That's crazy...

I mean, I wouldn't want to dress up in a pokemon suit, but threatening the girl with a cattle prod? Crazy.

The people should not be afraid of it's government. The government should be afraid of it's people. -V

I think what originally happened was that someone in the audience didn't like her costume, and started making fun of her because of it, and they may have gotten into a shoving match. However, I think the cattle prod part didn't actually happen.

Quamp's discount manga/anime fan fiction
The Texas Conventions a Collection of artwork I've collected over various conventions.

That's... insane. I mean what kind of petty loser hassles people because of what they're wearing, let alone threatens someone with a cattle prod over it! I mean sh*te on a pogo-stick, what kind of messed-up lunacy is that?!?

EDIT okay sans the cattle prod it makes more sense, still what pathetic jocks.

"And just like that, it was over... The last flames flickered and died amidst the rubble of an empire[.] As the smoke rose into the blackened sky, we realized that the world we had known was gone forever." - Eric "Doc" Griffin on the fall

Damn if someone threatened me with a cattle prod I'd shove it up their butt!

Shoot, If I saw a pokemon I'd hugg it. They sre soo effing cute!

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LIES!!! LIES AND FRUITCAKE!!!!

...

That's the most pathetic thing I've heard all day.

What a waste of life...

I am kind of torn... Between "LOL" and not quite being able to believe that con-goers would do that to a fellow fan. Racism/Animal Cruelty/Bullying. Seriously people attacking people because they are of a different religion or a different skin colour is one thing, but because they are wearing a pokemon suit? What the f*ck is wrong with these people lol?

Tell me that was a joke so I can get on with my life. o.o

I know there are plenty of fine and decent anime conventions out there and there are plenty of fine and decent college organizations out there, but I think this shows with the explosion of anime cons in the US there is a misconception that anyone can run an anime convention and so the proper amount of planning for such an event is very poor.

Plenty of staff from other cons are more than willing to give advice. Hell I'm sure that there are college advisors that could have give some good advice too.

Now I'm sure that there is some pure rumor involved, there's goofy rumors about the best of cons, but I also think there's some truth involved as well. I've seen plenty of conventions go through needless growing pains, that other conventions could easy had warned the new con about ahead of time.

BTW, I notice there's some slight confusion between the term Furry and Cosplayer. If the original story is correct, it sounded like the con had issues with Furries and not Cosplayers. Cosplayers like to dress up like there favorite anime/manga character while Furries like to dress up like well animals. Furries alot more complex than that (and there's some sexual undertones invovled) but it's a bit different to put it politely and even some of the more enlightened of us have a hard time wrapping our brain about the Furry lifestyle. Still doesn't excuse the behavior at the con though.

It wasn't a joke, but prehaps I didn't word it very well.
What I meant was, racism is wrong, stupid, ignorant and downright disgusting, but discrimination towards someone because they are wearing a furry suit just takes that stupidity to a whole new level.

Ah... okay, okay, I see. :)

You did word it pretty badly, didn't you? ;p

How is a pokemon suit worse than a Man-Faye?

I love furries...

Anyway, this kind of weird discrimination amongst outsiders seems to happen a lot. It reminds me of the way some people in the gay community hate the transgender community (which is usually closely related and the two usually fight together against discrimination) because they think trannies are freakier than them... We're all freaks, folks. Stop trying to assert your dominance as the least outside of the outsiders.

Pull down the future with the one you love.
~Television.

Damn. That's so paradoxical it's sad.

Trying to visualize this is all very hard.

What's really sad is that when this sort of thing happens (i.e. con-goers vs cos-players vs. furries, Gays and Lesbians vs. trannies, Communists vs. Anarchists) it's all in this vain attempt to assert themselves as belonging to the culturally defined in-group - the mainstream ideal (here in the states it's middle-class, white, heterosexual, Christian males). It shows that they view their outsider status as a burden and a curse rather than as a gift to be celebrated. They lament in their role as the outcast and long to be just another drone, feeling that what their lives lack isn't purpose or self-determination or freedom but the luxury of obliviousness. Deep down this out-group "othering" (trying to prove yourself the "normal one" at the expense of the "freaks") is nothing more than a comment on these people's own insecurity and selfish fear.

I dunno, maybe that's just because my exile is self-imposed. Case in point came up in a conversation I was having with a gay friend about being an outsider. He resents it and is kinda confused by me. He turned to me and said, "The difference between you and me is that you chose this."

"And just like that, it was over... The last flames flickered and died amidst the rubble of an empire[.] As the smoke rose into the blackened sky, we realized that the world we had known was gone forever." - Eric "Doc" Griffin on the fall

We don't know for sure if there was a cattle prod involved, or what the whole truth is for that matter. All we can be certain of is that there was some incident involving a young woman dressed as a pokemon.
I say we should allow the con to investigate this thuroughly before jumping to conclusions. Don't take everything you read as gospel. (That kind of thinking got Adolf Hitler made chancelor.)

Quamp's discount manga/anime fan fiction
The Texas Conventions a Collection of artwork I've collected over various conventions.

Oh, Sinn. I know people like you, too. They strike up a conversation about how cool it is to be different and how much they love not being in the mainstream and how much normal people suck, and they're shocked that I just seem tired of it all... It's not that I don't like myself the way I am or that I hate being outside all the time, it's just... I'm tired. I'm tired of having to come out of the closet every single time I meet someone new and having to worry about how they'll react, I'm tired of being the cute novelty and the weirdo and not the person... I would never turn my back on someone weirder than me in hopes that it would make me seem better to Joe and Jane Public, though.

It's not even really deep-down, sometimes it's very blatant. People in the gay community ostracize certain groups (like gay guys who fit the limp-wrist stereotype, especially butchy women, ect) within the community because they see them as a threat to their fight to being seen as normal people.

It's one of those little things in human nature that really gets under my skin. I wish everyone who's outside because of something they can't help or something odd that makes them happy (like cosplaying) would take a deep breath, look in the mirror, and say "I am not normal. I can not change that. But I am happy. And I should not change that."

Pull down the future with the one you love.
~Television.

Now that's worth taking as gospel, assuming, of course, that "normal" is a term valid for use in any form of discussion. Normal is a standard that is subject to change, after all, which people place a lot of importance in because their livlihoods depend upon it (or so they believe). What's normal at one point in time may not have always been normal or may not be considered normal later.

You have to wonder if the compulsion to ostracize others in order to feel one's self a part of the majority is not more of a defense mechanism bred by society than a part of "human nature," so to speak. The fact of the matter is that people feel that something is being threatened by the presence of such-and-such and so-and-so, something that may not be as great in importance or jeopardy as we are led to believe by our social environment.

I'm not particularly fond of the ideas of trying to fit in or trying to stand out. I feel it's just enough to be true to what I believe and feel, regardless of how far from or near to the "norm" any one of my actions may be considered by others. If I'd cared to know what they thought, I'd have asked for their opinions.

That cannot be true. That whole story cannot be true. It is true I’ve only been to one con in my entire life, but cattle prods? A whole gang-up of the staff? Not only is the cattle prod illegal, but that is not what I know about most con staffers. Most of them are just doing their duty, are generally pretty nice, and some even dress up as well. The question I have is: why is this person adding details and changing facts? That makes her unbelievable, and that makes me question any part of this story at all. Changing a story to make yourself seem more dramatic and make people want to pity your situation more is a sad, pitiful fact within itself. It is true, there are rude staffers out there. I can even see a few people being rude about her costume. But all the staffers being rude? The next question: why didn't she ask for their manager? The manager above that? Instead of posting her (incredible) story online, why didn't she talk to someone at the con about it, instead of going online and wasting our time trying to read this fantasy?

And re the normality: one person's view on normality is different from another's. Normality is a hard idea to grasp, and frankly, a waste of time. Nothing in this world is normal. Get over it.

.:suzu-chan/killijoy/Joeys Cupcake:.
.:"No time for goodbyes," he said, as he faded away. "It's hard to imagine, but one day you'll end up like me." Then he said, "If you want to stay alive, hold on for your life.":.

Even realizing that this girl is most probably making the majority of this up, I quite frankly still get upset. Whether true or not, it reminds of the fact that there are in fact people in the world just as stupid if not stupider than the characters in her tale. There's a lot of truth to be found in lies--it's why we still cry when some fictional non-person in a novel dies.

Anyhow, the term "normal" wouldn't exist if it couldn't be applied to something. Nothing is "normal" for all human beings, all social groups, all nations, or what-have-you; but what's considered normal within any one given group is basically what everyone has observed to be common, the way most people are or the way things tend to be. People make the mistake of believing that the "norm" is an example of how things are supposed to be rather than just a display of how they just happen to be for the most part at any given point in time. The norm is predictable. The norm is safe. People are frightened by the unsafe, which initiates the "fight or flight" response: hide from it or attack it.

Unfortunately, it takes the less dependent of us to simply accept it.

I just came on here to say this:

I was surfing the intarwebs and came accross this thread.
Just so you know, I wrote that letter and it is, in fact, true.
I didn't take it up immediately with staff because it was staff that harassed me then and during the convention. It was some random staff member that had the cattle prod, not security. I have since been contacted by the convention and they are attempting to make things right. I'm sick of the whole thing, actually, but I don't know how I feel about them "banning furries" especially when I was dressed as a damn anime character in the first place. Not sure what's gonna come of all this, But you can read some of it on the anime punch forums. I'm supposed to have a meeting with them in the near future--apologies and all that.

Anyway, yeah. I don't like it when people start saying I probably made stuff up when I didn't. This is just for "the record", as they say. Type y'all later? Purrhaps.

-CBK

-Nya.

I apologize for any offense any of us might have caused by questioning your story. I'm sure you can see it as only natural considering how outrageous the whole idea seemed to some of us.

Nah, it's cool. I know how ridiculous the whole thing sounds.

-Nya.

Phew! Thats a good thing!

Well, the thing I didn't add in was all the hype and embelishment people did. Another message I saw on a message board had the cattle prod changed to a gun, and it said shots were fired. Another message said that a bullwhip that was used in addition to the cattle prod. In addition the date of the incident - April 1 - is usually a day when pratical jokes are played. I do apologize if you feel that you were accused of making this up falsely, but I felt that some of the things didn't completely add up. I never intended to say that it was complete fabrication; I intended that this was a serious incident which had a lot of distortions on it and that we should reserve judgement until the truth comes out.

Quamp's discount manga/anime fan fiction
The Texas Conventions a Collection of artwork I've collected over various conventions.

That's outrageous! I believe that some parts of this happened, but I can't truthfully say all of it is true. It may be, it may not. Still, this is all very illogical and sad.

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Brilliant.
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Shameless plugging, hurray!