Quartz sync: Jul 15, 2026, 6:07 PM

.obsidian/types.json

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+{
+  "types": {
+    "aliases": "aliases",
+    "cssclasses": "multitext",
+    "tags": "tags",
+    "date": "date"
+  }
+}

content/fnn/BARQ Public Statement.md

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+---
+date: 2026-07-15
+publish: true
+tags:
+  - furry
+  - barq
+  - babyfurs
+  - furry-drama-cycle
+  - anthrocon-2026
+---
+
+Full text of the public statement, as posted to Twitter July 15, 2026, at 10:14 AM EDT:
+
+> Apologies for the long wait.
+> We want to give some clarification on what happened last week with the posting and removal of our statements regarding Flame and the babyfur community.
+> 
+> At Anthrocon, the BARQ!Cast held a panel where Flame was invited as a guest. After that panel we saw Flame making hateful comments toward the babyfur community on X. Because this goes against everything BARQ! stands for, we decided to quickly put out a statement distancing ourselves from Flame.
+> 
+> This was agreed upon by our social media team and directors. Looking back at the first statement, we felt it was too vague. We decided to post a second one, which was also agreed upon by all involved.
+> 
+> A day later we found out the second statement was only posted on Bluesky. We tried to fix that apparent mistake by posting it on X too. When our social media team noticed the new posts, they told us they hadn't posted it to X on purpose and in a panic, they deleted both statements from X and Bluesky.
+> 
+> What followed was a lot of confusion, both within the team and our community. We decided to pause posting anything on this matter and discuss / reflect on what happened first. We found the biggest factor in this was that we never talked about who is responsible for what, and that some decisions were made without consulting the others who are involved. 
+> 
+> We want to make it clear we still stand behind both statements, and that babyfurs are part of the community and welcome on BARQ! just as every other furry. We agreed on clearer responsibilities and clear lines of communication to make sure this will not happen again.
+> Discrimination has no place on BARQ!
+> 
+> - BARQ! Directors
+
+Some things of note:
+
+> Looking back at the first statement, we felt it was too vague. ==We decided to post a second one, which was also agreed upon by all involved.==
+
+Was the *decision to make a post* agreed upon or the *content of the post itself*?
+
+> A day later ==we found out the second statement was only posted on Bluesky. We tried to fix that apparent mistake by posting it on X too.==
+
+So you okayed the post with the social media team, gave them the go-ahead on posting, but they independently chose to only post to Bluesky...
+
+> \[... the social media team] told us ==they hadn't posted it to X on purpose== ... 
+
+...why? Were they attempting to tailor different messages for each platform? Why not just post the same message to both? It's a public statement disavowing a person with negative views toward a sizable segment of the community...wouldn't you want to post this literally everywhere?
+
+> \[...] we ==never talked about who is responsible for what== ...
+
+If I were working for your company on the social media team, I would think my team would be the ones responsible for...social media. Including making and releasing public statements that affect the company's public image. Otherwise, if there were a Public Relations person or department or a designated public company spokesperson, I'd defer to them. 
+
+> \[...] some decisions were made ==without consulting the others who are involved==.
+
+Social media team's director went rogue and decided to only post the message to Bluesky because they didn't want to moderate the potential wave of negativity that posting the same exact message on X might cause? 
+
+p.s. Who is Flame anyway?
+
+![](https://x.com/Beykick125/status/2073130143644602431)
+
+https://x.com/flamethefawn
+- 20
+
+> this is the last time i'm going to speak on this issue, anything i have said is not a reflection on @barqOfficial as a company, it is strictly my own opinion.
+> 
+> i stated in my initial apology that i regretted my wording and calling for violence, which is true i do regret that. i also would like to say that yes, i have made generalizations in response to generalizations and personal attacks made against me which was also not right. the world isn't black or white and i believe that i was wrong for letting that worldview bleed into my comments
+> 
+> fuck pedophilia, wherever it lays. i see a glaring issue within the furry community with how we turn a blind eye to these predators that prey on our own community members. they are terrible people and it deeply upsets me. 
+> 
+> not every person who has an abdl kink or who is a babyfur is a bad person and i don't believe we should be violent towards people who are into things that you may not be into. i want to make my position clear on that.
+> 
+> i am not sorry for having my own opinions, if you dissent them then that is totally fine as well. babyfurs and furries as a whole need to do better rooting out pedophilia, \[zoophilia], and other aspects of our community that are morally abhorrent
+> [source](https://x.com/flamethefawn/status/2077426761751756988)
+
+> i think people don't realize how influential this new young wave of furries my age are, and how awesome the changes we are going to bring will be :3
+
+not sure what this even means, but not sure i want to be here for it either.
+
+i can see why there's a trend recently for new conventions to be 21+.
+
+as long as you're not a puritanical dickhead, I think we'll get along fine. that "morally abhorrent" language veers mighty close to "degenerate" if you ask me. *but that's just my opinion.*