A Beautiful Poster, and an Uncomfortable Reality
I recently saw a beautiful promotional message describing Alternate Metaverse as a place of family, community, friendship, belonging and acceptance. It is a beautiful message, and for a long time I genuinely believed in that idea too.
I spent a considerable amount of time in AMV. I was not simply a visitor passing through. I gave my time, creativity, energy and commitment. I worked as staff, supported people, built, contributed ideas and genuinely believed that I was part of a community. There were many wonderful moments, lovely people and experiences that I will never deny or forget. But my experience also had another side, one that eventually left me disappointed and hurt.
Recently, I responded to a public message about how wonderful AMV is, simply by saying that my own experience had been different. I did not insult anyone, attack anyone or use abusive language. I simply shared my honest personal experience. My comment was removed, and shortly afterwards the comments were locked. And honestly, I had to laugh.
Because sometimes you do not need to say anything more. A community can speak about family, belonging, friendship and acceptance, but those words mean very little if only positive experiences are allowed to exist publicly. When praise is welcome, but someone respectfully saying, “my experience was different,” is removed, that is not openness. That is controlling the narrative.
I am not interested in creating drama or convincing anyone to dislike AMV. Some people may genuinely love it there, and I sincerely hope they continue to have a positive experience. Everyone is entitled to their own experience, and this was mine. I will not rewrite my history simply because honesty makes people uncomfortable.
I know what I experienced, I know what I gave, and I know why I eventually walked away. A beautiful welcome sign is easy to create. Creating a place where people are genuinely allowed to speak honestly, even when their truth is uncomfortable, is something else entirely.
My experience. My truth. My story