7/22 Remember the Victims

"Utøya, 20110726. Kveldsutsikt"
Photo courtesy of Eirik Helland Urke / Dagbladet

"If one man can show so much hate, imagine how much love we all can show together." 
Helle Gannestad in a tweet on July 23, 2011.

Two years have today passed since a single, determined, right-wing extremist with delusions of grandeur killed 8 people in Oslo city centre and 69 adults and children on the island of Utøya in Norway.

If you are able, please take the time to visit the Stavkirken (SLurl) (updated) in Second Norway to honor the memory of the victims.

The Norwegian Example

A year ago we were reached by the horrendous news that 77 people were killed through the actions of a hateful man. The world seemed to stop spinning for a few minutes as the reality of the tragical atrocities sunk in.

Today we should take the time to remember the victims and honor their memory. May they all rest in peace.

Oslo City center (8):
Jon Vegard Lervåg, 32, Oslo.
Ida Marie Hill, 34, Oslo.
Hanne Ekroll Løvlie, 30, Oslo.
Tove Åshill Knutsen, 56, Oslo.
Hanna M Orvik Endresen, 61, Oslo.
Kai Hauge, 32, Oslo.
Anne Lise Holter, 51, Våler.
Kjersti Berg Sand, 26, Nord-Odal.

Utøya (69):
Karrar Mustafa Qasim, 19, Vestby.
Andreas Edvardsen, 18, Sarpsborg.
Ronja Søttar Johansen, 17, Vefsn.
Emil Okkenhaug, 15, Levanger.
Åsta Sofie Helland Dahl, 16, Sortland.
Monica Iselin Didriksen, 18, Sund.
Rune Havdal, 43, Øvre Eiker.
Tore Eikeland, 21, Bergen.
Espen Jørgensen, 17, Bodø.
Karin Elena Holst, 15, Rana.
Aleksander Aas Eriksen, 16, Meråker.
Victoria Stenberg, 17, Nes.
Ruth Benedicte Vatndal Nilsen, 15, Tønsberg.
Isabel Victoria Green Sogn, 17, Oslo.
Ida Beathe Rogne, 17, Østre Toten.
Elisabeth Trørnnes Lie, 16, Halden.
Monica Elisabeth Bøsei, 45, Hole.
Håvard Vederhus, 21, Oslo.
Carina Borgund, 18, Oslo.
Ingrid Berg Heggelund, 18, Ås.
Tarald Kuven Mjelde, 18, Osterøy.
Porntip Ardam, 21, Oslo.
Andrine Bakkene Espeland, 16, Fredrikstad.
Torljus Jakobsen Blattmann, 17, Kristiansand.
Jamil Rafal Mohamad Jamil, 20, Eigersund.
Tina Sukuvara, 18, Vadsø.
Fredrik Lund Schjetne, 18, Eidsvoll.
Steinar Jessen, 16, Alta.
Lejla Selaci, 17, Fredrikstad.
Henrik Rasmussen, 18, Hadsel.
Thomas Margido Antonsen, 16, Oslo.
Mona Abdinur, 18, Oslo.
Anders Kristansen, 18, Bardu.
Gunnar Linaker, 23, Bardu.
Ismail Haji Ahmed, 19, Hamar.
Trond Berntsen, 51, Øvre Eiker.
Sharidyn Svebakk-Bøhn, 14, Drammen.
Silje Merete Fjellbu, 17, Tinn.
Hanne A.Balch Fjalestad, 43, Lunner.
Bano Abobakar Rashid, 18, Nesodden.
Syvert Knudsen, 17, Lyngdal.
Diderik Aamodt Olsen, 19, Nesodden.
Simon Sæbø, 18, Salangen.
Synne Røyneland, 18, Oslo.
Birgitte Smetbak, 15, Nøtterøy.
Margrethe Bøyum Kløven, 16, Bærum.
Even Flugstad Malmedal, 18, Gjøvik.
Tamta Lipartelliani, 23, Georgien.
Kevin Daae Berland, 15, Askøy.
Silje Stamneshagen, 18, Askøy.
Hanne Kristine Fridtun, 19, Stryn.
Håkon Ødegaard, 17, Trondheim.
Sondre Furseth Dale, 17, Haugesund.
Henrik André Pedersen, 27, Porsanger.
Eivind Hovden, 15, Tokke.
Rolf Christopher Johansen Perreau, 25, Trondheim.
Sverre Flåte Bjørkavåg, 28, Sula.
Eva Kathinka Lütken, 17, Sarpsborg.
Maria Maagerø Johannesen, 17, Nøtterøy.
Modupe Ellen Awoyemi, 15, Drammen.
Lene Maria Bergum, 19, Namsos.
Guro Vartdal Håvol, 18, Ørsta.
Marianne Sandvik, 16, Stavanger.
Andreas Dalby Grønnesby, 17, Stange.
Sondre Kjøren, 17, Orkdal.
Bendik Rosnæes Ellingsen, 18, Rygge.
Gizem Dogan, 17, Trondheim.
Snorre Haller, 30, Trondheim.
Johannes Buø, 14, Mandal.

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"If one man can show so much hate, imagine how much love we all can show together."
Helle Gannestad in a tweet on July 23, 2011

During the year that has followed since the horrific events the Norwegians as a people have shown the rest of the world how to deal with acts of hatred. Instead of calling out for revenge they have been standing together for peace, for love and against hate. From the parents, the spouses, the siblings and the children of the victims to the Norwegian royal family, the Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and all other Norwegians (whether indigenous or immigrants) have shown us that with love we can - and will - change the world.

If you are able please take the time to visit the Stavkirken (SLurl) in Second Norway to honor the memory of the victims and the Norwegians.

Hatred

Only a few weeks ago many of us stood together remembering and honoring the people killed by the the Norwegian mass murderer A.B.B. (whom I never again intend to waist time on by spelling out his full name). This man hates many things; Islam, Muslims, foreigners, Norwegian Social Democrats and Swedish Social Democrats, Socialists, Communists, welfare receivers of any nationality etc. etc. The list could be made much longer but I think you get the drift.

I visited Stavkirken in Second Norway many times during that period, for my own sanity and to be close to others who cared, we sat together in silence and thought of the crimes that had been committed by one hating man against so many people. Again - a few weeks later - we stood all together outside the church remembering the killed at a ceremony in Second Norway and told each other this is what hate leads to, death and destruction and mass murder.

I remember telling myself during this period that hatred is a powerful force that eats at your soul, your mind and your feelings. It changes your outlook at the world and the other people in it. I promised myself to do anything from hating my fellow sisters and brothers again, either by word or by deed.

Yesterday I was minding my own business, looking over my sim, reading note cards that had been sent to me and answering them, chatting a little with my friend Zigadena Gabardini, discussing how our summers had been and her joy at having her Em from the Netherlands come visit for a couple of weeks and the plans they were making for meeting again in November.

I feel very close to Zigadena, ever since Ars first broke his leg and then again through his fatal illness. She has been there giving me emotional support, medical advice and helped me understand and come to grips with the medical procedures that my darling was subjected to.

However back now to the story I was trying to tell! After I had finished my conversation with Zigadena I went back to my meandering thoughts again while checking stuff on the sim when suddenly one of the groups erupted. It was one of the Swedish groups for a radio-channel. There is hardly ever any chat going on in this group apart from the announcements of upcoming shows.

Now the group suddenly filled with people who hated a common individual. Apparently there had been some blogging about something this person was supposed to have done the day before, I seemed to have missed that completely... or maybe it was so subtle that I missed what was being said behind the words written. Anyway they all were there spewing their common hatred on the "culprit" who wasn't there, or at least did not take part in the altercation while I still remained there. Actually some people I have liked dearly for a long time took part, although I don´t suspect they have liked me back as much since my position in this has been quite clear from the start, and of course there were others to whom I do have a distant or noncommittal relationship with.

The incident made me so upset that I immediately wanted to leave the group, but didn't know how to do it as I am new to the Firestorm viewer, so I logged out instead. I didn't want to get infected by more hate or be subjected to more hate speech.

When will we ever learn that there is no real difference between our own hate and the hate shown by the mass murderer A.B.B.? Hate never ever leads to any good, it only destroys.

Now back to bed, this post woke me up aching to get written. I am sad and tired now, sleep will be good for me!

Remembering the Massacre

Stavkirken in Second Norway today.

The Wedding of Kicki and Detron

As I told you yesterday I was on my way to a wedding in SecondLife. My friend, the always charming, funny and beautiful, Kicki Springflower was going to marry her Detron Soern.

This is not Kicki´s first marriage in SecondLife, as we discussed and had fun with when she sent me this invitation. But as we both agreed, we have to do what we must do when the guy we happened to marry turns out to be a creep. In our conversation I even suggested she should perhaps let me screen the guys in the future, but to that she responded with great confidence that "Detron is a keeper!".

Well I don´t know Detron at all, except for seeing a discussion he had once in the Swedish chat where he held his ground and argued his case well without becoming abusive. After my conversation with Kicki I thought to myself that I better give him a fast screening to check if he passed the "Bock test of men, geeks, creeps and douche bags". So I made sure to get to the church early...

This test is a sort of quick litmus test loosely based on my Ars adage "Action not words". I engage the subject in conversation and study what happens carefully. It´s not so much what they say - even if that is also important - but how they say it, what they do and how they interact with myself and people around us.

The wedding was taking place at the most wonderful church I have seen yet in SecondLife,  "Stavkirken" in Second Norway. The church was beautifully decorated for the occasion.

When I arrived the groom was already there (+10 points) waiting at the altar with his best man. So I dived into the testing straight away by engaging him in conversation and seeing how he handled it.

Let me just say, Detron passed the test with flying colors. He scored 93 points of the total 100. To my great relief I can therefore report that I agree with Kicki, this man is a keeper for sure!

And then the most important person of any wedding arrived, the beautiful bride. Kicki was wearing a stunning - albeit a little daring - wedding gown. I first managed to get a picture of her outside the church and then we see her walking up the isle to her groom.

The reverend Herman Bergson was officiating at the ceremony. Almost everything went well, but the good reverend should in the future always remember to make sure his manuscript is updated and includes the correct names of the bride and groom.

However Detron handled the reverend´s "faux pas" marvelously and saved us all from greater embarrassment by inserting his own name. (+10 bonus points as this happened after the official testing had been concluded.)

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the invitation Kicki and Detron, I had a wonderful time! I wish you both all the happiness in the world. To Kicki, I would like to add, "Nice catch, gurl!"

The Wedding of Kicki and Hercules

The bride and groom at the altar

Protesters?

Yesterday I was honored to be a guest at the wedding of Kicki Springflower and her handsome lover Hercules.

The church, Stavkirken in Second Norway, was packed with the glitterati of the Scandinavian communities with some interesting International additions. Stavkirken is a beautiful jewel of architecture in SecondLife and all the guests did their best to match it. Most of us actually succeeded, except for a guy who kept his hat on inside the church.

It was a very beautiful ceremony and the declarations of love between the bride and groom were touching and heartwarming.

The lag was surprisingly horrendous as we were no more than 45 people on the sim. I don´t really experience lag very often in SecondLife although it is a common complaint. I took a few pictures - as you see above, but the only one close to acceptable is the one at the top of this post, but if you look closely on that you see three guests standing in crucifixion poses.On all the rest there were "Grey people" as witnessed by the picture to the right.

I at first thought this was Ms. Blanche Argus and some friends protesting against "marriage being a patriarchal form of slavery for women", but when I interviewed her on this she vehemently denied it and claimed that she and her bench-mates were in fact all sitting down..

Well as I always say, "Lag is a state of mind, don´t blame it on the Lindens!" I had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the ceremony. For better pictures I suggest you visit some of the other Scandinavian SecondLife blogs. I was sorry I could not attend the party afterwards but reports say that it was great fun with Ms. Ewa Aska and Ms. Rultan Zeppelin as hostesses and the amazing DJ PJ.

Kicki and Hercules, you made me proud by the way you both handled the difficult situation, I wish you both all the best for the future! As the SecondLife saying goes "If the wedding has bad lag but the sim doesn't crash it will be a long and prosperous marriage!" (Well, I just made that up, but there should be such a saying.)

P.S. I hope a bosom buddy of mine notices that I carefully avoided to include any picture of a certain reverend/philosopher in the pictures above.