scars
Dark Angel
Posts: 96
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Post by scars on Jul 4, 2008 15:25:50 GMT -5
Maybe the tone of questioning, ask not interrogate?.
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Post by kareshi on Jul 4, 2008 15:28:24 GMT -5
nobody likes the heat, but when does it become the questioneers fault for someone having problems with lukewarm?
To Ladyangel, something you don't understand or wish to question?
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Post by ladyangel on Jul 4, 2008 22:56:37 GMT -5
As much as you'd like to think I would ....I don't Im good  |
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Post by kareshi on Jul 5, 2008 9:21:33 GMT -5
who ever said I would hope you don't understand? As a matter of fact I am very happy that you say you do understand.
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Post by non-sequitur aeon on Jul 5, 2008 22:50:32 GMT -5
Getting back on topic. It's long winded but please do bear with.
What I gather as the most comparable 'group' of people to otherkin are furries. This has nothing to do with therianthropy mind you. It's something that most likely began as extremely 'isolated' groups of people that found one-another over periods of time (most likely in small pockets)...and probably figured themselves to be the few who thought that way. When the internet started to take off however...the notion became much more known. On one side, furries were able to find other furries (i'll ignore the implications...). On the other, hecklers were able to find furries (along with most every other group to poke fun at).
The dilemma is that i can almost guarantee that there were more furries after the internet started. Not just because of the creation of the name, but interests/thoughts spread. This can be applied to otherkin. The key difference is that furries represent a fandom whereas 'otherkin' represent a 'spiritual species'. Which is just as subjective...
The trolls will come. All we can do, i figure, is either ignore the issue entirely (both trolls AND fluff-kin)...which will turn the otherkin concept into a load of garbage that will be buried until the storm clears. Or we can alienate all otherkin claims, point fingers, interrogate, and ultimately create the type of dogma many kin are trying to eliminate. OR we can use a moderate approach, define terms, assist and accept...without blindly believing. (and just ignore the trolls.) My tone obviously approaches the 3rd as the most viable option...
The issue of who 'is' and isn't. No one can be told, or make such outrageous claims. The common ground we all have is that we feel different in some way (whether otherkin or not). I assume a great deal of such is mere teen angst, blended with a perhaps too-healthy fantasy diet (something the pagan community deals with quite often...many seem to deal with it in the invention of solitary paths vs traditions....then those that are truly of such path will have the longevity to figure things out for themselves). The only way to get a 'feel' for one another is offering moderate levels of critique...merely as a contrast so others have an opportunity to explain themselves. Unlike the pagan community; otherkin do not have novels, covens, traditions, dogma of any tangible sort, 'testing', or experts/history from which to call upon (texts such as the bible are noted for mentioning nephilim and the such...but it's pretty thin).
Scars, the community really isn't designed to assist those like yourself. Moreso those like (kiera i believe...i'll change if wrong)...who are either newly awakening (in an otherkin sense) or going through some sense of 'awakening' in a more traditional sense. Either way it's something we all can relate to...and this is the direction it's taken. I personally feel obliged then to continue to view an almost dead board, respond long-windedly to threads of my own creation, and do what i can for others....but that's just my nature. (By the way kiera, i'm not saying what you are or aren't...you're just the example that came to mind....and it's not my place to say what you are or aren't :-P).
A forum is for discussion, difficult questions are natural and can be ignored if one pleases. Further heckling makes one worse than the trolls...but that's rarely been a problem here. Scars, that's where those like yourself can find something worthwhile here...by sharing what you feel comfortable with divulging...your experiences can assist others. Moreover, it may help you organize your own thoughts. Those that lurk may also be assisted in such a manner...the more intelligently we can articulate our claims...the more valid they may feel. I'm not singling you out, again just an example.
It's just disheartening for 'otherkin' to say they don't care what happens to the community as a whole...it obviously won't change those who've become 'set' in their own understandings...it's moreso the effect it has on what's becoming a more macro-level concept/phenomena. I find myself saying, 'if that's how you feel that's great....but why would you be on a forum? there must be something worth preserving?'. I've said before that I could find that i'm not otherkin, that we're all self-fulfilling dreamers and that it's one huge RP to deal with mundane stress...and that it wouldn't change the way i live my life in any way. I've decided what my nature is...and this is the best definition i've found. We're not trying to define YOU (universal 'you') so much as we're trying to find common ground...we can discuss the more outlandish claims but we're going to have to be able to intelligently "back-it-up"/articulate...because none of us have the experiences the others have...so it's necessary to know how one has come to the conclusions they do...in order to have a conversation. Otherwise we're just blogging to each other....and face it....no one thousands of miles away gives a damn about any of our blogs :-P.
it for now, let's keep this one going though
-auriel
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scars
Dark Angel
Posts: 96
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Post by scars on Jul 6, 2008 16:16:35 GMT -5
Assist those like myself?...myself being what?. *confused*
Iknow who i am..not newly awakened..erm..what else would i be?.
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Post by kareshi on Jul 6, 2008 17:06:24 GMT -5
that's actually what he said:
"Scars, the community really isn't designed to assist those like yourself."
meaning that you are awakened, and that it is geared to help those who are new to the idea. As a secondary point to this, this is not to say that the community has nothing to offer to those who have passed that introductory phase. There is always more to learn, both of ourselves and of others. C'mon, we didn't all start out on day one knowing everything we do this very moment, and we'll probably learn a lot more by this time next year.
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Post by ladyangel on Jul 7, 2008 1:01:05 GMT -5
So the point is?  Cause Im confused now. |
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Post by non-sequitur aeon on Jul 8, 2008 13:16:10 GMT -5
What i'm essentially getting to is that otherkin have begun to (and will continue to) become more mainstream...whether or not anyone likes it. What are some brainstorms and the like for how to effectively create the best possible scenarios. Also, as most here are used to letting pop culture take its course with little affinity. Would you be any more (or less) likely to publicly define yourself as a kin....if it was socially acceptable? this is the point...we just strayed a bit |
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Post by ladyangel on Jul 9, 2008 14:45:24 GMT -5
Okay Yes I understand now.
Thank you for clearing that up for me. I really mean that. Cause I like to learn and understand.
If that is the case though I still do not think I would join the main stream really. I have become so used to hiding it and keeping it to myself not sure join the party so to speak.
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Cause Im confused now.