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<blockquote data-quote="MaxKaladin" data-source="post: 996499" data-attributes="member: 1196">Some of you may consider this to be just semantics, but I always considered the religious angle to be &quot;Gamer Persecution&quot;.&nbsp; &quot;Gamer Stigma&quot;, to me, was and is the popular idea that anyone who games must be either a geeky, thirty-something loser who lives in his parents basement, or the comic book guy from the Simpsons.&nbsp; The idea being that &quot;normal&quot; adults spend their recreation time dating, drinking, dancing or doing/watching sports and anyone who plays RPGs over doing things like that must do so because they're a loser.&nbsp; It is unthinkable that someone would choose gaming over these things.&nbsp; I think a lot of the shock people encounter when someone finds out they're a gamer is the shattering of a stereotype.&nbsp; &quot;But, I thought that was just for kids&quot; is as much a polite way of saying &quot;But, you're not a kid and you don't look like the comic book guy.&nbsp; This doesn't make sense!&nbsp; You're not supposed to play RPGs!&nbsp; I thought you were 'normal', like me!&quot; as anything.&nbsp; I think this is a pretty common attitude.Edit:&nbsp; On the religion angle:&nbsp; I agree we're pretty much small fry to them right now.&nbsp; They've got much bigger targets.&nbsp; If someone gives them an opportunity, they'll rant and rave against us but otherwise stick to the evils of Harry Potter and whatever else they're preaching against this week. On Stigma:&nbsp; It is true that we've made one advance.&nbsp; We use to just be losers.&nbsp; Now, we're just social losers but are acknowledged to be financially successful in many cases.&nbsp; I was watching VH1's &quot;I love the 80s&quot; a while back and they did a segment on D&amp;D.&nbsp; Many of the people on their panel made the usual comments about gamers being at least vaguely losers.&nbsp; One guy admitted to being a DM and I think one or two admitted to playing.&nbsp; When it came to &quot;where are they now&quot;, though, they all pretty much said that those geeky kids went on to become internet billionaires, are running the country now and other things like that.&nbsp; One guy said maybe he should have played.&nbsp; So, yes, there has been a change.&nbsp; The nerd's potential for financial success has become more recognized.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="MaxKaladin, post: 996499, member: 1196"] Some of you may consider this to be just semantics, but I always considered the religious angle to be "Gamer Persecution". "Gamer Stigma", to me, was and is the popular idea that anyone who games must be either a geeky, thirty-something loser who lives in his parents basement, or the comic book guy from the Simpsons. The idea being that "normal" adults spend their recreation time dating, drinking, dancing or doing/watching sports and anyone who plays RPGs over doing things like that must do so because they're a loser. It is unthinkable that someone would choose gaming over these things. I think a lot of the shock people encounter when someone finds out they're a gamer is the shattering of a stereotype. "But, I thought that was just for kids" is as much a polite way of saying "But, you're not a kid and you don't look like the comic book guy. This doesn't make sense! You're not supposed to play RPGs! I thought you were 'normal', like me!" as anything. I think this is a pretty common attitude. Edit: On the religion angle: I agree we're pretty much small fry to them right now. They've got much bigger targets. If someone gives them an opportunity, they'll rant and rave against us but otherwise stick to the evils of Harry Potter and whatever else they're preaching against this week. On Stigma: It is true that we've made one advance. We use to just be losers. Now, we're just social losers but are acknowledged to be financially successful in many cases. I was watching VH1's "I love the 80s" a while back and they did a segment on D&D. Many of the people on their panel made the usual comments about gamers being at least vaguely losers. One guy admitted to being a DM and I think one or two admitted to playing. When it came to "where are they now", though, they all pretty much said that those geeky kids went on to become internet billionaires, are running the country now and other things like that. One guy said maybe he should have played. So, yes, there has been a change. The nerd's potential for financial success has become more recognized. [/QUOTE]

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