Would you want your child around adults who dress up as cartoon animals for kicks? More importantly, would you want your child around a 32-year-old that dresses up as a raccoon that wants your children at his cartoon animal cosplay convention?
David Kanaszka, the 32-year-old in question, absolutely thinks you should. He’s one of many “furries” currently protesting a law passed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis which would keep kids from furry conventions — and, in a bizarre interview with Fox News’ Jesse Watters, he proved exactly why the law was a good idea.
Just so we’re clear on what a “furry” is, it’s an adult that likes to dress up like this and go to events where other people dress in similar get-ups:
Wild Might #FursuitFriday pic.twitter.com/ko4EDWZ3Ki
— ⛩️????-麿⛩️➡️SGP?? (@furry7mikoto) June 2, 2023
That was a wonderful evening, thank you @VexWusky @CrystalDust6 @LilNoodlz @/Rapha_rox @GhawkMaar @snowyboiadam @/mcluis.
Many hugs and cuddles for all of you from the smol lynx
?@LaakoLynx ? @whitewingsuits.#furry #fursuit #FursuitEveryday #fursuiter #furryfandom pic.twitter.com/PhrmldDnKC— LaakoLynx ? ÖRLI / Canfur / MFF (@LaakoLynx) June 7, 2023
DeSantis isn’t targeting furries specifically. Instead, furries are kind of collateral damage in Florida’s new law which prohibits adult performances taking place in the presence of minors.
The legislation was aimed at drag performances, but part of the issue is — well, let’s just say part of furry conventions are basically like “Looney Tunes” rebooted for Cinemax after dark. These people really like anthropomorphic cartoon animals. Really like them.
[firefly_poll]
That’s part of the reason why, according to Rolling Stone, organizers of furry convention Megaplex in Orlando announced last month that they were barring minors from the event.
The bill, according to Mediate, bans “knowingly admitting a child to an adult live performance” which “in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, or specific sexual activities.”
Kanaszka appeared on Watters’ show on Monday to argue against the ban — and made the incredibly wise decision to wear his raccoon get-up, which hid his face, while insisting the conventions weren’t lurid.
“I’m hoping it’s fun for everyone around me. The joy of bringing smiles to everyone’s face is really the only reason that I like to do this,” he said.
“Getting, getting smiles and bringing people happiness in all sorts of ways. The furries, I know specifically, are great at art and dance and theatrical performance, and it all – it all brings with it.”
“I guess this is just good, clean fun — different strokes for different folks and all — but there’s also a sexual undercurrent at the events,” Watters said, before showing a video of a furry being spanked.
WARNING: The following video contains content and language some readers may find disturbing.
WATCH: Fox News Host Jesse Watters interviews a furry on live TV.
This is what Fox News is doing without Tucker Carlson… pic.twitter.com/1MQqqxAkBY— The Western Journal (@WestJournalism) June 6, 2023
“So now, thanks to DeSantis’ new law, kids are not allowed to go to an upcoming furry convention in Florida, and the furries are furious,” he said, asking Kanaszka: “Why do you want kids around people dressed up as squirrels being spanked?”
“Uh, me personally, I don’t. I think that it’s definitely an adult-only environment for that. The furry conventions themselves don’t have anything to do with that, though,” he responded.
He also said that the paddling in question happened at a restaurant close to the convention and that the restaurant had a “Germanic tradition” of spanking its patrons.
As for the conventions themselves, our raccoon friend insisted they were clean as a whistle.
“The furry conventions themselves are really about community and bringing people together,” he said.
“You know, a lot of us were not so socially … uh, uh. It’s a little bit tough. You know. It’s easy to make fun of furries.”
You don’t say.
Kanaszka isn’t fooling anyone who is even familiar in passing with the furry phenomenon, which doesn’t just have a small segment of fetishists but a streak of fetishism running throughout the community. Whether this played out at Megaplex is anyone’s guess, but the convention certainly didn’t make the decision to ban minors in a vacuum.
And, as Watters himself said, it’s not like Kanaszka was doing his peeps any favors: “Do you blame yourself at all for being misunderstood?” he asked. “I mean, you’re the one dressed up as a raccoon.”
A good question — and one without a good answer.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.