Metaverse Shocker – “Worldwide Virtual Anti-Fur Protest”
by Pixeleen Mistral on 27/06/07 at 10:09 pm
More anti-furry discrimination on the way?
by Pixeleen Mistral, National Affairs desk
Worldwide protest against Second Life furs?
Last week’s /b/ furry death camp could have been only the start of widespread discrimination against one class of metaverse citizens – anthropomorphic cats, dogs, foxes, squirrels, and others known in-world as furs. In a press release sent to the Herald today by Rivers Run Red, it was announced that “Stella McCartney and PETA will co-host on Second Life® the first worldwide virtual anti-fur protest, from July 12th for a week”. Does being “virtual anti-fur” mean that real life fur suiters are OK, but metaverse furries are bad?
We can only speculate about what prompted this protest in SL and wonder if any of the players involved realize the largest group of non-human metaverse citizens are known as furs. Is Ms. McCartney courting a Linden ban for broadly offensive behavior? Intolerance is frowned upon by the Linden game gods, who are known to ban for “any reason or no reason”. Let us hope this does not end in tears for Ms. McCartney.
The mood in Luskwood and Furnation sims – both furry enclaves – was somber tonight, in striking contrast to comments by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk who said, “Stella’s Second Life fur protest is a light-hearted way to draw attention to a very serious issue”. While furries are generally accepted by longtime SL residents, some privately express anti-fur sentiments, and suggest that various criminal elements are over-represented in the furry population – such as underage players and those into extreme role play. Acceptance of the furry community may be less prevalent among the newer real-life-in-second-life partisans, and may account for the unfortunate tone of the planned protest.
A number of furs the Herald contacted wished to remain nameless for fear of reprisals – but viewed this as still another form of harassment, wondering why Ms. Newkirk and McCartney have chosen to align themselves with the anti-furry goon and griefer elements in the metaverse. Several furries in Furnation Prime sim when informed of the anti-fur protests considered an anti-anti-fur protest – with rusty hatchets, cruxs and hyenas.
According to the announcement, the Stella McCartney / PETA Island will be open on Second Life® from 12th-29th July, with a contest for the best anti-fur slogan. It was unclear if the organizers understand the sorts of slogans to be expected from the various griefers and anti-fur goons in-world. According to the event organizers, “the best 3 slogans will win Stella McCartney prizes. First prize: 2 tickets to the Spring Summer 2008 fashion show in Paris in October”. Sloganeering furry-haters in Paris – does it get any better?
Isn’t this community worth engaging?
Reading further into the press release we find that Rivers Run Red have been busy “working to develop virtual worlds as a new channel to engage in communities, reach consumers, and build brand experiences”. Having heard of bad experiences with gay hermaphrodite foxes, I can understand some concerns, but is the entire fur community to be written off as no longer worth engaging? Wouldn’t a more furry-friendly slogan have been appropriate for the PETA hypervent?
The press release concludes by noting that “Linden Lab employs a senior team bringing together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking”. There was no mention of Linden Lab expertise in social issues, governance, or community.
Yiffy Yaffle
Jun 30th, 2007
I know what PETA is IRL. I know they are a lot like me and many furries when it comes to caring for animals. Except they don’]t envision themselves as one. The Furry Lifestyle poses no threat in any way to real life animals so i seriously don’]t understand how they plan to pull this off. We are merely humans who envision ourselves as a anthropomorphic being. We do not cause harm to real animals, or each other. Most of us do it for the cute factor, and some of us (like me) go a little further and see it from a spiritual perspective. To my, my furry persona is exactly that.
It’s a vision of myself if i was not human. It is also the spiritual guide that helps me make it through my life. For someone to come up and tell me that I’m wrong for being a furry and i should stop, is the same as telling someone to stop being black, or stop being happy. If PETA’s intentions in SL are to go against my lifestyle then they will definitely fail at it and be banished from SL very fast.
All my life i have rooted for PETA and supported them, but this is enough to turn me against them. I can protect animals on my own if this is how they are going to treat me. HOPEFULLY this is a mis understanding and they are only here to promote how wrong it is to skin a animal and wear it’]s flesh and hair. However i don’t think they can really do much with that in a virtual world where everything is fake. Any fur coats that exist in SL are made of prims and textures.
Yiffy Yaffle
Jun 30th, 2007
What i think is going on is PETA didn’t really think about what the term “Fur” means to the virtual world of Second Life. They wanted to do something virtual and online, to protect animals yet they chose the wrong name to go by in SL. In SL the term FUR, as we all know, is short for Furry. a furry is what i explained many times. Anthropomorphic Role Play creatures. I believe PETA came here to advertise how much they have a distaste for people wearing animal hides IRL and killing them for sport. They just dove in prematurely into a world they did not understand. This is just what i think about the situation.
Garshom Taov
Jun 30th, 2007
Did I miss something? I thought a SL furry was supposed to be a human becoming a virtual animal (avatar), not a human avatar wearing a animal skin?
In any event, I think PETA and the like have somehow ignored the reality that humans are animals too. But then again, I think most humans have forgoten that too, given the way some humans treat other animals like commodities, sometimes disposable.
Yiffy Yaffle
Jun 30th, 2007
It’s part of human nature not to understand and be afraid of things that are different. I only wish one day this fear can be conquered, but theirs so many people that need to learn this. The fact is that Nobody is the same. We all have our differences, but if someone is a tad TOO different, then all hell breaks loose. It’s gone from Cavemen hating each other for having different hair/eye color and genders, smashing each other with rocks, to different skin colors, to now different forms of role play in a virtual environment. It’s very silly looking at all of it, and i bet if we are being observed by aliens they are wondering how they will be able to interact with us one day without rocks being hurled at them.
Beezle W.
Jun 30th, 2007
Posted by: MorriLeFay | June 27, 2007 at 11:49 PM
Ahahahah at NOBODY here getting the satirical point of the article.
= = =
This is the Second Life Herald — it’s always a question of whether they mean satire or are actively looking to cause completely unnecessary drama.
Mike
Jul 1st, 2007
What!? PETA ‘Anti Fur’ is absolutely NOTHING to do with ‘furries’! It’s about fur in fashion, which Stella is strongly against.
SLH should get its facts straight before printing such rubbish.
Ishtarangel Micheline
Jul 4th, 2007
This just shows how something with good intentions can go wrong. If any of you know me in Second life you know im both a human avatar and my various cat and lion avatars. I as many in second life have fun being a furry.
Now in real life Peta i can understand what they do but they do approach things with a iron handed touch. Which is why i have never supported them. Doing a protest like this in second life with out researching the communities is like drowning the baby in the bathwater. You have your idiot christians that think being furry is ungodly and unatural and will try to ruin a good time for all. Once they a protest like this they will latch on to it with all their idiotic might. Like that one idiot preacher in Kansas that preaches that the soldiers die cause how being gay is wrong.
I say to those running Peta, use a brain and do research before you go into a community like second life. You may be well meaning but in the end you cause more trouble then its worth.
mootykips
Jul 4th, 2007
Beezle W: spoiler, name of the poster is below the post
Unknow
Jul 6th, 2007
Damn BITCH !!!
Rixxster
Jul 8th, 2007
Why use a pre existing word that describes something else, Such as the word furry can be like artists or people who like costumes.
Then why say that “Furrys” use real animal fur. Not everyone does so dont go fucking saying that all furrys do. Most of its fuax fur not real. Try inventing another word that hasnt already been used that describes people who do wear it becuase its not everyone.
Chaz Maz
Mar 31st, 2009
Second Life: Land of the WEAK home of the BROKEN
First of all, I have been there, have done that. Had clubs, owned land, made friends, money, and fell in love. Second life on the surface, especially for the newbie and Entrepreneur/artist is a fun and cool place to make some friends, and make some money. It is looked at as a supercharged chat room, a video game. But the nature of its name is where the insidiousness is. As much of a second life (SL) as it might be, in order to operate you still have to use your Real Life (RL) abilities. You do not follow a different thought and emotional pattern when in SL. You can only use what you know in RL. But kidding yourself is one of the appeals of SL. You eventually get lost in it.
At first it is new and exciting. Like a new video game. Learning the functions that move your avatar around, visiting places and socializing with the natives. You are perfect, and you can fly. No sickness, no need for money (well not as much) and people don’t have bad breath and, as a “normal”, “intelligent” person, it is an interesting place to explore and learn. But it eventually becomes one of three things. 1. Boring, like a video game you have played over and over. 2. An environment to explore your creative ability to design and sell things. Or, 3 it consumes your psyche.
The first two are what they are; the third is the meat and potatoes of SL. This is the one that is more consistent. Do you really think the folks at Linden Labs are spending their free time on SL.? No, they are spending the money they are making in RL (SL is a business so it is RL for them) on RL things.
There comes a saturation point where you walk away or get sucked in. I will say this for the last time and it does not apply to you newbie’s, or the smart ones that are making money off the lonely. It is a place to hide from reality. It is a place where weak, lost souls go to escape from the depth and breadth of life. I will allow some latitude for you shut-ins. Some people have nothing else but the four walls of the room they are in. SL can provide a form of “human” entertainment that they otherwise would not be able to get. But, that just causes the shut-in to let go of their emotional self being even more. This is a hard pill to swallow, no one wants to take a good look at them selves and most do not. But the covert nature of SL allows you to cut loose. Sort of the absolute power corrupts absolutely theory. People that stay too long get lost in it. And yes, justifying all the way, that it is just a game. For the predator, and a predator is weak by nature, it is a place to be free of thought and persecution. To dominate the weak that makes SL their home. And, it is a place for the weak to not be judged, a place that they can feel and accept that who they are is ok, even if it is with the few. Some people can handle the trials and tribulations of life, some can’t and they end up in SL. You start to see a symbiotic circle of relationships in SL. For the people designing objects to sell, they may not interact totally and directly with the person/s and, their sales may come from across the board. The newbie that is playing the “game” to the obsessed, but, the obsessed is a long term customer. Theses business individuals usually get in, add new product, convert their lindens to dollars or pounds and get out.
The tragedy is the weak and broken. Don’t roll your eyes, In the Real World we are always conned with flashy marketing to get us to buy something or believe something in order to be more acceptable. Magic creams or potions. Don’t kid yourself; Second Life is about making money. Making money off of what? Our loneliness and our lack of self worth in the real world. HELLO, McFly!! It is called Second Life.
It might be simple, you build a club, people come and visit or create a group, and you solicit for members. People get together and boom, you feel wanted and needed. Building your dream home in the clouds and littering your lawn with cool things like jets and swimming pools. That can make you popular. Walking in a park with your perfect Avatar girlfriend/boyfriend, no RL issues so it is a perfect relationship. That leads to good puppet sex. Mmmm nice. All this is accomplished by tugging on your weakness, your emotional frailty. Either you are not getting it in RL or are too afraid to face the truth of how to exist in RL. You can’t handle the truth and if you are a long term SL puppet, you just can’t handle life, Real Life. Don’t get me wrong, we all like to escape from time to time.
In some places it is much darker, like I said before, predators hunting the weak. The Gorean Master and the slaves that he takes control of. This one is unusual, in that the Master has total control over the slave. The “slave” giving not only total control of their Avatar, and who can communicate to them, but also, control as to when they will or will not talk to what they can wear. Believe me this does carry over to real life. Imagine the fun of kneeling next to your Avatar Master and saying nothing. Second life being nothing more then a place to be told what to do, serving fake food and ale. You want to call it guided, or taught? Hey, what ever floats your boat? I know just a video game, right? This setup just allows the predator to get in that persons head and develop a false sense of security. Tell that to your husband, wife, girlfriend, or boyfriend. Why you are glued to the PC instead of enjoying life, REAL LIFE. And, couples also get on there too, as couples, this is a nutty one. Worked hard all week, beautiful weekend, and, you both are on a computer, every free moment, building and designing that special home, having that child you never could have. (Yes, people do play the part of the child.) I find it unhealthy when instead of developing a better real life and real relationship in RL. You take that precious time and waste it. Yes, ok… You are free to do what you want. But there are plenty of damaged people on SL. And your fantasy could be causing them to loose sense of reality, along with your lost sense of reality. Their marriages, get funky, destroyed, their children get neglected. And you get a ridiculous God complex that makes you anti social in the Real World, which just plummets yourself deeper in to SL. Cha Ching! Sweet business you got Linden People.
You have the 50+ couple that spends every “free” moment in SL being the King and Queen. Oh, and so good to their obedient subjects. At their beckons call, at their total command. Or, the sexual perverts. Ok, my opinion….. That can now live out the fantasy of doing it with a farm animal. Or, kneeling down and being the public toilet. Sex is rampant in SL. The anonymous nature of your avatar is something too. You really do not know if the man is a woman or the woman is a man, plenty of men that are living out their desire to be a Transsexual, or a woman. Plenty of women that want to love another woman, so she hides in the body of a man. I guess what you don’t know won’t hurt you. Hey, no one is getting hurt, no aids. Nicey nice. The soul is willing but the flesh is weak. So, the wall that SL provides, allows for an easier transition to experiment. Sad part is as your getting deeper and deeper; you are getting more lost in fantasy then reality and they start to blend. Actually, you probably were lost between the two to begin with. Now you go out into the real world. Take a break; meet one of your SL friends. Break the rule, cross that line; remember SL and RL are supposed to be two different places. People meet up, some get married, the rare few. But mostly it is a letdown, disappointment, and harm to others. It is a dirty little secret. Who wants to tell people that you got into that trouble because you decided to meet your “make believe” friend?
Lips stay sealed, people get hurt. And in the end, the only place they feel right, the only place that people understand is right back on Second Life. CHA CHING!