Front National or National Front (France) are widely known as a hard right wing French political party, who recently came to Second Life. Some have described them as fascist, or anti-semitic, or as parochial xenophobes.
On their own, they would have been fairly quickly forgotten by Second Lifers, and it wouldn't be long before they were forgotten by their own party and the effort was abandoned -- as has happened previously to other groups ... but the residents of Second Life had other ideas...
First there were protests. Controversy, the meat and drink of tabloids. People came from all over to express their hate, put up signs ... the whole nine-yards.
Then there was violence. The area turned into a war-zone. From a publicity standpoint this was about the best thing that Front National could have hoped for. Silly, surreal warfare, protest signs espousing hate, exploding pigs and angry people. It couldn't have gone better for FN if the protests had been bought and paid for. A political party being harassed by those 'new-fangled crazy gamer kids'.
After a while, the site evinced the sort of damage that is most likely self-inflicted, and FN went to find a new home. Flush with the moral high-ground (and a boost to their overall public profile), FN had itself a new home with unseemly haste, and protest signs seconds later.
All in all, this seems to be about branding. Front National appears to have no other purpose in SL than to be set upon by people likely to be viewed as more violent, radical, and silly than themselves. On the political spectrum, being harassed by someone more radical makes people view you as more respectable. If FN can continue to receive virtual harassment, their political cachet will soar.
Second Lifers answered the call and gave Front National just what they were most likely hoping for. Will they continue to fall for it?
1. Right on the spot, Tateru.
This is something I've been trying to tell my fellow Frenchmen for weeks.
But then again, how do you expect to put out a fire when both the media and the bloggers fall for the 'hype du jour' and keep relaying such trivial news?
Posted at 2:58AM on Jan 19th 2007 by Yesterday Demain