Imagine getting on a commercial flight and you discover that your pilot, flight attendant, the mechanic that worked on the plane, and the air traffic controller are furries? What would you do?
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) who is running for governor of Alabama - is warning you that there are official “clubs” for furries who work in the aviation industry - including airline pilots.
On the Senate floor this week - Tuberville said, “Lord help us. It’s terrifying when you think about this. When you walk onto a commercial flight, it’s possible that the pilot flying your plane could have a deranged fetish of dressing up like an animal.”
Jacob Wasserman of TMZ asked Sen. Tuberville, “If you’re a pilot and you’re good at flying a plane, but you act like a cat, as long as you’re a good pilot, I mean, who really cares?” Tuberville’s response: “I don’t want somebody flying me that, behind the scenes, they think they’re an animal.” The senator went on to say, “It’s some part of mental illness that could be a catastrophe."
OMG! This Sen. Tommy Tuberville is exaggerating the situation just a little!
For those who aren’t exactly sure what a “furry” is - here is the definition: A person who has an affinity for human traits for a non-human thing - like an animal, a god, or an object. Furries are people who have an affinity for animals that possess human-like features and characteristics. It’s called anthropomorphic. It is not a mental illness as Sen. Tubberville would like to believe. People often become furries as a hobby or to be part of a subculture and can be the result of exposure to cartoons or art, in general.
I’m writing this blog to expose Sen. Tuberville and people like him - as people who condemn anything they don’t understand. The fact that they don’t understand it doesn’t make it a mental illness or anything remotely dangerous. Now, I don’t understand the desire to be a furry - but I will also not condemn people who do something I don’t understand in the privacy of their home or in the privacy of a convention.
There are organizations for people in the aviation industry that include - The Air Line Furries Association - The Furry Association of Flight Attendants. Their missions are to promote all aspects of aviation safety and to respect the collective interests of all furries and they defend the rights and privileges of our community members in the industries we serve. Sounds really dangerous, doesn’t it?
I first became familiar with furries when my girlfriend and I were staying at a hotel that happened to be hosting a furry convention. We noticed that there were people walking around in these cartoon-like animal costumes and we saw them entering meeting rooms. We finally figured out what was happening. While we thought it was strange - neither of us were judgemental or scared or thought these people had a mental problem. They just looked like a group dressed in costumes having a good time. No one tried to recruit us and they did their thing and we did our thing - but the “people-watching” was off the charts!
So let’s set the record straight on Sen. Tommy Tuberville. These are the people - and they are usually far right-wingers - who assign mental illness to anything they don’t understand. And these are the people that want to tell other people how to lead their lives. Honestly - if I had to lead a life congruent with someone like Sen. Tuberville - I would wonder if I would want to live or die of boredom. Sen. Tuberville can lead his life and he should shut up and let the rest of us lead our lives. I’m not into being a furry - but I’m sure the senator would disagree with aspects of my life and I really don’t give a damn.
But in his campaign for governor of Alabama - Tuberville is appealing to the average voters of his state. And there are many people in Alabama who have the same opinion as Tuberville.
And what if the pilot of your commercial flight is a furry? If he or she knows how to fly the plane and knows the emergency protocol - then who cares what they do in their private lives? I’m sure Tuberville wouldn’t want a left-wing radical who believes in socialism flying the plane either. In fact - who knows what Tuberville does in his bedroom. He might be totally kinky and have weird fantasies and maybe even a foot fetish! The point is - who cares as long as you don’t bring that to work with you. Some of the kinkiest people dress in suits every day for work. Do you know what cross-dressing men wear to work - usually suits and ties?
So Sen. Tommy Tuberville - mind your own business and stop catering to the dumbest voters and if you are a true conservative then you would know that conservative ideology is based on power of the individual to make decisions concerning their lives - and that does not concern you.
