A short, one sentence summary of why the Titanic sunk would just mention the iceberg.
Why do you need more than one sentence?
More details do not make something more truthful; instead, they can easily distract from the core facts. I bring up the Titanic specifically because a. the "facts of construction" are added on because of a sense of discrepancy between the actual events and their "symbolic" importance, and b. the "facts of construction" have no actual bearing on the sinking of the Titanic. Basically, shoddy workmanship aside, it could have very easily made multiple trips across the Atlantic if it had not hit that iceberg; also, if all the workmanship on the ship had been done perfectly, it would have sunk regardless when it rammed an iceberg.
This is why I object to bringing up Egyptian deities, Lascaux cave paintings, Greek myths or what-have-you in the context of furry; firstly, it is an attempt to make furry seem "more important" by appealing to some idea that "it's always been here;" and secondly, it has no bearing on a discussion of furry. In fact, it distracts from actual antecedents; go get a copy of Beatrix Potter's stories and look at the illustrations, then look at a cave painting. Which looks furrier, honestly? And yet, I am constantly hearing about the friggin' cave paintings, but never Potter's works.
And the reason for this is simple; the Lascaux paintings are historically and artistically important. Beatrix Potter writes children's stories. Which one would you rather claim as an antecedent? Lascaux, definitely. But it is a lie.
Of course, the reason furries tell themselves this lie is simple; we're on the bottom of the food chain. There are very few subcultures that have taken as much trash as furry from fellow subcultures. Something Awful, "yiff in hell," the "furry YouTube war," all of it. We really have been the whipping boy of the Internet geek. We have had to defend ourselves, and for that reason we appeal to ideas of the "ancient."
Which is also ironic, because our very newness, is in my opinion, one of the darn coolest things about us.
A short, one sentence summary of why the Titanic sunk would just mention the iceberg.
Why do you need more than one sentence?
More details do not make something more truthful; instead, they can easily distract from the core facts. I bring up the Titanic specifically because a. the "facts of construction" are added on because of a sense of discrepancy between the actual events and their "symbolic" importance, and b. the "facts of construction" have no actual bearing on the sinking of the Titanic. Basically, shoddy workmanship aside, it could have very easily made multiple trips across the Atlantic if it had not hit that iceberg; also, if all the workmanship on the ship had been done perfectly, it would have sunk regardless when it rammed an iceberg.
This is why I object to bringing up Egyptian deities, Lascaux cave paintings, Greek myths or what-have-you in the context of furry; firstly, it is an attempt to make furry seem "more important" by appealing to some idea that "it's always been here;" and secondly, it has no bearing on a discussion of furry. In fact, it distracts from actual antecedents; go get a copy of Beatrix Potter's stories and look at the illustrations, then look at a cave painting. Which looks furrier, honestly? And yet, I am constantly hearing about the friggin' cave paintings, but never Potter's works.
And the reason for this is simple; the Lascaux paintings are historically and artistically important. Beatrix Potter writes children's stories. Which one would you rather claim as an antecedent? Lascaux, definitely. But it is a lie.
Of course, the reason furries tell themselves this lie is simple; we're on the bottom of the food chain. There are very few subcultures that have taken as much trash as furry from fellow subcultures. Something Awful, "yiff in hell," the "furry YouTube war," all of it. We really have been the whipping boy of the Internet geek. We have had to defend ourselves, and for that reason we appeal to ideas of the "ancient."
Which is also ironic, because our very newness, is in my opinion, one of the darn coolest things about us.