Community is where you find it

I use to post at the “SLMC”(that stands for Second Life Music Community) forum. As a matter of fact after a long time of lurking I decided to post again last night. That was, as I expected
a mistake.

But I try and learn from my mistakes. First off, I need to get rid of the bookmark to that forum so I don’t even lurk there. Lurking only leads to posting which only leads to pain.

Second off, I’ve come to understand what a ponderous bit of delusional thinking it is to represent something as the “Second Life Music Community”. There isn’t one. Well, I should say not “just” one. People play music for a lot of different reasons, and people listen to it with a myriad of taste.

I look around and see a community gathering around my musical efforts and it has nothing to do with a forum membership. I go see my favorite artist (wonder who that could be), and I see a group of people I know. I play a show and I see a group of people I know. In my IM window I see even more people I know. At some level, a community has organically popped up.

At the SLMC forum there are people that are “In” with the group. While its name implies it embraces all people involved with music, there are some notable outsiders.

The “Music not Politics” group is openly derided. I’m not saying they don’t deserve it but they are as much a part of an all inclusive music community as any of the insiders. Reslez also seems to be a target of scorn. Personally I think Reslez is a scumbag, but he deserves a spot in an all inclusive music community.

Recently I’ve been tagged as arrogant, egotistical and a megalomaniac, because some of my opinions didn’t lay supine next to the established rhetoric of the “In” group.

I’m not actually upset about this, but my eyes are open. I don’t belong, I’m an outsider. But… conversely I do belong somewhere else. So I intend to nurture the relationships within my actually community, and allow the tenuous grasp I have on non-community relationships to quietly slip into the sea of “Who gives a shit”.

I really no longer desire to get along with everybody on the planet. I don’t want to fight of course, but I don’t need to interact with people whose agendas don’t suit my own.

Community is where you find it. It happens organically with no manifesto or charter. If you are reading this there is a good chance you are part of my community, and I am part of yours. And in the end, I’m sure that’s the way the great glowing chipmunk in the sky planned it.