April Fools’ Day has come and gone. This is no joke.

You may have noted the warning passed around on social media that children “identifying” as cats or dogs are being permitted to bark and meow in the classroom and might even be provided with a litter box in the restroom.

I just wanted to offer a personal anecdote to reassure those who are worried about the possibility that somewhere educators are affirming “furries” in schools. For one thing, there’s nothing new about children claiming an animal identity.

I hereby confess that at the age of 8 or so—third or fourth grade—I identified as a horse. At recess, with likeminded friends, I would assume my Stallion persona. Let loose in the large field that was our playground at the time, I galloped. I neighed. I pawed the ground. I corralled my “mares” (those cooperative friends) in our designated stable under a large tree. Sometimes, I would lodge a pencil between my teeth and pretend I was wearing a bit and a bridle. Galloping around the neighborhood with a pencil in my teeth was surely dangerous, if not deranged. But as I shook my “mane” in defiant wild horseness, I was a free child.

What do I know about today’s kids? I’ve never given birth. In fact, my life is pretty much child-free, as my relatives including “steps” are now mostly grown-ups. I don’t have a close association with little ones in school or church. So, clearly, I don’t know anything about the joys and terrors of parenting, especially the worry that something might be fundamentally wrong with one of my own–including a disposition to behave like something other than a human critter. Parents no doubt have reasons to be wary of social influences and other features of America today. However, I believe that a child’s identification as a “furry” isn’t one of them.

Truth is, from my wide-ranging reading, I associate the term “Furries” with a society of like-minded adults who gather at conferences where they dress up as their preferred animals: cat, dog, lion, wombat, kangaroo….and socialize. Other than the costumes, their friendships and activities are pretty much what other adults do at a gathering of accountants or college professors or politicians. These sociable Furries pose no threat to me or you.

Go ahead. Be a Furry. It’s a free country. Meanwhile, kids who “identify” as lions and tigers and bears for recreational purposes will get some exercise. They will eventually outgrow the playfulness that derives from their imaginations. In fact, that’s too bad. We could all use more imagination, playfulness, and humor in our everyday lives.

As I’ve said many times in this series of essays: FEAR NOT

Fear is the driving force behind racism, violence, and despair. Fear of some other way of thinking, dreaming, being. But as to our humanity, there is no “other.” Let’s try to get our heads and hearts around that scientific fact.