, but I encourage anyone who is curious about me to read the full thing.
#BlackLivesMatter
I know that it can be annoying when accounts you follow for art/nsfw goodness spam their political beliefs every day between pieces, but this shouldn't be a political issue. I stand with the BLM crowd and want these protests to be successful in bringing in meaningful change.
If you wish to show your support visit https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/ and see all the ways you can help if you aren't able to make it to the protests :)
Life Reflection, Community Building, and my Creator Blacklist
The past week of protests have made me reflect quite a bit on my life, and how growing up in a racist family had rubbed off on me. This week I've been asking myself a lot of questions about how I would've turned out had I not been gay, had I not had the friends I had, all sorts of shit. I'm far from perfect. I still find things about me that have rubbed off from my family and work to move past them, but I know I can do more.
When I joined this community back in 2008 I was still a junior in high school and having a really rough time coming to terms with my sexuality and dealing with bullies. When I needed an escape the furry fandom welcomed me with open arms and told me I could get through it, that I was strong. They supported me when I thought I had no one. But one thing that I found myself doing quite a bit was ignoring the people behind the profile pic. Even if they were horrible people, if they were hot, or posted good stuff, I would follow, and just ignore their banter.
This was/is not ok.
I want those who follow me and those who engage with me to feel welcome no matter their race, gender identity, orientation, etc. As such, I don't wish to post content that spreads that hate, nor do I wish to work on projects created by people who spread hate. I feel like the least I can do to help improve the fandom is to not promote those who have shown to spread said hatred.
As such, I will be including an artist blacklist alongside my content blacklist for my weekly animation audio edit suggestions. The artists on this list are ones that were brought to my attention by friends that showed them to be people I don't wish to be promoting. Now having a spot on there isn't permanent, if someone proves themselves to have changed and bettered themselves they can be removed from the list, but it will take some work.
The piece I was working on for Sunday was made by someone who was brought to my attention, and is now on that list. As a result that entire project is now scrapped, and I will be starting over with a new one. Sunday's post may be delayed into Monday or even Tuesday. I have also removed any audio edits I have done for artists that are now on that list from my profiles.
I know it's not much but it's the least I can do to help make the fandom a better and more inclusive place for everyone.
Anyways thanks for coming to my TedX talk. It may not have been the most clear and concise thought dump you've read but it's MY thought dump :)
In summary:
• I will have a list of artists who's work I will not run audio passes on or promote.
• This Sunday's edit will be delayed
• I love you all <3