THROUGH THE LOOKING-GLASS WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
by Michæl W. Bard
©2009 Michæl W. Bard

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   A group of furs local to me have set out to organize a new con. Sounds like a good idea, right? Furs working together for the enjoyment and betterment of all, comradely fellowship being the order of the day, everyone marching side by side for the greater good…
   And if you believe that, I can get you an excellent deal on a world-famous telecommunications structure.
   Some background: The idea of a furry convention in Toronto has been bounced around for years, but thus far, little to nothing has come of it. There’s one whose connection with Toronto consists entirely of transportation issues, and therefore hardly counts. Apart from that? A few years ago, a local fur decided to set up an all-day Furmeet, unimaginatively named after a local landmark plus the appropriate number (the next one is number five). The first few of these furmeets worked fine… until one of the organizers decided that certain other persons, who were possibly helping, were, in fact, plotting to wrest control of the furmeet away from him. Accordingly, said organizer abruptly cancelled the ’meet about two weeks before its scheduled date. Fortunately, it’s back on after some last-minute negotiations and apologies… but the damage has already been done. Now almost everybody is afraid to help, and the background organization (what little is needed) is gradually getting more and more chaotic.
   That brouhaha led to the most recent attempt to create a Toronto-based convention, an attempt which has gone further than the others I know of. But even here… While I acknowledge I’m not directly involved in it, what I’ve gleaned from publicly available information is that the organizers have begun to meet in secret because others keep trying to get in. One of the organizers was voted off the organizing committee because he was underage, which caused all kinds of legal problems; that created days of back-and-forth blame-placing on public forums, even though the reason was clear. Another organizer was removed, apparently because he was continually proposing new ways to get things done while, at the same time, not allowing people to actually get things done. But even if I’ve misunderstood the reason for their departure, the fact remains: This organizer did depart. Which naturally led to more complaints and tears and hate on public forums.
   But wait (as the late-night commercials say), there’s more! For whatever reason, the Toronto con-to-be’s organizers elected not to announce their con’s date and location immediately, declining to do so until late in August. This is hardly unprecedented—the organizers of some of the early Anthrocons also did not announce their date and venue anywhere near as early as they theoretically could have. But precedent be damned; certain furs have spent months badmouthing the Toronto con-to-be, and yelling and screaming that the con must obviously be falling apart because no date or venue has been announced. Some of these disgruntled furs have even made the historically-ignorant assertion that other cons always have a confirmed date and venue even before they announce their existence. Don’t bother looking for specific examples of this bitching; you won’t find it, because it all occured in a discussion forum dedicated to the con that was first locked, and then deleted…
   IPU, but why? A furcon is supposed to bring furs together! It’s supposed to be a fun event that celebrates all the things we care about in common. Instead, all it creates is bickering, and people wanting to be in on it so they can be famous, or because they can do better, or so they can sabotage it for whatever personal reason…
   Well. At this point, all that need be said is that I know furs who categorically refuse to attend any furry event in Toronto, and I can’t say I blame them.
   Do other cons have the same problems? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised. Everybody wants something, nobody wants to be helpful anymore. So much for happy togetherness…


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