Part of the problem is derived from the fact that the furry fandom likes hugs, not shrugs. A lot of us are nerds and have spent a good portion of our lives being told that who we are is not acceptable to the world at large, and - in our community - we strive to live by the saying "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". Unfortunately, this means that we choose not to criticize even when we should. Whether it's an overly defensive artist, the artist's fans white-knighting over him, or just generally being ignored, there's a minefield waiting out there for anyone wanting to offer constructive criticism and very little incentive to attempt to cross it.
I agree wholeheartedly that we need to be able to examine, accept, and - if the criticism is found to be valid - heed criticism, but there are psychological and social issues that make this an extremely dicey prospect on a *good* day. The struggle against criticism is a symptom, not the disease, and we need to cure the disease before the symptom will go away. This means people having enough self-esteem to give themselves permission to be imperfect, and then permission to work on correcting their mistakes. This means trusting that your favorite author / artist / what-have-you can fight their own battles, and leaving them to do so. This means that, as a producer of content, you need to have the ability to consider criticism with an open mind, realize that it is about your *work* and not about *you*, and either accept the criticism or offer a rational explanation as to why you will not.
Part of the problem is derived from the fact that the furry fandom likes hugs, not shrugs. A lot of us are nerds and have spent a good portion of our lives being told that who we are is not acceptable to the world at large, and - in our community - we strive to live by the saying "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". Unfortunately, this means that we choose not to criticize even when we should. Whether it's an overly defensive artist, the artist's fans white-knighting over him, or just generally being ignored, there's a minefield waiting out there for anyone wanting to offer constructive criticism and very little incentive to attempt to cross it.
I agree wholeheartedly that we need to be able to examine, accept, and - if the criticism is found to be valid - heed criticism, but there are psychological and social issues that make this an extremely dicey prospect on a *good* day. The struggle against criticism is a symptom, not the disease, and we need to cure the disease before the symptom will go away. This means people having enough self-esteem to give themselves permission to be imperfect, and then permission to work on correcting their mistakes. This means trusting that your favorite author / artist / what-have-you can fight their own battles, and leaving them to do so. This means that, as a producer of content, you need to have the ability to consider criticism with an open mind, realize that it is about your *work* and not about *you*, and either accept the criticism or offer a rational explanation as to why you will not.
...good luck.