People like the idea of being in a niche-countercultural community than they do actually being in a niche-countercultural community.
You see this reflected everywhere now: Furry, emo, punk, LARPers, goths, anime fans, sci-fi nerds, etc.
I'm not exaggerating to say that this is an existential problem for the fandom. If we bully all the "weirdos" out of the furry fandom then there is no more fandom, just teenagers buying fox tails and Zootopia merch off of Amazon and socially murdering each other for being cringe
I like weird people. The black sheep, the odd ducks, the eccentrics, the artists, the loners. People who actually think for themselves, the kind whose morals are not swayed by groupthink. These people have the most beautiful souls.