Second Life Lessons

The BBC News reports that a search is underway for the perpetrator of a virtual violent crime. Huh?

Two issues seem relevant in this case:

1) Should behavior in Second Life be subject to the same social regulations as in RL?

2) Should Real Life law enforcement be allowed to cross the boundary into Second Life to pursue a criminal?

The answer to either of these questions is, as with all things virtual, up for debate. The German government, and Linden Lab have already made their decisions, but do they understand the implications?

First things first. Morality is subjective. The social code that we live by in the United States today would horrify our great- great-grandparents, as it horrifies our contemporaries in other countries and cultures.
Marriage after 30, much less 20?!
Divorce?!
Unemployed children?!
Interest on financial loans?!
Alcohol consumption?!
Free speech?!
Recreational tattoos?!
Interracial sexual relationships?!
Regulation of industrial monopolies?!
Women owning property?! And voting?!
Religious tolerance?!
Income tax?!

Oh, the horror!

What is now considered correct has been or will be considered a violation of all that is good and right in the world at some point or another. And morality is a function of so many things - religious beliefs, culture, social status. I harp on this a lot, I know, but my goal is to cure people of a belief in an absolute morality. There is no such thing.

That is not to say that there are no absolutes. There are: birth and death. Nothing else is absolute or certain.

So, from my perspective, the freedom that is currently allowed in Second Life is a good thing - one that may allow humans to explore their beliefs, their identity, their desires, without the infiltration and judgment of today's "real world".

Second, I am not a supporter of child pornography, but I am not in favor of condemning those that are. Ever read Foucault's The History of Sexuality? The separation of children from sex and sexuality until age 18 is a modern social invention, and it is patently false.

All humans use their physical superiority to force others into doing things they don't want to do. The relations of children and adults are only one example. In the realm of sex this can be immensely damaging to the child who is an unwilling participant. But what about adults? That's called rape, not child abuse, but it consists of exactly the same interpersonal dynamic. And there are models for this behavior everywhere, good and bad.

The worshipped high school quarterback and the detested bully are the same guy, they just use different modes of manipulation with their constituents.

The United States military uses its fiscal, physical and numerical superiority to the same effect.

When force comes into play, it is always the same game. If the IRS couldn't eventually send its enforcement arm to collect, would you ever pay your taxes? If the police couldn't arrest you, a judge put you in jail, and a jury condemn you to a punishment up to and including death, would you refrain from murder? drug use? robbery? extortion?

It doesn't matter now, because your choice is this: cooperate or be forced to cooperate, or die.

And last, but not least, the virtual boundary that (metaphysically) distinguishes Second Life from Real Life is forever disrupted by the intrusion of RL expectations and regulations. I would argue that the cooperation of Linden Lab in this matter signifies the beginning of the end. If participants can not feel free to live their fantasy (which for some may include child abuse and pornography, even rape) then Second Life is not what it professes itself to be.

One caveat: Anyone using Second Life as a doorway to their RL - whether that be work or personal interests - has opened themselves to an intrusion by the virtual world into their RL. In this case, the perpetrator used SL as a doorway into his RL hobby providing images of sexually abused children to other members. Because he chose to break the virtual bubble - merging his RL self with his SL self - he should justifiably answer to both authorities.