The curse placed on Irving Pulling?

[FoxWander]

Well, I for one am quite thankful for Pulling and her anti-D&D craze. Because of that craze the mother of a friend of mine insisted he get rid of all his D&D stuff, so he sold it all to me. I got a stack of AD&D hardcovers and modules (about a foot tall) for $20. The best bargain I ever got in my life!

D&D has given me a lifetime of memories, pretty much all the truest friends I have AND my wife- who I met at a D&D game. So thank you Patricia Pulling- wherever you are. I'm sorry for your loss and that you never found the closure you needed- and senselessly wasted your life pursuing demons that never existed. Maybe in your next life you'll find the happiness I have (even if it's from the hobby you so hated).

 

[TheAuldGrump]

As long as we're being PC regarding a person who absolutely does not deserve it, perhaps we should not marginalize her gender by referring to her antics as "hysterics".

Just sayin'.

--Erik

Heh, I suspect that about as many modern people connect hysteria with gender as those who connect hilarious with the early Catholic church.

There are still too many people that believe the bushwa that she was spouting and that both Jack Chick and the 700 Club were peddling.

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* I do not ridicule Mrs. Pulling, I despise her, and hold her in contempt. Jack Chick I ridicule, but that's because he's funny.

 

[Katana_Geldar]

Start here:
One Of Us - Television Tropes & Idioms

Is it just me or is the idea of playing WH40K with Robin Williams the most amazing thing ever? You know he does all the voices.

Dame Judy Dench is a DM?

 

[jonesy]

Dame Judy Dench is a DM?

And she was taught by Vin Diesel during the shooting of the Chronicles. And then they talked about elementals. It's all connected, man.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Dame Judy Dench is a DM?

And she was taught by Vin Diesel during the shooting of the Chronicles. And then they talked about elementals. It's all connected, man.

Interesting....
So where does Kevin Bacon fit into all this?



.

 

[Katana_Geldar]

Somewhere, undoubtedly.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Er, no. You seem to be selectively leaving out the mockery and derision which are part of the equation. And the fact that no form of justice can be had from a woman (need I say it yet again?) who has been dead for over a decade.

"Ridicule" is mockery and derision. "She deserved it," sure sounds like an attempt at justice or vengeance for her actions. That sure sounds like being vindictive to me.

There's a difference between speaking the truth for the edification of the future, and "making fun of people because they deserve it". One's history, the other isn't. It behooves us to not confuse the two.

I selectively left it out because it was in a different paragraph, thus being entirely irrelevent to my question. I'm no English major, but it sure looks like you said that justice (and vengeance) are the same as being vindictive to me.

I also don't see why you're getting so upset about people making fun of her. As you've pointed out repetedly, she's dead, thus beyond any harm laughing at her can possibly do. Not that I'd laugh at her. Call her vile names, just as she did to me. (Not personally, but in general, as I was one of the EVIL gamers she reviled.) In my book, justice starts at: "An eye for an eye."

 

[mxyzplk]

Dang, I hadn't heard about the curse! You D&D players really are magic-using freaks! Because it's obvious - putting a curse on the kid gave his mom cancer! I'd be upset too! You should all be ashamed!

 

[MoxieFu]

There are still too many people that believe the bushwa that she was spouting and that both Jack Chick and the 700 Club were peddling.

The Auld Grump

*EDIT* I do not ridicule Mrs. Pulling, I despise her, and hold her in contempt. Jack Chick I ridicule, but that's because he's funny.

I just think about all the people who had to fight those wrongful death lawsuits like the one she filed against the principal of her son's school. I wonder how much money he had to spend fighting that in court. I wonder how many sleepless nights he spent worrying about it and the effect it would have on his career.

Then I wonder about all those cases where she testified as an "expert" witness. How much grief did she cause all those people even though every case she testified for was LOST? They may have won their legal battle, but what price did they have to pay to win?

I think about all the lives she has touched and what effect she had. How much damage, even though maybe slight did she cause with her blind hatred?

I don't think it's quite appropriate to compare her to Hitler, but I think it's entirely appropriate to compare her to Joseph McCarthy. The screed she was responsible for drew a lot of attention back in those days. Unfortunately there was practically NO attention given to when that garbage was debunked.

I still run into people who recall D&D being connected with Satanism. Unfortunately they never got the memo that all that crap was wrong.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I don't know if you were around in the Anti-D&D Craze Days of the 80s, but I had teachers hand me flyers at school that claimed D&D taught satanism, assassination, poison, witchcraft and more. The teachers didn't know it wasn't true. How could they? This is a niche hobby, and was even more of one then!

The only thing I have issue with here is that any thinking, rational person -- especially a teacher who ostensibly teaches others how to think critically -- should view a claim of "X leads to satanism and witchcraft" with a very skeptical eye.

The mere claim is so outrageous that you shouldn't just grab a stack of flyers and start handing them out.