Your hypothesis about grifting has merit, but I don't know how I could prove it.
If they weren't so openly ridiculous, I'd have to see more grifters messing with them, and I don't want that even though the majority of them deserve it (they even contain a disturbing amount of middle managers and other do-nothing-for-big-bucks vocations).
I don't want that either, because that's the least degenerate thing about them. Sad, more than anything else, because they want to be beautiful and attractive, but don't have it. Instead of doing the work to overcome that, they move towards playing dress-up which is more expensive, but less personally intensive.
I think they have a misunderstanding of cause and effect there that makes them as tragic as they are. I've encountered several that wanted things like adoration, love, respect, but they didn't have a clue how to realistically achieve their desires. I think back and wonder if they even truly understood their own desires.
It makes the whole fursona thing more ironic/tragic, because they've developed this practice that makes hugbox functionality highly efficient by giving direct clues as to what they desire, but then everyone acts blind to what they see unless it suits their own desires.
Edit: To be clear, I'm saying that desires such as "be beautiful and attractive" are not true desires, and that there's typically a deeper desire pushing such ideas to the surface of the mind as the consciousness struggles to translate the subconscious.
They are looking for social value and community at a fundamental level. They have no idea how to achieve that in the normal world, and this is probably the first time they've ever felt like they were successful at it.
It's like the social value and community they seek... but it isn't it. It's the best they can do because they haven't been properly socialized; and the bar is set low enough to be achievable for the most low status individuals.
Your hypothesis about grifting has merit, but I don't know how I could prove it.
I don't want that either, because that's the least degenerate thing about them. Sad, more than anything else, because they want to be beautiful and attractive, but don't have it. Instead of doing the work to overcome that, they move towards playing dress-up which is more expensive, but less personally intensive.
I think they have a misunderstanding of cause and effect there that makes them as tragic as they are. I've encountered several that wanted things like adoration, love, respect, but they didn't have a clue how to realistically achieve their desires. I think back and wonder if they even truly understood their own desires.
It makes the whole fursona thing more ironic/tragic, because they've developed this practice that makes hugbox functionality highly efficient by giving direct clues as to what they desire, but then everyone acts blind to what they see unless it suits their own desires.
Edit: To be clear, I'm saying that desires such as "be beautiful and attractive" are not true desires, and that there's typically a deeper desire pushing such ideas to the surface of the mind as the consciousness struggles to translate the subconscious.
No, you're right, that's exactly the problem.
They are looking for social value and community at a fundamental level. They have no idea how to achieve that in the normal world, and this is probably the first time they've ever felt like they were successful at it.
It's like the social value and community they seek... but it isn't it. It's the best they can do because they haven't been properly socialized; and the bar is set low enough to be achievable for the most low status individuals.