Furries. Goddammit.

When I was a child, the adults told me I could be whatever I wanted to be. They were lying.

I wanted to be the shortstop of the New York Yankees, but my lack of genetic athleticism and poor eyesight pretty much killed that dream when I was in middle school. I never had any other real dreams of grandeur or star reaching goals. Apparently I learned to be pragmatic at an earlier stage than other people. 

It's a nice sentiment, though. "You can be whatever you want, child, the world is your oyster." I guess, technically, that is true. Nobody knows what the future holds, and nobody knows a result until an attempt is made. That's why schools offer elective classes, special programs, and activities to expand the horizons of children, so they can figure out for themselves what they like and potentially what they want their futures to look like. 

Schools also provide social interaction. Social interaction is important because without it, especially these days, kids can get lured into parts of the internet that nobody has to see. The dangerous parts. The parts adults tend to hide from. At least, the adults that aren't terrible. 

Of course, some kids are behind the eight ball a little in their development, making "You can be whatever you want to be" a falsehood. That sentiment then becomes something else, something more muted. Of course, as an adult, you can't say "You can only be one or two things, sparky. Sorry." You don't want to be rude. So you promote their fantasies and interests and try to get them to focus on the schoolwork that they need to do to reach whatever aspirations they might fancy. 

These are the kids that I work with. Mostly, they are great. They try hard, they work, but they get frustrated and don't deal with that very well. They take a little more time to fully comprehend their work. All that is okay. Really. In fact, these kids are so grateful that there are adults there to help them that they are more than happy to share facts about themselves, lives, and dreams than you would EVER want to know.

Of course you have to build trust and have a basis of honesty for these kids to open up. It's not like an old person who just goes in about their fluids to anyone in earshot. However, once one of these youths thinks you are okay to talk to, boy howdy, do they tell you things.

An assignment came along the way about hopes and dreams for the future. A what-do-you-want-to-be-when-you-grow-up type of writing assignment. Most kids had very basic answers. Teacher (noble), Army guy, astronaut, professional wrestler, etc. 

Then I read one boy's paragraph. It started thusly: "I want to be a furry."

That's where I stopped. Nope. No. Just...just no. You can be whatever you want. Except that. You can make whatever choice you want. Don't make that one. Don't make the worst choice. Sex weirdos in mascot costumes? No way. Kid, you're 11. You need more supervision. 

Then I continued reading. "My mom says I shouldn't be a furry because it's not a real job." Mom is right, listen to mom. "I think being a squirl (sic) would be fun or a cat that jumps." 

That's where I stopped again. I went over to the child. I had questions.

"Hey bud. What's with the furry stuff?"
"They seem nice."
"Have you met any of them?"
"No, just pictures. I like cats."
"So...why, though? Why dress like a cat?" I should mention here that I am no mental health professional by any stretch, but even I could tell there is some underlying stuff here that might make someone veer to that particular side of weirdness.
"I don't know, I just like them. I don't think I want to go full cola though, just Diet Coke."

The fuck?

"What does any of that mean?"
"I think I'll just be a part time furry."
"That's...uhh....ok."

THE FUCK? I had to get away, as my inherent and justifiable fear of furries persuaded me to get the hell out of that conversation. I had just seen someone, a child with so many choices available to them, make the worst decision and there was nothing I could do about it. I was helpless. . Luckily he has time to walk this back and be something else. Anything else. Literally anything other than white supremacist is better than furry. Be into weather. Cars are something that people like. Fantasy baseball. There are myriad other things other than fucking furry. Exotic fish if you want to keep with the animal vibe. Not birds, though. Fuck birds. 

I'm also disappointed in his choice of character. A cat? You can do better than that, you strange little person.