A Question of Leanings

[Jeff Wilder]

It sounds like you have an exceptional amount of downtime at your table for this to even be an issue.

It's more a matter that off-topic chatter has a very good chance of being political in nature. It's also a matter of, as I said, most of my gaming group being actual friends. Gaming is only part of our time hanging out together. In the first case, we don't want anyone to feel awkward or upset, like they've been the target of a bait-and-switch. In the second case, i've found that people with whom I have serious political disagreement are not the kind of people -- overt politics aside -- that I want for friends.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I'm a moderate through cynicism - my father's capitalist-conservative but many of my friends are socialist-liberal, and I've personally observed a near-identical ratio of rational, reasoned discourse to prejudiced kneejerking on both sides.

Admittedly, these friends of mine are student activists, which skews them towards the party-line-mouthing end of the spectrum. I personally lean very left-libertarian on most social issues - that is to say, I have very strong ideas about the role of government which includes welfare but excludes censorship, that sort of thing.

It basically boils down to my not having much patience for people who don't really consider their own "opinions" - and since I prefer to play with people I know and like, I don't tend to play with those people.

 

[Nareau]

I read an article a while ago that argued that D&D (or was it Buffy: The Vampire Slayer?) has a very conservative moral worldview. I can't find it now, but the basic premise was that the conservative moral worldview was one largely based around concepts of Good and Evil. Whereas the liberal idea of morality was based on a more "grey area" or "relativity" kind of model. The argument was that D&D's alignment system enforces the idea that some actions/creatures are GOOD or EVIL, and such a system largely supports the conservative view.

Of course, this wanders into the territory of "is it ok to kill orc babies"? According to that article, such a question would be a VERY liberal thing to ask.

All interesting stuff, IMHO. Most of my friends are liberal, but not all. My gaming group reflects that very well.

Incidentally, you should all check out the political compass. It gives an interesting take on how to measure political and social views.

Spider

 

[Shemeska]

I don't think that theres so much of a leftward slant among the designers so much as those who do have a leftward slant have both an outlet for their feelings and given the current political climate and the last few elections, they have more to complain about than right leaning folks. Seriously, think about it, the american left has been shellacked for election upon election and it's going to be reflected in the statements and feelings of those who don't like that, more so than the folks who do like that will be outspoken about their success.

It's like the opposite of the sudden surge in conservative voices on talk radio during the Clinton administration previous to the right wing surge in congress etc. Give people something they disagree with and they're going to talk about it more than if everything is peachy for their side of the body politic.

As for my own group: 2 right libertarians including myself, 1 left libertarian, 1 moderate republican who hates politics, 1 lefty who complains but doesn't vote, 1 lefty candian who can't vote here but is working on citizenship. We don't talk politics at the gaming table, at all as a preemptive measure to keep us out of trouble.

 

[Berandor]

I'm left leaning (for Germany, which means in US terms I'm a communist ), but while I sometimes put a smidgen of politics in my game (e.g. a homosexual couple in a village that nobody cares about), it's really no matter whether my group shares the same values. In fact, I'm quite sure they don't all share the same ideas.

I even blog about politics, but we still have no problem; mostly, it's just not an issue. And one of my closest friends is a card-carrying member of the "opposite" party, and we get a long great despite constantly discussing politics

Finally, listen to Torm. He's a wise man/deity.

 

[S'mon]

Games Designers' Workshop (Traveller, Twilight:2000 et al) were definitely right-of-centre. West End Games (The Price of Freedom) also, I'd guess. I think D&D with its Tolkien roots attracts more the left of centre types though; though maybe not so much as eg Cyberpunk.

Edit: Personally I'm what I'd consider to be "right liberal" - think The Economist - which makes me right-wing in UK, far right in western Europe, left-wing in USA.

 

[S'mon]

Never mind the Democrat/Republican, Red State/Blue state dichotomy in your national discussions with one another - put that aside. I think Americans - no matter the political persuasion, do not appreciate how "right wing" America is compared to the rest of the industrialized world.

This is true - the US now bears very little resemblance to other western/developed nations politically, and while many Americans are aware the US is different, very few seem to realise just how different it is. Actually I don't think most non-US westerners realise just how different it is, either. My mother is extremely right-wing Conservative, but recently when some Texans met her they said: "She's nice, but _so_ left-wing..."

 

[Zappo]

The people I game with are spread all around the spectrum, but there is a definite slant towards the left. But Italian politics are a lot more fragmented than in the USA. I am decidedly leftist but I disagree with several of the leftist parties on a few key positions. And my rightist friends strongly disagree with most of the current rightist government (TBH this is quite common nowadays). I think that in a USA frame of reference, we'd all be from moderate left to extreme left, but I think this has more to do with cultural difference than gaming.

 

[Plane Sailing]

It is great to see 28 posts without a political thread degenerating into a flame fest, and kudos for doing so...

But it *is* still a political thread and thus out of bounds (since it is fundamentally about the political leanings of people and their gaming group).

Closing thread now...