What they say: "Otherkin should be locked up." What they mean: "I hate the thought of having mentally ill people near me. Also, everything I know about psychiatry I learned from American Horror Story." What they say: "Otherkin is the most autistic thing I've ever heard of." What they mean: "I have zero compassion for anyone who isn't like me, am dangerous for actually neurodivergent people to be around, and learned all my insults in grade school." What they say: "Otherkin need therapy." What they mean: "I have no idea how mental healthcare actually works. Like, if someone's thinking a weird thought, you can fix that with a pill, right? So I don't have to be around them?" What they say: "Otherkin should get help." What they mean: "And by 'help' I mean far away from me. No, really. I did not sign up to have to deal with seeing people with diverse beliefs and life experiences on my Tumblr feed, and I don't know how to use the block button." What they say: "You're human. You're not a fox, you're not a dragon. You're a human." What they mean: "I looked up 'otherkin' five minutes ago and have only the barest understanding of what it means, but trolling people gives me a feeling of righteous superiority." What they say: "Trans people are okay I guess, because at least they have some biological basis for their feelings, but otherkin are just weird." What they mean: "I only accept trans people because science tells me I have to." what they say: "You just want to be special." What they mean: "I don't know the first thing about you or what you're actually feeling, but you remind me that I feel inadequate." What they say: "Otherkin make me so angry." What they mean: "I vent my anger at complete strangers on the internet, but I refuse to consider that this might be an unhealthy behaviour, so I aggressively accuse other people of being unhealthy instead." What they say: "If you're really an animal, why don't you piss on your territory and stop wearing clothes?" What they mean: "If you did go urinating on things and running around naked, I'd call you mentally ill. If you don't, I'll call you a faker. Are you beginning to see how this 'I get to decide the terms of this debate and you just shut up and listen' thing works now?" What they say: "Otherkin aren't real." What they mean: "Stop being unusual where I can see you. Seriously, stop that. La la LA I'M STICKING MY FINGERS IN MY EARS I'M NOT LISTENING."