Whenever I attend a sporting game and see our beloved mascots, Boomer and Sooner, I cannot help but think how they are pretty much “socially acceptable furries.” I mean, people LOVE Boomer & Sooner and their charming, witty personalities. There are pictures taken with them, people smiling around them, and all around having a good time. HOWEVER, when it comes to those who dress up as their own animalistic character, the crowd goes mild! From receiving death threats online, to being the butt of everyones’ jokes, furries are not the majority population’s cup-of-tea. I am here to finally break the stigma against the divided identity between mascots, which are socially acceptable furries, and furry furries, those who dress up with their own character and go spread their culture to other like-minded furs.

The division between mascot and furry lies in one key term: capitalism. It is a capitalistic idea for mascots to be a brand, to not be an authentic selves to their furry is someone who spends time, money, and resources to perfectly craft an original character from their mind, spending many sleepless nights to perfect their craft. We see this division in capitalism from artists’ having their craft ridiculed or mocked due to lack of monetary compensation they typically receive. While the giant, corporate brands slaving the working population to a 9-5 for forty years of their lives receive the praise from the government and the public, the arts get underfunded, ridiculed as a joke while many of these great artists have to give up on their dreams in order to have food placed onto the table. Even in a simple comparison to furries, we see the division and the doubles of being a human in the United States of America, and seeing the pain we have to sacrifice in order to make a living. MASCOTS ARE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE FURRIES!!