Going back to, "it's just an elf-game" is the laziest argument this forum can produce. Not very respectful either. I'm really tired of seeing it.
Your argument would have more bite if the people being told "it's just an elf game" were actually being respectful in the first place. Considering most of them are not, and are in fact crapping on others' preferences, I see no reason to give their arguments any more thought than that.
Now, if you want to actually have a conversation about finding a healthy balance point between extremes, e.g. "violence doesn't have to always be the answer, but it's unbelievable and off-putting to have
literally all problems solvable with a spot of afternoon tea," sure, we can discuss it, and asking for respect is entirely warranted. But when literally not even two dozen posts above yours, someone just posted a set of pictures (most of which reference classic D&D content to begin with, just being brought to the modern day) and dismisses literally all of it as immature, yeah, I'm not inclined to give that opinion any more respect than it offered to me in the first place.
ETA: Yes, Mothership and DCC funnels can be very silly in their own ways, but often because of how grotesque and over-the-top the violence is, which is different, imo, from space hamsters and such, where the game is presenting you with jokey, silly material, as opposed to the jokes and silliness that emerge at the table.
That absolutely looks just as escapist to me. Both things escape from mundanity to adventure, but the silly/goofy escapes from (essentially) malaise of modern mundane life, while the grotesque violence escapes from the..."nannying," for lack of a better term. Likewise my preferences, namely high-flying action, larger than life characters, and good people wrestling with making the right choice but ultimately doing the right thing (or making amends if they err) while bad people ultimately seek redemption (even if they don't find it) or suffer the consequences of their villainy, is an escape from
mundanity. But they're all equally escapes.
I hear your point, but can't resist saying that I kind of seeing it in reverse: Whatever gives us pleasure is not a "stupid waste of time," and some of it -- the stuff that touches us deeply, or inspires a creative spark - is what provides a sense of meaning and joy.
Agreed. CS Lewis had similar thoughts on friendship. "It has no survival value. Rather, it is one of the things which gives value to survival."
