"Feel the Bern" Bernie Sanders Themed Location

The US Presidential election continues to make news in real life, with Donald Trump all but having won the nomination for the Republicans. For the Democrats, the race between the two candidates continues, with Bernie Sanders having a following in Second Life. Recently, I stopped by the "Feel the Bern" hangout in the Young sim, built by Addie Tozz. She talked some about the spot and her plans.

Read more in Places.

Bernie Sanders' Second Life Headquarters

In recent weeks, interest in politics in Second Life has heated up with the "Trump Manor" getting attention. Less flashy, but still there and getting results in the form of donations was the "Bernie Sanders Second Life Headquarters." Owned by Macaria Wind, the location can be found in the Caspoli sim. Second Life Newser took a look at the location, and interviewed the owner. Since first hearing about the place, there have been a few changes.

Read the story in Places.

More Places for US Presdential Candidates in Second Life

In September, the Newser reported on two places in Second Life build to support US Presidential Candidate Donald Trump. Recently, a few more have been built.

I heard about a "Trump Manor" in the Lionheart Ahadi sim, and heading over, found a large house with a wall around it with a number of Trump campaign signs on it. There were also a couple cars inside, one for estate management, the other which had the image of the candidate on it. Clicking on the gate, it opened, but after I stepped inside, I got a warning from the security system that I had 30 seconds to leave or be given the boot.

I managed to get in touch with the manor's owner, JP Laszio, a member of the "Trump Organization," and one of the people behind the Facebook page, "Donald Trump Thinks Your Waifu Is S***." She stated that the orb had been set up due to griefers and less than reasonable political activists, and if I wanted in to get in touch with her so my name could be added to the list of those allowed in.

More on the discussion with JP will be up later. To get to the manor, head to Lionheart Ahadi (71/38/29). Just contact her if you want inside.

With three areas for "The Donald," what was there for his opposition? The answer was in the Caspoli sim, where I found the "Bernie Sanders SL Headquarters." It was a patio lined with a number of pro-Sanders signs, some praising him, some mocking his opposition. The largest sign was a statement as to how he would pay for his proposals (a series of new taxes and eliminating certain tax breaks). The building is owned by Mac.Wind (Macaria Wind) head of "Vote Bernie Sanders 2016."

Upon entering, I was handed a notecard:

Open to all to enjoy - Group members wearing their group tag are welcome to set home and leave full perm Bernie gifts for the group. Please keep drama and negativity to a minimum and stick to the facts. Ask yourself: What would Bernie do/say?

We all run in to folks who either don't know Bernie or are skeptical about him. These Links to Bernie info including sample articles and facebook pages should be helpful in getting one started on their Bernie Journey. 

Have a Berniful day!

The headquarters is in Caspoli (127/33/34)

Searching to see if there was a place for candidate Hillary Clinton, I found one in the Pandorus sim. Porting there, it was a dark, small, rusty place with barbed wire fence and a walking skeleton. The clearest statement of the owner's intentions was on the map. This wasn't a place for a candidate, but against one.

More on the Trump Manor, and presumably the Sanders HQ later.

Hat tip: Hamlet Au

Bixyl Shuftan

Trump Campaign in Second Life

In 2008, when Second Life was still the darling of tech and mainstream media, the US Presidential election found it's way into the Grid with the supporters of various candidates during the primaries setting up "headquarters" where people could pick up shirts. At the US Capitol Hill building, as well as Cafe Wellstone for Democratic supporters and the Straight Talk Cafe for the Republicans, people could listen in and discuss the debates, and on Election Night people gathered to watch the results of the polls state by state, the Democrats cheering their victory and the Republicans resolving to win next time. Four years later, the attention of real life media had gone elsewhere, and only one of the two political parties had to choose a candidate, so there was less political activity on the Grid, with fewer supporters, and no neutral location as Capitol Hill was gone, but more retoric thrown against each other.

With the 2016 campaign under way, so far only a handful of candidates have stepped up to campaign for the Democratic nomination to replace the outgoing President, while the Republicans have a long list. A search for locations for the two leading Dems on the Grid revealed nothing, though the current leader in the polls for the Reps did. Typing in "Trump" revealed two locations. One was the "Donald Trump Campaign" at Portland Main (218,231, 11), where one could pick up a shirt and check a campaign Facebook page.

Another location was "Donald Trump For America," Seokcheon (164,251, 49), on the Second Life mainland, where there were two prominent signs on the road.

The election is still well over a year away, so a *lot* can change. But one thing is certain, supporters of candidates will be making their voice heard.

Bixyl Shuftan