>>114855 (OP)
few realize that the furry "fandom" is just a reincarnation of the various fraternal orders that were prevelant in western society since the middle ages, when faustian culture moved past its infancy
expansion beyond the tribe and specialization of labor necessitated a sociatal unit that would represent the interests of skilled laborers, who were above the common peasent farmer but still below nobility, thus birthing guilds of a wide variety.
but, these guilds had an unintended use beyond merely laboral representation. they provided a place for men to intermingle, conduct business, and find fellowship with one another. it provided a level of familarity below that of immediate family, but well above that with which complete strangers were treated with. thus was born, the prototypical fraternal order
into the 18th - 20th century, the need for these fraternal orders only grew, as urbanization and mechinized travel made the strangers of the world all the more strange. the village was replaced by the city, and men would need fellowship more than ever to survive this new, low trust world. hence, the massive expansion of the fraternal order, whether it be the masons, churches, unions, greek life, etc. through these, employers would find laborers, bachelors would find wives, travelers would find friendly faces at sister lodges, and the microsociety of the fraternal order would thrive.
but in the 21st century, these classical fraternities are dying. rootless cosmopolitaness, corporatization, late stage capitalism, union busting, irreligiousness, the death of the third space; there's a countless number of causes of the death of the traditional fraternal order, for they are simply obselete in the digital age. but, that isnt to say they're on their way out. i posit that the exact opposite is the case
when a young man of today seeks fellowship, where does he go? the Internet, of course. but not the Internet as a whole, he goes to his Discord server (lodge, church, etc), themed around a specific fandom (order) where a small number of regular order members frequent. with this mindset, one will realize that the furry community as a whole is merely a rebirth of the fraternal orders of yesteryear; a decentrialized one albiet, but nonetheless the perfect order for the Internet age. already, business is conducted (furry art commissions) and love is found (furry edating), is it really that much of a stretch to assume that, in the age of foreign indian strangers and rogue AIs annihilating the bazaar that was the employment market, employers would begin seeking skilled labor from within their order rather than from outside?
and that is merely the beginning i tell you! i, for one, am observing the evolution of the furry order with great anticipation, as i believe that we are at the precipice of something truly magnificant.