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The Art and the Artist: Discussing Problematic Issues in D&D
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<blockquote data-quote="Lyxen" data-source="post: 8524244" data-attributes="member: 7032025"><p>Very interesting write up, I appreciate the effort to present various points of view. Thanks in particular for the "<strong>Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes</strong>" and the "people are not perfect".</p><p></p><p>As for myself, I am a huge believer in tolerance. People are products of their time, and their work is the product of that exact same time. And I'm absolutely sure that people criticising people of the past for what they did will find themselves criticised by the next generation for having missed something too.</p><p></p><p>So something was produced in the past that does not meet your current standards ? Do you really think that anyone at that time lived by our current standards ? Of course they did not, and for the same reason, you will see that you do not live up to the standards of the future generations. Unless, of course, you do believe that you are perfect ?</p><p></p><p>Anyhow, D&D products are exactly the same. D&D has almost half a century of existence and of course some products show their age, most of them actually. It is a reason to criticise them of their authors for having lived in a age with different standards ?</p><p></p><p>So if a product offends you, start by putting yourself back in that age and see why it might have been written that way. It might be that, by your current standards, it is flawed beyond redemption, but criticism of the past is pointless, the past has happened, these products exist, so criticising them purely for existing in the light of your newfound "wisdom" is worthless.</p><p></p><p>Or it might just be that you can transform the product to views that are acceptable to you. It does not mean that you accept that what the author wrote or did at the time was good, it just means accepting that, had you lived at that time, you might just have done exactly the same. Because, you know, you are just as imperfect and you certainly can't claim that you would have been a prophet at the time. Otherwise, why are you not one now about what still needs to be done in the world ?</p><p></p><p>As for me, I have absolutely zero problem with the Chutlhu Mythos, and I'm the proud owner of a 1st edition Deities and Demigods that include it, and which I am absolutely happy to use now and then in my games (because it's an incredible supplement with in general magnificent illustrations).</p><p></p><p>Does this mean that I endorse everything what Lovecraft wrote at the time ? Does it mean that I endorse what the artists might have thought and done at the time when the DDG was produced ? Certainly not, but I recognise that they are products and authors of their time just like I'm a product of my time, that I'm imperfect and that they were too (and actually, in a lot of domains, they were far better than I am), that I'm not better than they were, simply with a different perspective, one that took decades to forge and that I can't even claim to have really contributed to in a meaningful way.</p><p></p><p>And honestly, I'm far more tolerant of these authors who at least contributed something than of the little j..ks who come often to these forums and others just being offended about D&D products of the past without having the humility to recognise that, contrary to these authors, they have probably produced nothing of value to others in their life, they are unlikely to anyway, they have no right to criticise people for having lived in their time and I simply hope that living a bit will teach them a bit of humility and perspective.</p><p></p><p>As for me, I will continue to enjoy my large collection of D&D products of the past, reusing and adapting them, including with my daughters who have both the patience to teach me new perspectives and the tolerance for my old habits of the past. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lyxen, post: 8524244, member: 7032025"] Very interesting write up, I appreciate the effort to present various points of view. Thanks in particular for the "[B]Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes[/B]" and the "people are not perfect". As for myself, I am a huge believer in tolerance. People are products of their time, and their work is the product of that exact same time. And I'm absolutely sure that people criticising people of the past for what they did will find themselves criticised by the next generation for having missed something too. So something was produced in the past that does not meet your current standards ? Do you really think that anyone at that time lived by our current standards ? Of course they did not, and for the same reason, you will see that you do not live up to the standards of the future generations. Unless, of course, you do believe that you are perfect ? Anyhow, D&D products are exactly the same. D&D has almost half a century of existence and of course some products show their age, most of them actually. It is a reason to criticise them of their authors for having lived in a age with different standards ? So if a product offends you, start by putting yourself back in that age and see why it might have been written that way. It might be that, by your current standards, it is flawed beyond redemption, but criticism of the past is pointless, the past has happened, these products exist, so criticising them purely for existing in the light of your newfound "wisdom" is worthless. Or it might just be that you can transform the product to views that are acceptable to you. It does not mean that you accept that what the author wrote or did at the time was good, it just means accepting that, had you lived at that time, you might just have done exactly the same. Because, you know, you are just as imperfect and you certainly can't claim that you would have been a prophet at the time. Otherwise, why are you not one now about what still needs to be done in the world ? As for me, I have absolutely zero problem with the Chutlhu Mythos, and I'm the proud owner of a 1st edition Deities and Demigods that include it, and which I am absolutely happy to use now and then in my games (because it's an incredible supplement with in general magnificent illustrations). Does this mean that I endorse everything what Lovecraft wrote at the time ? Does it mean that I endorse what the artists might have thought and done at the time when the DDG was produced ? Certainly not, but I recognise that they are products and authors of their time just like I'm a product of my time, that I'm imperfect and that they were too (and actually, in a lot of domains, they were far better than I am), that I'm not better than they were, simply with a different perspective, one that took decades to forge and that I can't even claim to have really contributed to in a meaningful way. And honestly, I'm far more tolerant of these authors who at least contributed something than of the little j..ks who come often to these forums and others just being offended about D&D products of the past without having the humility to recognise that, contrary to these authors, they have probably produced nothing of value to others in their life, they are unlikely to anyway, they have no right to criticise people for having lived in their time and I simply hope that living a bit will teach them a bit of humility and perspective. As for me, I will continue to enjoy my large collection of D&D products of the past, reusing and adapting them, including with my daughters who have both the patience to teach me new perspectives and the tolerance for my old habits of the past. :p [/QUOTE]
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