Therianthropy Day 2018 (November 23)

(2018-11-05 22:42)WolfVanZandt Wrote:  The vampire community is very interested in the therian community and interested in working with us, but I've never met a vampire that appreciates being lumped into the otherkin umbrella and, apparently, the underlying processes that make them vampire are not the same that makes a therian a therian.

Very true. Therian is what I am, an identity. My vampirism is something I need to do, not something I identify as. My vamprism doesn't change my humanity. My theriotype does effect my humanity in a way I want to dig into further.

(2018-11-05 22:42)WolfVanZandt Wrote:  I'm not a therian because wolves exist, I'm a therian because I exist. Whether there are dragons or demons somewhere else in the vast universe is absolutely irrelevant to therianthropy.

Completely agree; this is how I feel too.


As for the day itself...let's just say that having a mal partner we never went to any Pride for good reason. I do not want to be associated with the kind of behavior I see displayed at gay prides. I'm afraid something such as this might be the same. I don't know, I hope I'm wrong.

(2018-11-05 18:14)WolfVanZandt Wrote:  Somebody suggested to Therian Nation that their videos were too dry and they needed to post some "fun" videos to draw in young people. Evidently, to many online therians, therianthropy is about fun. There are fun videos running out our ears. The powerful thing about Therian Nation is that it's respectable. It's like a news cast (well, it's like news casts used to be.) It presents therianthropy with integrity. I surely do hope that they don't take the posters advice.

I agree with this. As a youtuber myself I know I'm one that rather is at the 'fun' side. I try to make short videos and while I'm able to give a lot more detailed info like dates etc just as Therian Nation does, I rather keep it simple and easy explained as I know many newer (regardless of age) therians watch me and they do not always enjoy seeing a Lot of detailed info in once. I heard many times how that's discouraging and how they didn't want to actively study the history, terms etc afterwards anymore or couldn't understand it. As it was too much/difficult at once, overwelming. I try to be both as correct as possible, short, easy and fun. Aka trying to make a few jokes, play with images or interpretentions or laughing, setting where I film etc.

but while I myself am a bit more at the 'fun' side. I very often advice Therian Nation in both my videos as my describtion. This as they're the perfect youtube that is detailed, concrete, correct and as you say, a bit like the news. This is what many need and I heavily advice others to watch. I'm scared that if they'd throw in 'fun' they'd lose a bit of that serious-level they have now. That clear, correct info that we need so much in this info. If people don't like how they're so serious, then there are still plenty enough fun youtube channels to watch. But otherway around, Therian Nation is the only serious informative channel that I know (that is correct). We need them, and I wouldn't want to see them change!

I might be their opposite in a way, but that's exactly why I need their side too. And advice it to others.

WOOF!
PD

Woah, Woah, everyone hold your horses (No offence to the horse therians).

I understand we all want to know more about Howl Moon and why we celebrate it, but we are getting waaayyyy out of hand. Think about it, we seriously just went from talking about what Howl Moon is and what we want to know about it, to talking about our belief in ourselves as therians.

I'm not saying this because I'm trying to provoke, but maybe we could talk about this in a different thread?

Also, the vampire community wants to work with us?!?! Why?

Anyway, just wanted to point this out...

You don't think that how we represent ourselves in public on a holiday is important?

Vampires and weres have been associated as far back as the early 2000s. Maybe earlier. They've considered themselves cooperative communities the whole time. It might have been that stupid "war between weres and vampires" thing triggered by the Underworld movies (If they're going to think a movie is real, why can't they pick better movies than that?!) that got people wondering, but a large vampire website - PathwayToDarkness - was almost as much therian as vampire.

And I think we were talking about Therianthropy Day.

Almost all holidays are, at base, commemorations. They are to remember important events and people in a community's past, and that's important. A strong community needs roots and there are several ways that communities anchor themselves in time and place. Commemorations are one way. Folkway rituals are another. Public art, stories.... We're no different. We need time to remember what and where we are.

It's good when holidays are fun but I despise the secularization of holidays because it's a good indication of the moral laziness of modern humanity. They can't be bothered to take anything seriously. They've drained the blood out of what makes us people.

If we are going to be a community (or, I should say, if new weres and others are going to become part of our community - we already have a community) they need to have an awareness that we flow back into the past and have an extension into the future.

Listen, I understand what you think I am saying, but you misread it.

I am just curious about why, because this is the first time hearing this.

I honestly don't mind what people do in public on a holiday. To me, it's no different from any other holiday. So I honestly don't care. Like I said before, I was confused, Zef explained it to me..

Edit: Also, I misread everyone else's stuff and thought we were getting off topic

(2018-10-01 18:10)BearX Wrote:  Additionally, there's a holiday which falls on the same day, made up by a 7-year old who is interested in wolves called "Wolfenoot", which has a whole mythology with gifts and roast meat and wolf spirits. It's cute, but I'd suggest keeping it separated from the therian community. Many folks in the Tumblr community are gravitating to it, and I suspect aren't considering that it's a 7-year old and his mother having fun with an idea and are trying to appropriate it. It's unfortunate because it falls on the same day as "Therianthropy Day" this year.

This is actually causing problems. Wolfenoot has gone viral. I think people are confusing the two. I've posted an image about Therianthropy Day in a few Facebook groups and have been met with "Wolfenoot!" and "What about Wolfenoot?" and "This day is too specific to wolfkin". Another person replied, "What do you mean the "first howl"? Not all Therians are wolves." I think some of these were said because those individuals were thinking of Wolfenoot. I have replied with history, trying to explain that the days are not the same thing. More people have known about this kid's made up celebration than they do about Therian history. Not enough people are concerned with building up our community. And have responded negatively to Therianthropy Day. One person said they won't celebrate because it just encourages more kids to wear tails and howl at the moon.

Many people on Facebook responded in a way that suggests they know nothing about our online community history. One person wrote,"I don't think I can put value in this day because the movement started further back in the 70's at least in a public setting." To which I replied that Therianthropes feel that we should be able to acknowledge our independent history and not have it completely subsumed by Otherkin.

I also did inform a few that Otherkin Day is considered by many to be on July 9. https://frameacloud.tumblr.com/post/147145533459/otherkin-day

There's actually not a "Therianthropy Day" page on the wiki yet. One of us should add it and all of this history about the different names the day has gone through.

On a more positive note, I'm working on a cinematic poem that I will be releasing on November 23. I'll post a link to it in this thread.

Thanks for sharing! I feel so excited about celebrating my very first Therianthropy Day this year now! I didn't even know that we have such a special day *shame on me*

(2018-11-18 13:22)Blackwolf Silverpaw Wrote:  I didn't even know that we have such a special day *shame on me*

It's more shame on folks like me, I think. It's irresponsible that our history is being lost and distorted. Those of us who know it need to do a better job of making it available.

@WolfVanZandt and @Wolf_Daughter are doing a great job with their sites and spreading knowledge, but a lot of the therians who were around in the early days aren't around online anymore, I took nearly a decade of hiatus myself -- the offline therian community is far more important and active than I think most folks give it credit for but is by nature disconnected from the online one. This creates a vacuum in places like Amino and Tumblr where those folks with knowledge and experience are in short supply, and there is a general disinterest in going back through the various archives that exist to learn more.

It is having the effect of fragmenting the community into two groups with vastly different knowledge of our history and of what therianthropy is or isn't. Maybe we need to be louder...

Traditionally, young people don't care about yesterday or tomorrow. They live for the present. "Young" has extended much longer, even within my life time. As people get older, they start considering their roots and where they and their people are going. Some of the offline community was the online community of yesterday. (I'm very surprised at how many were never online.) I'm hoping that, as the online community grows up, they'll begin appreciating their roots.

---

So, Bear, do you know who started the Werelist? It wasn't Coyote and he can't think of the guy's name. It started with B. When it was started, it was literally only a list. People signed up to let other weres have a way to contact them. When it became of forum, it was just for news. When people started using it for socializing, Coyote broadened it out into a forum.

(2018-11-18 0:22)Wolf Daughter Wrote:  There's actually not a "Therianthropy Day" page on the wiki yet. One of us should add it and all of this history about the different names the day has gone through.

Done. Sorry for clashing with your edit. I am done with the changes for now so feel free to change anything (and hope the broken wikia editor doesn't destory the article).

https://therian.wikia.com/wiki/Therianthropy_Day

LP,
Dusty