Once again RL and other things conspired against me, and the time I could spend at One Billion Rising (OBR) in Second Life 2014 wasn’t what I had hoped would be the case. Since then, other things have also conspired to keep this post on hold, so my apologies for the fact it is a little on the late side.
Last year, as it was the first official OBR year, there was something of a long lead-up to the event. It was new territory, a team had to be put together, musicians, DJs and artists contacted and a generally awareness campaign launched.
This year the timetable was – in terms of publicity at least – somewhat shorter (although those involved in the organisation had obviously been working away quietly for some time before word started spreading through blogs, forums and word of mouth).
Even so, the turn-out was good, and the four regions sponsored for the event were amazing, with Victor1 Mornignton’s magnificent four-region stage a wonder to behold. Around it, along all four regions, artists from around the world had contributed some fabulous pieces which encouraged visitors to explore and avail themselves of the kiosks providing information on real-world groups and organisations providing support for victims of violence.
Of course, there were familiar voices raised against the event in the SL Feeds, rolling-out the same, hollow excuse in order to engage in a passive/aggressive attempt to disparage the event on the grounds that it “ignores violence against men”; an argument which to me is akin to saying it is better to do nothing with regards to violence against children as it “ignores” violence against adults.
For my part, and while I didn’t get to spend quite the amount of time at the event as I’d hoped, I would like to pass on my thanks to the organisers, sponsors, artists, musicians and DJs who gave time, effort and commitment to making it happen. Kudos, as well, to all of those – of either gender – who attended (and thank you, to all of you who IM’d me with hellos!).
In the meantime. I tried my hand at another video …
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
Of the art pieces, I thought that Ty Byk’s was the most provocative.
He took on the subject of Islamic honor-killing and gender inequality, and included Q’ranic verses.
I’d be curious to hear what feedback he and the organizers received as a result of this piece.
-ls/cm
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I’d be interested to hear about the feedback on Byk’s as well, but even more interested to know what the thinking behind it was.
The inclusion of the verses without more context was potentially troubling: there are a great many very liberal Muslims who are no more “fundamentalist” in their approach to their sacred texts than are the majority of Christians. There was some danger, I thought, of this being read as a blanket condemnation of an entire religion and/or culture.
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I’ve got to admit that while I deeply admire Tyrehl’s work, your comments echo my thoughts on seeing the piece.
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Laskya, all three Abrahamic religions are deeply misogynistic. It’s just that, at this moment, it is certain parts of the islamic world (like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan etc) where women are in a horrible position. Incidentally, liberal Muslims (and I know quite a few of them) are not offended by any reference to these particular verses of the Quran. Mind you, the Quran’s author adopted victim-blaming (typical for a man of that era) on many instances, and this is what led him to write these verses. The only ones “offended” are the religious nuts. I personally can’t be bothered to care about what they think.
This, of course, doesn’t make certain passages in Christianity’s and Judaism’s holy books any less misogynistic. Have you read what St. Paul has to say about women? Or what the Old Testament says? I can very easily point these passages out. Would that be a blanket condemnation of entire religions and cultures? No, because we have evolved and no longer take the scrolls scribbled by half-literate self-appointed prophets thousands of years ago as the ultimate guide to how our lives should be lived. This is precisely what liberal Muslims think, and it’s in line with how liberal Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists etc think.
As for those that have their minds riveted in the Dung Ages… Why should we be sensitive to their sense of entitlement and their glorification of their ignorance?
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On a side note: Those people who try to denigrate OBR didn’t say that it ignores violence against men, but rather that it condones violence against men. This, of course, makes their rationale all the more irrational.
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Thank you for the clarification.
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You’re welcome. As I said, the claim that OBR (and other campaigns to end violence against women) condones violence against men makes these people’s rationale entirely irrational and automatically invalidates any “argument” they could offer, as they fabricate something and begin from a position that, factually, is entirely wrong – i.e. from a lie.
Hmmmm… How do we call an attempt to denigrate someone or something using false accusations?
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Thus, sticking to the succinct analogy You offered in Your post, I suppose they would say that campaigns to end violence against children condone violence against adults. How such people can claim to be rational in any way boggles my mind.
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Mona’s words are the most wise ones i read in a long long time!
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