In support of those within the fandom that have had the unpleasant honor of being the direct target of hate, I sympathize. I suppose the worst that has really ever happened to me was some “wise-ass” remarks about my wearing my tail while with friends at a meet and us being called “fur fags”, and “butt buddies” (childish and in my case fully inaccurate as I am straight).

Hate is borne of fear, fear is the result of ignorance and of course ignorance can be educated if the person is educable. Some people are simply UN-educable and only prove their inability to learn and add to the forward movement of society as a whole, it is much easier for them to single out something they know absolutely nothing about to indemnify themselves.

The best defense is knowledge, and in many cases a bit of verbal intelligence which means maintaining composure and communicating truthfully and accurately, or knowing when to simply walk away.

“You can educate ignorance, you cannot fix stupid”