Felt like adding on to this….
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“They’re supposed to be children. They represent children. If you find those characters attractive, it’s because they look like children. Simple as.” – I’ve heard this argument from Antis a lot, here’s my counterpoint:
“They’re supposed to be ANIMALS. They represent ANIMALS. And if you find those characters attractive in any way shape or form, it’s because they LOOK LIKE ANIMALS… they have Tails, Pointy Ears, Fur All Over Their Bodies, Cute Paws, Cute Muzzles, etc… YOU LIKE THEIR ANIMALISTIC VISUAL FEATURES… simple as…”
So does that mean every person who is attracted to a fictional talking bipedal animal is automatically a Z-phile?
I don’t personally think that’s the case… I think those folks are FICTOPHILES, because what that person is attracted to is cute fictional cartoon characters, not something which actually exists… Being attracted to CARTOON CHARACTERS has no direct logical rational connection or correlation to either P-philia or Z-philia (at least not in my personal opinion).
Liking a CARTOON DRAWING or having “impure thoughts” about a fictional talking bipedal animal doesn’t make someone a terrible evil despicable person.
What makes someone a terrible evil despicable person is when they DO BAD THINGS AGAINST REAL ANIMALS, OR REAL KIDS….
Comparing and conflating these things doesn’t make any logical sense. MOST people can understand the Difference Between Fiction and Real Life…. anyone with functioning eyeballs can discern the Difference Between a Two-Tailed Fox, and a Real Person.
“they represent kids, they look like kids”
Really? DO they?
Show me ONE talking sentient being on THIS earth, in THIS reality, in THIS dimension who looks 100% exactly like Tails the Fox or Klonoa… can you do that?
It’s like saying “Plushies look like animals, and if anyone does anything lewd with a Plushie, then really they’re no different from a Z-phile.”
Riiiiiiiight…. sure…. and anyone who eats a Vegan Hamburger may as well have committed Cow Murder! Because it’s not about what that thing ACTUALLY IS, or is ACTUALLY MADE OF… it’s all about the “concept” …right? – the “concept” of a Hamburger is evil, regardless of whether it’s made of Plants or Real Cows! Right, Twitter Goofball?
No, that’s not an entirely accurate analogy – it’s more like getting mad at a DRAWING of a Hamburger… one that nobody can eat without also ingesting the paper that it is drawn on and the ink that it was drawn with.
Also, the idea that someone who looks at Furry Art or Cub Art will go out and do crap to Real Animals or Real Kids is something called a “Gateway Drug Theory.” You’re saying that one will lead into the other, but that’s not a proven argument with any kind of scientific studies or peer-reviewed data to back up the claim.
Then there is of course the “Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc” fallacy that is part of this argument. I don’t think a Furry Comic such as Sheath and Knife has the magical power to compel or induce someone to do crap to kids in real life. Just like I don’t think Violent Video Games have the magical power to turn an otherwise sane and normal person into a bloodthirsty Columbine Killer. Again, MOST people have a conscience. MOST people understand the Separation Between Fiction and Reality.
But even on the off-chance that some moron DOES read S&K and they go out into the Real World and do something stupid, I am not going to pin 100% of the blame for that on Harmarist, because the ARTIST did not personally whisper in that idiot’s ear and tell him to go out and do that. Blame the person who actually committed the crime and NOT whatever Comic Book, TV Series, Movie, Video Game or Music that person was consuming…
If we started banning entertainment mediums simply because of the POSSIBILITY that someone might try to imitate it In Real Life, then a large chunk of what most people consider “harmless” would be GONE…
Can’t have anymore Wile E. Coyote cartoons, some poor idiot might try to walk off a cliff thinking that they’ll just hover in the air so long as they don’t look down!
Can’t show Beavis and Butthead on TV anymore, some dumb kid might decide to copy their stunts and wind up getting hurt!
Do yah see where this could end up going?
It’s just a repeat of the same history of censorship, and the target of it is always different:
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Fredric Wertham hated Comic Books and thought they would turn kids and teens into violent monsters.
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Tipper Gore and her PMRC hated Rock and Rap Music and thought it would turn kids and teens into violent monsters.
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Jack Thompson hated Video Games and thought they would turn kids and teens into violent monsters.
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But PEOPLE are to blame for THEIR OWN ACTIONS…. not some convenient scapegoat.
A furry comic doesn’t have the power to MAKE someone do something… THE PERSON chooses their own actions.
