To those who know me well, they’ll know that my avie has gone thru quite a few changes in the last couple of months.  The most notable of this is she’s completely neko now.  Not just part time, all the time.  She’s also sporting a lovely leopard skin.

The reasons for making these changes isn’t really the point of this post.  The fact remains that this is who Bailey is.  Now last night I was out shopping with a friend.  This friend happens to be a child av and that child av is my daughter.  The person behind the av is a good friend and I am old enough to be her mother!

The point of all of this was a couple comments directed toward me in IM.  I’ve also heard a number of comments from other people about child avs.  Course I’ve heard loads of comments about nekos in general, Gor slaves, kid avies, furries etc etc  These comments range from the bland to vile things I’d never repeat.

Hearing these comments disappoints me.  This is second life, a place where you can be anyone and anything you wish to be.  Shouldn’t everyone else be able to do the same?  What does it matter to you if I’m out shopping with my daughter?  I’m not asking you to recognize her as my daughter, I’m not even asking you to say hello.  Ignore us if it makes you feel better.   The same would be said for all the others I mentioned above. 

If your out shopping and you see a Gor slave kneeling half naked or a furry, or a vampire or any of the others I’ve mentioned above and you don’t like it, ignore it.  They aren’t asking for you to interact with them.  They are simply there to shop just like you.  Don’t stare, don’t grimace and don’t run to AR them.  Leave them alone, let them shop in peace.  No one is asking you to interact with someone  you don’t wish to. 

I will say though, it’s still polite to say "I’m sorry" when you body slam someone trying to get in the store.

So yeah, I’m disappointed in some of my fellow residents.  Who knew that when we logged in to SL to escape the crap in RL we’d let all that bigotry, hate, and intolerance in.

The next time I’m out shopping with my daughter or son and someone makes a comment, I’m going to ignore them.  I’m not going to waste a moment of my time acknowledging them and their small minds.

The next time your out shopping and you see a Gor slave/master think abou this before you comment, would you tell a neko to take off their tail and ears before going shopping?  Does the fairy or angel need to take her wings off?  Are you going to tell that Vampire , sorry put the teeth away?  What about the robot , can’t even imagine what problem anyone would have with a robot.

Stop being judgmental against someone because you neither understand why they do what they do nor approve of it.  It’s not up to you to like it, or approve it.  They are entitled to live their own second lives as they see fit.

*end rant*

UPDATE:  I’ve closed comments on this post and I will no longer allow comments on this blog that do not stay on track with the message delivered in the post.

They do matter.  Lets all be honest here, appearances matter.  Men and women alike are drawn to whatever we define as attractive.  That definition of attractive is different to all of us.  What is true of everyone though is that in that first instance of seeing a new avatar we form an opinion.  Right or wrong, we do it.  Some keep an open mind until they get to know that new avatar, others have decided in that blink of an eye whether or not that new avatar will get the time of day.

Lets think about this for a minute.  You see an avatar on your screen, they don’t speak, don’t move.  They are just standing there and you are forming an opinion of them.  Don’t say you don’t, we all do.  What we do with that opinion is what’s important.

Ahuva commented on her blog yesterday about someone *suggesting* she needed an AO.  Why does she?  If she’s quite happy with how she walks or stands or sits far be it from me to tell her she *has* to have one.  If she wants one I’ll point her in a few directions but that’s her choice.  I had to have one, I hated watching myself walk around like I had a stick up my butt or that goofy hand on the hip stand.  So, I bought one and  used it for a good 2 years.  I just bought a new one and I love it for it’s convenience.  Ever try to sit somewhere and not be able to???  This AO fixes that. So YaY! 

Ok, so what do you do with that opinion you’ve got?  If it looks like a new resident you’ll have one opinion.  Keep in mind though, that *new resident* could be someone that’s been in world for 2 + years and is just creating an alt.  Can’t judge a book by it’s cover.

While I can appreciate a well put together avatar, it’s what that person has to say that really matters to me.  Intelligent, funny, passionate(about something other than sex ), friendly, compassionate, tolerant.  These are all things that matter to me.  Make yourself an elf, a neko, a furry, robot, whatever.  If you have the above in your personality, chances are I’m going to like you.

Our appearance is as important as you make it be.  That noob you just met could be the most fascinating person to talk to you.  If you don’t take the chance to talk to them though, how will you ever know.  They could also be a jerk so you have to take the good with the bad.

In SL, our avatars appearance reflects how we want to be seen.  It’s not *who* we are.  Next time, don’t discount someone just because of how they look, what they are wearing, whether or not they have AO etc.  Take a minute and talk to them.  You might be very glad you did.