First things first, there are a lot of great people in the fandom locally. We have been a part of RBFM for 6 years for those very people, so they have an event to visit and can enjoy themselves. We’ve spent a great deal of time and money building RBFM to be one of the best meets in So Cal and it’s been successful. We regularly average 50 people, with our peaks being in the 70 - 80 range. We’ve offered a completely public event without gatekeeping including; social media accounts, telegram groups, games, hot buffet lunch, changing tent for fursuiters and a very easy to access/park location. It’s a very unique meet and it’s going to be sad to see it go.

There are several reasons why RBFM will cease to exist, many are listed below, but logistics run high on our mind every meet. Staffing issues, location issues and scheduling have all been problematic the last few years, we’ve run the meet by the skin of our teeth and are happy to move on without the stress.

The main stress factor are the constant attacks on us, our admin team and even guests. We’ll be breaking down some of the issues and the people involved below. Things started going down hill during covid. We were viciously attacked for “contemplating” running a meet outdoors for vaccinated people only, after the town of Pasadena allowed us to do so in spring of 2021. The backlash was incredulous, creating a rift within the local meet admins demanding we not even discuss having a meet. From videos made by children, condemning us as fascists, to social media breakdowns that divided local furries even more. Since then, it’s been a steady downward, out of control spiral of attacks. We’ve learned that these attacks are also not unique to us, but have been plaguing other admins and guests as well. Talking to them has been revealing, exposing an entirely new side of the local fandom we never knew about. We've learned about over a dozen former admins who have left the local scene, due to these exact same attacks. Hundreds of furries, sidelined by these same people. Even current admins outside of ourselves, are also discussing shutting down their events due to the same issues we’re going through.

For all the hard work we put in, many of us aren’t even allowed to attend the majority of events in So Cal because as few people feel like gatekeeping and “canceling” other furries, makes them self righteous. They are more interested in past grievances, unrelated to them, for "safety and security" reasons, then they do being inclusive. Purposely creating exclusive clicks, so they can feel “safe”, rather than creating a space for inclusivity, which is what the Furry Fandom is all about. They are so petrified of being disliked, they go to extreme lengths to insure they surround themselves with people who praise them, criticizing anyone who they think may not. Applying their moral compass to everyone under the banner of “accountability”. They give away gifts like art and trinkets, in order to garnish further praise and keep members of the “click” pacified. This is a huge problem even outside of the fandom, but the ENTIRE POINT of the fandom is inclusivity. The toxic environment they create, is the polar opposite of why the fandom exists. This mentality just drives people away and they don’t care. At every convention we visit, we meet furries who live in our neighborhood, but refuse to partake in the local fandom simply due to toxicity. Heck it even drives away group leaders. How is that creating a positive inclusive environment?

These few people who have torn the So Cal fandom apart from the inside out, need to be held accountable by you; the furries who will miss all of our events. Mark my words, you too will be exiled by these same people over rumors made by others you thought were friends. Many of these local community members like Saphy, keep an ongoing spreadsheet of every rumor about YOU. Yes they spend their time scouring social media and if you aren’t a perfect person, you’re going to be pre-canceled. Admins like Scout Pawfoot, Oggy/Sirius, Pokey Mama (axel) and Silverbeak are some the key individuals, but there many more serial abusers. They have attacked anyone they disagree with under the guise of “accountability”. Bullying has become an acceptable behavior because it gives these people power, something they don’t have outside of their click. Their “evidence” for expulsion of course will be your response to being bullied. They’ll turn every word (including these) around and use them against you. You will be put on the naughty list for all time, without a jury of your peers to even hear your case. These horribly toxic individuals have ravaged the local community unchecked. All of them acting like petty children, none of them understanding their actions have catastrophically torn this local fandom apart and hurt people to the point of many leaving the fandom entirely as we’ve discovered over the last few years. The only people left are those fearful of “missing out” and are complacent due the childish threat of social exclusion. Willing to denounce long-term friends over threats of not being allowed to attend meets. Your either with them or your not allowed at the “cool kids” party. How petty and sad is that?

To those aforementioned people; there is more to life than gatekeeping furries. There is more to life then viciously stalking other people for your own childish selfish gratification. There is more to life then mentally beating people so hard, they're on suicide watch.

Our next long-term project is taking the year's worth of documentation, images, personal interviews and on-screen testimonials we've collected and put it all into a professionally produced production. We know that these issues aren't just local, but are systemic throughout the furry fandom. Exposing the local issues in a professional way, may allow people in other places to stand up and fight against the behavior of their own locals before it's too late. At the current rate, there may not be much fandom left in a few years. So rest assured, we are on the case and where it may take a while to produce, these stories will be told.

In summary, this closes the doors on our 6 years being involved in RBFM (amongst other) meets in So Cal. Just because we’re closing shop, doesn’t mean we’re disappearing forever. We will still be apart of the community, continuing our fight to prevent these aforementioned people from dividing us even further. We hope the local community will heal once these people grow up. There are also some new admins who are stepping up to the plate, pushing against the drama whores and being successful. We wish them much luck in their quest to create a stable platform for furries in So Cal. We are going to donate much of our equipment to them in hopes they can carry the vision of RBFM for future generations. We will miss hosting events, we will miss the camaraderie of our Admins and of course guests. You all have a special place in our heart and we want to thank you for years of dedication.

The SFV furs telegram group will continue to operate as it does today. It will continue the tradition of posting events for the local community. We will also be joining forces with Bullet Bar and advertising a monthly “Fuzz” meet in North Hollywood the last Saturday of every month. So please keep paying attention to the “pinned” messages section for weekly updates to the event schedule. The RBFM Twitter page will sadly be disused, long with the Facebook page. We’re sad to see them languish, but admining those alone, is a part time job.

Well, that about wraps it up! Thanks again to everyone for a great time, we will surely miss it.