One of the things I love most about our Virtual World is that we come across so many different people from different walks of life. I find that SL often breaks the generalisations and prejudices that we might have had about people. I know over the 9 years I have been part of Second Life that my perceptions have changed…I hope I am far more open-minded and tolerant than I was and I always considered myself to be a very tolerant person in the first place.

I have lots of examples of this having worked and played in various communities over the years and one of the biggest changes I have seen has happened under my own nose.  6 years ago almost I hired a female avatar DJ to work at my club. She insisted on using a voice morpher which did cause a lot of snickers and giggles from people. Of course people made assumptions…quite rightly as it proved, that this DJ was not in fact a female in real life. A couple of years in this DJ was unaware one night that their voice morpher failed, just for a split second, and several us were able to confirm that it was a male voice. No one said a word. To us, she wanted to be known and associated as a female and we were fine with that. It was her SL and she could be whatever she wanted to be.

For one reason or another the DJ left my employ but came back a few years later and asked to rejoin the team. I said yes, but not with a voice morpher. The voice morpher is unclear and distracting, I said, and besides we all know you have a male voice. By this time I also had several other dj’s whose avies didn’t match the voice and it really was no big deal to anyone. The DJ was surprised we knew, shocked we had known for so long and I think mostly pleasantly surprised that she hadn’t noticed any change whatsoever in how people related to her.

Everyone has things going on behind the avatar that others may not know about. Some might, but most won’t unless you are a person that shares everything with everyone like a daily edition of a newspaper. I’ve been reminded of this today as I read Facebook and find out that someone I know has been dealing with the decline and now passing away of a parent to cancer. This person knows full well that they get a fair amount of criticism from some quarters for how they interact with others sometimes. My writing that won’t be a surprise. But, reading that this morning really made me remember the adage ‘Be Kind to Others, You never know what battles they are fighting’

Have a wonderful Thursday everyone and treat people how you would like to be treated today.

Credits:

Body – Maitreya Lara

Head – Lelutka Stella

Appliers – Lara Hurley Midtone and Alena Head Applier

Eyes – Ikon – Storm

Hair – Exile – Blown Away

Jacket – Erratic – Mischa Wrap Coat

Pants – Maitreya – Leather Leggings

Shoes – fri.day – Samantha Booties **NEW** at C88

Earrings – Kunglers – Blanche **NEW** at ON9

unKindness -Country Pumpkin Candles **NEW** at Tres Chic. from 17th September

DDD – Handing Candles

Skye Studio Tree Tunnel