Politics interfering with gaming

[diaglo]

This is the case with my group as well. Occasionally a political discussion will start, but a quick shout of "Hey! No politics at the table!" from me usually takes care of it.

we can't talk politics either.

cuz they all know and everyone here too that OD&D(1974) is the only true game....

and they all tell me to just roll the dice.

 

[ForceUser]

What is CM? I have been looking for a good, but friendly, place to discuss politics in a mature manner.

Circvs Maximvs is a companion forum set up by Morrus for ENWorlders who are tired of living under Grandma's roof 24/7. If you like hanging out with ENWorlders, and you want to get to know them better without having to tiptoe around mentioning politics, religion, sex, or any other controversial thing, then CM is the place you want to post. We even talk about gaming, too. It's a friendly forum, but it's not Grandma-friendly.

 

[HellHound]

Although I did try my best to make it an unfriendly place.

 

[trancejeremy]

Personally, I think if you can't stand people because of their politics, you are putting way too much emphasis on politics in your life. You start seeing people of differing political persuasions as your enemy or foe.

When in reality, almost everyone in the political spectrum means well, they just disagree on how to acheive the best thing for everyone.

 

[Pseudonym]

Have you ever had politics get in the way of gaming?
Have you ever dropped a group or just a player due to politics?

In my current group, no, at least not directly. I have one player who misses session when they interfear with activities with his church, and I have reschedualed gaming sessions when they conflict with coven meetings and rituals, but aside from schedualing conflicts the actual substance of our religion never seems to enter our conversations.

Politics occasionaly does when we chat in pre-game conversation, but we set it aside when it is time to get down to it. It helps that we are basically on the same page politically.

 

[Mercule]

I don't think politics/religion has ever been a huge factor in my games. Now, my degree is in political science and philosophy, so you know it's not because I don't have opinions. I just think that it's more because two people can disagree strongly about something, but still respect one another. It's the difference between "fraternizing with the enemy" and "the loyal opposition".

In my current group, there is a socialist and extreme capitalist (if you know which I am, great, but not relavent). We've had political conversations, and butted heads on a couple of things. We don't talk politics much anymore, but I think that's mainly because we've been there and done that. We're both general decent people who hold our beliefs because we genuinely believe they are the best for everyone involved. Understanding that goes a long way toward being friendly. In fact, I'd rather call someone on the other side of the fence, but generally decent, a friend than someone who agreed with my politics, but did so for selfish or bullheaded reasons.

Maybe therein lies your issue, too.

 

[Ds Da Man]

Actually, I agree with Hellhound on this 100%. I think how you view the current politics and happenings of the world, will reflect in how you see good and evil in the D&D world, and can lead to many table arguements. I am pretty conservative and find many of players with liberalisitic views annoy me at the table. Just the way I am. Just try and stay away from him, Hellhound. It ain't worth disrupting the group. Good luck!

 

[Rackhir]

In my current group, there is a socialist and extreme capitalist (if you know which I am, great, but not relavent).

I would have guessed extreme capitalist based on your "Sniper's Roost" mention, in your description, but I think the Ronald Regan quote in your sig is probably a dead give away on that question.

 

[Umbran]

Moderator:
I've already seen one inappropriate comment generalizing about a particular party. Winks and smiles don't render them harmless. Please, no more. That sort of thing will get this thread closed quickly. Any more such potshots will be removed without consultation.

You can talk about butting heads without blaming it on one particular group of people. It takes two to tango, right?

 

[Graf]

I go off on rabidly political diatribes during gaming sessions.

But I go off on rabid diatribes of all sorts to a degree of frequency that I think people take any given one less seriously.

Also I think that my particular politics aren’t as troublesome for some people, I’m not properly part of a particular political party or ideology (at least as they show up in general discourse) and I tend to criticize both the party’s from my home country (the US).

Finally… living overseas helps all that tension. People aren’t constantly being worked into a lather by the various partisan media outlets (and I’m talking about both sides here), so people freak out less.
Most people I game with overseas have opinions on a few aspects of the US’s foreign policy but they’re not really passionate about CAFE regulations, for example.

So I wouldn’t say that you can’t talk politics during gaming. You just need to avoid dismissing somebody’s opinion out of hand (and be willing to admit when you’ve said something that was wrong, or poorly thought out) which happens to everybody.

If you're finding someone's politics frustrating I'd double check to make sure it's not something else about their personality (dismissive of people who disagree with them, overbearing, etc) manifesting as politics.