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Apprently, playing dungeons and dragons is a left thing to do.
{Link)
After looking over the article, that is a weird statement to someone like me, especially when most of the friends I grew up playing with were definitely not left-leaning...and I'm sure they still are not.
The link to the article about the apology is kind of funny...
MisterSlanky
(Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Adventure Path, Campaign Setting, Companion, Battles Case Subscriber)
Wow. As a gamer who opposes most every one of Obama's views, I find the unecessary reference to D&D in that rant very insulting.I am prior military and my wife is a reservist and A DOD firefighter. Shes done a stint in Kuwait for Operation Iraqi freedom. We both find it insulting.
That article is just...wow...
Leaving personal politics out of this entire discussion (which I hope we all do), if this makes it out to current and former members of the military, McCain could have a real issue on his hands. I've met tons of military personnel who play D&D (to pass the time in particular when overseas) and if I were one of them (which I am not), I'd view this as an unbelievable personal attack on a group of people who deserve a hell of a lot more respect.
Just goes to show, regardless of politics, once you reach the top, it's easy to tread on the little guys.
Apprently, playing dungeons and dragons is a left thing to do.
{Link)
After looking over the article, that is a weird statement to someone like me, especially when most of the friends I grew up playing with were definitely not left-leaning...and I'm sure they still are not.
The link to the article about the apology is kind of funny...
If my comments caused any harm or hurt to the hard working Americans who play Dungeons & Dragons, I apologize. This campaign is committed to increasing the strength, constitution, dexterity, intelligence, wisdom, and charisma scores of every American.
--Michael Goldfarb
It's amazing to me that he got enough heat to apologize to D&D players
I'm also prior military, and gamed a lot (Palladium and Champions back then), especially while overseas, and I oppose McCain's policies pretty uniformly. I did live in my parents' basement for a while after leaving the military, but I was too busy catching up on my partying to spend any time gaming :p
Maybe the writer thinks that D&D players are all devil-worshipers (like in the 80's) or liberal radicals...because that's why in college I would stay up most of Saturday night playing D&D and then teach Sunday School in the morning, help to lead worship, and then volunteer at youth group in a Republican-dominate county...anyway, he is trying to insult Obama supporters and D&D players by using both in a negative context.
I hate when writers catergorize people like this. Obama and McCain supporters come from all walks of life, and there are some us who haven't decided who to support because of certain issues (especially education, since I am a teacher by day).
Aristodeimos
(Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Adventure Path, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, GameMastery Maps Subscriber)
From what I've read, tons and tons of gamers are in the military. That was a very dumb comparison to make in general. I bet whoever wrote it thought he was being clever though.
Yeah, I have a friend who used to spend most of his free time playing D&D while he was stationed in Afghanistan. He actually was featured in a letter to the editor in either Dungeon or Dragon magazine (it even included a picture of him) years ago.
Kind of amusing in way. I don't regard myself as a liberal or a conservative, and I believe both of the major parties are only concerned with self-interests and powermongering. I guess some of old stereotypes from the previous generation are still there, regardless of who I vote for, what my interests are, and "whose" basement I live in (my own, BTW ;)
I found it pretty funny since most of my fellow gamers are in fact Democrats that complain about everything. However, the next time I shake McCain's hand, I'll be sure to introduce myself as a Dungeons and Dragons player.
In recent years, the groups I have played with have usually been a mixed group (Democrats, Republicans, people who kept their views to themselves, or were very moderate).
Kind of amusing in way. I don't regard myself as a liberal or a conservative, and I believe both of the major parties are only concerned with self-interests and powermongering. I guess some of old stereotypes from the previous generation are still there...
Well put…I would categorize myself as feeling/thinking this way as well!
I don't regard myself as a liberal or a conservative, and I believe both of the major parties are only concerned with self-interests and powermongering.
I think a lot of this is due to the fact that politicians haven't generally been held accountable by those of us whom they supposedly represent.
Now that both information and organization efforts are easily accessible via the intertubes, it looks like that's starting to change. I think a lot of politicians are being caught off-guard by all of the "what are you doing?" they're starting to hear from those of us who hadn't previously been good about Keeping in Touch.
I forgot to mention that I'm also a military officer...though my profile does point that out pretty clearly. ;)
Anyway, I agree that gaming should be a "non-partisan" thing. I realize that the perception is that RPGs are often considered a hobby of the "intelligentsia," which has historically been considered to hold more liberal views. However, a successful gaming group is geared more toward collective storytelling and social interaction...which rarely mixes well with politics.
I only mentioned my own political leanings in my first response to the article because I wanted to point out how waaaaay off base the comment was.
However, part of me also wanted to read the dolt's comment as a reference to a subset of D&D players...the "pro-Obama Dungeons and Dragons crowd"...D&D players who support Obama...as opposed to the pro-McCain Dungeons & Dragons crowd, who Goldfarb would apparently find less offensive.
I didn't notice the link to the apology at first, but found it very amusing once I'd read it. The article that contained the apology indicated that it was unsolicited (the term the blogger used was "pre-emptive" which would indicate to me that it was offered in an attempt to stave off a call for an apology.)
Well, I'm a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, so my opinion on anything said by a McCain aide will be a bit skewed, but that comment was... dumb. Just dumb. D&D has no political aspect to it, at least in the real world (the main difference is that you don't want to die when thinking about D&D politics). That's one of the reasons I like RPGs so much, you get to leave all that baggage at home. Oh well, his mistake is my amused giggling.
If you read CNN's coverage of the comments, it's amazing how many pro-Obama people in their comments section were upset about being compaired to people who play D&D. They also didn't say all D&D players were bad, just pro-Obama ones. I'm sure that they would not object to my comments. Warning to liberals, do not click on this link unless you have a sense of humor or a masochistic desire for pain.
If you read CNN's coverage of the comments, it's amazing how many pro-Obama people in their comments section were upset about being compaired to people who play D&D. They also didn't say all D&D players were bad, just pro-Obama ones. I'm sure that they would not object to my comments. Warning to liberals, do not click on this link unless you have a sense of humor or a masochistic desire for pain.
I'm pretty left leaning but that didn't hurt at all. What part is supposed to be painful? Democrats can say stupid things and, if by criticizing Pelosi, you were working at policing the line between church and state I'm with you on that one. I go to church every Sunday but I'd prefer my politicians not to make political hay from their church going, nvm claiming divine mandates to, say, go to war.
Linking this back to the original post, I read "Dungeons and Dragons crowd" as a codeword for "un-Christian". I think this is an attempt by McCain's supporters to reel in more support from the base without alienating non-Christian voters. Enough of the base is old enough to remember that D&D was playing Dice with the Devil.
DitheringFool
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Modules, GameMastery Cards Subscriber)
That's odd...I'm so conservative that even my right-wing friends have a hard time relating with me. And I am a church-going God-fearing Christian of the most devout kind.
I also play Pathfinder (I assume that counts as D&D).
What's odd? You mean the original quote or the post immediately above yours?
But, yeah, the whole ruckus about D&D in the 80s was probably, in part, fueled by the number of young Christians who enjoyed playing the game. It was a game that allowed them to be champions of good in the face of evil while enjoying a good time with family and friends. Heck, at that time in my life, it was probably one of the more wholesome things I was into.
I think that McCain's blogger sees it as a codeword though and uses it as such. I also suspect he's played a lot of D&D.
...
I think there is something else here though. Look at the order of ability scores:
That's 4e not 3.5. What McCain's camp is really secretly trying to tell us is that McCain is pro-4e! Whether this gains him votes or loses them is another question.
If you read CNN's coverage of the comments, it's amazing how many pro-Obama people in their comments section were upset about being compaired to people who play D&D. They also didn't say all D&D players were bad, just pro-Obama ones. I'm sure that they would not object to my comments. Warning to liberals, do not click on this link unless you have a sense of humor or a masochistic desire for pain.I'm pretty left leaning but that didn't hurt at all. What part is supposed to be painful?
Actually the pain part was meant as a joke. I must have flubbed my humor check.
I think there is something else here though. Look at the order of ability scores:
That's 4e not 3.5. What McCain's camp is really secretly trying to tell us is that McCain is pro-4e! Whether this gains him votes or loses them is another question.
I always envisoned him as a 1st edition guy myself. Or maybe playing Hackmaster.
I always envisoned him as a 1st edition guy myself. Or maybe playing Hackmaster.
I think there is something else here though. Look at the order of ability scores:
That's 4e not 3.5. What McCain's camp is really secretly trying to tell us is that McCain is pro-4e! Whether this gains him votes or loses them is another question.
Me too, but what other edition has ability scores in that order? Nope. That's the secret message. McCain has taken a position in the edition wars.
I bet it has something to do with Obama riding that unicorn in the new jibjab campaign video. :P
Linking this back to the original post, I read "Dungeons and Dragons crowd" as a codeword for "un-Christian".I read "Dungeons and Dragons crowd" = armchair warriors as opposed to someone who has actually been there and done that…you know…the SCA crowd.
So, you think McCain is going after the SCA vote? Could be a pivotal vote there ... and he has that medieval thing going for him. I mean, he was there, right?
...
I think there is something else here though. Look at the order of ability scores:
That's 4e not 3.5. What McCain's camp is really secretly trying to tell us is that McCain is pro-4e! Whether this gains him votes or loses them is another question.
I like this one a lot too...
It also works for the mainstream media. When I refer to Democrats or liberals I am refering to the leadership of the movements. Either that or I am discussing a sterotype that has been advanced by members of that movement about ghow they want to be portrayed. so when I say:David,
Given most of your well-reasoned contributions to the threads here, I was very surprised to see your blogs so full of blanket statements about all democrats and/or all liberals. Oh, well. If it works for Limbaugh...
That is what liberals want you to believe, that they are the party that supports the voters and wants their voice to be heard.
Then I am then going to make an argument to try and refute the sterotype that has been purposely advanced. Often times I am also under time restrictions and have to make my point as quickly and simply as possible.
Edit: I just went through my blog and out of 131 posts I counted only about 20 or so where I actually make statements like that, and then it's because the media has portrayed the Democrats in the issue I was discussing as a monolithic block.
I must be in the anti-Monolith party.
EDIT: Dunno. Always felt like maybe we should all worry less about bashing the other parties, and more about cooperating and getting things done. I know that's not what talk radio and blogging and political web sites are all about, but those media in particular -- on both sides -- remind me more and more of the talk radio hosts in Rwanda that spurred and coordinated the genocide there: Divide everyone into two neat, non-overlapping groups; characterize (or mischaracterize) one of those groups to make them seem like your enemies; and empahsize to everyone that they need to fight against their own countrymen for their culture/beliefs/freedom/tribe.
