SO VERY KERRY

As of late last week in an Ebisu straw poll, Kerry/Edwards are ahead with 27 resident votes; Bush/Cheney trail far behind, with only 3, just slightly ahead of Ralph Nader, who's earned but 2 votes so far.

That the Kerry campaign is doing so well in Second Life's Ebisu district might have something to do with where the survey machine is located. A resident named IceRink Zamboni placed it on her site, situated on the side of the highway which cuts through Ebisu, and it's devoted to John Kerry's presidential bid. She's festooned the elevated platform with Kerry balloons, Kerry posters, Kerry photos, and free pro-Kerry banners and signs, which you can take and place on your own property, if you're so inclined. Sometimes, her Kerry platform has a huge, optimistic rainbow floating above it; other times, New Age music is streamed onto the platform, so you can listen to ethereal beats and mellow synth tones, for example, while reading a short note that explains Kerry's position on Iraq, terrorism, the economy, and so on. (The pamphlet's available from another kiosk helpfully provided by Ms. Zamboni.)

IceRink Zamboni is a slender, tan brunette, and when I interview her, she's wearing a form-fitting, pro-Kerry body stocking. In real life, as she tells it, she's a music educaton/perfomance major (with an emphasis on opera) at a West Coast college. "I am a member of my university’s Democrats group," she says. "I subscribe to moveon.org and other newsletters, and hold viewing parties at my house for events like [the] Democratic National Convention!" During the primaries, she actually followed the Howard Dean campaign more closely-- she even keeps Dean's infamous "YEEEEARGH!" scream as a sound clip in her inventory, and plays it for me, when I mention it-- but since then, she's fully turned her attention to the Kerry campaign.

"He's a great leader and exemplifies many qualities I wish would return to the White House," Zamboni tells me. "I also trust him to lead our country in the right direction.... Kerry can provide the fairness and sound judgment missing in the current Administration."

So her Kerry site in Second Life is an extension of her offline activism-- she's even contacted John Kerry's official website, to tell them about this virtual campaign headquarters she's erected for them. "I did it recently," she says, "but haven’t really heard much back yet. So I will try again in a few days!" Meantime, she's planning to host more pro-Kerry events at her site, to take advantage of its popularity thus far, and to attract even more visitors. "I haven't a lot of cash so I can't post a contest or anything, so I am in the process of brainstorming," says Ms. Zamboni. "As for now, I get about forty visitors every few days. I think that is pretty good!" And if representatives from the Kerry-Edwards campaign ever do take the time to log into Second Life and visit Ebisu, they'll no doubt be impressed by her enthusiasm on their behalf.

That is, if they can get past the giant billboard on the other side of the highway-- featuring their candidate and Jane Fonda and a title that loudly announces "Not Fonda Kerry".

Or the giant spinning cube hovering above her site, announcing "No Kerry" on every side. Or the slightly smaller cube above it, which depicts a cartoon cowboy George W. Bush, branding a donkey.

Or most of all, the floating platform that now stands right beside Kerry headquarters-- proudly labeled, appropriately enough, "Kerry Bashing Headquaters", where you can find a poster of Kerry, for example, with a gory hand on the Vietnam memorial, and a heading that reads (as if these words were spoken by the deceased veterans of that war), "Our blood is on YOUR hands", or a lengthy message denouncing Kerry's performance as a Navy officer, when he commanded a swift boat patrol on the Mekong Delta.

"Did you see the sign below?" asks Dugo Jacobs, referring to his anti-Kerry handiwork beneath us. That's the one enjoining residents to "Flush the Johns Nov. 2!" Dugo's a solidly-built blonde man with a thick mustache, mirror sunglasses, and a black leather motorcycle jacket. "And I have the billboard across the road and signs across the river."

"Funny," I observe, "you don't look like a traditional Republican."

"I'm not," he answers quickly. Rather, Jacobs describes himself as an independent. "I'm definitely not fond of Kerry," he adds, "but I think the political stuff should be left out of Second Life, so I put this up to send a message... I just want people to see the other side of things, not to be one-sided."

To achieve this, he recently bought up most of the property around Ms. Zamboni's site (he already owned a plot where the Jane Fonda billboard now stands), and proceeded to ring her project with anti-Kerry rhetoric. "I have more articles I want to add tomorrow," Dugo Jacobs vows. "His record on voting issues, [the] military, etc..." Jacobs declines to speak on record about his real world political beliefs ("Don't like to tell personal things"), but distances himself from outright Bush advocacy. "The only pro-Bush thing [in Ebisu] is the sign across the way," he says, referring to the cartoon cowboy, "I didn't put that up."

He prefers instead to discuss how inappropriate he thinks it is, to bring offline politics into Second Life.

“The worst part of it is that there are a lot of people here [who] aren’t from the USA,” Jacobs grouses. “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t want to look at it.” So his strategy-- as far as I can understand it-- is to clutter Ebisu with even more political speech, until his new neighbor Zamboni surrenders, and dismantles her Kerry site.

“What if this leads to more pro-Kerry stuff,” I ask him, “and then more anti-Kerry stuff in response, and it just keeps escalating?”

“It might,” Jacobs concedes. “I don't have control over that.”

“[He] said it was nothing personal,” says Zamboni, when I ask her about Jacobs’ site, “but all of his signs and items are anti-Kerry… Which in my opinion is rather lame. I am perfectly satisfied with someone starting a Bush headquarters, but I would appreciate it if they didn't attempt to smear my effort, you know?” Despite Jacobs and a few other detractors, she insists that most residents are on her side. “I appreciate the huge Second Life support of Kerry… I have unfortunately had to ban a few users to prevent [them from] defacing my property.”

“I’ve been sent many Instant Messages,” says Jacobs, “saying they like [my own] plot.” In Second Life, it’s possible to “rate” another resident’s creative projects. In contrast to the pro-Kerry skew at IceRink Zamboni’s site, Jacobs claims full support for his contrary effort, by those who cared to rate it: he’s garnered over twenty positive ratings, and zero negative.

To get a sense of what their neighbors really thought about this tribute (if that’s the right word) to the upcoming election, I flew around the block, and began knocking on virtual doors. And while I didn’t hear back from the nearby Canadian resident with telltale red maple leaves all over his estate, who has no choice but to look out on this supersized microcosm of the American democratic experiment every time he’s on his balcony, other neighbors I spoke to had a wide range of opinions.

“I think it’s great that our real life events are reflected in this 3D environment,” says Chrissy Flora, a resident from the East Coast who owns a stone-brick home and a lighthouse on the other side of the Ebisu highway. “I have no problem living next to them at all.”

Closer to the sites, in a glassy home with a Spanish, red-tiled roof, JeanPaul Galatea sees things a bit differently.

“Don't like them,” he grumbles, “there is quite enough of that in real life. I am anti-Bush, but prefer to keep politics out of Second Life.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, JeanPaul lives in Florida, the state which determined the last election. But, he says, “I think the only politics in Second Life should be Second Life stuff. Like elect a new Governor!” (“Governor Linden” is a mostly figurehead role which Linden Lab uses on occasion, to make various announcements and proclamations.)

“I actually enjoy some controversy," says Goshua Lament, who owns an Ebisu dock which boasts a replica of the Wright brothers' plane, a roulette wheel, and a kiosk which dispenses Second LIFE Magazine (the fine publication which first tipped me to the Kerry headquarters.) And though he prefers Kerry, says Lament, “This morning, I made someone a Bush lawn sign… I know lots of pro and anti-Bush people in real life. I try to get along with both.”

“[L]iving next to them is a pester and an annoyance,” Brad Casanova seethes. Brad lives with several roommates in a large home beside a pond, where he has a worm’s eye view of both sites. “Constantly hearing ‘playground’ disputes over who's better suited for the president was cute the first day, but after a few, it's not.” He has no strong opinions on the election, himself.

“I just know that next time when I decide to buy land," says Casanova, "I plan on moving next to anarchists.”

LordJason Kiesler was the resident who sold all the property to Jacobs; he even built some of the anti-Kerry displays, before he showed up, then helped Jacobs complete the existing site. “I just wanted to make sure you understand that I have no opinion on the presidential thing,” he tells me. “I hated the idea of there being junk about it in my escape place… I wouldn’t have even left the stuff up, if it weren’t for the fact that Dugo came along. And paid me for it… twice. He paid me once and I built it, and all the objects got auto returned accidentally. So he paid me again.”

Wrapping up my interview with IceRink Zamboni, I ask her if she plans to address the criticisms that Dugo Jacobs is making of Kerry on the platform a few feet from her, especially those about his conduct in Vietnam.

“I would be hard pressed to address all of the issues,” she answers. “For instance, there is a photo of twelve or thirteen of Kerry's army comrades and the site next door suggests that only one of them supports him. However, all but one of them were at the Democratic National Convention cheering him on…”

“Not true,” Dugo Jacobs interrupts.

Jacobs is floating some twenty feet above us; LordJason Kiesler is beside him. “There's video proof of them saying they don't support him," he continues. The two are unable to come any closer, because Ms. Zamboni has banned them from her property and her airspace. If they try to get any nearer, red force field beams will just bounce them back.

Zamboni looks up at them. “What I don't understand is that I am trying to do something good, and you are trying to antagonize me, which is perfectly welcome.”

“No,” says Kiesler, “you’re trying to do something that’s upsetting the experience in this game."

“She go around and ask the neighbors if they mind [her site]?” Dugo asks rhetorically. “NO.”

Kiesler isn’t finished yet. “We might as well start putting up EBay auctions in Second Life-- and why stop there? Why not Spam everyone with penis enlargement [ads]?”

A dapper, suit-wearing resident named Aqua Therian is visiting the Kerry campaign headquarters, while they talk, and he pipes up at that. “Because politics isn’t sex, Jason... although sometimes it seems that way.”

“Dugo,” I say, “would you be equally mad if this [Kerry platform] was advertising spam, or is it also because you're against Kerry?”

“I'd say both,” Jacobs replies. “More that it’s because I'm against Kerry, though.”

“Let me get this straight,” Zamboni asks them, “you didn't like my political message in Second Life, so you put up five times as much political paraphernalia surrounding it?”

Dugo Jacobs doesn’t answer right off. “Like I said," he argues, "there are a lot of people from other countries in here, so why do they have to be treated to US politics?”

“I have had several political discussions with international players," Zamboni retorts, "and they appreciate the site,”

“[I] wouldn’t want to try to escape real life only to find that Second Life has all the same annoyances that RL does,” Kiesler announces, saying his peace. “I’m done. I think I’ve made my point… but that doesn’t mean if someone wants to pay me to build something that I won’t. Heck,” he adds smiling, “I’ll even make pro-Kerry stuff for money.”

Aqua Therian laughs. “And your true colors shine through.”

Dugo Jacobs addresses IceRink Zamboni again. “Take it down and I'll take [mine] down.” He turns to the rest of us. “She takes it down and I'll be more than willing [to disassemble my site.] I've been looking at her crap for weeks.”

“The majority really support my site,” Ms. Zamboni replies calmly, “and appreciates its existence. So don't think that you can get my spirits down.... You can count on me leaving it up at least until the election has passed.”