Is It Worth the Effort to Challenge Misconceptions about Furries?

Papabear,

I have met some people who have the wrong idea about the fandom and think that looking at furry pictures will make someone have sex with a animal,and i'm like no. Furries don't do that stuff at all. I know furry fandom shuns those who abuse animals. How do i let people know that their views of animal abuse are totally wrong?

Anonymous (age 38)

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Dear Furiend,
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Once people get an idea into their heads it is really tough to expunge it. You could probably tell them your side of it until you're blue in the face and they will not believe you. Many times it isn't worth your time and energy to bother. It's like with racism. There are people out there who feel, for example, all Muslims are terrorists and all Mexicans are lazy. You could spend hours, days, years trying to tell them otherwise and they won't believe you. Another example would be people who believe the Bible and that Earth is only 6,000 years old. You can take them to museums, have them talk to archaeologists and paleontologists, give them books to read, and they will still believe the Bible. Why? Probably because they were raised to believe the Bible is the Word of God and contradicting it is sinful. You see, emotions and upbringing tend to trump science. This is not 100% true. Sometimes you can actually alter a view, but is it worth all the time and trouble?

That said, the best way to increase the odds of changing a bad attitude about furries is for the people who have these views to actually meet and get to know furries in real life. They have to, of course, want to do this. You can't make them. Prejudices and misconceptions are born of ignorance, and people often hide behind walls of ignorance to protect their belief systems, even if those beliefs are wrong, because it scares them to think that they were being lied to all their lives, and they lack the courage and self-esteem to think for themselves.

So, in short, while it is possible to change beliefs (this applies to strong beliefs not little beliefs like persuading someone to try a different flavor of ice cream), the chances of success are slim and the possibility of succeeding will mean considerable expenditures of time and effort on your part. You need to ask yourself, then, if it is worth the trouble. It might be if, say, the other person is a spouse or parent; it might not be if they are just a passing friend or coworker.

Hugs,
Papabear
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