D&D has threatened my job
Regarding the discussion on September 10 about the teacher getting adverse feedback over having kids in a D&D game:
First, thanks for the case. We will be metaphorically throwing it in the face of the next person who says there is no need for CAR-PGa because no one is attacking games any more (CAR-PGa always dealt with far more than game defense).
Second, with the exception of leaving the place, all the suggestions were valid (leaving won't help, the case will follow forever).
I would suggest two things to be done immediately. First, separate the adults and kids gaming for the time being, and suspending the kids' operation temporarily. Let's hope their parents will organize in your defense as a result. Meet with them to explain.
Second, get copies of the brochure series Games In Education, by David Millians, from GAMA; and Role Playing Games and the Gifted Student, by Paul Cardwell, Gifted Education International, Vol. 11, No. 1, 1995, pp 39-46. Failing to find this scholarly journal, a slightly updated form can be had from CAR-PGa for $1.50.
Millians is a 5-6 grade teacher in Atlanta, GA, who has been using RPG in his classes well over a decade, while Cardwell is Chair of CAR-PGa, an international network of researchers into all aspects of role-playing games, including curriculum and therapy as well as recreation.
Take these to your principal and urge approval of a game group as part of the official extracurricular activities program of your school, and be prepared to demonstrate how the games can be used to supplement the classroom curriculum. (Millians' is primarily in-class use, while Cardwell's is aimed at demonstrating RPG as an education tool regardless of where used.)
The public venue for youth gaming is essential. Failing getting it to be an official school function, a church being best - if they totally support the activity as opposed to merely providing space. Otherwise they will be the target of a divisive campaign against the church. Small towns rarely have recreation centers nor libraries with enough space.
This is still no sure defense. I heard rumors of such attacks when I had a book and hobby store in a small town, but no one had to courage to give me any details so I could take legal action for defamation. The ludoteque (game room) was in the same space as the used book department and as a result had shoppers there most of the time. Still, the game-bashers apparently were at work, although without success.
If you need to go the lawyer route, have him contact CAR-PGa immediately when when case is filed and we will attempt an amicus curiae brief. Although the court must grant permission for the brief to be accepted, it could help. For that, we would need the details of the case and the format for such a brief in your state (they vary a bit from one jurisdiction to another).
GAMA's address is Box 1210, Scottsdale, AZ 85252, 480-675-0205,
www.gama.org. As the name (GAme Manufacturers' Association) implies, GAMA is overwhelmingly game manufacturers.
CAR-PGa is at 1127 Cedar, Bonham, TX 75418, 903 583-9296,
carpgachair@yahoo.com. CAR-PGa is open to any, with nonmonetary dues (documented work for the cause) and information can be found at
www.theescapist.com/car-pga. They also have a discussion group on yahoogroups.com/car-pga (which is where I found this case.).
Get in touch offline in any case.
Paul Cardwell
Having finally had a chance to wade through all the replies (I only have Internet access at the public library and the hour is usually up just checking my e-mail), I find a sympathy with Dr. Awkward, Mythusmage, and Corinth.
Like Jefferson, I fear for my country when I reflect that God is just. A building in Oklahoma City is blown up and people are outraged, but get over it. After all, it was a US Government building and the demolisher was a home-grown terrorist. An office building in New York gets blown up and people forget it was owned by a governmental agency (the Port of New York Authority) but most in it were multinational corporations and the demolishers were from outside the country. Therefore we not only nulify most of the Bill of Rights and a substantial part of the rest of the Constitution, but have the gall to call it Patriot!
Yes, fighting for freedom, due process, and innocense until proven guilty beyond all reasonable doubt is dangerous. It is true that the family suffers along with the patriot. I know I spent six years in exile (merci, Canada) because I needed to feed my family and the blacklists wouldn't let me in my own country.
Yes, small towns can be a pill, although I hardly think D20 is in a small town. It seems to have a university (mine doesn't) and a community center (mine doesn't), and at least a five-digit population figure (mine missed it by ten in the last census). Indeed, until the state mandated it, my ludoteque was the nearest thing to a recreation program other than athletics in town. As the saying developed, "If the teen hang-out is a book store, you know you have problems."
Nonetheless, freedom is like fitness, use it or lose it.
