"Alterhumanity/nonhumanity doesn't hurt anyone". Yes. True. Factual. Why do alterhumans and nonhumans get so much hate though? Why is it that something being totally harmless is not enough for people to accept it? It's so ridiculous. If it's not hurting anyone then why bash it?
Anti-alterhuman and anti-nonhuman hate are very prevalent and serious, and I see so many people joke about it, especially in comments sections on Instagram or Tiktok or any major social media platform. I don't think that threatening someone's life for wearing an animal mask or for identifying in a way that someone doesn't like is funny. I've seen and heard stories about literal children being jumped by grown-ass adults for being "too odd" or being alterhuman or nonhuman. Not to mention, the recent prevalence of violence against alterhumans and nonhumans in Spanish-speaking countries, and how the media pushed it.
Why do people feel the need to hurt others over a completely non-detrimental, harmless identity? I think it's some sort of power fantasy on the hater's part. Someone who hates often sees something "terribly wrong" with themself so they turn to hurting others and projecting in order to feel some form of control or superiority.
Then there's the spread of misinformation about what therianthropy is. "It's just a connection" has always been the biggest argument among the misinformed when trying to defend therians, but they really just do more harm in saying that. Therians will never be understood by outsiders, and they will always be considered "weird", so there's no point in lying to appeal to orthohumans, especially the hateful ones.
I feel like I rambled too much here. My entire point is, if something is harmless, there's no point in hating it; people who do hate it think there's something wrong with themselves, and they make up for it by hurting others. That's all. Astute observations with Elliot.