Flipping Furries

[PauliesWalnuts]

Went out for the day with a mate to Haworth, and decided we'd do the steam train route to get there. Headed down to the platform at the local station after we'd bought our rover ticket only to be greeted by about twenty furries. The vast majority were in full fur, with a few just in tails and masks.

JFC what a load of selfish morons. They annoyed the entire train, freaked out kids and dogs, ruined other people's photos, and at Oxenhope when the train stops for about 20 mins for photos, snacks etc, they monopolised the cab, in and out, taking photos, and nobody else had a chance. Health and safety was an issue due to these idiots slowly trying to climb in and out of the engine unit in full costume (and struggling to do so). What struck me was how entitled they all acted - very flamboyant, not leaving people alone, striking poses everywhere, very much wanting to be the centre of attention. A few pride and trans flags tied round people's necks, big old blokes with tails poking out their jeans, a lot of them being very touchy-feely, trying to explain themselves and their ethos to other users who weren't really interested - made everyone else feel pretty uncomfortable. I thought they just did this stuff at conventions and comic-cons and stuff?

Yes I can't really see how to stop this. Disruptive behaviour could be dealt with on a case by case basis (although this is not at all easy for the poor volunteers). At least they are spending money I guess.

Time to get the “no animals on the seats” signs up!

Not the best photo and I’ve had to black out a couple of the guys who just had a tail but there are four or five on there.

🤣

They really need to rename the "rover ticket"

That one in the high-vis is really convincing.

😂 yes that's the best one

Stop the world, I want to get off.

I'd have told them to fuck right off if one of them had approached me. I can't stand all this fetish rubbish. I divorced my last husband because he got into a load of fetish crap and felt compelled to go to town in latex and high heels. What an ass.

We need to bring back social shaming; grown men shouldn't be exhibiting their sexual fetishes in public. It's disgusting.

I appreciate the live and let live argument but I have never seen groups of goths or women in mini skirts behave in this sort of manner

"What struck me was how entitled they all acted - very flamboyant, not leaving people alone, striking poses everywhere, very much wanting to be the centre of attention"

Groups of people attempting to dominate public spaces can be obnoxious, especially if they are pushing a message this is why public demonstrations are regulated and monitored.

I concede it is difficult to know where to draw a line but I certainly think there is problem here.

This seems a fair summary

The Furry community unfortunately has a bad reputation as a result of the actions of a small percentage of the community. The online community is known for being extremely Toxic and due to numerous members being banned from various forums and chat rooms they tend to migrate from platform to platform.
Furries often find themselves marginalized or even barred from sci-fi and fantasy conventions due to their reputation for drug use, sexualization, and general debauchery. Many hotels have gone so far as to outright ban Furry conventions from their premises due to problems in the past.
Parents often take issue with Furries at conventions due to their association with sexual activity and drug use, and because their costumes can be mistaken for mascots or childhood Cartoon characters. While most in the furry community are harmless, a few incidents have marked the entire community.

https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/xjeo0m/eli5_whats_exactly_a_furry/

due to numerous members being banned from various forums and chat rooms they tend to migrate from platform to platform.
As indeed they did at the railway, migrating from platform to platform using their rover tickets.

I have friends involved in this community, and I haven't been brave enough to ask them if it's sexual for them - but what little I've dared to google, a high % of the community are gay men. Certainly my friends are, though they have asked in the past if I am in the community, and I most definitely am not, so I don't think being male is compulsory!

It sounds like the problem was with their behaviour, rather than the fact that they were wearing silly costumes. Did you complain to the guard or any staff? If not, I'm curious why?

Also curious what they were doing when you say not leaving people alone?

How have we come to a place where adults dressing up is a significant hobby?

I feel like our culture is becoming infantalized, as well as sexualised.

Fucking hell. My youngest and I are autistic and scared of mascot type costumes where faces can’t be seen. I’d have been asking for my money back. I fucking love steam trains too. I went there as a child and have fond memories of the bright yellow tshirt my sister bought me. Those freaks of nature are cocking their legs up and pissing on our heritage and culture. Were they rabid? I hear there’s no cure for rabies.

What load of tossers. That would have ruined my journey too.

In the interests of fairness, I would probably have been similarly pissed off by a raucous hen or stag party, or really any other big group with bad manners.

Thank you @defrazzled for sharing, and @PauliesWalnuts for the awful evidence of what it was like. Of all the places you don’t expect to find a a furry group outing…

Well they were up and down the platform at each station, taking photos and posing by the train in two big groups, getting in the way of other people’s photographs, and trying to engage with people who didn’t want to know or care. We went on the steam train as we were going to Haworth anyway and my friend is local and wanted to, but a large demographic of the other passengers were men of pensionable age and their spouses or equally train loving mates. A lot aren’t local so it’s a big deal and they wanted to take a photo of a train without these ridiculous men running and giggling up and down the platform. As I said in a previous post there is time at Oxenhope to have your photo taken on the footplate, but they were hogging it for a good twenty minutes - partly because it took them so long to get on and off in their kit - and not letting any of the (non-furry) public do the same. I did complain to them at that point, so that an older guy could get up there which I was accused of being “mean” about.

I think essentially wearing a mask is very disinhibiting, even the ones that weren't would have been empowered to behave like tossers because their friends were. There's also the power imbalance, they were masked and mob handed, you weren't, didn't know who you were talking to and couldn't even make eye contact.

The combination of sexualization and infantilization is grim.

Yep, more red flags than a Soviet May Day parade

🤣🤣🤣

Any more photos..I'd of loved to see this .. would of been funny ..
Why do you think or why is it a sexual thing ..
Are they genuinely thinking they are an animal .
I'm don't understand this .. probably understand more in winter. Bet they don't wander round like that in summer

It's probably a mental health issue,I expect..I mean ,it's normal for adults to wear children's dressing up clothes in public,or at all..but like the cross dresser who waits for his wife to leave the house before wearing her make up and clothes