Monday, September 17, 2012

A Special Place In Hell: Sisters Hurting Sisters in Second LIfe

As Sisterhood takes the long and often painful journey towards the future, (carrying the future with it, as it does) and the endless work of awareness and enlightenment continue, three will always be dark moments.

In the virtual world of Second Life, it has been my joy to see Matriarchal principles flourish despite the sometimes stunning opposition from archaic and destructive elements.  However, a few dark moments do appear.

Predictably, we can expect a certain amount of foolishness and 'loud noise' from patriarchal movements, those who stubbornly cling to a past of arrogance and aggression. Anyone who follows or even senses the essence of 'new wave' feminism or coming Matriarchy knows that those loud noises are doomed to extinction anyway. Matriarchy is the natural evolution and Sisterhood simply washes over the arrogant (and out-of-control) men more and more each day. See the throngs of screaming 'boys' who lack self-control all over the world and realize they have limited time to get their affairs in order.

Now there are always 'good men' too. They evolve and become better. Eventually they all do.

But the dark moments are not about men, they are about Sisters. 
Call it cultural brainwashing, or a patriarchal hangover, but there are still Sisters out there who would prefer to chant the mantra of patriarchy and victimize other Sisters. They still prioritize men over their Sisters. They lash out and hurt Sisters and do not even see the damage they do to Sisterhood.

Educating men? No problem! That takes care of itself with time. Eventually, they fall into the wave of destiny. But educating some of our Sisters? Not so easy!

In Second Life, I've found it occurs far too often. Everything from public humiliation to disrespect to apathy towards the plight of Women in SL. (and yes, turning a blind eye to a Sister who is being discriminated against is tantamount to harming a Sister...you do that and we all lose)

We have enough of a challenge overcoming odds in this world (virtual or otherwise) without the extra insidious phenomenon of Sister-on-Sister arrogance. Want to follow the script of the manipulative patriarchy? Then attack a Sister. You fall into the trap....

Or, as Madeleine Albright once famously said, 'There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women'.

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