American politics has moved into the virtual and it’s getting ugly. Really ugly. Over at New World Notes, James Au (aka Hamlet Linden) explores the flashing, spinning, rainbow coloured lengths to which Second Lifers are going to promote (and bash) the US election candidates.
Au’s post, So Very Kerry, profiles an SLer named IceRink Zamboni who set up a pro-Kerry site on her patch of virtual land (seen at right.) Dugo Jacobs, IceRink’s neighbour, was not impressed with the giant glowing pro-Kerry rainbow across the road, so he did what any good neighbour would do. He bought all the land around IceRink and plastered it with enough Kerry-bashing signs to make Vegas look like a nature reserve.
“If representatives from the Kerry-Edwards campaign ever do take the time to log into Second Life . . . they’ll no doubt be impressed by [IceRink’s] enthusiasm on their behalf. That is, if they can get past the giant billboard on the other side of the highway– featuring their candidate and Jane Fonda and a title that loudly announces “Not Fonda Kerry”. Or the giant spinning cube hovering above her site, announcing “No Kerry” on every side. Or the slightly smaller cube above it, which depicts a cartoon cowboy George W. Bush, branding a donkey.”
– New World Notes
Here’s another example of Dugo’s handiwork. Unfortunately, you need to be a member of Second Life to see the *real* thing, but every day I get closer to setting up an SL account.
