Elected Office

"Well, that will be a first," I thought to myself as I wrote the short statement. "I am usually anointed by God or appointed by myself to some office or other. This time there will be actual voting involved with real voters who will decide whether they can trust you or not, should be interesting if nothing else."

Bock McMillan's Candidate Statement
for a seat on the SP Board of Directors

LLedge Eames: "Why I'm Passionate About Second Pride"

LLedge Eames is the chair of Second Pride. This statement was posted on Facebook today. 

I am completely in support of all that LLedge has to say on the reasons we have - indeed why we need - Second Pride in SecondLife and wish to share it with you all.

---

LLedge Eames, Chair of Second Pride

"So the Second Pride Festival is almost over, and what a ride it is has been. The festival is already well on it's way to become one of the most legendary seasons of Pride yet. 

With amazing DJ's and Hosts coordinated by Viktor Sandman our Event Director, Content creators from the A-list, volunteers Kahvy & Garret Smith wrangling social media, Lee Mckay's website designing, Tootsie Nootan our Security chair and her team (Levi & Kit) keeping the festival safe and so many sponsors helping, this Pride Festival could be nothing other than a great success!

As donations are poring in I want to take a moment to talk about pride, and about the money involved in second pride as well.

I myself and the members of my board team have donated many beautiful party decorations to the Festival to make it amazing and Jak Calcutt our Building Director really outdid himself! T L C Home Collection donated a lot of new animals to the Japanese strolling garden, and many others have helped make this years festival amazing!

Yet, many ask me: Why Second Pride? Why donate?

I've recently read a blog by one of Pride's Bloggers, Bailey Saxmundham. Being Transgender, who better to ask?

"People ask "Why Pride?". There have been so many advances over the years since the Stonewall Riots in 1969, but there is still a way to go. Some of the advances have been overturned.

Pride isn't about parties - it is about visibility and solidarity. It is about community and belonging. It is about not giving in and not giving up."

http://baileysaxmundham.blogspot.nl/2017/06/pride.html

And that hits it right on the mark for me. It's not about the parties. It's not about the honor and glory of those that shine on the stage, or those that didn't make it to the schedule this year. It's about coming together and forming a front. It is about not giving in and not giving up. About providing a place in SecondLife where we can be safe. Safe to be ourselves, all year round! A place to come back to when the going gets a little tough. A place to relax in the park or to remember in the memorial. And yes, a place to party and celebrate!

Some say, Pride is commercialized. But in reality, those sponsors and vendors show their own pride the best way they can: by bringing their business. By saying, we don't care about the haters, we are rising above. Buy my Pride? PLEASE do!!!

Because with that money, we can have this sim. This place in this virtual world called Second Pride. Not just during pride week, no, all year round! We are featured in the SecondLife destination guide and have had Lindens visit our festival. We will work with Linden Lab to list our sim as a permanent gay destination after the festival. That is where the money goes first of all: that place we can call Home. And we are proud of it, and of everyone donating their time and funds into this. Second Pride is owned by the community, and paid for by the community. And that, is a beautiful thing.

And the surplus? The Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, Rainbow Roads, they all benefit. Second Pride is working with the Madonna show on a huge 4 hour benefit for Rainbow Roads this coming July 22. Also there's the nonprofit charities that we have given space on the sim: UCC SL, TAVA (Transgender American Veterans Association) TRC (Transgender Resource Center), and SOS (survivors of suicide / depression support project). New this year for the festival we invited the Care and Hope Center (awareness and support for victims of domestic violence)

Yes, there are many ways to support the community in the real world as well. But not everyone is able to participate in the real world, the same way they can in SecondLife.

At Second Pride, we can be who we want to be. In whatever shape or form. We can help, reach out, come together and make sure none of us gives in, or gives up. And that, makes me PROUD!

Happy Pride Everyone!
LLege Eames
SecondPride Chair

Linden Lab on Trump's Ban on Immigration

Statement issued by Linden Lab on Trump's Executive Order on Immigration 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC

"We at Linden Lab are extremely disappointed in and adamantly opposed to Trump’s recent executive order on immigration. We reject racism, intolerance, and xenophobia.

We are proud to include immigrants among our leadership, colleagues, and customers, as well as our families, friends, and communities. We value diversity, compassion, and understanding, and we are proud that our products enable people to come together and form meaningful connections regardless of differences in their offline lives.

Trump’s order is counter to what we value and antithetical to American ideals. We join the many voices calling on the US government to remove this restriction as quickly as possible and to refrain from imposing additional barriers that threaten opportunities for immigrants, under-represented minorities, and women."

---

You make me proud guys!

Live Long and Prosper!

Statement by the President of the United States of America on the Passing of Leonard Nimoy
"Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy. Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time. And of course, Leonard was Spock. Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the center of Star Trek’s optimistic, inclusive vision of humanity’s future.

I loved Spock.

In 2007, I had the chance to meet Leonard in person. It was only logical to greet him with the Vulcan salute, the universal sign for “Live long and prosper.” And after 83 years on this planet – and on his visits to many others – it’s clear Leonard Nimoy did just that. Michelle and I join his family, friends, and countless fans who miss him so dearly today."