I think there's something to be learned about parasocial relationships from this w***_l*** fiasco but I'm not sure I have the right words for it.
I can only crudely sum it up as "When you hold strangers with good art and connections up to a high standard you will be disappointed"

This is a complex topic to think about because furry is, at the end of the day, a largely anonymous community. Anyone chased off can ultimately delete any and all past content and basically start over from scratch. Everyone's a stranger here.

When you have a bunch of shitty stuff attached to your name, you're completely free to tear everything down, cover your tracks, and start fresh. So really, we have no idea if anyone we've interacted with or looked up to has skeletons in their closet. It's near impossible to tell.

People are people. We like to think that every artist and content creator we look up to is some sort of practically flawless being who does no wrong and only thinks what you think they should think. That's not reality.

Am I frustrated that shitty people are endorsed by not-shitty people? Yes. Do I think that a not-shitty person endorsing a shitty person automatically makes them shitty? I don't actually know.

I don't feel like I have the right to be mad at an internet stranger for not feeling the same way that I do. At the same time, who you endorse can reflect on your personal values, but I don't think that it should blemish your entire character and all of your work forever. Hm.

Everyone needs to remember that your favorite fandom figureheads don't owe you anything. It may feel like there's an unspoken black-and-white moral template. There's not, and any expectation that the people you look up to have to fit into your boxes is dangerous. Period.

At the end of the day, we don't know these people. We don't know their moral barometer, we don't know all of their values, and we don't know how they apply these to decision making. And I think is tremendously unfair to use our own feelings as the be-all-end-all for others.

I'm not saying that we should just let any and all bad actors and dangerous people get away with everything because we don't know how they tick. Actions have consequences. If you fuck a dog, you're gross. People won't like you cause r*ping dogs is disgusting.

But, I don't think throwing the baby out with the bathwater is the answer here. Of course, you're free to curate your experience online however you like. I just can't get behind demonizing people who have shown one instance of badly placed empathy.

My head hurts. I'm going to think more on this privately, but I'll end this thread with something more concrete.

I don't support w_l. But I can't exile people I look up to who feel differently than I do. The value they have given me outweighs who they decide to forgive once.