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Connecticut Democrat resigns after outed as furry

UPDATE: SoFurry has fixed their tag system so this doesn't happen again.

From the above article:

This is simply a bad UI. "Tolerates" was on the negative side of the preferences. It could have easily gone into the tag filter if wasn't so oddly placed.



I'm not sure to be honest. If you're in any sort of public role, things get dicey. Fantasies/kinks can get weird really fast. It doesn't mean you want to endulge in watersports/etc in real life.
Sorry I'm late, but I will add this to the OP sir
 
I completely get it. But does that make it better? Not a rhetorical question. I'm actually genuinely curious how people feel about someone in an election position who is fine with that kind of content? I know it means you're not supportive of actual rape, but the thought process around it is still troubling, no?

The metric for me is that people who like certain fetishes don't cause harm to others, break the law, etc. If there's some evidence that his fetish affected how he performed his duties, I'd say it was a problem. I think public perception goes a long way, and I can understand why he resigned.

I guess I can recognize where people are coming from with the "thought processes", it seems natural to assume people into rape fantasies would have more wiggle room to excuse actual rape because hey thatsmyfetish.gif. In reality it doesn't work that way for me. You can't help what you're into but you can be aware of your kinks being problematic, and make sure you never overstep boundaries that would make those kinks hurtful, dangerous, illegal etc for other people. I entertain rape fantasies, but I believe in real world situations that rape is always the fault of the aggressor and no amount of alcohol, short skirts, walking around at night alone, or whatever other excuses people make ever makes it acceptable. I've never read a news story about someone being sexually assaulted and felt any positive or sexual feelings about it. Paradoxically, I'm only okay with it when it is a fantasy that can be controlled, and that the participants can consent to. I can really only speak for myself here, however.

I feel like this thread is going to go places, it seems likely that the man in question didn't have positive emotions towards rape ("tolerates" being on the negative scale of their tagging system), but it was an issue with unclear elements on the website that just looks pretty damn bad for him.
 

SeanTSC

Member
In GoT maybe, in other fiction no.

In either case, if someone indicates they "tolerate" a work tagged with rape in a filter, can you conclude from that that they specifically mean they tolerate rape as a fantasy, rape as a narrative, or both? If they liked it as a fantasy to get off, wouldn't you imagine they would put rape in the "like" or "love" column, not "tolerate"?

I notice you also didn't address tolerating murder, which again could be equally vague unless someone specifically tagged that they like murder as a fantasy to get off or something.

I'm not even getting into whether it should be legal or socially acceptable to have a fantasy about rape, which is apparently incredibly common. I'm just saying even at face value, the tag thing seems obvious.

On a site about sexual fetishes? Come on, the context is obviously there and it's not about tolerating it as a narrative device. Plus you used GoT specifically as an example (and badly).

As for violence, I don't have an answer there.
 

Lunar15

Member
The metric for me is that people who like certain fetishes don't cause harm to others, break the law, etc. If there's some evidence that his fetish affected how he performed his duties, I'd say it was a problem. I think public perception goes a long way, and I can understand why he resigned.

I guess I can recognize where people are coming from with the "thought processes", it seems natural to assume people into rape fantasies would have more wiggle room to excuse actual rape because hey thatsmyfetish.gif. In reality it doesn't work that way for me. You can't help what you're into but you can be aware of your kinks being problematic, and make sure you never overstep boundaries that would make those kinks hurtful, dangerous, illegal etc for other people. I entertain rape fantasies, but I believe in real world situations that rape is always the fault of the aggressor and no amount of alcohol, short skirts, walking around at night alone, or whatever other excuses people make ever makes it acceptable. I've never read a news story about someone being sexually assaulted and felt any positive or sexual feelings about it. Paradoxically, I'm only okay with it when it is a fantasy that can be controlled, and that the participants can consent to. I can really only speak for myself here, however.

I feel like this thread is going to go places, it seems likely that the man in question didn't have positive emotions towards rape ("tolerates" being on the negative scale of their tagging system), but it was an issue with unclear elements on the website that just looks pretty damn bad for him.

I edited my original post, which was pretty curt, to reflect the fact that the original article was fairly misleading and that some people in here brought up some great points. This guy's case seems really unfortunate. While not a furry myself, I always get upset that they're constantly the butt of jokes that don't really fit the people.

My verdict on rape fantasy is probably always going to be mixed, but so is my take on the idea of glorifying violence in media. There's a lot of angles to each.
 

SephiZack

Member
UPDATE: SoFurry has fixed their tag system so this doesn't happen again.

From the above article:

This is simply a bad UI. "Tolerates" was on the negative side of the preferences. It could have easily gone into the tag filter if wasn't so oddly placed.

So the article is taking things out of context :/
Well then I kinda feel bad for him; anyone has kinks and stuff, it's just that he was in a position where he could easily be shamed
 
I edited my original post, which was pretty curt, to reflect the fact that the original article was fairly misleading and that some people in here brought up some great points.

My verdict on rape fantasy is probably always going to be out, but so is my take on the idea of glorifying violence in media. There's a lot of angles to it.

Sorry, quoted it when it went up first and took so long typing up a response that I missed the edit. Of course you don't need to like or even accept all fetishes! It was more the insinuation (which I was getting more in other posts but picked yours for some reason) that extreme fetishes must impact your morality or ability to be a good person.
 

Blizzard

Banned
On a site about sexual fetishes? Come on, the context is obviously there and it's not about tolerating it as a narrative device. Plus you used GoT specifically as an example (and badly).

As for violence, I don't have an answer there.
I used GoT as an example because the word "tolerate" indicates one considers it begrudgingly acceptable to consume media even with distasteful or immoral content because of [reasons].

You then acknowledged this by giving a common example of [reasons] -- narrative. You also referenced another common [reasons] -- sexual fantasy.

I still think that if the person actually liked rape as a sexual fantasy, they would use one of the two positive filter columns, not one of the two negative filter columns. Clearly you disagree, so I guess we can't progress further there.


Do you mind sharing your views on rape as a fantasy -- should it be illegal, treated psychologically, socially shunned, or acceptable? It appears to be quite common among both men and women, and I'm not sure what could really be done.

*edit* And yes to the above poster, I've always thought that violence being so common and glorified in media is hugely more harmful than the possibility of a pastie-covered nipple being visible, despite average American opinion to the contrary. And yet violence / murder is everywhere, and I imagine there have to be some people who enjoy it more than they should.
 

Koomaster

Member
Who gives a shit about the furry stuff. He tolerates rape. Fuck him.
And this is why he had to resign. People can't even make it past this in the context of a sex fantasy website online let alone trying to explain it to average citizens.

As posters are pointing out, many of us tolerate a lot of bad behavior in the games we play and media we consume. That doesn't make us future prison inmates and murderers as we don't promote those behaviors nor participate in those activities outside of these fantasy worlds. What makes this situation any different?

Edit
*Reads title*

"That sucks. Maybe furries are weird but it's harmless, it shouldn't effect thei

*Reads OP*

"whoa now"
*throws hands in the air and walks away*
 

Bilix

Member
The screw was turned on Chamberlain pretty quickly after his furry profile became public with New Milford Mayor David Gronbach calling for Chamberlain’s resignation saying public servants are ‘held to a higher standard’.

Read more: http://metro.co.uk/2017/09/09/counc...ife-as-a-furry-exposed-6915116/#ixzz4sb5dTMSP

Fuck off with this shit. We have a bunch of politicians who are actual pieces of shit, and you're calling this guy out for being part of a mostly harmless culture. A shame he resigned over this. He probably could've held out, but I don't blame him for ducking out over this.
 

Extollere

Sucks at poetry
UPDATE: SoFurry has fixed their tag system so this doesn't happen again.

From the above article:

This is simply a bad UI. "Tolerates" was on the negative side of the preferences. It could have easily gone into the tag filter if wasn't so oddly placed.



I'm not sure to be honest. If you're in any sort of public role, things get dicey. Fantasies/kinks can get weird really fast. It doesn't mean you want to endulge in watersports/etc in real life.

Figures. So this was entirely about fetishes in furry porn. Saying he "tolerates rape", is completely different than him placing a rape tag on a list of things he'd prefer to see less of. People overreacting as usual. Of course, there's no way you can explain yourself out of this as a politician, so can't exactly blame him for resigning.

... and on that note, when the hell are we ever gonna get over elected officials being sexual beings just like the rest of us? We're all into some weird shit sometimes. You think our politicians aren't?
 

The_Kid

Member
I mean, from my own experience with furry rp clients years ago, "tolerates rape" can mean anything from "if its part of the story just get it over with for the other stuff" to "I'd prefer not to but I'll incorporate it if it is your fetish." It is honestly just badly worded.

Not everyone roleplays their fantasies and logs off after an hour. Some people have logs with stories they've created that go on for years.
 

hipbabboom

Huh? What did I say? Did I screw up again? :(

Well guess Im never running for office




Now ain't trying to kinkshame (because lord why would I) and think this whole thing is unfortunate, but the bolded is the only really problematic part in my eye


EDIT explanation on why those kinks were on display the way the were:

image.php
 

L Thammy

Member
I don't think he should have resigned, or should have had to resign, but man that article needs to be reworded. It is not helping him any.
 

SeanTSC

Member
Do you mind sharing your views on rape as a fantasy -- should it be illegal, treated psychologically, socially shunned, or acceptable? It appears to be quite common among both men and women, and I'm not sure what could really be done.

I posted my thoughts on it already. I think that it's harmful and helps to normalize rape and shouldn't be an acceptable fantasy. People should be better educated about Rape and not sexualize it and have fantasies about it.
 

brian577

Banned
I posted my thoughts on it already. I think that it's harmful and helps to normalize rape and shouldn't be an acceptable fantasy. People should be better educated about Rape and not sexualize it and have fantasies about it.

So what exactly is your solution? We start registering people with rape fantasies as sex offenders?
 

Bilix

Member
I posted my thoughts on it already. I think that it's harmful and helps to normalize rape and shouldn't be an acceptable fantasy. People should be better educated about Rape and not sexualize it and have fantasies about it.

I don't agree that it does normalize it. Fantasy rape is far different than actual rape, mainly because it's not rape at all. Unfortunately, we don't have any studies to back up our claims (at least not that I'm aware of).

Edit: I'm aware that there's different ranges of fantasy rape, and that ones that depict it more realistically could be bad.
 

Wulfric

Member
Sorry I'm late, but I will add this to the OP sir

No problem. Hopefully the context of the filter system makes sense, but I can understand why some posters will have a gut reaction to this sort of stuff. I'm totally against kink shaming, but stuff like this will be an instant turn off to a large group of people. Undoubtedly so if you're a public official.

And thanks to the mod who changed the title. The original article didn't explain things well at all.
 

Blizzard

Banned
I posted my thoughts on it already. I think that it's harmful and helps to normalize rape and shouldn't be an acceptable fantasy. People should be better educated about Rape and not sexualize it and have fantasies about it.
Sorry, I missed that, I see now.

In that case yeah, I think you would need some sort of massive education campaign that could somehow convert 1/4 or more of the population to no longer fantasize about it. :/

Heck, if I recall correctly from one of the fantasy surveys, incest is obviously immoral, and yet it's a shockingly common taboo fantasy (hello Game of Thrones again, though of course again some people may only view that aspect for the narrative).


It's oddly similar to how I feel about violence. I feel that massively common and/or glorified violence in the media normalizes violence and shouldn't be as acceptable as it is. How would society go about changing that? I have basically no idea. I'm not in the "violent videogames make you violent" camp but I do think it can desensitize people.
 

SeanTSC

Member
So what exactly is your solution? We start registering people with rape fantasies as sex offenders?

No? I said we educate people, right there in my post. Sexualizing a violent, horrific act that we have a huge problem with in the world is not ever a good thing. There shouldn't ever be something sexy about Rape. We need more education about sex and consent and rape in general and the lack of education is one of the reasons that it's such a problem to begin with.

Reading isn't that hard. Really, it's not.
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
No? I said we educate people, right there in my post. Sexualizing a violent, horrific act that we have a huge problem with in the world is not ever a good thing. There shouldn't ever be something sexy about Rape. We need more education about sex and consent and rape in general and the lack of education is one of the reasons that it's such a problem to begin with.

Reading isn't that hard. Really, it's not.

Does being into vore somehow make cannibalism more attractive? I'm not saying some people who have rape fantasies won't actually rape someone but when people are partaking in this fetish in the real world consent is the name of the game. That's why people have safe words and the like so that they can stop the whole thing if someone is feeling uncomfortable. A huge part of this is about trusting your partner as are most things revolving around BDSM fetishes.
 

The_Kid

Member
Also I mean the morality of an rp scenario doesn't necessarily translate to a real world scenario. Some people like to be kidnapped, beaten, snuffed in rp but their real life sexual activities are rather mundane in comparison. Its not as easy as saying that someone doesn't mind a tag so they wouldn't mind it in real life. It wouldn't translate.
 
... and on that note, when the hell are we ever gonna get over elected officials being sexual beings just like the rest of us? We're all into some weird shit sometimes. You think our politicians aren't?

I generally agree, but most of the time politicians are crucified for sexual matters it's because of impropriety (sleeping with a subordinate) or actual illegal stuff, rather than just "being into weird shit". But all public figures have weird societal expectations surrounding their behavior, which is why there's such a market for the lurid aspects of their lives.

I don't agree that it does normalize it. Fantasy rape is far different than actual rape, mainly because it's not rape at all. Unfortunately, we don't have any studies to back up our claims (at least not that I'm aware of).

Perhaps, but it's worth noting that there are a lot of people who do feel that way and even put it in the same (or similar) category as fantasies involving children, and this alone is why making such a thing public is probably not going to result in an indifferent shrug from the public.
 

Kenstar

Member
Also I mean the morality of an rp scenario doesn't necessarily translate to a real world scenario. Some people like to be kidnapped, beaten, snuffed in rp but their real life sexual activities are rather mundane in comparison. Its not as easy as saying that someone doesn't mind a tag so they wouldn't mind it in real life. It wouldn't translate.

But judge Randy, how can you preside over this case of kidnapping if you have a bondage Kink? Won't hearing the details give you a boner and make you declare the defendant innocent because thats how kinks work?
 

SeanTSC

Member
Does being into vore somehow make cannibalism more attractive? I'm not saying some people who have rape fantasies won't actually rape someone but when people are partaking in this fetish in the real world consent is the name of the game. That's why people have safe words and the like so that they can stop the whole thing if someone is feeling uncomfortable. A huge part of this is about trusting your partner as are most things revolving around BDSM fetishes.

I'm not even going to pretend I can get into the mind of someone into Vore. Way above me and no personal experience with it. It's really not something I can wrap my head around at all.

On the other, I have personal experience with what I have been talking about. As have most of my sisters and most of the women I've known personally and have shared experiences about it with. The worst I've encountered was someone getting passed around to their parents' friends as a tween/teenager for years.

I can't really accept Rape fantasies as something healthy to have.
 

collige

Banned
No? I said we educate people, right there in my post. Sexualizing a violent, horrific act that we have a huge problem with in the world is not ever a good thing. There shouldn't ever be something sexy about Rape. We need more education about sex and consent and rape in general and the lack of education is one of the reasons that it's such a problem to begin with.

Reading isn't that hard. Really, it's not.

People can be fully educated and still have rape fantasies and/or be into CNC.
 

Kinsei

Banned
No? I said we educate people, right there in my post. Sexualizing a violent, horrific act that we have a huge problem with in the world is not ever a good thing. There shouldn't ever be something sexy about Rape. We need more education about sex and consent and rape in general and the lack of education is one of the reasons that it's such a problem to begin with.

Reading isn't that hard. Really, it's not.

Education has nothing to do with it. You can know full well the atrocities of real rape and still have rape fantasies and be into con non con.
 

Bilix

Member
'Rape Fantasy' is just another form of dom/sub. You may be surprised that some people like to be the sub in the situation. It's got bad PR for having the word rape, but there's zero actual raping involved. It's different and that peopel aren't actually going to commit acts of rape in real life, much likes doms aren't strapping random people down and whipping them.

How many people watch porn that depict bad scenarios such as paying for x with sex or seducing a teacher/student, or incest (Ted Cruz)? Does that normalize that?
 
Yiffstar took down a politician

I've seen everything now
What? Do I want to know?
Saying he tolerates rape is kinda like saying a Christian tolerates cannibalism.
I laughed. Would be me as a teen if I had a FB page. "Christians are down for some cannibalism every Sunday, on the same person. Poor Jesus."

After reading this thread it seems like it's a miscommunication of a website not properly labeling things? Pretty shitty.

Also, even I know that he's not 'advocating' or 'tolerating' rape IRL, for Christ's sake. It's a BDSM thing probably and uses safe words and all that jazz if he and his partner wants to do stuff. And they're free to do so in my opinion, whether or not he is a furry.

But dude, hide your fucking tracks man. Being a furry makes you a scumbag somehow (sadly) so you need to be careful especially if you are going to be in the public eye.
 

Violet_0

Banned
we will unleash Fire and Furry on our enemies

I feel for the guy, though. It's a harmless hobby that is just a bit too weird to find mainstream acceptance yet
 

Wulfric

Member
sofurry.com used to be yiffstar.com

i spent a lot more time on it back then

Oh, I didn't know that.

But yeah, it's so easy to hit "like" or favorite the wrong thing. That's why you don't attach your real name to stuff like this.

He had his name on his Deviantart profile for crying out loud.
 
Even as someone with no particular fondness for furries, this seems absolutely insane to me.

The screw was turned on Chamberlain pretty quickly after his furry profile became public with New Milford Mayor David Gronbach calling for Chamberlain's resignation saying public servants are ‘held to a higher standard'.

Town Democratic chairman Peter Mullen added: ‘Literature is one thing, but this kind of stuff takes on a whole different level.'

"Professionalism" in this country has run amok. People aren't allowed to be people anymore, lest they attract the scrutiny of busybody buzzards and face the wrath of the nanny state. This mythical "higher standard" doesn't actually exist, and is comprised of people who are simply better at hiding their dirty laundry.

As long as my city's officials are doing their job well, I could care less what they beat off to.
 
I'd say I'm too old to know what any of this is, but the dude in the article is comparatively old as dirt... so I guess I'll continue to live in blissful ignorance.
 
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