Otherkin speak past the grave

December 23, 3:18 PMUnderground ExaminerDylan Otto Krider

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In my post, "There's weird, and then there's Otherkin," I said, "If you want to tick off an Otherkin, suggest they've watched too many movies, or tossed one too many D20." Which really ticked them off. So, I offered to promote some of their responses, if they felt it would make them seem less prone to fantasy. I shall do so here, but wanted to clear a few things up first.

• Check out the Otherkin slideshow.

First of all, a lot of people pointed out they hold jobs, as if I suggested they are unemployed. I assumed they did - D&D manuals ain't free.

Secondly, a lot of people are under the mistaken assumption this is a news article. It's more like a blog. I certainly did give the Otherkin a chance to speak: the bulk of my post were quotes of what they had said on their own sites. I'm not sure it matters much that I quoted what they write rather than what they say over the phone. What upsets them, I think, is that these quotes were what Otherkin say to other Otherkin when they think no one's listening (thus, the cries about not asking permission) rather than getting a chance to spin me for a mainstream audience. Here's their chance to do so.

The other thing I think gets to them is that I brought the light of the outside world into their little community, and they figure they might look a little odd. They need no help from me for that. But by all means, if they'd like to clear up any great distortions, they may do so. Any feelings that these do not paint them in a good light can try again in the comments.

One last thing: I do not mean the Otherkin harm. When I went to www.otherkin.com, I came to the following disclaimer:

 

Warning: This site contains information on the subject of the Otherkin. This includes the topics of vampires, weres, witchcraft, etc.

 

This is not a roleplaying site, and the information stored on this site is not to be used in the hunting of vampires or any other type of Otherkin. By clicking on "I Agree" you are accepting these terms. Please do not come to the site with a closed mind. There are plenty of people we have to deal with in real life who have the same outlook. This page is designed to share infomation. You do not have to agree with this information, but respect other people's right to learn.

 

On a personal note, vampires and Otherkin hardly attack humans. We have found other ways to live and co-exist. The vampire nation has gone out of its way to live with the human race with minimal impact on their well being. Now that we have gone out of our way to co-exist, it is time the human race did the same. Forget what you see on Buffy, we might not be the nicest people on the planet, but when you have some psycho with a crossbow trying to "slay" you, we all of a sudden don't think too highly of the human race. And if it comes down to a fight between a vampire and a "slayer", I hope you can run fast...

I Agree

or

Disagree

I clicked "Agree," and I meant it. The only bolts I aim the Were's way are of the writing variety. But, in this post-partisan Obama era, let humans and vampires find a means to co-exist through dialogue. It is just my own, strongly held opinion, that they have gotten a bit too absorbed into pop culture.

From Siege:

I don't regard "otherkinism" as a religion; but many people confuse spirituality for religion. For me, Otherkin is a word I can use to denote what I feel that I am in spirit -- that while my material body is human, my spirit shows a different shape. I do not worship this difference, nor spend my energies focused on it except where such focus helps me to heal, learn, and grow.

Let me explain the differences I experience between myself and other humans, out in the wide open where anyone might see:

I have an extra chakra. My root chakra is slightly displaced compared to most people. If you were to examine my "subtle body", you would find that I measure around seven to eight feet tall, rather than the five-foot-ten that my physical body actually stands. I have energy channels in my back running from shoulders to spine in a V shape - energy channels that humans generally don't have; these channels support ghost limbs: wings, which I feel as being attached along those lines. At the base of my spine, another ghost limb: a tail. My legs feel different in spirit than they are in flesh, with slightly different-sized bones and longer feet with a hefty Achilles tendon -- suggesting a toe-walker meant for springing and striding, but one perhaps also able to walk flat-footed. From that and from certain recollections, I extrapolate that the creature my spirit shows me lives or lived by springing and striding across plains and open fields -- perhaps snatching their prey after a swift swoop and charge, or charging in to take a meal and following that with a flight to a safe place to eat. Or perhaps they lived in mountains and ate what large creatures also climbed those peaks -- but mountains can be bare and would feed many fewer predators per square mile, while herd animals tend to roam large plains.

As for diet, I, personally, am an omnivore like other humans -- with a few special needs: I must regularly consume certain proteins or amino acids, and avoid certain artificial chemicals, or problems arise not just in spirit, but in my physical body as well.

I identify as a dragon. This is not a matter of identity politics, though I believe that people should be allowed to identify as they choose; it is a matter of finding the closest word to use to describe for others the thing that my spirit shows that I am.

And as a dragon, I have learned that I cannot generalize things I think of as "draconic" to others who also identify as dragons, and especially not to all Otherkin. We are many in type and nature, with more or fewer differences in mind and spirit, and we are but one type of creature among all Otherkin.

From A Kaoini Life:

So, a recent article about the Otherkin community (which I won't link to because a) everyone who reads my journal has probably already seen it and b) because I don't want to give the dude any more free publicity) brought up some fair - yes, I said it, fair - points about the perception of the Otherkin community by nonKin. If you ask me, that's what the article was about in the first place - nonKin and how little they care to truly know about us.

Here's the harsh truth - the Otherkin community has a lot of [delted] in it. It has a lot of people who are detached from reality, who do need a swift kick in the pants to knock their brain back to where it belongs. On the whole, though, the community is so shy about saying such things that the kick is never administered, and the [bleep] stays right where it doesn't belong - in my community. In my home. 

I'm guilty of turning the other cheek. I might think you need a reality check, but instead I'm going to go away and let you keep rambling safely out of earshot. That's the only way you can tell where I stand on certain issues - if I don't say anything. I'm an active member of the community, so if I don't give you an opinion, that's because I'm waiting you out, hoping you'll figure whatever it is out on your own.

The Otherkin community is fragile and fractured. We draw lines in the sand every day, new lines: this I'll believe, this I won't, this I'll let slide, this I can't. It's bullshit and it's no wonder we get flamed. We know it. Don't tell me that you don't hear something almost everyday in the community that you secretly roll your eyes at and then let slide. 

I'm not advocating this article. I'm not advocating that we all just start bashing each other. I'm just saying that, well, I can understand why someone who does minimal research and doesn't talk to the more rational leaders of the community could get the wrong impression.

The truth, however, is that Otherkin are just as functionally human as nonKin. We have jobs, pay taxes, love, live, learn and lose the same as anyone else. There are plenty of nonKin who live in their parents' basements and play D+D. Just saying. Probably more than there are Otherkin who do. I'm a Switchboard operator, 7-3, five days a week. I know a cop, a nurse, a veterinary student, an MP in the Navy. It runs the gamut and these people are no better or worse at their jobs than nonKin.

Human society functions with a multitude of religious values permeating every aspect of said society. With Christmas coming up, that is exceptionally obvious. Every belief system has its own guidelines and yet somehow, 99.9% of us all manage to get along just fine on a day-to-day basis.

Every time something new comes along, people tend to forget that.

 

From the OtherkinAlliance Staff:

So now you want to talk to someone about what otherkin are?

 Just out of curiosity, how come you didn't come to someone in the community about this, first? If not myself, there are a dozen other people well versed and well grounded the the community: Lupa, author of A Field Guide to Otherkin, Palmer/Qarael of numerous communities, the mods and admins of the livejournal communties you ripped posts from, ect ect.

Would it have killed you to take a little time to just ask us?

Oh, and this is the image on their front page: http://www.otherkinalliance.org/.content/images/OKheader.jpg. See for yourself so I don't misconstrue any predeliction toward pop culture fantasy tropes.

More soon...