There are varying
degrees of otherkin identification. Some (many furries, for example) simply enjoy the lifestyle but do not necessarily think they
truly are, say,
anthropomorphic foxes. Some (from my impression, many, but that might be just because this is how my ex-SO and good friend, the only otherkin I've known
IRL have identified) have memories of
past lives in which they were non-humans (and sometimes this includes memories of other lives in which they were humans).. in otherwords, they may be, say,
dragons reincarnated as humans (why they feel that
draconity is their true identity rather than one of many may be because that is how they recall spending most of their lives, their most
influential lives, or their first life/lives.) There are also those who go so far as to say not that they used to be, say,
gryphons or that they have gryphon
souls, but that they
are gryphons, currently. Their definition of "are" tends to be somewhat
different than most folks'.
In my experience, there are the pretentious otherkins but there are plenty who have no problems with humans. I think some (a lot?) of the ill-will that does exist stems from the insistance that they are not who/what they feel to be and having people tending to write them off as
crazy or
attention-seekers when they share this part of their
identities. But I've yet to meet a dragon (I haven't met a lot of non-dragon otherkins) who had a problem with me, probably because I'm of the giving-beings-the-benefit-of-the-doubt-when-it-comes-to-their-identity school. As I indicated above, I had a
relationship with a dragon; my humanhood was not an issue.
(As a human-identified being, I hope I'm not stepping on any otherkin toes/hooves/whatever you walk with here with my perceptions.)