No, Maine students aren't . That allegation wasnt true, either. Not content with panicking about the teaching of critical race theory, conservative parents throughout America have now been gripped with fear about their schools trying to accommodate students who dress up in animal costumes. How my high school AND college found out I was a furry! "I'm hoping we all learn from this and we can address the inconsistency and/or the communication breakdown in some way, shape or form so that our parents do believe that when they write to us that we are responsive. Despite the court losses, the society considers its assault on the Zuckerberg funds to be a major success because it blazed the trail for two dozen states to ban private funding of election administration, according to the memo Thomas More provided. Kline told ProPublica that U.S. elections are among the least transparent and accountable in the world., So far, he said, the proper steps have not been taken.. By Reuters Fact Check. Kids who identify as furries get a litter box in the school bathroom, Maddock wrote on Facebook. READ MORE: The antivaxers' ghoulish exploitation of dead celebrities. Thats not to say furries arent in schools. We need your support in this difficult time. Furries are a subculture of people who craft alter-egos as anthropomorphized animals. Antivax propaganda drives VAERS reports and antivaxers point to increased VAERS reports as proof that the vaccines are dangerous. Dress codes are mostly nonsensical anyway. In Wisconsin, the Thomas More Society is also challenging the ease of obtaining absentee military ballots. The claim is a local school district is putting litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify. It is set to end on Dec. 31, 2024, just after the November 2024 presidential election. The state Supreme Court ultimately suspended his law license indefinitely in 2013 for 11 violations of professional conduct rules, including misleading a judge and grand jury. Updated on: October 31, 2022 / 10:47 PM Kline told ProPublica that he gave the committee over 12 gigabytes of data, including 107,563 pages of documents, in response to the subpoena. She is now unaffiliated and, she says, she is pro-LGBTQ. ", According to her 6th grade niece, she told the district, the kids also "walk on all 4s in the hallway eat with their face in their food" and refer to themselves as "animal avengers. As others in the anti-abortion movement distanced themselves from clinic protestors accused of trespassing, vandalism and sometimes violence, the Thomas More Society defended them in civil and criminal court. She said the issue gained attention on social media once people started sharing photos and videos of the feline costumes and behavior, I started getting videos and messages from kids, and I said, Ok, Im going to post this so parents know whats going on.. At the meeting, parent Lisa Hansen said she was "a lot of . Antivaxers love to claim that 32,000 people have died from the covid vaccine, because there have been 32,000 reports of people dying after being vaccinated. The recorder is close with former GOP secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem, who built a campaign on false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow outright dismissed the rumors. Still, this sounds like a small group of nerdy, socially awkward kids who are going through a phase. This is not the first time Ladapo has misused surveillance data to push governor Ron DeSantis's antivax agenda. She's even more frustrated that school administrators got caught up in the politics. Patterson is an Indiana State Teachers Association board member. In fact, chatter about litter boxes and doggie bowls display a misunderstanding about the furry community, which eats and poops like everyone else, says Sharon Roberts, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo and member of the academic research team Furscience. Ladapo baselessly alleges that increased reporting must point to safety problems with covid vaccines. "It got progressively worse," Edwards told CBS News Colorado. Healthcare providers are legally required to report all major adverse events following a COVID vaccine, whether they're plausibly connected to the vaccine or not. By October, furry fears were making their way into school board meetings. ", But through an open records request, CBS News Colorado found earlier emails that appear to contradict that. COVID vaccines came with much stricter VAERS reporting requirements than other adult vaccines. The first notable instance of furry panic occurred when right-wing activists pushed a false claim about schools in Michigan placing litter boxes in bathrooms to allow furry students to use them, and the bogus rumors about furry infiltration into the public education system have only grown from there. Cat!. The decision came after hours of impassioned public comment both for and against the plan. Invest with us. ", An open records request shows Edwards is among at least two dozen parents who've written the district over the last eight months. Amistad shared the results of its investigations and analysis with numerous organizations who requested it, including the media, Kline told ProPublica. Furries are people who have an abnormal interest in animal characters with human characteristics and who take them on as a "fursona" (an alternate persona) who interacts with other "fursonas" in the community via roleplaying and art. But with a fixation on nonexistent litter boxes and lunch tables, the furry panic turns a thriving subculture into a cudgel against public schools and their students. " [It has been] circulating around the internet for more than a decade: This claim that there is a pandemic of furries in schools eating out of dog bowls or barking and hissing in class," said. The legal machinations havent led to big victories in court so far, and in fact Thomas Mores efforts have sometimes drawn ridicule from the bench. Interviews and records examined by ProPublica show how closely aligned Kline has been with the Thomas More Society. Instead, a furry might play-act the role of a cartoon animal, but when nature calls, shell step out of character and remove her costume to use a normal toilet. Unless theyre actually harming their classmates, I see no cause for panic. After receiving complaints unconnected to the Amistad Project, the Federal Election Commission reviewed the grants last year and determined that Zuckerberg did not violate campaign finance laws, concluding that the grants were awarded to many jurisdictions and did not suggest any partisan motive. Roberts, the furry expert, said the furry community can act as a safe home for young people who might be jeopardized by efforts to ban school books about autism and LGBT issues (like Central York schools did earlier this year). In January 2022, for example, unfounded rumors were circulated on social media . Researchers found they reported "significantly more bullying than the average person." According to furscience.com, 61.7% of furries. But it lumped Kline in the same bucket as Giuliani, Powell, Eastman and Trump attorney Cleta Mitchell saying that in response to Congressional subpoenas, none offered any proof of widespread fraud. We adopted it, Brejcha is quoted saying in the Catholic publication Our Sunday Visitor. The Meade County School district is dealing with an unusual situation: a group of high school students is attending school acting like and dressing as cats. In Pennsylvania, Maine, Michigan, and Iowa in recent months, school board meetings have been disrupted by allegations that educators are giving special treatment to furry students. Most of them refer to the kids as "furries.". VAERS reports guide future research, not shape medical decision-making. Think Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse, they walk on two legs, have hands to manipulate items, and talk. NBC News spoke to three school-age furries who have posted on TikTok about the experience of being a furry at school. She says when her 14-year-old son came home from school and said classmates were dressing up in animal costumes, she initially urged him to just ignore them. "He said, 'but mom they're scratching hissing and barking.' These characters are often created by the community members themselves, who take them on as a "fursona" (an alternate persona) who interacts with other 'fursonas' in the community via roleplaying and art. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg later fumed that Kaardal, the Thomas More Society attorney, filed in the wrong court and failed to even serve the complaint to his adversaries in the suit. First published on October 31, 2022 / 3:15 PM. The Venn diagram between these kids and the kids who Naruto run through the hallways is, I would guess, basically a circle, and theyre probably harmless. Then, people from another district said students are allowed to identify as dogs and wear dog collars. Furries are a subculture of people who craft alter-egos as anthropomorphized animals. This is only reinforced by the fact that it is a predominantly online fandom and you can pretend to essentially be whoever you want behind a screen. I'm a real-life furry and my lifestyle is no dirty 'cat litter box' joke. Some of them have used anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Representatives of Westfield Washington Schools and the districts in. Contributions to the Thomas More Society jumped 82% between 2019 and 2020 to nearly $17.4 million, financial documents filed with the IRS show. Every reader contribution, no matter the amount, makes a difference in allowing our newsroom to bring you the stories that matter, at a time when being informed is more important than ever. Its a decades-old genre and, relative to other available subcultures, fairly wholesome. I realize we have been advised, we have this letter, oh my gosh, but it doesnt sound like it has enough character or meat, Judd said. The first notable instance of furry panic occurred when right-wing activists pushed a false claim about schools in Michigan placing litter boxes in bathrooms to allow furry students to use them, and the bogus rumors about furry infiltration into the public education system have only grown from there. Fargo, Moorhead and West . I was hearing rumblings of this last year, but it really got bad when they went back to school this year. The students are told they cant wear hats or Budweiser shirts in school, but they can wear cat ears, cat tails, masks, leashes. ".It's something called furries. Between December 2020, when the COVID vaccines first rolled out to mid-August of 2021, right-wing media like Fox and Breitbart mentioned VAERS seven times more often than mainstream outlets. Right-wing parents are attacking school boards over furries in the classrooma proxy for the larger culture wars over race and gender. What we shouldn't be promoting is delusion and the idea that personal desire trumps education. Im of the mind, if it aint bad, dont fix it, he said. Furries are a subculture of people who craft alter-egos as anthropomorphized animals. Ron DeSantis and Florida's Doctor Antivax, 'The maths are hard': Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked for not understanding what 'seized' means, Marjorie Taylor Greene garners few sympathizers after claiming she was 'attacked' in a restaurant, 'Thats weaponization': Dem smacks down Jim Jordan for ignoring Trump DOJ corruption, 'Im not gonna yield!' Read her latest reports or check out her bio and send her an email. In early November, an aspiring educator took to Reddits r/teachers board to relay rumors about students in her hometown demanding litter boxes in school. Why are kids being allowed to dress up like animals in our schools? "I have a niece that is lesbian she specifically said this is not an LGBTQ group. an A! 'Stranger Things' Gave Us a D! The letter asked for at least 10 days. Not content with panicking about the teaching of critical race theory, conservative parents throughout America have now been gripped with fear about their schools trying to accommodate students who dress up in animal costumes. In its final report, the Jan. 6 committee did not cite the Thomas More Society or the Amistad Project by name. The move comes after Crosby and Judd for months challenged the countys fall election procedures in ways that drew national attention, including attempting to illegally hand count all ballots and then refusing to certify the election results, against the advice of the county attorney and the secretary of state. Don Bolduc, Republican candidate for New Hampshire senator, is one of the latest conservative politicians to repeat the hearsay that schools are providing litter boxes for . But even then, further research would be needed to determine whether the vaccine is the culprit or an innocent bystander. But it was in Michigans Midland school district, not Central York, that the claims finally caught fire. Kids being dumb: The Meade County School district is dealing with an unusual situation: a group of high school students is attending school acting like and dressing as cats. Getty Images. A furry might draw himself as a cartoon tiger, or dress up as a dragon at a convention for fellow. He said he believes its important to point out the historical perspective that numerous counties have made the decision to transfer duties to the recorder in the past. 13, 2022 4:31 pm. Sometimes, as in the case of Central York, the same people who supported book bans are the same people now promoting furry rumors. Social media users are sharing a video of a Midland Public Schools board of education meeting in Michigan where a community member claimed that litter boxes were . The society and Kline no longer have a formal contract. It names Stevens as interim elections director, an edit that Stevens made to the document just before it was passed. In late November 2020 in Michigan, which Biden won, Amistad attorney Ian Northon petitioned the state Supreme Court to take control of all ballots to allow for a constitutionally sound audit of lawful votes and give the state Legislature time to finish its constitutionally-mandated work to pick Michigans electors.. A Facebook post says schools are putting litter boxes in bathrooms to accommodate kids who identify as furries. But records and interviews show he played a prominent role, working largely behind the scenes, in attempting to stall the certification of Bidens victory. I went to r/furry to ask for advice and their opinion on how to handle this situation but got permanently banned, wrote the Redditor, who is in school to become a teacher. False. Play the long game. In tossing one of the Amistad Projects suits in Wisconsin, U.S. District Judge William C. Griesbach wrote that they offered only a political argument and their brief is bereft of any legal argument that would support their claim. Meow! a group of four people would taunt from the back of the room. Amelia McMillan, a parent in the Pennsylvania district, recognized the four people. Still, Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told Votebeat on Tuesday that historically, Arizona counties have made this type of decision on how to delegate election responsibilities and they should have the right to do so. Its a space for creativity and play, young furries and their parents explainedand like any youth subculture (see: goths and MySpace queens of decades past) some of the allure is in furrydoms inscrutability to adults. While the districts superintendent assured WLWT that this furry gear is, in fact, a dress code violation, that hasnt seemed to ease the worries of the anonymous student who started the petition. (It is unconscionable that this afternoon I am sending this communication, his email to parents began.). But it wasn't until Republican gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl raised the issue in a radio interview - saying "kids are identifying as cats" - that it erupted in controversy. severe restrictions on abortion in the U.S. one of the groups attorneys wrote in an op-ed, nonprofit backed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Federal Election Commission reviewed the grants last year, Gableman got a job with the Thomas More Society, debunked by postal inspectors working with the FBI, subpoena issued to him by the Jan. 6 committee, postpone the counting of the electoral vote, continue to work with and support Amistad, aligned with the American Voters Alliance. Taking the interim job as elections director is the best way to solve the problem, he said. In a Dec. 1, 2020, press conference, Kline talked about Amistads efforts to uncover fraud, saying it had attorneys in virtually every swing state that are working on our behalf.. A furry might draw himself as a cartoon tiger, or dress up as a dragon at a convention for fellow enthusiasts. In one such rebuke, a judge concluded that the real goal of a Thomas More attorneys request was the undermining of a democratic election for President of the United States.. Kline had already been working on a project called The Amistad Journey in his anti-abortion efforts and later incorporated a for-profit company by that name in January 2020, listing his home as its principal office. OFurr, who has traced the origins of the litter box urban legend, dates the hoax to at least 2008. In denying the request, Boasberg ruled that it relied on a fundamental and obvious misreading of the Constitution., It would be risible were its target not so grave: the undermining of a democratic election for President of the United States.. Who cares? May. The money was awarded to communities across 47 states to pay for more staff, training, equipment and outreach to voters on how to safely cast their ballots. Its culture war, its control, and its not about protecting kids, OFurr explains. No, a teacher did not get fired for failing to "meow back" at a student who identifies as a cat. - "Poynter" fonts provided by fontsempire.com. an E! In 2021 and 2022, various American conservative and far-right politicians and media personalities promoted the hoax in response to . Updated: Apr 27, 2022 / 02:11 PM CDT. Nevertheless, the allegations soon spread to Texas, where a GOP candidate (and activist with the right-wing parents group Moms For Liberty) added her own baseless claims about special privileges for furry students. Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. In case after case over the Zuckerberg grants, judges found no merit in the arguments presented by lawyers associated with Kline and Thomas More. not subtle. VAERS data are correlational and unvetted. At the time, the integrity of voter rolls was very much in the news. Kaardal filed at least 18 administrative complaints with the Wisconsin Elections Commission, beginning shortly before the 2020 election. But the rumor metastasized in other states, especially when picked up by conservative voices. One win erases a dozen losses, she said. Fargo School Board member Jennifer Benson told The Forum that a student informed her some schools have litter boxes in restrooms for students who identify as furries. How could we possibly win a war with an army filled with dogs and cats?. So, of course, furries should be allowed into school because there is nothing necessarily wrong with it. On Jan. 2, 2021, Kline hosted a conference call with 300 state legislators in an attempt to disseminate purported evidence of election fraud, according to a subpoena issued to him by the Jan. 6 committee. Both Dunn and Joe Strike, another furry historian and community member . We were told there are students allowed to wear cat ears and tails while other students cannot even wear a hat. Want more right-wing news? These panels would have the power to investigate elections, determine whether laws were broken, force local officials to fund forensic audits by disappointed candidates, stay election results when appropriate and even place localities into receivership to ensure elections are run properly. We are nonpartisan, were bipartisan, but we want the laws to be enforced so that the democratic process is not distorted and destroyed, he said.

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