I certainly don't agree with you on Boomer. It just screams hypocrisy to me to talk about wanting respect and dignity for furry fandom while at the same time denying that same respect and dignity to a furry who, from what I've seen of him, is kind, polite and self-confident. In any other community, Boomer would be viewed as a great role model. But only in furry fandom do they want him hidden away.
If an organisation tried to hide their gay or trans members for "feelings of embarrassment", it would be considered the scummiest thing they ever did. The fact that furries feel perfectly fine expressing embarrassment about each other speaks volumes about the prejudices ingrained in the community. Furthermore, it only justifies non-furry prejudices in the long run. If furry fandom is ashamed of its own members, what are non-furries supposed to think?
I certainly don't agree with you on Boomer. It just screams hypocrisy to me to talk about wanting respect and dignity for furry fandom while at the same time denying that same respect and dignity to a furry who, from what I've seen of him, is kind, polite and self-confident. In any other community, Boomer would be viewed as a great role model. But only in furry fandom do they want him hidden away.
If an organisation tried to hide their gay or trans members for "feelings of embarrassment", it would be considered the scummiest thing they ever did. The fact that furries feel perfectly fine expressing embarrassment about each other speaks volumes about the prejudices ingrained in the community. Furthermore, it only justifies non-furry prejudices in the long run. If furry fandom is ashamed of its own members, what are non-furries supposed to think?