The premise of this thread's start is correct; if you ban one thing because a lot of people find it offensive, you should ban everything that a lot of people find offensive.
I, and many others, consider the sacrifice of reason to the worship of an invisible, unprovable being very offensive. It has directly and indirectly resulted in massive violence through the ages, and continues even today. Yet I am subjected to its symbols pretty much anywhere I go. If I get on a subway train, for example, I am bound to see at least a couple of people wearing chains around their necks with miniature statues of a naked person being tortured to death as a human sacrifice. (Oh, wait- usually not quite naked; the more modern version covers up the man's private parts at the expense of historical accuracy because, well, a naked human body is something that shouldn't be publicly displayed...of course, on and around some of the older Churches, they haven't gotten around to that yet...)
The vast majority of violence that goes on in this world today, from the thugs who physically assault people over their sexual preferences or skin color to the maniacs who hijack airplaines and fly them into buildings, is either entirely religion-based or at least partly religion-caused.
So can we please ban religious symbols on SL?
I'm being sarcastic, of course. In fact, I don't think that any symbols should be banned on SL; symbols are expression and should be left alone, as is any type of roleplay. Gambling actually does not share that defense, but it does have equally valid defenses that I will not go into because they would be off topic. As I view it, the topic of this post is whether it is advisable to ban something because it is offensive to a large number of people.
As a person of Jewish descent, it frightens me that *Nazi symbols are banned in SL in any context*. This means that if someone built a theatre in SL and tried to produce The Diary of Anne Frank, it would not be allowed unless its imagery was severely restricted. The same goes for The Sound of Music. (Meanwhile, Nazis and their allies in RL can, and most undoubtedly will, point to the restriction in SL as "just another example of Jewish influenced media attempting to stifle truth." -And allthough they oppose the very existence of Jews, they will certainly not hesitate to use Jewish stars in their political cartoons any more than the original Nazis were afraid to insist that Jews wear them in concentration camps.)
As for AgePlay, I don't enjoy it myself, but I have zero issues with it: AgePlay is two adults engaging in fantasy roleplay. Period. People who do have an issue with that are people who have difficulty separating reality from fantasy.
I have a female friend (at least ten years older than I) who enjoys playing the role of a child. Why should she be denied?
The issue that makes sex with children wrong is not the fact that they look like children, it is the fact that they are not experienced enough to know what the long term results of their actions will be, or at least not fully aware of those results, combined with the fact that those results could be negative. A lot of people (mostly those with a religious background) seem to completely lose sight of this issue.
I recently saw an episode of "Law and Order: SVU", in which there was a man sexually involved with a woman who had a genetic disorder that made her look like a child. The implication of the show was that anybody who could be involved in such a relationship, although legally untouchable was a perv and deserved social disapproval. From my experience, I am strongly inclined to believe that this is the viewpoint of most, or at least very many, people and strongly a result of both direct and indirect religious influence. I do not share it.
Although I find my friend's baby talk a little bit of a turn-off, it would not be enough to stop me from fulfilling her AgePlay fantasies, if she asked me to. I also would not have a problem becoming involved with a woman who shared the genetic disorder portrayed on that Law and Order episode. Some other things that don't turn me off at all are: amputated limbs, paralyzation, female hermaphroditism (aka an abnormally huge clitoris, this even though I am extremely heterosexual to the point where I don't even like to look at sexual activity in porn unless its all girl-on-girl), flat chested women, women who have lost one or both breasts to cancer, deafness, blindness, and genetic nerve disorders such as CP. To me, the most important sexual feature, short of a person's actual sex, is the brain. What a horrible pervert I am! Much worse than those priests who only molest altar boys...
As a footnote, my wife of nearly 4 years is about 30 years old, which is nearly 20 years younger than myself (we have an open marriage), but the age difference is unimportant to both of us. We love each other, and that is all that matters. Both of our families approve strongly of the marriage.
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