Once and a while here at Furry Times we actually receive submissions. Some are as simple as a comic or a video. Very seldom do we get submissions like this. This is something that had to be said, by someone directly involved. I as Editor decided that this article deserved to be it’s own post for the day. We will be back to normal tomorrow.
The Sermon by TC Polecat
The Sermon
Welcome one and all to the First, Last, and Only sermon from the Church Of Polecat, a non-religious entity that is going all in on this terminology. To those who don’t know what the “Church of Polecat” is, let me state that it was/is simply a circle of friends and amateur artists who supported each other when times were difficult, mostly just for moral (or immoral) support that resulted in a lot of idea sharing, skill swapping, and just being there for each other at a time of life when things were confusing and we were still discovering our little place in the world. Named I believe by the infamous Vikki Rubbervixen, tho if I am incorrect then I apologize to the true inventor of the name, as it’s been lost to the years and my poor memory. But what could warrant my dragging out what was a semi-joking name in order to use it in this fashion? Because a sermon is a call to action, frequently about religion, but very much a call to action or to just do better. So what subject could I be on about?
“Moral Panic”
Show of hands, how many people here in the US are familiar with Moral Panics? If you’ve been alive in the United states, I can guarantee you’ve had to deal with it. If you’re as old as I am, born in the 70’s, you likely have clear memories of the various moral panics over Heavy Metal, the Hippy Movement, counter-culture, Dungeons & Dragons, Rap Music, Video Games, Fetish movements like BDSM, Gay Marriage, and even Furries. So moral panic has been around for as long as I can remember here in the United States. Any shift from the status quo was accompanied by hand wringing, clutching of pearls, cries of ‘won’t someone think of the children?’ and somehow the worst behavior from otherwise ‘rational’ people in positions of power, often those with religious influence. Frequently these moral panics seem to come from the religious fundamentalists of the world. I still have memories of the little “Chick Tract” comics printed by Jack Chick and distributed around the country to lament the evils of D&D, which famously represented the game as a gateway into Satan worshipping and witchcraft, and that’s to say nothing of the other topics he would cover as well.
For those of us living here, and I’m sure also easily seen across the world, there’s another big Moral Panic going on. This one is heavily focused on the LGBTQIA+ (Apologies if I missed any there) communities. I’ve seen a focus on the Transgender aspect quite heavily as part of it, but that could just be how it’s affected me and those around me personally. But I am noticing most of it is focused on teenagers. Y’know, the people who are most trying to find their own answers in life. I’m old, but I can still remember that part of my life. Back when I first started discovering the fetish community, I started to realize that the ‘normal’ answers weren’t working for me. A few years later I also started to find my way into the furry community as well, another moral panic of the day. I mean, us older furries will easily remember the constant zoophilia accusations, the frowns and the cries of “why can’t you just like normal girls/boys?!” I knew some artists whose families actually would straight tell them they couldn’t be trusted around household pets! To hide from that, I was informed the newer generation are using the name “Therian” instead of furry, and all this before we even start talking about BDSM and fetish. Some of you may not remember that before movies like The Matrix how taboo stuff like latex was. How fetishes were literally classified as a mental disease for a long time! Thus little groups like the “Church of Polecat” happened. Most without fancy names, just like minded friends seeking solidarity in a world that seemed intent on trying to destroy our budding identities because they scared someone. Because those that couldn’t, or wouldn’t understand, would try to destroy what they saw as deviant. I freely admit I was extremely lucky here. My family, while not always understanding, was always extremely supportive. But I KNOW how lucky I was because I knew artists whose families would destroy every picture they ever drew. I knew of one whose family forced him to witness them burn it in a bonfire, with a pastor present saying prayers to cleanse the poor guy of “demonic influence” all because he liked to draw furry pin-up art. Yes that is an extreme case, but to my knowledge that artist never picked up a pencil again.
So we have a generation who is doing what we all did in the past. They are finding their own answers about their own identities. Asking questions in ways the previous generations did not, and coming up with solutions of their own. Y’know, pretty much what they SHOULD be doing. Just as we did back in the day. But like every ‘good’ moral panic, notice it’s not coming after us. It’s not even glancing at those of us who are older, we who have survived the fire. No, it’s going after those who least deserve to be vilified, the least equipped to fend off the hatred and fear and undeserved anger. And that is why I’m writing. Because they need our help. Now I’m not saying we answer the questions for them, it’s their choice and their answer to find! That’s what the fear driving the Moral Panic wants to do, to limit, or totally remove their options. That is not our job, that is not our role. Our job is to pass on the wisdom of how to endure, and how to survive the panic stronger. We who have survived the events we have, need to place ourselves once more into the fire. To show this generation how to endure it. To protect them from as much of it as we can. To be the people they can turn to for shelter when it gets too hot. They will earn their scars, just as we did, but they do not have to be alone! The fight for ourselves might be finished, but now we step up and help them fight for themselves! And I don’t just mean some of them, I mean ALL of them. Give them the freedom to find their own answers. I can guarantee they won’t find the same answers we did. They have different lives, information has evolved since the 80s and 90s, when I found my answers. But they deserve that chance, and we have NO RIGHT to take it away from them, moral or otherwise. We cannot let this discourse be controlled by fear. I’ve been doing what I can for that. My two Nephlings (Gender neutral term for a niece/nephew) have been dealing with it themselves, and I do what I can to help. I know the elder identifies as non-binary, and the younger one is still exploring their options, but at least one of them is Therian, as they like to use Dog-like personality traits as a method of relieving stress. That’s all to say nothing of someone I view as damned near an adopted sibling who is going to be traveling out of the country for bottom surgery in the near future, the end of a path that actually started with the discovery of an extremely aggressive cancer that fed off the body’s testosterone.
But I find that with the sickness I outlined in a previous post, my body can’t keep up as I would wish. I’m losing too many steps, and so I’m lifting my voice to ask for others to help. My voice is the last thing I have left now. So I am using it to ask for people to do the right thing: to protect those who cannot protect themselves. To be the shield they need, the confidant that the moral panic is trying to steal from them. To make sure they have the right to make their own decisions and the ability to find their own answers. That’s all I’m asking for.
Before I sign this off, I want to make one final point very clear here. This is not a political post. I want it very clear that I intentionally kept politics out of the discussion to MAKE SURE this information could be spread as widely as possible. I mentioned no names, only deeds (Mr. Chick died in 98, so has no bearing on the conversation). I will also say this next part with every fiber of my being and ounce of my soul: Doing the right thing is not political. Now is the time for the furries to stand shoulder to shoulder with Therians. It’s past time the BDSM Triskelion was added to the pile of gender affirming flags. The time to act is upon us. I can only hope this sermon has encouraged at least one of you to act with your time and energy. Good luck and Godspeed to any who are able.
– Polecat
(Follow up: I will post this with a second link to a google documents page. I would encourage that link to be shared anywhere you feel appropriate. Let it flourish and spread, as I believe the message to be that important: https://docs.google.com/document/d/19mXyk6VKYN-d5ZlQxi5THpXI2n6TaL79jboMZm11Fds/edit?usp=sharing)
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