Q - What is it like to be a greymuzzle and spokesperson in/of the community? (why did you decide to become ambassador) What is it like to be "the face" and do you get a lot of haters?
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A - I have had quite a few people call me greymuzzle recently. It's still not a title that I would call myself just yet. I think I still have some things to learn about Therianthropy and out history, and I'm always learning new things about myself. Greymuzzle and ambassador are definitely not titles to be taken lightly. They are titles with a lot of responsibility and commitment to help others. It's not easy, and it's very time consuming to try to interact with the community in as many places as possible because there are a lot of social media platforms. It can also be frustrating sometimes. It can be difficult to phrase information in a way that people will be more open to it, especially if they are believing incorrect information from the beginning. We need to phrase things in a way so that hopefully people are open to at least thinking about it and considering it. But sometimes I do still phrase things more bluntly than I should. It's a difficult tightrope to walk.
On that note, I'm definitely not infallible. Of course, obviously, I still have emotions and opinions too. There are some things in the community that I feel strongly about. But I think it's important to be open and honest. I still need to try to share some of my own experiences more often. But I'm usually a modest person. Because I'm actually shy and introverted I struggled with whether or not I should start this channel. And whether or not I should be more vocal and active in the community. I don't want the attention or the spotlight at all.
So, if not for those things, then why am I more active in the community, and why do I have this channel? I just want people to have access to better information. A few years ago, I saw that the community seemed to be lacking in older active members and more educated members. So, I thought that I needed to step up and help if I could. With my knowledge as a graphic designer I was hoping that I could present information about Therianthropy in a way that would hold people's interest but not be cringey. I'm still kind of working on this and trying to tweak it as well. It's not easy.
I wouldn't say that I have any "haters", but I definitely received opposition when I told some people when I wanted to be more vocal and public about Therianthropy. However, I did receive more support that opposition, so I decided to go ahead with the project. And I've been steadily working on it for many years now.
I have not officially acted as an ambassador in any capacity outside of the Therian community. I have not be contacted by news or media outlets about interviews or anything like that. If that day comes, I will represent as a diplomat should. I will represent the community professionally and with everyone else's interest at heart. Again, this is not for any personal gain, and I would definitely be stepping outside of my comfort zone.
There is a lot of preparation work that I should still be doing. As I answer people's questions throughout the community and I create these videos, I'm honing my language skills and developing how I describe Therianthropy and Otherkinity and how I explain it. But there is always room for improvement in that area. I don't like politics, but I am aware that politicians are aware of us and our beliefs. Hopefully, we never need to represent ourselves at a legislative level, but we need to be prepared in case that day does happen. To be more prepared, I should be brushing up on politics and how those systems work and function. I also need to be building better relationships with some other Therians and Otherkin in the community who also might be willing to step up and be more public about representation. These individuals are also very educated about our history. So I need to be opening myself up to working less independently and more as a group with other Therians and Otherkin.
Under the video you can find a link to an article called "Qualities of a Good Ambassador". I found this while considering things that I needed to know to help the community. I just want everyone to know that all of these things are in the back of my mind, and there is a lot of work to be done. I am willing to take on these challenges and this responsibility to help everyone to the best of my ability.
"Qualities of a Good Ambassador" https://classroom.synonym.com/qualities-of-a-good-ambassador-12083934.html
"Ideal Qualities of a Successful Dimplomat" https://www.belfercenter.org/publication/ideal-qualities-successful-diplomat
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Question and Answer with Ulfrvif
Non-FictionThese are question submitted by other Therians from various social media. Includes both general questions and some more personal about my own experiences.
