D&D and violence

[Man in the Funny Hat]

I'll use this as a shield to say I agree. It's friggin prison. It's not supposed to be fun.

But it's not supposed to be a sensory deprivation vault either. The chief punitive effects of prison are loss of freedom, loss of privacy, and being forced to live with the worst people in the nation (and all the degradation and consequences THAT entails.) I don't spend a lot of time weeping for our nations prisoners but when we incarcerate them, for all that we take away from them, we must still provide decent food, adequate living accomodations, and SOMETHING to do besides look at the wall of a cell 24/7/365. That means work, education, and (like it or not) ENTERTAINMENT.

How well the penal system does what it needs to do is eminantly debatable, but you can't deny that entertainment of SOME sort is part of what we are obliged to provide convicts. Unless we want to just start taking any 3-time loser out back of the courthouse and shoot them.

Re: the OP,
If you give reasonably well-adjusted, creative people something they will likely put it to a sensible, creative use. If you give MAL-adjusted, devious people something there is a much higher possibility of it being put to an undesirable, devious use. There are reasonable concerns regarding fairly open access to roleplaying games by certain people. I have known people who, though they are quite unlikely to ever be convicts should never, EVER be invited to participate in RPG's if for no other reason than they ALREADY have difficulty seperating fantasy entertainment and reality (except perhaps a game conducted BY a therapist for the PURPOSE of therapy). If we're talking about a minimum- or perhaps meduim-security prison I don't see too much danger, but if we're talking maximum-security facilities with violent offenders... yeah, I don't know that there aren't BETTER options for their entertainment given the undesirable twists that can be put to the game and gaming equipment.

 

[green slime]

"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering the prisons."
-Fyodor Dostoevsky (attributed)

 

[DestroyYouAlot]

Hey, OP, I have your expert:

Joyce Brothers.




I'm only maybe half kidding - Dr. Brothers went down to Lake Geneva in the 80s and hung out for a few, as she was being asked to speak about D&D (this being the age of the moral panic), and wanted to be able to formulate an opinion. According to EGG, she actually sat in on a game or two (and was bemused by the whole thing). So, for what it's worth, if Joyce Brothers was willing to show up and testify, you might have a hearing-winner on your hands. *shrug* Worth a shot, anyway.

 

[roguerouge]

The OP asked about people who could function as expert witnesses in the case. He got (American) names like;

The Committee for the Advancement of Role-Playing Games
Michael Stackpole
Gary Gygax
Greg Stafford

Also, someone mentioned that Dragon Magazine editorialized occassionally on this issue, so Eric Mona might be a goo resource.

In any event, how are D&D games supposed to help with prisoner rehabilitation?

Teaching interpersonal skills would be one, as you generally have to work with your party members to achieve your goals. Libraries, therapists, prison jobs, and GED programs are in prisons for similar reasons: to give prisoners who WANT to change their lives the skills to make changing their life somewhat feasible. Going straight is hard, especially since it's damn hard to get a job as a con. They'll need skills to take advantage of what opportunities come their way, BUT ALSO the skills to cope HEALTHILY with the inevitable disappointments they'll face rather than turning to violence or self-destructive behavior like drugs.

And DnD costs the state $0, unlike libraries, therapists, and GED programs. If it's even a tiny bit effective, I'm for it.

Remember the ultimate goal of prison is NOT punishment: it's to make our society a safer and better place to live. Punishment, isolation, deterence, and rehabilitation are a means towards that end, not the end itself.

 

[Nifft]

Bugaboo's Friends GM Network should set up an arrangement with prisons to have their GMs run games for prisoners.

No no no, you have it backwards: WotC should pay prisoners $1.30 / hour to run 4e PbP games.

They could be using maximum security prisoners for 4e play-testing right now. Leak minimization, etc.

Cheers, -- N

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

Teaching interpersonal skills would be one...

Well, hell, roguerouge... If the game doesn't do that for gamers, then what makes you think it will do it for prisners?

 

[Jhulae]

I can kind of see the issue of dice as weapons. I'm not sure about the gang mentality thing though.

Of course, maybe prisoners should be doing something more constructive, like dancing.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

...constructive, like dancing.

Having watched the video I can only say American prisoners an’t got no right to complain ‘bout harsh treatment unless they are being forced into dance choreography.

 

[Nifft]

like dancing.

You've given me a whole new thing to google for.

Thanks! -- N

 

[Jhulae]

You've given me a whole new thing to google for.

Thanks! -- N

No problem. Although, I guess prisoners could still be shivved for being out of step..