Rolling Restart Tuesdays

Jumping from sim to sim is the average Tuesday experience in Second Life.  The regions restart on a rolling schedule, so when you get the 30 second warning of a restart, you teleport or get logged off.  Being used to using my main account, I abandoned my build in a sandbox at the 30 second warning and clicked "teleport home"...only to realize my home was still set at the Violet Infohub.  Unless I'm up for some Earth-shattering lag, I tend to avoid infohubs.  But, oh well, I was already there.  I sat down on a bench in the corner and waited for enough time to elapse before teleporting back to my build.  Normally I'm up for a debate, but I hadn't had my coffee yet.  Initially I was less than thrilled when Mr. Know-It-All, "EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance" (say that three times fast) came up to me:

[06:17]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: Anomie is a shitty looking zombie
[06:17]  Anomie Calamity: Oh yeah, EqualRightsIsABadJoke, you totally know your zombies.
[06:17]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: I THINK I DO!
[06:18]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: Look at yourself
[06:18]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: Theres like a picture of a heart on you
[06:18]  Anomie Calamity: It's a tattoo, obviously.
[06:19]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: Zombies dont tattoo themselves. They eat brains.
[06:19]  Anomie Calamity: You know zombies come from people, right?
[06:19]  Anomie Calamity: And that some people have tattoos.
[06:19]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: If you had a tattoo like that BEFORE you died, then no loss becoming a zombie.

By then, after just the beginning of what became a very long disjointed conversation, I was already laughing.  Long Name Guy, just like everyone I've met in SL (myself included) was guilty of judging someone based on appearance alone.  He just wanted me to get angry, and getting angry about something that trivial is a waste of valuable energy.  I had some questions though.  Once I changed the subject, he got even more animated, and even more people joined in the conversation.

[06:28]  Anomie Calamity: Why are equal rights a bad joke?
[06:28]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: Cause we're not all equal
[06:28]  Becky Lowtide: stop
[06:28]  Becky Lowtide: stop
[06:28]  Anomie Calamity: and why is that?
[06:28]  Becky Lowtide: no
[06:28]  Becky Lowtide: oh stop
[06:28]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: We'd like to think we are, but we're not.
[06:29]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: I'd be damned if a kid with downs syndrome would think he's the equal to say... the CEO of general motors.
[06:29]  Krista Canucci: my fav porn is called puddin fart
[06:29]  Anomie Calamity: Equal rights and equality in general are not the same thing.
[06:29]  Becky Lowtide: lol
[06:29]  Becky Lowtide: are there fat chicks in it?
[06:29]  Becky Lowtide: lol
[06:29]  Becky Lowtide: eek
[06:29]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: So by not being his equal, he cannot have equal rights.
[06:30]  Krista Canucci: all you see is her ass and it looks kinda meaty
[06:30]  Anomie Calamity: RIGHTS means you have the right to the same quality of life as everyone else regardless of who you are. Equality itself, that doesn't exist.
[06:30]  Becky Lowtide: this sounds like a stupid conversation
[06:30]  Becky Lowtide: i thought id contribute
[06:30]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: Also, I don't think people with lesser Intelligence quotient should have the ability to vote.
[06:30]  Anomie Calamity: Then ignore it, Becky.
[06:31]  Becky Lowtide: well ill try
[06:31]  Becky Lowtide: carry on
[06:31]  Anomie Calamity: Okay, that's assuming voting does anything. But what gets me here, no listen-
[06:31]  Anomie Calamity: this is fucking second life.
[06:31]  Anomie Calamity: and we are all avatars and all have the same "rights" under the TOS.
[06:32]  Anomie Calamity: so why make a statement like that here?
[06:32]  Becky Lowtide: what?
[06:32]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: Who says im refering to SL?
[06:32]  Anomie Calamity: I'm not saying you are.
[06:32]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: So we can only talk about second life on second life is that it?
[06:32]  Anomie Calamity: I'm saying you chose the wrong venue for this particular argument.
[06:32]  Anomie Calamity: It's your username, ffs.
[06:32]  Becky Lowtide: good point
[06:32]  EqualRightsIsABadJoke Lastchance: And we're not all equal under the TOS. Avatar age is all that matters on here.
[06:33]  Anomie Calamity: Not really. You're an obvious alt. And this is not my main. You never know someone's age on here.

What I wanted was a civil, intelligent conversation.  I didn't leave Violet completely disappointed, but I guess it's irrational to expect cunning conversation in SL, just as in real life.  EqualRightsIsABadJoke abruptly flew away and I made the excuse that I had to return to my build, but in reality I just logged off to trim my dog's butt hair. 

And the five minutes I spent doing that were far more fulfilling than the forty-five minutes in total I spent at the Violet Infohub.  Even considering the fact that my neighbor was drunkenly ranting to me about her messy divorce through the fence the whole time.  I've never brought myself to do it, but as the infohub reminds us (at least in SL), "if someone is annoying you, mute them!"  But don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you.  I might miss some witty social commentary.