When I discovered the fandom in 2010, I realised I could be a furry, but I was seriously in denial of it. It took me two years to eventually try it out. That's when I joined here. Since then I'd started understanding all the anti-furry things I'd seen beforehand and only then did I start looking into all the hate around the fandom. Now I have my own theories and pretty much I'm all happy to be considered a furry.
Few notes:
The hate around the fandom is long gone - Only furries hate furries now for some reason.
Other people either don't know what a furry is, or just think furries are weird.
Internet users generally feel that furries are all "look at me i'm a furry and special woof woof, etc" and dislike them for that only.
An example of what I didn't understand before
(http://i478.photobucket.com/albums/rr143/Hawkham/furries.jpg)