Anonymity and Total Freedom

Imagine having total freedom. You can say or do anything you want with no consequences. No criticism. No condemnation. Heck, no jail time.

"You can easily judge the character of a man by how he treats those who can do nothing for him." —Malcolm S. Forbes

In Second Life, you get an avatar with a new identity. Along with it, comes anonymity. There’s no connection to the real you, so you are pretty much free to go hog-wild. Who cares about impropriety?

I’ve read hundreds of profiles. Yes, hundreds. The number one complaint I’ve seen is about males running around with their Xcite set to visible and asking women, “Wanna f*ck?” I can’t remember the number of times somebody has explicitly stated they do not want to get a dick pic. Wait! You actually have to say this?

It’s at this point I shake my head in an expression of incredulity. Somebody gets the unique opportunity to start over with a new identity along with unrestricted freedom, and their first impulse is to ask for sex and/or hand out a picture of their junk.

Wow. Like really wow.

My joke for all you ladies. If a man ever asks you, “Wanna f*ck?”, you respond, “Yes. Just not with you.”

I feel inclined to apologise on behalf of my gender. I like to think — I hope — dick pics are the exception to the rule, but considering the #MeToo movement, there seems to be a statistically significant portion of the male population which merits caution.

Just today, I talked with a newbie, here in SL for one month, and she told me that in the first week, she received several impolite inquiries, including dick pics. Dear Men — Or should I say boys? — What the hell is wrong with you?

"You’re never too old to be immature."
-Unknown

While everyone in SL has a new identity, a new avatar, a new look, a new age, a different gender or even species, we remain irrevocably our RL mind. Despite efforts to the contrary — SL and RL are separate and never the twain shall meet — we all bring our baggage, so to speak, from real life: our personality, our education, our experiences, and our worldview. If someone is nice in RL, there’s a good chance they’ll be nice in SL. If they’re an idiot in RL, well, you get the picture.

I’ve jokingly said that you can buy anything you want on Marketplace to make your avatar into however you want to present yourself to the world. Unfortunately, Marketplace has not yet started selling personalities. There are no temperament enhancements to buy. You can look like a million bucks, but the moment you open your mouth, you blow the whole image.

SL Drama
Ah yes, the eternal problem of not getting along. From my experience, I have a theory about happy and unhappy.

Happy people are kind, generous, and sympathetic if not empathetic.

Unhappy people are mean, cruel, and always find fault with others, never with themselves.

There are a number of unhappy people in both worlds, SL and RL.

If someone is mean or cruel to me, I wonder what they’re going through. While it could be attributed to a bad day, there’s been times when my investigations have led me to conclude that the person in question is having a bad life. Bad parents, bad circumstances, economic hardships, health issues, heck, any one of a number of things that would make anybody’s life difficult, if not a living hell.

I stay away from such people, but I’m not inclined to take it personally. They have an issue. They may be trying to deal with it, or they have no idea they do have an issue. It’s not me; it’s them. I’m sorry. I hope they work things out. In the meantime, I’m going to head for the hills and never the twain shall meet. I just hope they don’t end up in a headline after going postal.

Final Word
It doesn’t hurt to be nice. While Second Life is a game (MMORPG), we all must remember that behind every avatar is a human being.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
-The Golden Rule

"Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a batlle you know nothing about."

What would we do in RL? Be impolite? Disrespectful? Send a dick pic? Ask women, “Wanna f*ck?” That type of behaviour doesn’t win friends and influence people in real life. What makes anybody think it’s going to work in Second Life?

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"
-Mary Oliver (b 1935), American poet

All the best to you in your worlds (plural: SL & RL). :-)

2019-10-04