Second Life Culture: Intro

Before I get into my opinions and musings on this topic (and really it's
the kind of thing that's bound to spread itself over several posts), my
readers may wish to know what qualifies me to make my opinions public.

Well, in real life, I do have a bachelors in psychology. I also should
have applied for official recognition of Minors that I accidently
qualified for along the way in History, Anthropology, and
Sociology...but I was so focused on taking care of getting my major
taken care of, the Minors really did slip my attention until my advisor
(whom I never used) pointed out my qualification for them when he was
signing off on my fulfilled requirements for my psych degree...but at
the time I was so frazzled by college and the whole system, I was fully
dedicated to making my escape without any pit stops on the way.

During my formal education, I made some surprise discoveries about
myself. I had expected that Abnormal Psych would be my primary interest.
It wasn't. Abnormal psych I actually found boring. People who suffer
within the categories of abnormal psychology have behaviors and emotions
that stem from fairly clear cut causes.

My surprises came when I took Social Psych. That's the psych of the
general public. The stuff we accept and pass off as "normal" psychology.
Big Deal, right?

Well actually...I found it to be a really damn Big Deal. The stuff most
people blithely pass off as "abnormal" or "aberrant" actually fall into
THIS category of psychology. Including most criminal behaviors. And I've
not been idle since leaving formal education. I've continues my readings
in my areas of interest (cultural anthropology is a cherished favorite).

Does that qualify me to talk about the subject in regards to Second
Life? That is up to you really. Your assessment of my competency will be
deeply impacted by whether or not you agree with my opinions. So it
really is subjective.

Either way, I'm putting my opinions on this blog...because it's my damn
blog.

Righty-o then.

I'm a traveler. Seeing the world is my real life hobby. I've been to
Japan, China, Greece, Italy, France, and Spain so far. While none of
these cultures are my own, I accept and appreciate that the norms and
customs of these places work for the people who uphold them. I'm not
out to "Americanize" the world. Every culture, including my own, has
flaws and imperfections that run uncomfortably deep in places. And every
culture (even the ones commonly held by many to be "wrong" from the word
go) have something beneficial to offer others. So I have some experience
and understanding when it comes to trying to hold back the urge to
rashly pass judgment on others just for being "other".

And Second Life is a world community. Potentially offensive or upsetting
cultures or lifestyles are only a teleport away. And in the noncommittal
areas like most clubs, stores, and gathering places...all these SL
lifestyle choices rub and sometimes bump up against each other. And
sadly, that sometimes means that hurtful, or spiteful words may be
exchanged...with each party going off with an even more negative opinion
of the other party's whole lifestyle than before.

The jerkiness of one person effects your opinion of everyone like that
person, despite those others never having done one thing to you.
Obviously, this is not limited to SL...but SL in many ways is Reality
Magnified.

I've often found that the things in SL that drive me nuts are really the
same things that I'm not particularly wild about in real life. So if we
can find it in ourselves to find the joy in our common ground in
SL...maybe then we might be ready to truly be a global community in RL.

Ahh...yes. It's is the New Year, which makes me hopeful, optimistic, and sentimental about the future.

Not such a bad thing.