Another "blame it on D&D" story

[Dannyalcatraz]

*looks warily at Relique du Madde*

 

[Sanzuo]

I blame D&D! I'm still a virgin at 30 because of D&D! Seriously, I never meet girls because I'm always in my house playing D&D. It's not my fault. D&D makes me! Also D&D makes my grades in college terrible. Why would Wizard$ do this? They should make D&D illegal because I obviously have no control over my life because D&D controls my life for me. Also Satan.

Thanks a lot Wizards!

 

[Relique du Madde]

*looks warily at Relique du Madde*

 

[jdrakeh]

According to that logic my love of playing hangman must mean that I would be likely to lynch people or that the average World of Warcraft player is likely to become an axe murderer.

I guess I'd better hide my axe!

 

[JohnRTroy]

When I read my Herald this morning at work (bathroom reading--I guess where it belongs) I didn't expect this type of reporting to occur. I mean, I know the Herald likes to have a conservative slant, but the moral panic of D&D died out in the 80s.

I would think the mainstreaming of D&D via computer games and the popularity in the culture itself would have prevented this type of reporting, but my guess is that the writer is a little out of touch with modern culture.

ETA: Apparently some TSR/WoTC alumni, Lester Smith, Monte Cook, and Sean Reynolds have all responded--and I know at least the Monte one is real.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

When I read my Herald this morning at work (bathroom reading--I guess where it belongs) I didn't expect this type of reporting to occur.

So were you reading the quilted two-ply edition, or the cheapo single-ply edition of the Herald?

 

[Bedrockgames]

This article is horribly biased and basically accuses D&D of causing violent behavior (even if it doesn't come right out and say it directly). I am from Mass, and the Herald is a tabloid rag. I read it only occasionally before, now I will make a point of never reading it. The Globe, for all its faults, at least tries to be objective. Had this story appeared in the globe, you would have at least had some real counter point.

 

[Bedrockgames]

that was just a crappily written article. It's traditional, that the opening paragraphs summarize the crime, before going into the background of the accused. Thus far, I have no idea who she killed or why or even when.

All I got from that article was she is accused of killing somebody. Just like somebody in an unrelated and older case killed somebody. And they both had the same hobby. And somebody said something about the hobby or the murdered, though it was unclear who it was directed at.

The Herald is famous for bad writing and typos. This is, sadly, a typical Herald article.

 

[LostSoul]

Where is Slays? Somewhere in MA?

Anyway, I say it just a game.

 

[Dragonhelm]

It never ceases to amaze me how everything I learned in journalism classes is not practiced in the media world. Notice that one person who chimed in on the responses quit the place due to shoddy journalistic practices.

So, we don't report when murderers play Scrabble, poker, or backyard football. But we do report when they play D&D. Why is that? To perpetuate a bad stereotype from the 80s? To keep the legacy of the Pulling Report alive? Or, more likely, to generate sensationalist headlines in order to drive sales.

Maybe it's time for WotC to do something about this image. Maybe what they need to do is some sort of donation to a charity (Haiti relief?) in the name of Dungeons & Dragons fans. Then to top it off, buy a print ad in the Herald about this donation.

Then again, WotC probably isn't concerned about this. They have their customer base. They've heard it all before, and they'll hear it all again. Nothing they do will change a thing.

Okay, sorry, just venting.