Virtual Reality, Antisemitism and Hamas
The Forgotten, Though Very Active Battlefield
This Demands A Bit Of An Intro:
The following section is an introduction, and I apologize for all the acronyms. That is the technology world!
For a few years now, I have owned my own business in technology, “If-What-If.” I have many years of experience in tech, and my expertise lies in virtual reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and AI. I have been published extensively in both these fields, in some of the most respected journals in the world, under peer-to-peer review.
VR has fascinated me for around twenty years, ever since its infancy. For years, in what is known as “Second Life,” I ran a free university called “The Learning Experience.” (And before you ask, yes, a University populated by real Professors from real Universities who used SL). So, I am not a newcomer to the VR experience.
I expected much more out of Meta and its original turn toward VR & AR, especially with the addition of AI. But this is another discussion for another day.
As part of the If-What-If venture, for a short time, I started a YouTube channel with some movies to educate others on how a “virtual world” works, what an individual needs to know, and how to protect oneself inside VR. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to devote to it, as one has to deal with clients first. (I really should have continued my first efforts in Substack, but I was lazy and continued to drop articles into Medium occasionally, where I have a respectable following.) But let us get back on track here.
I have many friends who are avid members of different VR worlds. They love it and all that they can create within the environment.
Identities In VR
There is something one needs to understand about the VR environment, and more often than not, people don’t really tend to get it. Within some of the videos posted on that small YouTube channel, I discussed the following subject.
In any Virtual World (VW), your VR identity is not your real name or identity. But you really need to know how to protect that identity. But those who do soon realize that since this is not the real you, your VR doppelganger can do and say anything they wish.
Men can be women, women can be men (the WOKE movement ought to love that!), furries are all over, and your imagination is limited by how much you are willing to spend on your Avatar and just how far you are willing to go.
And please trust me. You would be shocked at how far most players are willing to go in VR.
I have always adopted the view, “pixels are pixels,” so none of these antics bothered me. VR can be fun, and I learned rudimentary graphics from it and picked up expertise in another programming language. Additionally, the imagination of some creators in a VR world, which is something that is lacking in Meta, is truly incredible.
Pixels Are Pixels
See, that is the thing. In a VR world, pixels are pixels. Now, we can add another layer to your anonymous trek in the VR environment.
What we call DM’s today, via Apple, WhatsApp, or whatever system you use, has been around in VR worlds forever. And though those chats go through a central server, like all the other systems, and are probably saved somewhere in the ether, they are as sacrosanct as your private chats on your cellphone or computer. And since this is a pixel world, there would be no reason for the FBI to come knocking on the door of, for example, Linden Lab (who owns Second Life) for copies of an avatar’s chat. Who the hell wants to see the chat of Avatars?
Well, that is what you would think.
Let me repeat this for absolute clarity. John can be Jane in a VR world. If John is really good, he can fool almost anyone into thinking that he is really a female. He will fall in love, pretend to be a Lesbian, or do whatever he wants to do in his alter-ego Jane profile. And whatever John does as Jane and says as Jane and chats in public or private as Jane - well, that is Jane. The only people who may be able to associate John with Jane are the VR world owners, who keep track of IPs and all the rest.
There is one other point that is important to note. Since it is all a pixel world, and “permissions” are carefully monitored and given, no one can move, take, or steal your creations. This is a place where quite a few individuals have made really good money on creating virtual objects, selling land, and building avatars. Like in all areas, most do not make any money. But you can make a lot of money if you hit an idea and a niche, just like in every other business model. A few “virtual land brokers” have made a few million in USD on their ventures. So, it is kind of obvious that pixel creations have to be monitored with “permissions.”
Now That We Have That Out Of The Way…
If you followed until now and do not need the intricate details, you will follow the rest quickly.
Around a week after October 7th, when all the assholes and idiots started ripping down the “Kidnapped By Hamas” posters under the guise of, well, I really do not know, except they hate Israel and Jews, at first I watched the videos in shock and disgust. Then while talking about this on the phone with a friend, and I had no idea I was even thinking this, I just blurted out, “In a virtual world those shmucks could not do that. Because they could not touch the pixels!”
Do you know when that “lightbulb” goes off in your brain? The feeling that you just had an idea that you had better not forget? Well, that is precisely what happened to me. I was already on the road to putting together “The View From Israel,” and now I got on the phone with someone whom I knew could help me.
I knew there was no money to be made. But I wanted to create a place where all the information about those who were kidnapped, killed, murdered, raped, still held hostage, and other information could be found. I also wanted to make sure others could pick it up. It is a lot of work, and one does need to invest a small amount of money and an unbelievable amount of time to do something like this correctly.
The final idea was to have a place where people could come and walk around and take in the width and breadth of the tragedy of October 7th and its aftermath. If you will, it is a virtual world museum.
And the beauty of it was that no one, absolutely no one, could walk around ripping down the posters!
But first, we both independently paid a visit to the SL Marketplace. This is the market where one can purchase creations. You can also purchase within the VR, but many prefer to shop this way. What I was looking for was to see if, first, someone had the idea and, second, what was going on with the Hamas and Palestine side in VR.
Well, no one had the idea, but it was clear that the Gaza narrative was already being presented. So, we went to work and created The View From Israel in Second Life. (If you actually know SL, the link is a SLURL to the sim.)
If you or anyone you know is an SL freak, tell them to visit:
The View From Israel in Second Life.
Remember how I discussed anonymity, pixels, chat privacy, and permissions?
Why does it not surprise me that the virulent antisemitism in VR is sometimes worse than in the real world? You see, in the real world, I can fight back. I can figure out who my attacker is. But in VR, anyone can say anything they want to because they are hiding in that virtual avatar - and that is when the depth of depravity and hate against Jews comes out.
It is not only against Israel; it is against all Jews.
Virtual Worlds have become another battlefield where the depravity of what is said has no consequence whatsoever.
But there is no longer any consequence in the real world either, which is why so many people feel completely free in a virtual world.
Just ask Gay from Harvard. No consequences.
Protected Chat, Just Like Telegram
Many movies these days, especially dystopian ones, show how people and avatars communicate in secret in their private virtual worlds.
The scary thing is that any terrorist, any child who wants to, can do this without any trace. Think about that for a moment. If Chad and Lori Vallow Daybell had thought of it, they would never have caught her! If a terrorist or Hamas member does it, well, we would need a worldwide hackathon to break into the servers and then use AI to wade through the millions of messages sent out. Then, we would have to trace it back to a real-life individual. That is, as they say, “a tall order.”
VR has become a battlefield. The View From Israel is there to stay. I don’t back down, especially in a pixel world. And my friend, who is doing most of the work, certainly does not back down from anything.
Brilliant. Love that you can’t tear down pixels.