Election Night 2020 in Second Life

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

Tuesday November 3, 2020 was Election Day in the United States, and the culmination of America's Presidential election. For almost a year and a half, it had been going on. For the Republicans, the incumbent Donald Trump was practically uncontested in the primary season despite his highly controversial manner and actions, as well as being impeached. For the Democrats, out of over two dozen candidates whom ran for their parties nomination, it was former Vice President Joe Biden whom would represent his party. After March, the election was under the shadow of the Coronavirus Pandemic, which could make campaigning tricky for those following safety guidelines. There were also a number of demonstrations following the death of a man in police custody that led to the toppling of Civil War and other historical statues. Due in part to the Pandemic, Biden was leading in the polls and was expected to win handily. FiveThirtyEight, one noted polling website, gave Trump only a ten percent chance of winning outright.

As in the past few elections, there were some election-themed places here in Second Life. As these were mid-term elections, there wasn't as much attention early on as four years ago. I never heard of anything like the Trump Manor or Sanders HQ this time. Around Labor Day, I found three. One was for Trump, the Trump Pub, and two for Biden, Cafe Wellstone and Blue Revolution. There was also the 2020 Election Simulator, which didn't officially back a candidate but instead ran simulations based on polling data.  

Dropping by the Election Simulator on Monday night, it's builder Duncan (ABoysPlaceMall Resident), told me the following day once it was getting close to time polls were closing, he would stop the machine's usual operation, "I've decided at 2pm SLT, I'll shut off the simulator, since it starts at 5pm EST. So seems like a good time to turn off the simulations and turn on reality." When I asked him about people interested in the election coming to hang out here, "I didn't really have a plan for Election Night. But so many people told me they would be here. It doesn't feel right to just, let it become anarchy. I've rescripted the big board, so now I can manually adjust the states. ... I haven't figured out how I'll manage the scoreboard yet." When I commented that the results should be interesting, Duncan sighed, "'interesting' is kind of the great non-word of the English language, sort of a fancy way to say 'um.'" Someone else asked how busy he was. Duncan answered, "Mostly just keeping the trolls at bay."

Tuesday was Election Day, and like millions of others yours truly went to the polls, waited in line, and voted. Dropping by, there was already a crowd there. The chatter residents made was interrupted by the animesh receptionist greeting each new person as they came by. "It is awesome to be sharing this conversation in SL!" one commented. But with the sheer number of avatars , some had trouble, "My stream keeps freezing x.x" Polls were just starting to close, "Big surprise, indiana projected for Trump." "NPR announced on twitter Vermont for Biden." Among those there was Chantal Harvey, a noted Second Life video producer in it's golden age years ago. She was in a robot avatar. "Trump followed me on twitter one day!" Chantal told me.

There was some discussion about the Associated Press, Duncan saying, "they are my default resource, not the networks. ... I work with the Associated Press. They are the organization which most of your news content is generated by." When someone rubbed him the wrong way about it, Duncan responded, "The AP has been calling elections for longer than you've been alive. And they are my first professional resource in my political career which goes back over a decade." Someone else commented, "Yes, AP I think has been calling the elections since the 1880's if I recall an AP interview on CNN yesterday." Duncan answered, "I dunno if it goes back that far or not, but like. AP is a collective of journalists that has existed for as long as wire reports have, at least." The person did an internet search, "Just read that AP actually has been calling since 1848! Wow!" He did look at some other news sources, but one he didn't bother with, "We're not doing Fox News.

Duncan did mention something to me in IMs. The Election Simulator is on the mainland next to a highway. And at one point earlier in the day, a number of Trump supporters in trucks with flags proudly proclaiming their support drove up and stopped on the road by the location. Duncan was not amused, and responded by placing a wall between the road and the simulator building.

I soon decided to move on. I decided to check in on the Trump Pub. But I then ran into technical difficulties. I crashed just after arriving, and had trouble logging back on. Once I did, I tried talking over again. Same result. One thing I did notice before approaching the club was it's surroundings. Some displays simply advertised the Democrat without mentioning the Republican. But some people clearly opposed to Trump had placed all kinds of displays that ranged from the disparaging to the insulting to the obscene. Among the signs were "Make America Hate Again" "Vote Adult 2020". Across the street was a building decked out in Communist Party flags. Someone had made a dancing reproductive organ with Trump's head on it. One sign I couldn't begin to describe in a manner fit for a family newspaper. Hamlet Au would call the Anti-Trump display not safe for work unless one works at an adult toys factory. One person had put up a sign that to me looked like it was against both sides, "glad I don't live at ground level of a sim with the trash lagging everything out. I'll vote for whoever gets rid of you people."

After a few attempted logins after another crash, I waited a little while, then decided to give other places a check. No one was at Cafe Wellstone. But dropping in on Blue Revolution, there were plenty. Some were seated. Some were on the dance floor. Some had fishing poles playing a game.

Someone whom had also come from the Election Simulator commented, "the states that are projected are 94 to 72 for Biden. ... I think Biden will have enough states projected by Tomorrow morning to get him over 270." Someone else urged caution, "Remember, right now we are at the point where hillary supporters went to bed thinking they would win in 2016."

Some of the Democrats made obvious partisan remarks, "All I know is, if trump wins, America is forever lost. Trump would have successfully poisoned the thinking in this country. ... Never though USA would succumb to fascism." "It's getting scarier and scarier. "

Book Island had invited people to drop by and chill out on Election Night. So I headed there. Most people there were either for Biden or neutral. They were generally laid back about the election, though one guy was poking fun of the President by having on a Trump avatar and doing parody imitations of him, "I am a misogynistic, pathetic, racist liar. And I still get votes. What a life." "It is a deep expression of their self loathing," one Democrat commented, having trouble understanding why anyone would vote for the other major candidate. When I commented I had friends on both sides of the political divide, Book Island's manager Selina Greene nodded, "I think we're all in the same camp here, but I'm sure we all know some on the other side of the divide." Someone just wanted the whole thing to be over, "GAME! Name a movie more cheerful than this election. I'll go first: '28 Days Later.'"

Giving the Trump Pub another try, this time I managed to make it in without crashing. When I had dropped by in September in an alt, the lone person there threw me out for being in a furry avatar. This time, there were some furred avatars present, as well as a few dark-skinned human ones. But there was very little text chat, most of the conversation being done in voice. One woman commented, "I just know Trump is going to win ... I'm just confident. If Biden wins, I'm gonna pick a red state to move to ... I'm in Massachusetts ... I like living in a place next to the ocean." There was some discussion about the "Communist Party HQ" across the road. Someone commented, "They're just trolls, they're not actual Communists." Of the state of the election, someone commented, "I hate to admit it, it's not looking good for Trump. ... They're going to take Pennsylvania ... this is looking really bad. ... This is bull^*&^" Another remarked whoever won, it was looking like it wouldn't be decided this night."

Someone was giving out gifts to people arriving. What people were using the most were the Trump 2020 flag, and a Donald Trump mask. Curiously, they were also giving out "waifu pillows" of the President for people to hug. It seems like four years ago, Trump is attracting some anime fans. Chatting with one Democrat in IMs, it was brought up the pillow could easily be repurposed as a punching bag. I did see one woman in a Japanese outfit briefly hold a Biden flag. No one out in the open gave her trouble over it.

I headed back to Blue Revolution. Some were poking fun at the opposition, "Trump literally said 'poles are closed' like a pole instead of poll." "Votes won't be counted after the polls closed. Well Trump, cause they ain't." "Hahaha he really needs an education." Others were more critical of the election situation in general, "it bugs me how this 'WIN at all cost' mentality is accepted as an American value." Another nodded, "It is this winner and loser mentality. Everyone offers something different, and when it is all about winning we lose the meaning. And integrity is SUPPOSED to be the meaning of America, but (we) have forgotten that." And some were just there for the fishing game, "Thanks for the fishes and the generosity!"

Someone commented, "I was watching a proTrump guy who is friends with a lot of Dem educated women and all them hate Trump. So he asked them why. And he was saying everyone of them said the same thing, it is the way he talks. He chalked that up to be(ing) shallow. But I think it is the opposite, it is deep. It reflects the depth of his thought and understanding, which is about puddle deep (laughter). ... Sometimes I don't even think he knows what he is talking about ..."

That was the extent of my experience at the election-themed places and Book Island that night. The Election Simulator would eventually go offline and remain so until I logged off, The Happy Vixen would hold a party in honor of the voters, "Red White and Blue." But the people were asked not to bring up politics. The intent of the party was to get people to relax and have fun, not stress people out and fight.

The following day, I would check back at the Election Simulator and Duncan. In IMs, he commented that while his location might not have openly supported either candidate, he felt not everyone might consider him a truly neutral party. Out in the open after I greeted him, I asked how Election Night went. "Well, it was, stressful," he commented, "I think the simulator was helpful in grounding the tension in something familiar. The final result we saw was roughly in line with the bulk of projections that the simulator has run. It wasn't a maximalist landslide, but a strong Biden win on a pretty solid Trump result. If anything the non-mutual dependence of my approach even seems to have been reasonably vindicated. Arizona didn't move in lockstep with Texas and Florida. Ohio diverged from the rest of the upper midwest."

"A lot of people I care about a lot really kinda lost their sh*t and started despairing last night. Technically the sim just couldn't handle the raw numbers of people who showed up. We had a lot of disruptive people who got bounced for various reasons. I took a pretty strident approach to administering this place - if you gave me a little hassle you got bounced. I don't know if we got crashed just because interest was so high or if there was also a 'denial of service' attack element to it. We've had masses of Trump trolls try to disrupt the sim. You can show the photo I took of the Trump trucks on the Linden highway outside the parcel if you want. We had at least one person early on who wanted to plant brainworms that votes were being tossed into dumpsters. I ejected her so she sat on the border of the sim using IM to look for people sympathetic to her undermining of democracy. Strawberry Linden was here for part of the day, which a lot of people were kinda gaga about. Linden sightings are much rarer than they used to be."

Several states had yet to be called, Arizona, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina, and Alaska. So I asked, "Considering the states still to be determined, who do you think will win, and how long might it take?" Duncan answered, "Biden has pretty much won. some networks have already called Arizona for Biden but I'm using NBC which has not. It's a controversial call but Biden is a strong favorite there. Also, the numbers in Pennsylvania look like they clearly favor Biden. The GOP blocked counting early votes until after the election, so that means all the uncounted votes are concentrated in the cities. Given the number of votes outstanding and the partisan leaning of the manner and place in which they were cast, I mean it's possible Trump will win in the end, but incredibly unlikely. Democrats were confident early on that they'd made their numbers there and all the evidence I've seen suggests they did. Nevada and Georgia similarly had part of their vote counting stymied, but it's not really a question how they'll turn out."

So was this looking like the 2000 Election in reverse? Duncan commented, "Not really, it's like 2000 but too much everywhere for them to stop the vote counting. In 2000, more Americans voted against Bush than for him, but they stopped the counting while they were ahead so they could declare it a win. Trump is trying to do the exact same thing - but he's gotta do it in multiple states. And he kinda screwed up, because Biden won the raw count in Wisconsin and Michigan. So you can't freeze the count there without locking in your loss. If they get their plan and freeze counting as it stands, they lose Arizona and Nevada, and thus the Presidency. If they let the vote count proceed, they lose PA and GA too based on present trends.

"There was a protest in Michigan today to try and stop the vote counting. But again, too late. The votes are already counted. If they stop now, they lose. If they keep counting, they lose more. So if they want to convert this into something that looks like a win they have to find a way to overturn a count. Which, from the outset, I argued was outside the scope of my modeling. I can't predict how that kind of unprecedented power politics is going to play out. To me it's unquestionably a coup to overturn an election and hold onto power despite losing it."

I then brought up the only time most historians agree that happened, the 1876 Presidential election. Duncan thought a comparison in what he thought was being attempted could be made, but "1876 was a long time ago. It was a betrayal of Black Americans for sure." We talked a little about the deal behind the scenes the two parties made for the losing side to accept the results, " ... the deal was federal power for regional apartheid. The North got the Presidency, the South got Jim Crow. ... It was a long time ago. I know the history of it, but I'm not sure how cleanly it maps onto the current environment. One of the things the Republicans did back then was admit the Dakotas and Wyoming and Montana into the Union as full states to lock in control of the Senate. The current dispute over the statehood of Puerto Rico and D.C. are somewhat analogous to that. It's looking likely, though, that the GOP will hold the Senate for now."

Someone else entered the conversation this time, and there was some general conversation for a while, but eventually other matters required my attention, and bade them good evening and departed.

Compared to previous elections I've seen after 2000, the reaction was more gradual and slow motion. With no winner declared election night, the comments I saw on social media were a mix of cautious optimism and anxiety. As states were declared for Biden, there was some anger expressed from Trump supporters and hope from Biden's. On Friday when it was becoming clear Biden was about to get it, there was more celebratory feelings from Dem voters and more anger from Trump's. After enough states were declared for Biden on Friday evening, finally the Democrats (and probably a few anti-Trump conservatives) were in a celebatory mood in social media. From Populist voters, there was either silence, or calls for resistance, feeling the other side had cheated and the election was being stolen from them. They wanted recounts and/or the results contested in court, and what they saw as the cheating done by the opposition exposed. A few people on both sides made note about the Senate remaining with a Republican majority and the House with a smaller majority. But most were focused on the Presidency.

Not unlike things in 2000, it looks like this election will take time to truly resolve. Despite pleas from some Republicans to accept the results, the Trump Administration seems determined to demand recounts and/or take things to court in several states. But it's highly unlikely the courts will do much of anything. While also not unlike 2000 some supporters of the incumbent will continue to insist the election was "stolen" and nurse the grudge for years (if not their entire lives), the winner from the opposition party will be sworn President in January.

This election is different from other Democratic Presidential victories. In 1992 and 2008, many Dems called that election the start of a brand new era in which they would be in charge for well over a generation. This time, while some are calling Trump a fluke and the future is theirs, it looks like more of them are talking about "healing" and bridging the political divide. This time, the majority of them realize the conservatives and populists are not going away.

For the Republicans, the party may be in for a power struggle. There are those whom prefer economic libertarianism, and there are those whom want "fair trade" and policies that favor traditional industries. There are those whom want more "compassionate conservativism" and those whom feel the government would screw up in expanding social safety nets. There are those whom want to see America continue to be the leader of the free world, and there are those who feel America needs to let it's fellow democracies take care of themselves and focus more on internal matters.

While the more political and news-minded among us will likely be discussing the election for the next several weeks, for most of us it's over and time to get back to our Second Lives.

Bixyl Shuftan

Election Night 2016

By Bixyl Shuftan

For about a year and a half, the 2016 US Presidential campaign had been going on. It had been a divisive race full of charges and countercharges, accusations and counter accusations. On the side of the Democrats, Hillary Clinton was the dominant candidate from the start of a small field of candidates with only the former Socialist Bernie Sanders able to be much of a challenge against her. She would go on to get her party's nomination, the first nomination of a woman for the office of the Presidency by any major political party. The Republicans had a much larger field of candidates, of which much to the surprise of most Donald Trump, media celebrity and real estate mogul, took the lead in the polls. Despite his lack of experience in politics, he didn't falter and began winning the majority of primaries and caucuses. He would go on to win the nomination of the party, the first time a major political party had nominated someone who was not a general or had held political office.

In Second Life, the election would be reflected in the virtual world in many ways, much like it was eight years earlier in 2008. Early on a couple Trump locations set up to remind people of his name and possibly pick up a t-shirt. In spring, larger locations would be built, notably the Sanders HQ, the "Feel the Bern" location, and the Trump Manor and Trump HQ. The latter two were under the "Trump Organization," which was accused by the owner of the Sanders of HQ of sending griefers over. And the organization admitted being behind a political prank in the form of a "Trump Wall" towering over the Sanders HQ. Later on, the Trump buildings would close, and a Clinton HQ would spring up in it's place. Later on, another Clinton HQ would spring up in the Bay City area just as the first was about to come down, and the Trump Organization expressed plans to build a new hangout over a sim of it's own. But Linden Lab would step in and ban the group's leader and several other members, closing down the sim. The Lab never stated why these members were banned, but shortly afterwards the group leader revealed himself to be a member of Woodbury, an old group in Second Life infamous for it's reputation for harboring griefers, adding ammunition to the arguments of the Democrats Trump supporters were nothing more than griefers. Some of those still active in the group would keep a low profile and quietly set up a Trump Pub where they could hang out. The Democrat HQ in Bay City would be the site of gatherings as people watched the Presidential debates from there.

Finally, it came down to Election Night, November 8 2016. The night before, I dropped by Cafe Wellstone, a pro-Democrat location which I had lost track of and thought had closed down but was told by a friend it had moved to Castle Redwood. I dropped by the night before, and finding a few people there asked if they were talking about what would happen tomorrow. One told me he was hearing two kinds of comments, optimism that Clinton would win "and 'thank God it will be over!' " Of the slim but real possibility of another 2000 disputed election, he joked "then we all do the 'let us win, pleeeeez dance.' ... I am hoping that the D's learned their lesson and will fight tooth and nail if it is close." Someone else commented, "It would be better if its not close.  A landslide would send a clear message." "A narrow victory, especially with low turn out, would say that neither side is sending the right message anymore."

When I asked what a Clinton victory would mean for the four years ahead, I was told, "That we were in for a slightly better time than if Trump won... of course I am a Berner (grin)." Another commented, "Frankly I want to see if there is any significant write in for Senator Sanders." "Our local County Democratic Party actually sent out a facebook notice telling people that their vote wont be counted if they write in Bernie." When I asked about the third parties, "I could not ever bring myself to vote for a Libertarian... Cats are libertarians, and while they are great company, I would not trust them with our government. As  for Stein, I want to like her, but the Green party seems to intent on spending all of their effort and treasure on the Presidential election and not enough on building a ground base of local officials. I did consider voting for Stein though, for awhile. but they I decided that my vote for Bernie, if coupled with other write ins, might send a message." "Sanders is pretty much what you see is what you get. Loved his answer to the question are you a socialist. 'Yes.' " When I asked how would they answer those who feel socialism doesn't work, one defined it as "economic democracy," and, "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others."

"All kidding aside," he spoke about the day ahead, "I am pretty sure that this election will be a watershed... older, more conservative voters are going to be in a position where they are being outnumbered by younger, more progressive voters...  anti marriage equality, anti abortion and the like just wont fly with younger." Another commented, "The big question is will those young voters stay progressive as they grow older? Keep in mind all of the Deplorables were once young too." "The centerline of the future highway is moving left." One compared Donald Trump to the late Jack Kevorkian, an advocate of assisted suicide.

The following day, I would cast my ballot, and later on head to Second Life. It would be about 6PM SL time before I could check out the political locations. The lag was bad, and it would show up on a number of my pictures. By this time early returns were in and showing encouraging signs for the Republicans. Dropping by the Trump Pub, I found quite a crowd. A number of them were furred, some with rainbow "Trump/Pence" signs with a pawprint in them. One remarked, "It actually amazes me how many furries are trump supporters. Its a whole damn lot." There were also women avatars with pink "Women for Trump" signs. There was also one small chicken avatar, possibly the same one I spotted at the Clinton HQ during the first Presidential debate.

The atmosphere had something of a raucous air to it, with some clearly badmouthing the opposition, "THIS JUST IN: NBC's Facebook live stream is full of crying babies!" "Trump should say 'After I win I'll send all Clinton supporters a box of tissues." "lol, My friend is threatening to leave the country if Trump wins." A few of the avatars looked suspiciously like griefer ones, including one caricature of one with a pencil-neck, thick glasses, and braces, with an account name that included a misspelling of aspergers. The guy whose tag stated he was the security officer had his limp male organ sticking out from his pants. One guy texted he was kissing one of the ladies on the breast.

One of the Trump supporters there would message me, later giving me the okay to use parts of the conversation. He had recognized me from when I dropped by the Trump Headquarters, and thanked me for covering both sides of the campaign, "I came to the HQ when I saw an article about it on Facebook.  I hadn't played SL in a long time.  This was the very first Second Life experience I had that had nothing to do with ... sex.  I came here open minded but I saw the truth."

"Think I'd be banned if I go to Clinton headquarters dressed like this?" "I'd be scared of getting some form of virus for going there" "I got banned from Clinton HQ on Day 1." I then decided to slip out and check the Clinton HQ at Bay City. The mood there was not so cheery as the news coming in was less than encouraging, "Man I really hope that it's a fact that most democrats are night people." "Hate to say it but Trump looks like he will take Florida." Others remained hopeful, "I prefer that straw to grasp at." "Overall still (a) very tight race." Someone mused, "Anyone write in (trying to keep a straight face)  Philip Rosedale?" Someone else joined in, "If someone rezzes a megaprim to block you from voting, report it." Another shrugged, "I so totally can't come up with any secondlife jokes over this."

There were some moments of hope, "WE GOT VIRGINIA!" "Rural areas came out hard for Donald J. Trump. We knew they would. Those votes always come in faster, because there's less of them to count. Hillary Clinton, as is traditional with Democrats, have more urban areas to account for. She was always going to fall behind early. We have a long night to go." But overall the mood was becoming glum, "Dammit..they are calling Ross losing the Senate" "I see by my feed that Democrats are freaking out. Stop. Just breathe." "How in the heck am I going to reason with a far right wing nut Beck?" "Do you suppose Donald is sitting there on his couch at Trump Tower with a cigar saying, 'WTF, I'm winning?  Noooo!'" A couple looked back at Obama's victory in 2008, "I remember sitting with friends eight years ago and crying as Obama won." "I cried too."

I made a short trip to Cafe Wellstone, and the optimistic mood from the night before was gone, "Talk about rigged... if it all was rigged at all it was rigged IN FAVOR of Trump!" "I said 6 months ago that the FBI would come out with something right before the election, and everyone said 'nah, they will stay out of it.'" "Evangelicals don't seem to have any real principles." "... they're anti-choice, anti-gay, and anti-woman." "... they are incredible hypocrites, and they do not deserve to be called Christians."

Back at the Trump Pub, the atmosphere was becoming more celebratory, "We will have to close our borders tonight." "I'm pretty sure there's going to be a rush of illegals to the border." Not everyone was from the US, "And people trying to get into here in Canada. lol No we don't want them! lol" Things sometimes got to the point of rubbing it in, "(I) lost 10 Facebook friends tonight. I ****ing love this! I just asked a bunch of people if they started packing to move to Canada yet?" "A couple friends of mine are armed to teeth want to go with arms to D.C if Hillary wins." "lol Hitlery Clinton ain't gonna win." "Hillary supporters are crying." "In her face we see defeat." One person wasn't laughing about the reactions of others to his votes, "I almost lost *****, one of my best friends of all time." "F**k that, I got called an uncle tom and an airhead." The returns continued to come in, "OMG, Trump just won Wisconsin!" "Trump takes Iowa!" "Mexican Pesos just lost 10%" "Time to plan on draining the swamp in DC."

Heading once again to the Clinton HQ, the atmosphere was becoming increasingly grim mixed with anger, "NBC says Clinton is 209, and Turmp is 228." "Yeah, Florida just kicked Trump up to 216." "What a scary world we live in." "I have to lay down." "I am gonna puke." "I really didn't see this happening." *stares at the screen in disbelief* "The KKK came out of the wood works." "(I) can't believe we could be moving backwards soon." "Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Hillaryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" "The Canadian Immigration site is crashing." *starts digging the holes for the Canadian fence* "I apologizes for all the times I made fun of Canada." "My kid just brought me a mixed drink and is playing the song 'Bye Bye Miss American Pie.'"  "Seriously how is he winning? Am I terribly misinformed on something? Is there some secret of the universe that I don't know?" "I think a lot of it is just misogyny." "That's how. People fear change. Fear breeds people like Trump." "Greed breeds people like Trump." "Greed and lack of accountability thanks to the power of money." "My Great Grandmother died from a back alley abortion. I just.. I can't even THINK of that reality." "Everyone I talked to who wanted Trump was just so scared. Scared of feminists. Scared of black people. Scared of Muslims. Scared of 'the war on Christianity'." "That same fear won in Britain with the Brexit so that sucks." "That because all those scared people wanting trump don't know much of anything." "I may take up smoking now." "It's sad you'd ruin your health over politics." "My health might get ruined by losing my healthcare." "Those protest votes for the pissy little candidates, might have been just enough to make blue team win."

"It is really amazing how close most of the voting has been though." "This election will be one for the history books, even if it's sickening." "It really is! SO CLOSE!" "Republican voters really coming out and passionately voting. Trump voters are ride or die!" "Too close knowing we have a lot of misinformed people out there." "They are ride or die of course, right over a cliff." "Media is getting their monies worth out of this for sure." "If Trump wins, he might have share both houses... so no one will be able to restrict his decisions!" "That would be horrible." "(I) think Puton has taken over the polling stations." Pennsylvania, which had gone Dem in the past few elections, was going slightly for Trump this time, "Though damn, the Pennsylvania gap is growing. He's now up 33,000." "PA, people believing Trump really knows how to bring back coal and steel. Very sad in more than one way." *kicks the counting machines over in PA as they seem to have stalled out*

A number of people had come by just to harass. Someone was there in an Obama avatar with breasts, another with a username with the word "poop" in it. Both were thrown out. Someone was also doing a breaking wind sound effect, with clouds of green gas filling the place. Someone was also doing some lightning animation that made it hard to see.

Not all the talk was about the Presidency. At one point the conversation went to marijuana legalization, "On the plus side, California legalized marijuana." "That will surely help them get over this." "they did. black market is pretty pissed about that though." "Weed rulZ." "People are going to smoke it anyway, so why not tax it and run it through the FDA." "Ew that stuff should be illegal." "What planet are you from?"

But eventually the talk went back to the main topic, "Trump needs two more states to win" "If ya folks don't take this as a wake up call your'e all crazy. Go cry in a corner for a week if you have to but when the time is right we all gotta work together." "Yeah.. reality is going to sit for weeks if he wins, and I am sure not going to feel good about this." "This is like watching a runaway train wreck in slow motion hoping the driver regains control at the last minute." "I've already thrown up." " I'll be calling my neighbor.. I'm scared she might do something." "Don't get upset people I am pretty sure Hillary will beat it." "I still have a shard of hope for Hillary." "Fingers crossed." "It's not over yet!!!!!" *takes a shot of alcohol* "She got Nevada." "Yyyayyyy!" "I think.. assuming Trump only gets Wis. and Ariz, and Hillary grabs all the remaining close ones, Hillary can win 272-265.. according to politico and my poor math." "She can still win." *sings* "There will be miraclessssss...if you believe....." "Did you could Alaska?" "Alaska's 3 are nothing."

But what optimism there was was fading, "Fox has Wisconsin called.. 215 to 254. And with PAs 20 magically going the wrong way, that's probably it." "I think Trump just won." "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO don't say that!" "There's almost no way he can lose it at this point." "I cannot believe how close this crap this." "If Trump becomes President, it is a blow for the whole world." "Melania as first lady ? ...that's like...kick'em when they're down." "Obama must feel insulted." "I hope this is just a bad dream." "Trump needs one more state to win!"

Some were looking for people to blame. "Just goes to show, you should never underestimate idiots." "How the hell did that happen?" "Why would anyone vote for him?" "Why .. well one word.. stupidity." "They want to go backward." "Yea over 50% of Americans are stupid... that's clear." "But the stupid ones go out and vote." "People thought no one would be dumb enough to vote for Reagan." "Racists want to vote because they dont want to lose power." "My daughter's alarm just went off and I have to tell her what's going on. OMG..what a way to wake up"

Eventually, at 11:45 SL time, it was pretty much confirmed Donald Trump would be our next President. "It's teh end of teh whirled." "Welcome back ta 1950's 'murrica." "I demand a recount!" "Me too !!! God..... people are so BLIND to Trump!" When Trump came out to give a victory speech and offer an olive branch, asking the country to come together, the crowd at the Clinton HQ had  nothing but bile to offer, "I gives der fuhrer the middle finger salute!" *shudders at that foul image* "Historic USA no more ...damnnnnnn ! cant believe thisss!" "He's joking...  Bind the wounds after the crap he pulled?"  "May God have mercy on our souls." "Crap, just woke up and saw the news. I won't be able to watch the news for the next 4 years at least."

I asked the crowd what they planned to do for the next four years. But they either didn't hear me or ignored me.

I headed back to the Trump Pub. They were now in a party mood, with some playing "Cards Against Humanity" and some dancing. One was logging out just as I came in, "Ok I must log out and go to bed, but GOOD JOB Deplorables! Now the hard work begins." So did someone else, "Night, good luck, have fun with the celebrations." "We have a Republican House Senate and President." "I'll play some victory music."

Talk soon turned to the loosing candidate, "God every time I look at that mean a** old b*tch I want to barf." "F**k you guys! The world wins!" "Then she calls Trump to congratulate him. Go to prison Hillary, take your gang with you." "I wonder if Trump is really gonna get her in prison (grin). That would be so funny." "He's a man of his word."

One guy expressed worry, "I hope they keep Trump safe.... I'm serious folks. I think its wonderful he was elected and won. But don't think for one second they are not going to try to hurt him and we won't have another JFK repeat!!! They better keep him verrry safe! They are not going to give up so easily and I have a bad feeling." One guy retorted that would be playing with fire, "If anything happens to Trump do you see those red states? They're armed to the teeth." "The current government has 3 months to rig something." "What could they rig? They can't change that he won." "Maybe start a martial law or something." "Eh, I wasn't for either really. Actually I can't even vote in the US, because I'm in the UK, lol."

There was some talk about how the election could have gone differently, "Bernie would have won against Trump I think." "Their fault (grin)." "I honestly think it's a toss up to be honest." "It was Hillary herself, she was just unpopular."

At one point, someone put up a large picture of a man dressed like a king on a throne with an American Flag draped on it. If this was supposed to be Donald Trump, it looked like a grim caricature. Someone asked, "Isn't that from Assassin's Creed?"

The chicken avatar was still around. When I asked everyone what they saw in the next four years ahead, the only response I got was someone describing herself as taking the chicken and running.

One commented, "I am thrilled. You guys rock! We won our country back, and didn't fire one bullet. Praise the Lord ... We f***ing did it!  Hell yeah we do what we do. And we are one people under no one, with liberty and justice for us all."

There would be more random comments and general badmouthing of Clinton and the Democrats. People were also heading out. "Going to try to sleep for a few before I have to be back up - night, all (smile)." "I'm headed out too....all of you guys rock. everyone sleep well tonight!" "It was a great event." "Thank you **** for inviting me over. I've not got even one damn nail left. I was biting the s*** out of 'em."

Eventually it was time for me to head out. Looking for a place to call it a night, I recalled the Capitol Hill building eight years earlier. It had been long closed for a long time, but there was another capitol building, the Texas Capitol Building at Antiquity Texas (153, 132, 23). So I went there, and reflected for a few moments about what had happened.

There had been more than a little chatter about the election in the groups I was in. This included the Sunweaver and Angel group chats. Reaction overall was mixed, some happy, some expressing surprise and disappointment. One friend IMed me, saying she was planning on moving to Germany before the election but now she was more determined to do so feeling she'd be facing a loss of her rights.

On Facebook, it seemed about a third of my feed broke out in celebration, while a third erupted in despair, wondering how this could have happened or screaming out at the "betrayal" of the voters. Not many gave lukewarm comments. Among those who did were a few Sanders supporters whom were more or less saying "we told you so."

Others would also write about Election Night. A writer from Kotaku would be around earlier in the day, taking a number of pictures. Daniel Voyager was at one of the older and smaller Trump locations on the Mainland, reporting it was deserted, and found only shock and despair on his Facebook and Twitter feeds. Hamlet Au of New World Notes would post on his Facebook feed the political cartoon of the Lincoln Memorial crying that was done following the Kennedy Assassination, would later suggest that Trump's victory ensured a successful future for virtual worlds, although it would be one where female and minority avatars would face harassment from griefers, and write about a professor who felt Trump won in part because he had a greater understanding of social media.

And so, the country will be getting a new President in a few months. For the first time ever, one without public office or Army general in his background. While many fear his lack of experience will inevitably mean rash decisions that will damage the country, others feel this means the same lack of experience will allow more mental flexibility to "drain the swamp" of corruption and graft in Washington and make needed change.

In any event, the long race is over, and time to get back to our Second Lives.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Presidential Debate From the Clinton HQ at Bay City

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Monday September 26 at just after 6PM SL time, the first Presidential debate took place between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Besides television, one could also see the debate online, including in Second Life where it was streamed in places. Among them, the Clinton HQ in Bay City.

The location has been in Bay City since July, a two-story tall brick building decorated with flowers and red, white, and blue. Inside were posters championing their nominee and ridiculing Trump, as well as the previous Republican President, Bush. In the middle back was a stage with two podiums, each with a cardboard cutout of one of the candidates. There were about a dozen chairs in front of the stage, and a couple stools. Some sat in them. Others stood. Attendance varied a little as some left early and a few arrived late, but it's safe to assume a few dozen attended. A few were in clothes with political themes, "I'm With Her," "America Was Already Great." The crowd was mostly female, which probably explained someone saying when I stepped in, "Oh good, another male!"

Not all came to simply watch. A few griefers showed up, including one, strangely enough, in a chicken avatar with a Trump flag, "I guess we now know why the chicken crossed the road." Another yelled, "Vote trump you furry luving coomie scum!" Someone joked that the griefer was no fan of "Fox news." Another mused, "A coomie is a large present." One would later comment, "(I) was a little disappointed with the griefers. I expected something clever."

The screen behind the podium when clicked on would show a live feed of the debate, at least for those whose viewers were enabled with the right streaming software. During the course of the debate, it was no surprise as this was a pro-Democratic party location that the crowd was clearly rooting for Clinton, "His hair is just so awful." "He looks all squinty-eyed and constipated." "Is it just me or does he sniff up snot every other sentence?" (a reference to "sniffing" noises Trump seemed to make on occasion) "Nothing he does is presidential." "Trump is so annoying." "Oh-em-gee, he is soooo delusional!"

There were a few comments that weren't so pro-Clinton, "I don't think she looks so well either." "The moderator is biased, and I don't like her playing the race card." And there was a joke aimed at the moderator, "Lester Holt's glasses are, in fact, x-ray specs. he can see them naked." The more noted SL personalities there were more reserved or neutral in their comments. One person slumped forward in her chair, away from keyboard. Someone joked she'd fallen asleep from the debate.

When the debate ended, everyone who expressed an opinion was confident that Clinton had one. A couple people expressed their appreciation for me being there, "Thank you Bixyl for being here as (a) reporter." Some were looking forward to round two, "Hope to see ya again at 2nd debate." One person stated they had already voted via an absentee ballot, due to a vacation planned for election time.

I did do a "Search" for Trump locations, but only one had people around, and only a couple at that. As I've heard some people continue to express political opinions critical of the Democratic candidate since Linden Lab banned the leader and several others of the controversial Trump Organization group a few months ago, it may be that the serious Trump supporters (as opposed to griefers pretending to be them) are keeping a low profile.

As heated as the political banter was tonight, with the charges of Trump being "dangerous," it's notable that four years ago the vitriol was pretty high as well, despite that since then Democrats have calmed down over the Republican nominee Romney. So once this battle is over, will the Democrats forget what they spoke about Trump? Time will tell.

For those wishing to visit the Clinton HQ, it is located at (Argos 36, 253, 25).

Bixyl Shuftan

Steelhead's Mayoral Elections: The Debate

By Bixyl Shuftan

On Friday August 2nd, The Steelhead community held a debate between the candidates for the upcoming mayoral election. The three people in the debate were incumbent TotalLunar Eclipse, and challengers Willow Leafstorm (Zoelass Resident) and Jobias Barthelmess. Besides being the incumbent, Lunar is known as the steampunk-themed area's top builder. Willow is one of the Nevermoor sim's leading residents and the owner of the Green Fairy Cabaret. Jobias is most noted for his rivalry with Steelhead's popular sheriff and his poor reputation in the community. Jobia's supposed opinions of nonhumans has brought some additional attention to Lunar being elven, and Willow a fae.

The campaign for mayor came to be because Lunar had made a bet with Jimmy Branagh, one of the local youngsters or "scamps," that if the street urchin won a sumo wrestling match against him, he'd make him honorary mayor for a week. Jimmy won, and Lunar lived up to his word. But as it turned out, Jimmy couldn't just hand back the position. A technicality in Steelhead's laws meant Lunar would have to be reelected to get his job back, and this meant elections. Three people turned in applications in time, Lunar, Willow, and Jobias, whose names were announced in the weekly town meeting on Tuesday July 29th.

The debates began at 6PM in one of the public buildings. Interim mayor Jimmy Branagh was the conductor for the debates and fielded the questions to the candidates. "Good evening ladies an' gennillmin," Jimmy began the event, "Oy'm Jimmy Branagh, currently Mayor of Steelhead, an' Oy welcome you to th' Steelhead Mayoral debate between three candidates - Jobias Barthelmess, Willow Leafstorm, and Total Lunar Eclipse." After he paused for a few cheers from the audience, "Rules will be few faw these debates - no cat-callin', no throwin' of fruit, vegetables or other throwable object's until th' end, an' no knoives aw foirearms will be permitted until off th' premises. Th' audience is, however, free ta comment on th' answers as they occur." Garnet Psaltery whispered, "Note that we can throw things at the end."

Jimmy continued, "Oy will ask th' candidates each a question in turn, an' the toime they 'ave ta answer is totally at moy dis'kreshun. Ifn they gets long winded Oy'll cut 'em off." "Harsh," Garnet commented. "Yah," Myrtil Igaly responded, "but we might fall asleep otherwise." Jimmy went on, "Audience members may submit questions they wanna ask doirectly to me via Aethereal Instant Messaging, a'n Oy'll ask em ifn they're any good." "Ooooh censoring," Myrtil commented. Jimmy gave her a sneer.

Jimmy then turned his attention to the candidates with the first question, "Woy is there no official worm farm in Steelhead, considerin' awl the water around faw fishin in, an' wot will ya do ta remedy th' situation as Mayor?" After a pause, "Awlroight then, first question goes to Miss Leafstorm." Willow took a moment to consider the question, then answered, "If the people want a worm farm, then we should see about get an interested individual to open a worm farm to sell bait and tackle for fishing. But I believe we can set up some Seven Seas booths and make some money for Steelhead in the process." "Mr. Lunar," Jimmy told the elf, "same question." Lunar responded, "I've already set up 7 Seas booths with very extremely limited success on the selling of said worms. Though I do propose bringing back the turkeys to find the worms so we can harvest them as needed."

Jimmy then turned to the man in the black hat, "Mr. Barthelmess?" Jobias gruffly answered, "I believe you should check with your 'Marshal.' He may have worms. Fleas and ticks as well." Although it was known Jobias is on poor terms with Steelhead's Sherrif Fuzzball Ortega, who is a known werewolf, this response got several gasps and a number of stares from the audience. Lunar looked over and shook his head. Jimmy continued, "But, what would YOU do concernin' the issue?" Jobias thought for a moment, then, "Ah, well, probably dig up some undesirable location for worm farming," he paused, then, "(The) Marshal's house, as an example." Thadicus Caligari commented at the remark, "Always one rat in the party."

Jimmy then went to the second question, "What is your opinion of popcorn-creating wands, and why are they not available yet?" Lunar answered, "Popcorn creation requires quite a bit of heat I am told along with corn. As we get closer to the harvest season we will see a decrease in corn prices and increase in production so I could put my best scientist, Tensai, to creating said wands." He paused before finshing his response, "As for it not being created yet, I did not know there was such a need." Jimmy then turned to Jobias, "Mr. Barthelmess, your opinion?" The mustached man answered, "Ah, well that one......I won't blame on the Marshal. ..... rather, on the poor example of builders and scripters in Steelhead. If elected, I'll see to it that everyone has lessons from professionals." Jimmy asked, "Would these be wit'out charge, Mr. Barthelmess? Or subsidoized by taxpayin' people?" Jobias answered, "Not sure.....how much would Babbage charge for giving Steelhead lessons?" Lunar responded with a loud snort. Garnet commented, "Several pints of sour milk at least."

Jimmy then turned to the third candidate, "Miss Willow, your opinion?" Willow answered, "I wasn't aware of the need for popcorn making wands. And doing a search in the marketplace I do not see any there as well. However, if such need arises one of our inventors or mad scientists could create one. We do have a popcorn making machine at the theater. I do not doubt the creative abilities of our fine citizens in Steelhead unlike Mr. Brothelmess." The comment was followed by a few snickers from the audience. Jobias harumphed, then remarked, "Miss.......am I the only human here?" The question got a few smirks and stares from the audience of elves, fae, nekoes, furs, Jagers, and some humans, with one whispering, "It's been a while since we have tarred and feathered anyone in Steelhead." Willow commented, "You're are surrounded by us non-humans, Bottomless." Myrtil made a comment about, "name-calling going on as it should in any good debate!"

Jimmy went to the next question, "Awlroight then, some serious answers foaw a serious issue. We need more hoy-falutin' landed gentry in Steelhead ta soak up the real estate. Ifn elected Mayor, whaddle ya do? Mr. Barthelmess, th' next question is yours." Jobias promptly answered, "Industry, that is the key. Steelhead needs lots of factories, and a willingness to have these built. Again, I point you to New Babbage and how their great factories make New Babbage what it is." Garnet commented, "Corpses do not count."

Jimmy turned to the next challenger, "Miss Willow, same question." Willow answered, "I have many great ideas for the community to help improve things and bring in more residence into Steelhead and possibly help expand Steelhead into an 8th sim. We need to have greater community involvement from the community. To begin with, I would like to see official greeters here in Steelhead through a program of resident volunteers that greet visitors and assist newcomers that arrive into Steelhead. The major focus would be on Steelhead City, Shanghai and Nevermoor. Next, I would like to see other volunteer positions created and filled by our residents. This would also include having Ambassadorial representatives from each region to provide equal representation in Steelhead matters. We need to reach outside of our borders to bring more people here to attend our events, shop in our stores and finally rent land and settle here as residents. Finally, but not least we need to organize a clean up of our skies of all the loose prims out there."

Jimmy commented, "Whoa, a fast talker!" From the audience, Garnet added, "Nice answer, Willow." Willow answered, "I had prepared notes." Lumina Elvehjem added, " would like to state that the Thursday gig at Prop spinners is attended almost completely by non Steelhead residents." "Hy vuz dere last night," Mamma Gkika stated. "And we appreciate your presence, Mamma," Thad told her. "Yea we geta sprinkle 'o Steelheaders," Lumina commented, "but other 'n Thad 'n me... it's all folks from elsewhere. It's not a problem... It's just interesting."

Jimmy turned to the incumbent, "Mr. Lunar, same question." Lunar answered, "Steelhead was founded on the principle of it being a place people are proud to call home. We have parks, areas of interest, historical recreations, we should advertise those points of interest. We should also not stay within the boundaries of 'Steampunk and Victorian' as our other sister cities in the Steamlands. We are American, Industrial Revolution era, each sim has its own theme, draw and we could expand our advertising to those points of interest, instead of recycling Steamlanders from the same group." "Fresh meat!" Lumina from the audience commented, which brought a grin from Lunar.

Jimmy continued, "The next question is faw Miss Willow." He then read the question, "Wot's your position on puttin' the growin' population of shiftless mammynackered scamps ta work instead of lettin' 'em run around gettin' stuff faw free awl the toime?" That question got a few curious looks from the audience, "That sounds like Jobias' ally." Willow answered, "I think we are handling the situation well by providing them with an education and maybe eventually offereing them training at some point into a profession of their own choosing. The youth are the backbone of our future." Jimmy then turned to Lunar, "Mr. Lunar, same question." Lunar answered, "We have programs set for the scamps to receive education as well as educational field trips. I would like to see more vendors offer work study programs for the scamps such as newsies where they could learn different trade as well as keeping out of Tensai's stash of explosives." The last line got a few coughs and snickers.

Jimmy then turned to the man in black, "And Mr. Barthelmess, your answer?" Jobias cleared his throat, "Yes, well. Everyone in Steelhead needs to earn a living. Education is all fine, but if the 'scamps' want something they should work for it. Factories are a good place. Reopening the mine is another option. Letting them run around unattended and being disrespectful is uncalled for. This past winter, for example, I was bombarded by yellow snowballs by......" Jobias pause, and looked at Jimmy, "Wait a minute……….YOU!" Jimmy spoke up, "Careful Mr. Barthelmess ... Are you sure?" Jimmy grinned, putting his hand a little closer to the pistol at his table. The response from the audience was a mix of nervous looks at grins. Jobias responded, "I never forget a face......and that was NOT lemon flavored!" Lunar blinked and Willow laughed. Lumina commented, "Score one for the brats." Thad added, "He is lucky there weren't rocks in the core."

Jimmy then went on, "Next question is for Mr. Lunar. What is your position on Nuns with Guns, and how do you support them?" From the audience Lumina joked, "By helping them kick their habits." That got a chuckle from Jimmy. Lunar answered, "Hm, simple. I created the group when the sisters of the Magdeline order wished to get involved in the security of Steelhead. We have two full time members of the order living around the town, their usefulness in times of crisis with snipers and direct combat is quite amazing.  Oh yes, and they are nuns, so they pray for our sins and sims. .. I'm done." Lumina commented "Is good for someone to prey for our sims."

Jimmy then looked to Jobias, "Now Mr. ... ummm ... you." The moustached man answered, "Yes.....well....that's all well and good. But, I feel a change is made in regards to Steelhead's law enforcement. So, I'll be replacing all involved in law enforcment. And the Sisters can continue praying for *your* sins." Jimmy responded, "Oy'm also the Deputy Marshal, sir. You'll be replacin' me?" That got a few chuckles from the audience. Jobias answered, "Yes, even you. You'll be too busy in the mines or factories." Jimmy's response, "I see … "

Jimmy turned to Willow, "Miss Leafstorm same question!" Willow answered, "I don't mind nuns with guns, but acid trippers with wood chippers is definately a bad move. As long the nuns treat everyone with dignity and fairness they cab coexist with the rest of Steelhead. We never know when we would have to fend off a full scale invasion and having them handy ensures our protection. Of course the only solution Mr. Bathtubmess offers is probably to replace our own trained law enforcement with his select henchmen, I presume." The audience made a few jokes about "bishops with bazookas" and "monks with skunks," prompting Willow to remark, "Now that is getting too silly."

Jimmy continued, "And one last formal question for awl - What do you feel should be the official stance of Steelhead towards the other Steampunk regions, in general? Start with Miss Leafstorm, and down the line." Willow answered, "We should extend our hand in friendship. We have many dual citizens in Steelhead and I see having more in the forseeable future. By extending a welcoming hand we also have guests that pend their Lindens in our shops and visit our events and clubs." Jimmy turned to the incumbent, "Mr. Lunar?" Lunar answered, "We are already friends with Caledon and Babbage, I would suggest sending our Ambassadors to the other steamlands beyond that." Jimmy turned to the other challenger, "And lastly - Mr. Barthelmess." Jobias answered simply, "We should learn from them. New Babbage especially."

Jimmy was getting close to the end, "Awlright, so ends the questioning. Now, each candidate may make a final statement. Please keep it brief, an' lemme know when you're finished. Miss Leafstorm first." Willow made a long statement, "I know I haven't been here as long as many of you, but in the nearly two years that I regularly attended meetings and now have over 1 1/2 years of actual residence in Nevermoor I think I have proven that I am dedicated to Steelhead City. In May of 2012, I even opened up the Green Fairy Cabaret in Nevermoor to serve the community. I have hosted and DJed Steelhead dances for the community and have shown that I am also reliable and responsible in my duties as a DJ and business owner. Of course, Lunar is really one of the best people for the job. However, it is really a big job and he has enough on his plate building and handling the business end of things. If I am elected I can take care of the other civic duties as Mayor such as attending local events and other events in other communities as an official representative of Steelhead. Running one of the establishments here has provided much PR for Steelhead and I am one of the faces that many first see here in Steelhead. Why am I then running is the question being asked? I realize I do have little chance of getting elected against the popularity of such a worthy candidate as The Great Elf himself, Lunar Eclipse. How else can I serve Steelhead and have my ideas implemented to help Steelhead grow? How can the voice of one small fairy be heard over the din of others and be taken seriously? The only way is to stand here before you all and ask that you vote for Willow Leafstorm as Mayor of Steelhead. When you go mark that ballot I want you to remember "ich bin ein Steelheader." I am a Steelheader!" The statement got both applause and a couple snickers, referring to Kenendy's "I am a jelly donut" mistranslated quote.

Jimmy then turned to Jobias, "And next, Mr. Barthelmess." The man in the black hat spoke, "I understand that I am the most popular. Seems many have not forgiven me for that little incident with your marshal and a silver bullet……" the then corrected himself, "I am NOT the most popular." There were a few chuckles from the audience, Thad saying, "Not is understated," Lumina adding, "half point for stating the obvious." Jobias continued, "But, where was I? Oh, yea, Not the most popular.....However, we have seen plenty of riff raff and undesirables come into Steelhead." Someone shouted from outside the building, "You're one of them." The candidate continued, "But ....... hmmph. ...... If elected, I will drive the undesirables out and create a new Steelhead. Remember, a vote for Barthelmess is a Vote for Humanity." Lunar stared at him for a moment, shaking his head. Thad grinned, "I would make a military arrest of you if I had the chance." Lumina openly wondered what Jobias meant by "riff raffia and undesirables," then remarking, "I love it, his closing statement is 'I'm not popular."

"Well then …" Jimmy then turned to the incumbent, "Mr. Lunar, please." Lunar spoke, "Steelhead is one of the greatest assets I have ever come to steward. We have gone through much together, highs and lows and coming closer to seven years. I can tell you it is still one of the most precious things I hold dear, not for the builds but for her people. I would be honored to maintain stewardship of her, to keep going, to keep growing. The ideas stated here, except those by Jobias, I am taking to heart and will pursue to keep this city running." The statement was greeted with applause and cheers. Jobias asked, "Not even the putting scamps to work in mines?" He was answered with boos, Mamam Gkika remarking, "Hy tink de non hoomanz hef hyu out numbered und gunned, Herr Battlemass." Lumina called out, "Even our humans don't like ya much!" Lunar remarked, "I caved in the mines so we didn't have scamps working down there."

Jimmy then called out, "Awlroight then, one time, applause fawn awl the candidates?" The place then erupted in claps and cheers. After about a minute, Jimmy thanked the crowd, "Thanks to ya awl faw participating!" Lunar smiled, "And we have enough time to head to the dance." "Thanks faw 'avin me as interim Mayor awl!" "Thank you Jimmy." Jobias stepped down from the podium, "Ah, then I shall take my leave before the tar and feathers come out." "I believe that is for the best Jobias," Lunar told the man in black as he made his way to the door.

Talk then turned to the upcoming dance, mixed with reminders to vote on August 6th, "Glad to have the civics lessons, see you at the dance!"

Bixyl Shuftan

Election Night 2012 in Second Life

By Bixyl Shuftan

Tuesday November 6th was Election Day in the United States. In real life for most American adults, it meant a trip to the voting booth to choose candidates for local, state, Congressional, and Presidential candidates. The Presidential election had the most attention, two nationwide campaigns having gone on for a year and a half,  between incumbent Democrat  Barack Hussein Obama and challenger Republican William Mitt Romney. The polls had gone up and down for weeks, and the final tallies between two of the most read, Gallup and Rasmussen, showed Romney ahead by a single percentage point.

For Second Life residents, those interested in politics could go to a few places to discuss the anticipated results. This included the Republican Party Headquarters in the Sunset River sim for conservatives, and for liberal/progressives there was the Obama HQ in Seokcheon and the longtime hangout of Cafe Wellstone in Pini.


The Republican HQ was full much at the time, including when I first logged on, so I checked out the Obama 2012 location first. There were just several when I arrived, with others teleporting in just afterwards. It was a shinny new location, with a blue dance floor where almost everyone gathered, with a blue "Obama 2012" sign with the campaign logo behind them, with an Obama '12 bar to one side, and a large  "Hall of Truth" building on the other.

Asking how everyone was, one answered "Sweating it out. I'm worried about stolen votes. i dont' want another repeat of Florida in 2000. I don't want the Supreme Court picking our prez again." A few people remarked they lived there. Others gave a variety of locations, including an American citizen in London who voted absentee ballot. There were a number of avatars present, though one resident stuck out in a donkey avatar, the symbol of the Democratic Party.

Asking them "So what are all of you expecting from an Obama victory?" I got a variety of answers, some pro Democrat, "Sane Supreme Court justices." And some were against, "More of the same," ""Same old f**king s**t," "The Obama deception." One guy asked, "Why isn't the media showing third party results?" He was answered, "Because third parties account for about 5% of the vote and are completely inconsequential. The UK media don't report how many votes went to the Monster Raving Loony Party candidates, either"

Heading over to Cafe Wellstone, there were a number of people there. There were no critter avatars, though on guy did make himself look much like the incumbent candidate. They were looking over election returns, which were coming in through both radio on National Public Radio, and TV stream via NBC, "51-49 Romney in Florida now, 50 percent reporting." "FOX exit polls Men 54/46 Romney/Obama Women 54/46 Obama/Romney Women 54% of the electorate." "Go women!" "Should we be demanding a recount somewhere yet?"

Asking what they expected from the election, one wryfully answered, "I'm hoping I don't lose my sanity, (laughter)." Asking them, "So what are all of you expecting from an Obama victory?" I got several answers: "Sanity." "Moving this country forward."  "I expect to not be effed over by the Republicans." "It prevents Myth Romney from being president." "Sharia Law." "A drunken party, and then 4 more years of the same." "More filibusters from Mitch McConnell."

The comments continued, "Gary Indiana just starting to report in." "Did 'gift from god rape' Mourdock actually win Indiana for Senate? if so I'm going to puke." "I was nibbling on candied ginger all day at work to keep my stomach from getting upset" Of a number of states in the south and midwest going for the Republicans, one guy commented, "All these red state results are making me nervous." "Oh, the red states, the sad, uneducated red states." "It's a sad fact that public education in the Southern states lags the rest of the country." "Poorly educated people are easier to maniupulate and are less likely to question what they're told."

Florida was something of a nail-biter that night, "0.2% separates Florida with 31% of the vote." Other early trends caused worry too, "56-42 Romney in Virginia, 24 percent counted." "I'm worried about Romney's trajectory. I'd like his trajectory to drop him in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean." "What,  and pollute the ocean?" "Texas alway stuns me.How can they be so stupid?" "FL still looking about tied." "…. the GOP cheats well in Florida." "Same in Ohio. Felons run my state." "I've heard of 'snowbirds' that vote absentee in their home stand and then vote again in FL."

As time went on, more states went for Obama, "Obama wins PA!" "Mich and Penn." "They called Wisconsin? Yahoooooooo!" So Mitt's losing all his home states, and Ryan's home state?" "Romney & Ryan will lose all their home states excepts the Caymans" "NYT says Obama needs 27 more electoral votes"

I kept trying to get to the Republican HQ, but couldn't because the sim was full. Finally about 6:40 SL time, I managed to get over. There was a sizable number of people over, plus one critter avatar, the donkey from Obama HQ. "We don't usually ban anyone from here," he was told, "unless they're not nice." Asking them, "What do you expect of a Romney victory?" I heard, "Less debt, Obamacare canceled." Ii think Romney will reclaim a lost hill. The ACA will get repealed."

The donkey avatar spoke up, "I have a question maybe someone can truthfully answer for me, and not be an ass about (it). Why would anyone not want universal healthcare for everyone? Maybe I'm a dumb ass but I don't understand that." he got a number of answers, "It costs more" ""It puts the govt in charge of your healthcare." "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, but there's always free cheddar in the mousetrap." "Because we will be forced to carry (government) insurance or be FINED, the self insured are screwed, and I refuse to pay taxes to cover health care for asses who are too lazy to work." " We bankkrupt the country and no one has healthcare of any quality, you dumb ass." "But isn't health care already expensive?" "I dont want the IRS telling me I cant have procedure I need." "It (will be) a hell of a lot more expensive under Obamacare, but people think it's free because the cost is hidden in your taxes." "You don't get it, nothing is free." "It needs to be tweeked not overhauled."

"They are voting for Socialism, and the ruin of our country." "And they are voting to let China rule us at a rate of $1 trillion a year." "Prediction time!!! If Obama wins re-election - watch for increases in medical tourism as people seeking more medical options will travel to other countries with less restrictive laws." " if obama gets reelected, its going to cost the American people billions in fines *taxes* and the increase of what we pay for our insurance and deductables. Average family insurance will go up $2,500 next year, because the insurance model does not work to begin with for health care."

At 6:53PM, one guy noticed the tally, "This ain't good, O: 157, R: 153."One guy joked, "If Obama is reelected I'm quite in favor of my state Ok plus texas and any state that wants to join us should opt for secession." "Damn! NH is gone now." "He's now GOTTA WIN VA, FL & OH."

Events required my attention elsewhere for a while, but I returned to the Republican HQ at 8:15PM. Shortly afterward, the TV networks began declaring Barrack Obama the winner. The initial reaction was silence. Then someone broke the quiet, "Well, gold will go up." "Buy gold and guns." "Stock market is going to fall tomorrow." "Will I be arrested when i refuse my health ID number on my Fed tax form in 2014?" One dispirited resident told everyone "Good night all," and left.

Then someone popped in, "YEAAAAA BUDDY!  WE GOTTR DONE!" The responses were, "Go f**k yourself." "Look, the f**ktards coming in to gloat." "OBAMA! READ IT! YALL CRACKERS LOST AGAIN!" "Retard!" Finally, the offender was booted from the sim, a moderator saying, "Sorry it took so long to do that." "Funny thing is," someone commented, "if Romney won and we went over to the Dems' sim, they'd autoboot us." "Well, we'll never get a chance to see," another anti-Romney spoke up, laughing, "'cause he didn't win. Wooooo! OBAMA!"

Someone else began cheering, "WOOOOOOOO! OBAMA! :D" The reaction was "You're excited about the USA becoming socialist, real intelligent." "(laughter) Socialist is a 'lil extreme, don't you think?" "Socialist is completely accurate." "Come guys, don't be like that." "The gloaters are here." "Don't be like what? You're here gloating, not very mature, eh?" "(laughter, Well, we aren't talkin' 'ish about you, so that's not immature. Just exercising our freedom of speech. Yaaaaaaaay n Stuff!!" While the two anti-Romney's were cheering, one of them was running around bumping in to others. "No running around pushing people and such," someone told him, "very mature." "I'm not trying to push," the avatar in question answered, "I'm just running."

More anti-Romney residents arrived, and the banter began to deteriorate, "Gloat more when your rights are lost." "We don't' care about rights, as long as he ain't white!" "The Middle Class will be crushed by (the) Obamunists." "I voted for Obama 'cause Romney is a white devil." "Republicans are dumb if they would have have the nomination to Ron Paul then it would be different." "Hahaha, yeah, thats pretty much what I expect from modern Republicans." "What animals these particular Obamaites are, nothing but animals."

I asked the conservatives, "So, now that Obama has won a second term, what do you plan to do?" The answers were glum, "Well tell me something: what good did Obama do in his FIRST TERM?" "I still have my passport Bixyl, I can always go elsewhere and let the Democrats pay for the welfare state." "I guess we Republicans do not have any right to exist. Seems we can't have our own opinions, mob rule by the Obamaites."

"We voted for the lesser of two evils," one Republican commented, "because the primary process is corrupt and didn't give most of us a choice." "Here's a tip for next elections," one Democrat answered, "don't put the crazies in your primary." When challenged to name a better candidate, the anti-Romney resident admitted, "Santorum would have been better … or what's his name, the same guy, Huntsman."

There was no neutral political area like Capitol Hill four years ago, so I gave Cafe Wellstone a short visit, "Bixyl, you missed all of us going H00000000000000000000000000000000!!!!!" I asked, "So now that Obama's won, what do you expect to happen?" "Now, I expect that we all have to work really hard locally to get any s**t done!" "Well, for one thing, we'll keep Obamacare, Medicare, and Medicaid." "I expect him to purge the Republicans out of the house, and arrest them for 'political crimes,' then start to do the things we are asking him to do." "I am excited to see the healthcare fully implemented, not without bumps or adjustment but the right road." "We probably should work to change the House in two years." "And the Supreme Court nominations, that alone can be huge, long beyond a four year term." "Yes, SCOTUS is the real win for the long term."

Despite the winning, some Democrats still felt the need to put down the opposition, "Romney will concede tonight until he wants to look like a total ass... " "He *is* a total ass." "his was so close, scary close. I don't understand how we can have so many really stupid people in this country."

There were a few other places on the Grid where the election was talked about. Dr Fran had a picture of an election map in Hikuelo on her blog. At Club Zero Gravity, they held a "Skunk Party" in "honor" of how stinky the current state of politics had become. Following that, in Castaway Cove a mud wrestling pit was set up and people invited to come by, saying the election had a lot of mudslinging, "Now we're putting some of the mud to good use." Although I was there, I never took any pictures (sorry guys).

Some of my neighbors had a few things to say that night. One lady was overall satisfied with the results, feeling the cause of same-sex marriage had avoided what would have been a setback. Another whom had never commented on politics before described herself as being "purple" with anger over the results. One veteran I talked to felt the country had turned it's back on her.

But tomorrow was another day, and while the election would remain in our conversations for some days, over time things went back to normal.


Bixyl Shuftan