Save a Child -- Visit the Death Counter

by Fiend Ludwig

At the risk of glorifying yet another real life organization claiming to be "first" in Second Life -- in this case, "the first campaigning organisation to establish a permanent presence in SL" -- and notwithstanding this vague and certainly debatable declaration, the goal of the World Development Movement (WDM) seems laudable enough to warrant a mention in your favorite tabloid.

Founded in 1970, the WDM is a UK-based anti-poverty organization whose new project is to remind those of us immersed in SL to "keep it real." The WDM reports that over 36 million children have died as the result of poverty since the founding of Second Life, and they have a Death Counter to prove it.

Pete Taylor, Web Officer at WDM says, "Millions of people are now spending more and more of their time in Second Life or similar virtual environments. We are here to remind them that they can't escape the problems of the real world."

Reduce poverty? Agreed. Save children from unnecessary suffering? absolutely. Reminding us that we can't escape the problems of the real world by hiding in an "escapist alternative reality"? Perhaps not the most effective way to entice new members in an environment like Second Life.

Still the WDM is here for a worthy cause. Check out the WDM Death Counter in Warmouth and decide for yourself.

Comments

[Prokofy Neva]

Bolshevism.

These leftoids would be better off putting their signs in the watering holes of the klepocrats in the Third World who divert their countries' oil revenues to themselves instead of funding education and health care and helping kids in their countries.

[Kalo Foxfire]

Chill out, Profoky. Let us SUV-using, gas-guzzling, McDonalds-eating, Wal-mart shopping Westerners have our share of the guilt tripping.

Seriously, though, "We are here to remind them that they can't escape the problems of the real world." Oh, yeah, that's gonna go down well in a world of recreational escapism. The image that conjures up for me is a wheelchair-bound child abusee playing SL, when a flashing red message pops up on screen: 'YOU CAN'T ESCAPE THE PROBLEMS OF THE REAL WORLD'.

Oh, wait, damn. That's already mentioned in the article. Well, I'm keeping the comment anyway.

[Kalo Division]

Gah, put up my internet screenname in that last topic instead of my SL screenname.

Also: I just took another look at just what they're doing. They're counting (based on statistical averages) the number of child poverty deaths since SL went online? Okay, tracking this number? It just sounds stupid. I might as well start tracking the number of tobacco-related deaths since the Panama Canal was opened, since those two are also pretty unrelated.

[Bob the Tomato]

I'm sure that their presence is really, really going to stop a lot of people playing SL.

I don't suppose it ever occured to them that the money they're spending on land fees and premium account supporting this thing they obviously hate so much could be better used buying soup for orphans or something.

Bob

[Shockwave Plasma]

So the WDM have been going for 36 years to reduce poverty in the world? They don't seem to have done much good.

The main cause of poverty in Africa is the corrupt governments that run the place.

Middle class people in the west give aid, it goes to Africa, where is gets taken by the governing elite, and sent to Switerland to make the Swiss Banks happy.

[Nacon]

USA & UK has been donating so much money already for the last 10 years... WHY AREN'T THEY STOP DYING!? Because they forgot to build schools to teach them not to die. (to hunt, cook, heal, build tools, etc etc)

There's some native cultures out there are still better than them without any money or support from other countries. WTF? come on, stop being stupid. Teach, not money nor food. The more food you feed them, the longer they will be poor and unable to make themselves better living. That's the truth... and some how it's Second Life's fault? fucktard.

[Artemis Fate]

Save a child, assassinate a greedy CEO embezzling funds from charity organizations

[Nacon]

No... that would save a lot of children, Artemis. A lot! ;)

[astro]

you are all beginning to really get on my tits now

[Nacon]

...got milk for the kids?

[Silent Bob]

"The main cause of poverty in Africa is the corrupt governments that run the place." what a load of rubbish - there are corrupt governments everywhere! the way the western world treats (and has treated) Africa is one of the biggest causes of poverty there. Perhaps you need to take your head out of the sand and stop believing everything the politicians say.