[116] Among those who promoted the hoax who were unsuccessful in seeking public office included New Hampshire candidate for U.S. Senate Don Bolduc, Colorado candidate for governor Heidi Ganahl, Illinois candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives Catalina Lauf, Minnesota candidate for governor Scott Jensen, and Maine candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives Ed Thelander. [93] Rogan subsequently admitted to spreading misinformation. Police close Burke Street to investigate shooting death. [77] In Tennessee, state senator Janice Bowling made the litter box claim during a committee meeting and characterized it as "growing crisis" state and local officials countered that it was false information. Answers to questions about the Nov. 8, 2022 mid-term election. On your next view you will be asked to log in or create an account to continue reading. For federal tax forms, you can go to www.usa.gov/get-tax-forms#item-35432 and print out various federal tax forms and instructions, including the 1040 form. Photo illustration by Slate. [37], In early 2022, Snopes rated claims of litter boxes being placed in restrooms in Michigan schools as "false"[7] and the Agence France-Presse said they were "baseless". (That a significant number of furries identify as LGBTQ likely added to the misrepresentation, with homophobia coloring the portrayal of this subculture in the media.). The school district has denied the claim. Obviously, its not true, so I dont know where people are coming up with this stuff.. Many people think that furries dress up as animals. Plante and other researchers who spoke to Reuters all said the Facebook clip from Walshs documentary conflated furries with therians. Two Things: Victim's family not surprised by no show; hospital wars in Greensboro and money well spent, Rural Hall officials violated state law, audit finds. According to the U.S. Snow accumulations less than one inch. [35] In 2022, parents and advocacy groups across the U.S. made a concerted push to ban books from libraries, predominantly those discussing race, sexuality, and gender. [58][59] Joe Seiwert, a Kansas state representative, made a false claim during a public forum. ", "GOP legislator backtracks on claims students meow, bark, use litter boxes", "Minnesota GOP nominee for governor claimed kids are using litter boxes in schools it's an internet hoax", "How an urban myth about litter boxes in schools became a GOP talking point", "Did a Michigan School District Install Litter Boxes in Bathrooms? [96][97], In January 2023, Aberdeenshire council repudiated claims made on social media that students at Banff Academy had taken part in dirty protests due to the non-provision of litter boxes for "furries". We've lost our minds. Whats on the minds of heartland voters in the year 2022? [6], Throughout 2021 and 2022, online rumors of students dressing and acting like cats circulated, spurred on by prank videos. litter boxes in schools for furries maine. It is not true. The age-old slippery slope of progressivism acting like an animal? School districts do have an absorbent material they use to clean up, but its not cat litter. However, misunderstanding furries was mainstream long before it became political. Weblitter boxes in schools for furries maine. [16][6][86] In North Carolina, Iredell-Statesville Schools considered a ban on students wearing furry costumes, in part due to the burden of staff having to refute unsubstantiated rumors about litter boxes in restrooms. While many furries have no interest in acquiring a fursuit at all, they can also be prohibitively expensive. A Michigan superintendent denied that litter boxes had been added to a school bathroom for students who identified as furries. The most important political nonsense of the week, delivered to your inbox every Saturday. [74] Ganahl criticized schools that allowed students to dress up as cats, but she did not claim schools were providing litter boxes. And there are furry conventions where such enthusiasts gather in various cities to meet other members of the community whom theyve only met online, buy art works, and fundraise for charities, among other activities. [20] Several parents of school-age children have amplified the hoax on social media websites such as Facebook. providing litter boxes in unisex bathrooms, Michigan Republican Party co-chair amplified the rumor, same falsehood also circulated in an Iowa district, a group of children who identify as furry kids, bodily excretion nonsense that would cause your jaw to drop, have litter boxes placed in our restrooms, being assigned worksheets teaching them about furries, former staffer in the Reagan and Bush administrations, people with varying degrees of aesthetic interest in anthropomorphic animals or characters, written about these subcultures for Slate, painted the community in a completely false light, significant number of furries identify as LGBTQ, pointed out in his newsletter Garbage Day, passed new laws enshrining further parental control, The Supreme Courts Conservatives Tried Very Hard Today to Find a Good Reason to Screw Biden, Theres a Clear Answer to the Texas Judge Who Thinks He Can Ban Abortion Pills Nationwide. WebThe litter boxes in schools hoax (also called the litter box canard) [1] [2] is a false rumor alleging that certain North American schools provide litter boxes in bathrooms for Schools scramble to get ahead of 'furry' internet hoax", "Students in local schools identify as animals but no litter boxes exist", "Lambton school trustee candidate buys into urban myth of students "presenting as cats", "There are no human-size litter boxes in CCRCE schools", "Midland Public Schools December 2021 Board of Education Meeting", "Litter Boxes for Students Who Identify as Furries? I heard that at least one of our schools in our town has in one of the unisex bathrooms, a litter box for the kids that identify as cats, a concerned parent claimed during a Board of Education meeting in December. Associate professor, Social Development Studies, University of Waterloo. [6][20], Furries are a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters, with fandom members frequently often interacting with others through online roleplay, art, conventions and cosplay. So schools are literal zoos now.. But the panic is probably best expressed in an op-ed last month by a former staffer in the Reagan and Bush administrations, who wrote that the left was not just content to turn boys into girls, girls into boys, some with hormone therapy. It was now also pushing the conceptwith bizarre sexual overtonesof a furry, a child identifying as an animal.. Its this connection that concerns Lamoille North superintendent Catherine Gallagher the most, who reiterated her support for the districts LGBTQ community and derided the rumors as harmful. Thanks for signing up! The district's superintendent denied this claim, stating "Staff members are not encouraging or accommodating anyone behaving or identifying as a cat or any other animal". As strange as that may sound to some, director Norbert Carpenter said he felt the need to issue a public statement to address misinformation circulating within the school system and on social media. A SCHOOL in Michigan has bizarrely been accused by outraged parents of installing litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify as cats and dogs. You have permission to edit this article. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Conservative fearmongering about students seems particularly unlikely to abate for a while. Also in March, a recording of a Republican Nebraska state senator decrying school administrators wanting to put litter boxes in the bathrooms for kids who dress up as animals went viral, and the lawmaker had to apologize after his claim was debunked. There have never been litter boxes within MPS schools, Sharrow wrote. There is a real subculture of people known as furries, a community of children and adults who roleplay as anthropomorphized animal characters.But the vast majority of them still identify as humans, while sometimes adopting an animal-like persona and engaging in short-term roleplay, according to furries and experts, one of whom noted that there are no ", "DDSB among boards quashing online rumours litter boxes have been added to washrooms", "False stories of litter boxes in P.E.I. [6] A review of the rumors by center-right news website The Bulwark reached a similar conclusion as NBC News and referred to the hoax as "Furrygate". What are we doing to our kids? Ive heard this and find it hard to believe. Low around 30F. He also said regarding a widely circulated story by the Herald Sun tabloid newspaper about an Australian teenager allowed to act as a cat in class that was never verified,[107] and of the broader discussion of gender identity issues, "This is the world we live in today, and this is the danger created by normalizing transgender delusions in young students who may get over it. State finds issues with public records, open meetings and handling of contract for lawyer, Diamondback to open lunch spot in Innovation Quarter. Lamoille schools are not alone in being targeted by litter box rumors. [102][103], Elizabeth Brown from Reason suggested the litter box rumors became popular due to "lin[ing] up perfectly with conservative fears about transgender and non-binary students". About 95 per cent of furries develop their own unique avatar-like character called a fursona. So how did the rumor explode into mainstream consciousness, like bad diarrhea from a diet of concern trolling and right-wing blogs? [95], American football television commentator Tony Dungy posted statement on twitter promoting the hoax on January 18, 2023. A list of players on the local Minor League Baseball team who had successful Major League Baseball careers. Our weekly newsletters deliver the latest headlines, upcoming events and local information straight from the newsroom! Well, all kinds of people go to conferences; sometimes they have sex there. The meme has continued through the present day onwhere else?TikTok. One parent has called me directly about this, Bethann Pirie, Lamoille Union principal, said. Were experiencing a generational shift in how young people think and talk about gender identity. Reuters has fact checked claims around furries in U.S. schools in the past and found no evidence of them disrupting classrooms or schools developing a policy of including them as a formal identity (here) and (here) and (here). She is a co-founder of the International Anthropomorphic Research Project/Furscience. Its all this old shit I thought we were past thats coming back, and it looks furries might get dragged along with it., Kameron Dunn agrees. And yet, despite our having studied thousands of furries, weve found no evidence to support this If there is an epidemic of kids howling and meowing in schools, youd think it would be easier to find them and put them in front of a camera (or, at very least, one of their teachers!).. WebOh come on, everyone knows that litterboxes for furries are made by Prison Industries. Two months ago, someone asked me about that via email and asked if it was true, Heraty said. The school district denied the claims. [6], School boards in the late 2010s and early 2020s saw heightened controversy (described by some as a moral panic[31] or culture war[32]) surrounding accomodations for transgender, non-binary, and otherwise gender-variant students, such as unisex restrooms, and allowing students to use bathrooms and participate on sports teams corresponding to their gender identities. He said for months schools and the PSB have received phone calls and emails about the issue. And I don't want to waste my time saying trans kids aren't animals. Pick 'em up at the showroom in Thomaston! In Minnesota, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen repeated the false rumor in a campaign speech about gender identity issues. High 39F. Vance from Ohio and U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, while U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado had a narrow lead in her race that had not been called several weeks after the November 8 election. Send me updates about Slate special offers. But first, Winston-Salem officials are documenting its history. "[13] Geoff Wetrosky of the Human Rights Campaign, said, "The attention this freakish lie has received on social media illustrates the pernicious influence of disinformation and that anti-LGBTQ+ politicians will do and say anything to animate the most extreme fringeno matter the consequence. [5] Jensen said: "But what about education? Despite how silly this might sound to many, multiple tips and calls received by this newspaper in the past six months have inquired whether this rumor was true. Superintendent debunks claims of litter boxes in schools for students who identify as cats In a message to the school district, Superintendent Michael E. Sharrow There was a problem saving your notification. Rumours about litter boxes in schools for students identifying as cats are false, Norbert Carpenter tells CBC News: Compass host Steve Bruce, CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. 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