Interesting....

reread previous statement....then read back a bit...pause...think...
then post

I already have, as I said NOTHING will justify for it! I dont care what your symbolic reasoning or plan in Aqua is! What part of that are you missing?

*Bangs head on keyboard* The knee jerk effect being caused by the burning cross has nothing to do with religion. Thats why no one cares about your broken Islam sign. If you want to object to religion, go ahead. No one cares. But the burning cross is the univeral symbol for NEGROS BEWARE!!!!(this statement has been PGed for your protection). I didn't jump on you because I thought you somehow miraculously didn't know what a burning cross implied. I still don't think you get it.

As for what you are doing now. Looks like you are working to make the whole game PG and gamble free because you can't have whatever you had out in the open. Again, sounds like "If I can't do what I want, no one can do what they want."

I totally agree with you Kas, you would think someone like Az would understand what kind of message this sends out, and what his "symbol" actually means, I didn't want to get into details because I didn't want to offend anyone. But I can promise you if I see it in Aqua or anyone else, I will be one of the first to report it...

I am fully aware of the symbolism....thats why it was chosen...it implies intolerance on different levels

Chosen by whom? Do you realize how many people will be offended by the sight of it? Myself included!

Well if thats the case I guess I will go get a tree, hang a noose from it and swear to gawkers that its just my artistic expression of man's constant struggle against nature. That is doesn't mean what everyone will assume it means, but instead symbolizes the impending destruction of our world through man's constant abuse of what they are most dependant on.

-or-

I could choose not to be a pompous jerk.

Heh.

I'm guessing it's a 'cultural difference', or maybe simply because we don't have bunches of rednecks running round wearing sheets and pillowcases for everyone to immediately identify it with, but here in the UK a burning cross would mean very little. Very few people would be offended by it.

And maybe this is just me - though I really don't think so - but I really don't see what is wrong with a hangmans noose. I have one. I have a guillotine too. And various other devices designed to maim or kill your widdle pixelated avatars. I'm not making any kind of statement by it. It's not art. It's bloody funny. And I really don't care what anyone thinks I'm trying to say by it. Dream up any reason you like and apply it, by all means. I couldn't care less.

All I can say is, anyone easily offended would be well advised to stear clear of my island when its complete.

These cross-culture differences between the Americans and Brits constantly serve to remind me that I'm an alien minority in an American virtual world.

Flame on!

Of course these symbols mean nothing to you. Its not your history. People didn't hang thousands of your ancestors from trees as sport. Forgive me and mine if we are still alittle touchy on the subject.

I honestly don't know enough about British history to give you an example of something that would be considered equally offensive. But just like someone holding two fingers up would mean peace before it meant f-you over here a burning cross is an in your face reminder, "look what my daddy used to do to your daddy, you think it can't happen again?" Heck, some random person just called me n*gger last night because my avatar is black. Its good to see we have evolved as a people...

Please tell me you abuse reported the the idiot with the IQ of a 6 year old using the N word. Please.

Don't worry Kas, I had a few people stop talking to me cus I posted my opinion here! No big deal, they are just as ignorant as the owner of the cross.

The noose has been used since the 18th century in the United States to represent "death to blacks / slaves".

It has been a tool of intimidation and a sign to black people - especially post Emancipation - that their neck was meant for that noose if they did a number of things considered wrong. Looking in the eyes of whites, not stepping off the sidewalk when whites approached, looking at white women, entering in a wrong area of town, and more.

So the noose is really a sign of "kill that black person".

It is recognized even in the military so that displaying such an item will get you court martialed and in the Navy, the first rule we learned in boot camp knot making class was "make a noose and you are going home".

Briana Dawson

interestingly enough...not every one lives in the US.............

Excellent observation. Although somewhat unneccessary since this is a U.S. dominated 'virtual world' and obvious ethnocentrism exists.

However <comma> I supposed I should have 'qualified' my post just in case any supposed deep-thinker thought it was a universalizable statement meant to be applied to the entire world at large.

But, somehow i knew this was a U.S.'centric issue and I figured those not in the U.S. would realize this as well, as Kris Ritter pointed out.

heh, the pettiness.

Briana Dawson

*EYES AS BIG AS SAUCERS


That is crazy mang......a noose really a sign "kill that black person".....ROTFLMFAO....Im cryn.......


wow.....ok...not gonna even try to touch this....lmao

man i just cant get over that......if that is a Archetype symbol and universal to all.....someone sure didnt tell Freud or Jung....


the noose certainly would mean death...if we are talking archetype symbols....but it to mean "kill that black man"....


mang...I got tears rolln down my cheeks....

lmao

History was in fact one of my worst subjects in school, so I can't give you a "cultural history" on the noose... however, I can give this..


The noose, also known as the "death" or "hangman's" knot is a very dangerous and lethal knot that is quite effective in killing a person instantly. The knot's, construction as shown in the picture to the upper left, is made up of at least six, but preferably seven or eight coils. In American myth, many say that the knot should have at least thirteen coils, but every source I looked in said 6-8 works just as well. By having this many coils the knot becomes an effective means of snapping the victims neck, killing them instantaneously (rather than the often assumed strangulation of a noose). The noose may still strangle someone, but this comes after the neck breaks and the victim looses all consciousness. The key to the noose is placing it to either side of the neck so the coils are near the ear. It is virtually impossible to escape its wrath once the hangman's plank is removed.
.


And I don't know what part of that you find funny Jolene... enlighten me?

I thought long and hard before stepping into this thread, since it has devolved into some rather sensitive racial territory and personal flames. Az, i have always respected you thus far, but I have to stand against you on this one. A burning crucifix has no place in SL - it is one of the most horrific symbols of hate this side of a swastika, and understandbly would upset people. In fact, it is illegal in the state of Virginia to burn a cross (and the law has been upheld by the US Supreme Court, with many other states considering it), and you would be opening yourself up to some interesting (and untested) legal problems for any person accessing SL from Virginia or via AOL broadband who saw the item.

I will write it off to differences in culture, but as an American based service with the vast majority of members being from the US, you have to show sensitivity to American culture - and you touched on one of the most offensive things you could have shown. Whatever your motivations behind it, you need to recognize that a burning cross is unacceptable to the SL community and violates the TOS, if not the law. This is not a slam against you, as I have no problem with you. I am all for provocative speech, but there was a line that was crossed here that changed it from provocative to hate speech.


Cristiano

In my post I agree that it means as in Archetype symbol....death....but in no way does it mean "kill that black man".....that is totally fabricated or just one persons meaning to themselves....when I see a noose what comes to mind is a hanging...but not "Kill that black man".....thats what I found histerical.....show me where I can find it listed as an archetype symbol with a universal meaning "kill that black man" and I will eat my words.....and feel silly for being so nieve....but I am certain that the noose is not an arche type symbol for "kill that black man"......


didnt you read what i wrote?

I read what you posted, I just didnt see anything comical about it, as I asked what was so funny?

Kris, I'm not sure this is true at all. Most of my friends here would understand the cultural connotations of a burning cross, and absolutely all of those who did would be extremely offended by it.

I apologize Jolene, but this thread is very sensitivce atm, if you have not noticed, and the last thing I wanted to see was a LOL. LMAO... or whatever... as I clearly stated I couldnt give you a history on the use of a noose, but the fact of what a noose actually does and what it is intended for, is no laughing matter.

And now I need to lean the other way and side with Jolene. Saying that the noose is a symbol of "kill the black man" is pretty far reaching. The hangman's noose has universally been used as a form of death penalty, across all races and cultures throughout history. Yes, black people were hung, but so were white people, Indians, Asians, Europeans...the list goes on and on. Death by hanging was the principal form of death penalty in the UK for centuries until the death penalty was outlawed in 1964. A noose is a universal symbol for death, not racism.

Cristiano

Thanks Cristiano, I wasn't doubting that fact one bit, just the laughter on this thread is what disturbed, and I apologized...

It wasn't directed at you