JAMESTOWN, NY (WNY News Now) – Schools all across the country are facing a similar rumor, that they are implementing a litter box for students who identify as furries, and why misinformation is harmful.
WNY News Now spoke to a self-identifying furry on this matter, and they explained why this rumor is not only damaging to the furry community but also to other groups.
“The furry community has always been a huge target just because of the misconceptions and how people see them, so they’re taking something that’s already a huge target and now you’re putting them in the same category as transgender people which is not fair,” explained Sam Shetland, a self-proclaimed furry.
Shetland, also known as Vincent the Cat, believes that these rumors were spread as a way to target and alienate transgender students.
“I hope it’s fake, it doesn’t sound like anything a legitimate furry would do. I’ve had conversations with some of my furry friends and laughed at that concept just because it’s stupid. Any stable furry is going to know the difference between reality and their character so I definitely think it’s some kind of mockery of the whole bathroom situation,” Shetland said.
The argument of transgender students using the bathrooms they identify with has been a long-time fight, and Shetland believes that these rumors are not helping the situation.
“By grouping them together, people are gonna see that and think ‘oh yeah, these transgender people are being stupid for thinking they can use the litter box bathroom,” said Shetland.
By spreading rumors like this, there is a potential that people could be in actual danger.
“It’s definitely very dangerous, there are shootings at furry conventions and literal attacks on people,” said Shetland. “People are vile, I’m afraid and this kind of thing that is just pushing the stigma of hate. It concerns me because we’re going in the wrong direction and we should be helping each other and becoming a mixing pot in the community.”
The community urges those curious to find facts for themselves before spreading misinformation.
“Do your research first of all, don’t hate somebody before you speak to them and understand why, I think there’s a lot of assumptions,” Shetland said.
WNY News Now has reached out to local schools, and as of right now there is no plan on implementing litter boxes into the school systems.
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