Students from several schools in a Utah school district have staged a protest against “furries” who growled and bit them at school. The students said previous complaints about the situation were ignored by school officials.
Videos from the protest showed dozens of children outside the school, holding signs and banners. Adam Bartholomew, a live streamer, uploaded a video on social media platform X in which he interviewed the students outside Mt. Nebo Middle School in Payson.
Some of the banners read, “Don’t brainwash us” and “Compelled speech is not free speech.”
Mr Bartholomew’s roughly hour-long video has also been uploaded to YouTube.
“These kids are mentally ill, and they’re trying to force their illness upon us,” said one girl.
In response to Mr. Bartholomew’s question about why the “furries” do it, one student said, “They’re doing it for attention.”
A relatively new phenomenon related to identity politics, “furries” refers to people who believe they are animals as opposed to humans and subsequently dress up as and act like animals, typically dogs or cats.
Conversely, according to WebMD, a furry is someone who is interested in animals but possesses human qualities. They sometimes wear cartoon-like attire representing animals.
“They bite us. They scratch us. They bark at us,” said one child.
Other accounts by children state that the “furries” go as far as spraying other schoolchildren with Febreze, sometimes even in their eyes.
When asked what age the “furries” were, children responded that they were between 10 and 13 years old.
Mr. Bartholomew then asked the students what school officials were doing to address the problem. Some of the students responded that they were told not to approach the “furries” and to be kind and nice to them.
The student’s protest was confirmed to have taken place with the parent’s full knowledge and approval.
A parent attending the protest said their child had video evidence of a “furry” interrupting school procedures. However, this had allegedly led to pushback and reprimand from school officials.
However, there is a strong indication that students, as well as parents, are fed up with the situation. Some demanded the “furries” be banned from school, while others called for them to be expelled.
A recent petition, signed by more than 600 people, demanded that the same rules apply to all students.
Meanwhile, parents have also taken to social media to voice their concerns.
“It is harmful to children for school rules and dress codes to be centered around the marginalized. It perpetuates the victim culture that is damaging our children! As parents, we must speak out when schools validate any disruptive, antisocial, or extreme behavior,” according to a statement on Facebook by Utah Parents United.
It’s not the first time the school district has made the headlines. Last month, a teacher in a middle school in the Nebo District allegedly indoctrinated students with propaganda surrounding climate change, providing insects for children to eat in an attempt to discourage them from eating meat.
NTD reached out to Mt. Nebo Middle School for comment but did not receive a reply before the publication of this article.
