It's an Exciting Time to be a Zoo
There have certainly been times where being someone who loves animals has been much more socially accepted. And, assuming the world doesn't end in the next decade or so I think it's safe to say that there are going to be more times in the future where zoos can live an easier life. I think both of those options would be much better in terms of living a simple, easy life.
Right now, in the year 2024, zoos absolutely do not have it easy. I'd go so far as to say that it can be really difficult. We're looked down on, our partners are seen as lesser beings, and we have to fight for what we believe in. We're constantly harassed, both in public spaces as well as by people trying to infiltrate our private spaces. We have to carefully protect our anonymity, let we have people posting our information and calling for our downfall. There's so much hate that zoos face every single day. It can be a tidal wave. Overwhelming.
And yet, it's an exciting time to be a zoo.
Have you ever heard of trauma bonds? It's the idea that if two people go through significant hardship together, the shared experience of that trauma causes them to become really close to one another. Say, for instance, two soldiers that go through a war together. During that time when they're constantly under threat and in danger, they're going to form really close attachments to one another.
This kind of thing happens on a more grand scale level as well. When there's a group of people that are oppressed, the experience of being part of that group can be traumatic. But, when you're a part of that group and you meet other people who are part of that group as well, you immediately have something deep and personal to connect over. Kind of like if you were a furry in the late 2000s. There was a long time on the internet where it was super cool and fun to dunk on furries. People were posting "furry cringe" compilations on Youtube all the time, the news was talking about how awful furries were. It wasn't like today where probably half your Discord friends have furry profile pictures. But because of that, if you met another furry in the wild, immediately you felt connected with that person.
That's how being a zoo feels right now. For me at least. I have so much respect and admiration for anyone who identifies as a zoo on the internet, and participates in public spaces. At the end of the day, it would be so much easier to just get off to the porn and leave it at that. Or even just have a partner and not talk about it online. It would be safer too, and much less time consuming. And yet there are people out there that care enough about other people like them that they're willing to spend time trying to make the world a better place for everyone. And I'm not just talking about your content creators. I'm talking about everyone who's willing to be visible and show that you exist.
We're a collective with a common goal. We're all striving for a better future together. And the crazy part is, we're actually seeing some progress. The community has never been as big and visible as it is now. And we here in the English speaking world aren't alone either. There are zoo groups in places all over the world trying to fight for their rights as well. We really are a global movement.
We might just be people on the internet posting memes and writing articles and making tweets, but that's not what it feels like. It feels like we're explorers, on a ship together setting sail to see what's on the other side of the ocean. We're last hope against an alien invasion. We're an army holding off a horde from overrunning us. We're setting off into space to create a new home for humanity among the stars.
Our goal is impossibly huge compared to what we are. But we have hope, and we're willing to fight.
Sometimes I wish that I lived in a time where I could just be happy with my partner without any of this. That we could just be happy together and not have to care what anyone else thinks.
But in lieu of that, I think being a part of the movement that's going to get zoos in the future is really amazing as well.
If nothing else, it certainly is exciting.
Article written by Tarro (March 2024)
Find them at https://twitter.com/hereforthezoo
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