As Pro-Palestine marches dot the United States in protest of the Israeli state’s collective punishment strategy to combat Hamas, children too young to take to the literal streets are taking to the digital streets.
Roblox, a combination of a global platform and in-game experience creator, has seen waves of digital marches.
Game platforms like Fortnite Creative and Roblox are currently the closest things to the metaverse that currently exist in the zeitgeist.
On Oct. 7, Hamas, a militarized Sunni Muslim political movement that retains control over portions of Gaza, launched an attack that killed over 1,000 Israelis. Israel has since gone into a “complete siege” and heavy bombardment of Gaza, creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in the modern age for the Gazan residents, who have no where to flee from the fighting. The conflict has been on and off since the 1940s with blows landing from both sides. Residents of Gaza live in what has been described as an “open-air jail,” which is heavily regulated and controlled by the Israeli Defense Force, or IDF.
Countries around the world have repressed pro-Palestine protests, and went as far as to jail those who attend. For a younger generation that wants to make a statement about the conflict but doesn’t have the means to go to a protest, Roblox has become a place where they can show their support.
Metaverse-adjacent platforms like Roblox have become essential for young people who live in varying states of repression. Notably, Reporters Without Borders launched The Uncensored Library in a Minecraft server, providing access to banned or destroyed texts through the game itself.
Access to information currently flows more freely than at any time in human history. While there are some absurd and, frankly, stupid metaverse ideas, the concept of a world where information and feelings can be shared without fear of imprisonment is an uplifting idea.
