The hotel which hosted Motor City Furry Con had to be evacuated because
of a bomb threat they received during the con. There was a similar
threat during last year's con. It's reported that someone in California
was arrested, though particulars aren't available.

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/04/08/calif-suspect-arrested-bomb-threat-against-ypsilanti-twp-motel/73242640007/

I don't get why a subfandom that centers on animation and funny costumes
gets so much hatred.

--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com

On 4/11/2024 7:40 AM, Gary McGath wrote:
> The hotel which hosted Motor City Furry Con had to be evacuated because
> of a bomb threat they received during the con. There was a similar
> threat during last year's con. It's reported that someone in California
> was arrested, though particulars aren't available.
>
> https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/04/08/calif-suspect-arrested-bomb-threat-against-ypsilanti-twp-motel/73242640007/
>
> I don't get why a subfandom that centers on animation and funny costumes
> gets so much hatred.

They get swept up in the current right wing panic about anyone who
expresses any kind of alternative sexuality.

Yes, I know furries aren't pedophile groomers seeking to put
gender=free litterboxes in primary schools - at least no more
so than non-furries. But that's the perception.

pt

In article <uv93nu$1pbbb$3@dont-email.me>,
Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
>On 4/11/2024 7:40 AM, Gary McGath wrote:
>> The hotel which hosted Motor City Furry Con had to be evacuated because
>> of a bomb threat they received during the con. There was a similar
>> threat during last year's con. It's reported that someone in California
>> was arrested, though particulars aren't available.
>>
>>
>https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/04/08/calif-suspect-arrested-bomb-threat-against-ypsilanti-twp-motel/73242640007/
>>
>> I don't get why a subfandom that centers on animation and funny costumes
>> gets so much hatred.
>
>They get swept up in the current right wing panic about anyone who
>expresses any kind of alternative sexuality.
>
>Yes, I know furries aren't pedophile groomers seeking to put
>gender=free litterboxes in primary schools - at least no more
>so than non-furries. But that's the perception.

Some furry groups have been energetic about ejecting Nazi furries,
which didn't go over well with the Nazis.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

On Thu, 11 Apr 2024 07:40:02 -0400, Gary McGath wrote:

> The hotel which hosted Motor City Furry Con had to be evacuated because
> of a bomb threat they received during the con. There was a similar
> threat during last year's con. It's reported that someone in California
> was arrested, though particulars aren't available.
>
> https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2024/04/08/calif-
suspect-arrested-bomb-threat-against-ypsilanti-twp-motel/73242640007/
>
> I don't get why a subfandom that centers on animation and funny costumes
> gets so much hatred.

No such thing as bad publicity?

On 4/11/24 12:54 PM, James Nicoll wrote:

>> Yes, I know furries aren't pedophile groomers seeking to put
>> gender=free litterboxes in primary schools - at least no more
>> so than non-furries. But that's the perception.
>
> Some furry groups have been energetic about ejecting Nazi furries,
> which didn't go over well with the Nazis.

Then maybe someone who was banned spread the litter-box stories to
gullible audiences in retaliation?

The litter boxes for my cats have always been gender-free.

--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com

In article <uvb2ta$2a8hd$1@dont-email.me>,
Gary McGath <garym@mcgath.com> wrote:
>On 4/11/24 12:54 PM, James Nicoll wrote:
>
>>> Yes, I know furries aren't pedophile groomers seeking to put
>>> gender=free litterboxes in primary schools - at least no more
>>> so than non-furries. But that's the perception.
>>
>> Some furry groups have been energetic about ejecting Nazi furries,
>> which didn't go over well with the Nazis.
>
>Then maybe someone who was banned spread the litter-box stories to
>gullible audiences in retaliation?
>
>The litter boxes for my cats have always been gender-free.

As I recall, it turned out some classrooms in the Jefferson County Public
School District in Colorado do or did have litter boxes but not for the
reason the alt-right claimed. It was so that during routine school mass
shootings, kids waiting their turn to be murdered would have somewhere to
relieve themselves without spoiling the game by making a run for the
bathroom.
--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll

James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
> Gary McGath <garym@mcgath.com> wrote:
>> Then maybe someone who was banned spread the litter-box stories to
>> gullible audiences in retaliation?

>> The litter boxes for my cats have always been gender-free.

Coincidentally, in today's news, I read of a woman in DC being shot
while emptying her cat's litter box:

https://wtop.com/dc/2024/04/she-was-emptying-her-cats-litter-box-when-a-stranger-walked-up-and-shot-her-was-it-a-case-of-mistaken-identity/

> As I recall, it turned out some classrooms in the Jefferson County
> Public School District in Colorado do or did have litter boxes but
> not for the reason the alt-right claimed. It was so that during
> routine school mass shootings, kids waiting their turn to be
> murdered would have somewhere to relieve themselves without
> spoiling the game by making a run for the bathroom.

As for "routine school mass shootings," the average American school
goes several thousand years between such shootings. More school-aged
children drown in bathtubs than are killed in such shootings, but we
don't hear demands that adult possession of a bathtub be made a felony.

More school-aged children are killed by cops than by school mass
shootings, but kids don't have cop drills in which they're trained on
how to behave if they ever encounter a cop, to reduce their risk of
being killed or falsely convicted of a crime. I could have benefited
from such a drill, as I had no idea that cops lie.

Lots of people who are shot by cops while trying to follow their
directions could have benefited from such a drill. If cops are
pointing a gun at you, *freeze*, and do not move even if they order
you to. That may increase your risk of a beating, tasing, or
resisting-arrest charge, but it will decrease the odds of your being
shot dead, since a trigger-happy cop may not notice that you're
following the orders of another cop.

The recent Crumbley verdicts and sentences, holding parents guilty
if their kid shoots up a school, will go a long way toward ensuring
that parents never again trust their children. For every odd kid who
shoots up a school, there are a million odd kids who are perfectly
harmless, and whose childhoods will now be ruined by daily parental
interrogations and strip searches.
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.

On 4/12/24 9:25 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
> In article <uvb2ta$2a8hd$1@dont-email.me>, Gary McGath
> <garym@mcgath.com> wrote:

>> Then maybe someone who was banned spread the litter-box stories to
>> gullible audiences in retaliation?
>>
>> The litter boxes for my cats have always been gender-free.
>
> As I recall, it turned out some classrooms in the Jefferson County
> Public School District in Colorado do or did have litter boxes but
> not for the reason the alt-right claimed. It was so that during
> routine school mass shootings, kids waiting their turn to be murdered
> would have somewhere to relieve themselves without spoiling the game
> by making a run for the bathroom.

You've just illustrated another way such stories can come up: by the
game of telephone, where each retelling gets a few more points wrong.

Here's the actual story:

https://www.9news.com/article/news/education/jeffco-schools-have-emergency-buckets-where-people-can-pee-during-lockdowns/73-481198424

There weren't any "litter boxes" in the normal sense. The school set up
what they call "emergency go buckets," effectively an improvised revival
of the old chamber pot, with cat litter at the bottom.

The school district never claimed school mass shootings were routine.
What may have become routine in some places is lockdowns on the
slightest excuse.

Then there's this detail: "Food and candy are also included in the
Emergency Go Buckets to help those who may need sugar during the wait."
*In* them? Yuck, even if the buckets haven't been used yet.

If a shooting was in progress, I wouldn't want to come out of hiding to
reach the bucket. If my pants needed changing afterwards, I doubt anyone
would blame me.

--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com

In article <uvbg4d$2dcin$2@dont-email.me>,
Gary McGath <garym@mcgath.com> wrote:
>On 4/12/24 9:25 AM, James Nicoll wrote:
>> In article <uvb2ta$2a8hd$1@dont-email.me>, Gary McGath
>> <garym@mcgath.com> wrote:
>
>>> Then maybe someone who was banned spread the litter-box stories to
>>> gullible audiences in retaliation?
>>>
>>> The litter boxes for my cats have always been gender-free.
>>
>> As I recall, it turned out some classrooms in the Jefferson County
>> Public School District in Colorado do or did have litter boxes but
>> not for the reason the alt-right claimed. It was so that during
>> routine school mass shootings, kids waiting their turn to be murdered
>> would have somewhere to relieve themselves without spoiling the game
>> by making a run for the bathroom.
>
>You've just illustrated another way such stories can come up: by the
>game of telephone, where each retelling gets a few more points wrong.
>
>Here's the actual story:
>
>https://www.9news.com/article/news/education/jeffco-schools-have-emergency-buckets-where-people-can-pee-during-lockdowns/73-481198424
>
>There weren't any "litter boxes" in the normal sense. The school set up
>what they call "emergency go buckets," effectively an improvised revival
>of the old chamber pot, with cat litter at the bottom.
>
>The school district never claimed school mass shootings were routine.
>What may have become routine in some places is lockdowns on the
>slightest excuse.
>
>Then there's this detail: "Food and candy are also included in the
>Emergency Go Buckets to help those who may need sugar during the wait."
>*In* them? Yuck, even if the buckets haven't been used yet.
>
>If a shooting was in progress, I wouldn't want to come out of hiding to
>reach the bucket. If my pants needed changing afterwards, I doubt anyone
>would blame me.

It now occurs to me the next time I have to shelter in place, I am going to
do it in the 2nd floor washroom I know has a door wedge nearby. I am
also going to try very very hard not repeat the mistake I made last
time, which is to shelter in place in the same room as the armed
person from whom I was sheltering in place from, in such a way as to
block all of his possible egresses.

--
My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/
My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/
My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/
My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll