How many were abused due to their love of D&D, RPGs, and related items when they were young?

[Mannahnin]

Minors and property rights are a complicated issue.

In most states, right to property comes along with the age of being able to engage in legally binding contract. A few have differences, I've read. But generally, that's somewhere in the mid teens.

As a friend found out at 15, when his mother burned his D&D books, he had NO legal recourse because he was 15 when she did so. No property rights until age 16 in that state.

I was speaking morally. Laws usually lag behind moral development.

 

[GM Lent]

It's kind of funny; I don't think I ever experienced any kind of real abuse about it, and certainly not from my parents (my mother was the one who bought me ICE's MERP, the first RPG product I ever owned, as well as the original Dark Sun box set), but I definitely felt ashamed of the hobby when I was younger and sometimes I still have some trouble talking about it to strangers.

One of my best frioends growing up wasn't allowed contact with anything D&D related (his mother made him return the Dragonlance Chronicles omnibus I loaned him because it was D&D related, which confused the hell out of me at the time - I didn't have any idea what D&D was, and the book said nothing about it as far as I could see), so maybe I picked it up secondhand?

 

[aramis erak]

This is probably a somewhat controversial post. I am writing it because I am actually in shock regarding what a friend recently talked to me about. Before I get into that, I'll touch lightly on a personal experience I had regarding abuse due to RPGs I have seen.

Many of us had friends go through it.

I don't know how else to help my friend and what else to tell him. I simply can't believe that type of evil would exist towards a kid just because they wanted to play a game, especially someone that I have known for years (at this point). I also don't know what else to tell him. I am just shaken trying to comprehend how his parents could have done that to him and how no one else really blinked an eye, or brought up to him over all these years that what happened to him was wrong, it was abusive, and that it is okay for him to be upset that someone did that to him.

It existed. It was, and in some places, still is, accepted behavior.

My buddy from high school, D.C., was abused to begin with. RPGs were an escape from the horribly psychologically abusive mother. When she found out, she went sideways. After high school, she used a particular cult, forced him into a marriage he never wanted. He was far from the worst.

Another, J.B.B., was threatened with physical abuse by her step father; she was 19. My gaming group moved her out of his house. he hurled verbal abuse at all of us, especially since the cops he called held him at gun point. After he threatened physical violence, he was cuffed and stuffed. Judge let him out 3 hours later. that was 1990.

Another, C, his dad, a GD-LTH marine, complained C wasn't even playing the "Manly ones"... C was playing Robotech with D.C. and a mutual friend. His dad respected D&D, but not SciFi of any sort.

That was the 90's. In 2010, a student complained about his Palladium Books being burned by their parents. Complaint passed to the principal, who passed it on to DFYS.

Another student complained about being whipped with a belt for playing D&D, about 2004. Complaint passed to principal. I have no further information.

Early 80's... A.G. wasn't allowed to have the books, but his mom didn't mind him playing. Just didn't want the art anywhere near her kids by her then-current husband. (not AG's father.)

 

[The Soloist]

The most problems I had with playing D&D is with ex-girlfriends. They all said it was childish and not manly. They wanted me to stop and didn’t like I spent time playing with my friends instead of with them. I dumpted them and married my gamer wife. Problem solved.

 

[Starfox]

And here I was feeling down because I did not invite the boy in class that was being bullied to game with us. I only learned recently that the worst bully was in our gaming group.

 

[Laurefindel]

I must say that me and my friend had it pretty easy on that front.

We all had girlfriends and boyfriends rolling their eyes at us saying something along the lines of “boy, you are such a geek!” and the occasional parent calling us “the dragons” or something along those lines in half mockery, half affection, but nothing openly hostile. I’m sure some of the rocker-bums of high school laughed at us for not being hardcore enough in our games, but drawing dragons and monsters actually made us more popular than sneered at, surprisingly.

Thinking of it, I’ve seen and faced much more abuse and mockery from other roleplayers. There are horrible people in every group…

 

[zarionofarabel]

I got picked on and roughed up in high-school (90s) because I was a "four eyed nerd" who liked fantasy and sci-fi and TTRPGs. At least till I started taking tae-kwon-do and punched one of my bullies hard enough in the throat that he couldn't speak for several days. For some weird reason they left me alone after that.

 

[francisca]

I never caught any crap about it from my parents, outside of they wished I spent as much time on homework as I did on D&D, which is understandable. There was a family of evangelicals down the street who told me I was "going to blazes!" because I played D&D. I replied something to the effect of, "Oh, I'm going to hell for sure, but D&D is WAY down the list of reasons why." The never said a word to me again, and crossed the street so the could walk on the other side, instead of walking in front of my house. I had a couple other adults say stuff to me about, and I basically said they were full of naughty word and they could take a hike. One of them said something to my Dad, and he told him to buzz off and mind his own business. But I was never bullied over anything nerdy, partly because I was also an athlete (football and wrestling), but partly because other's opinions never really bothered me. I had plenty of people who knew me and defined me by the type of person I was, not by my activities.

 

[cranberry]

I was teased and bullied as a kids, but it never had anything to do with D&D.

As for my parents, neither really seemed to care that much that I played.

The only thing my mothers said about it was that she thought it increased my vocabulary.

My father listened to me talk about it on a few occasions, but never said anything. I suspect he just viewed it as a kids game.

For anyone who doubts the OP's story. I have personally met a number of people like that, and can attest to their mindset and worldview.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

as well as a rather progressive Unitarian congregation most of you probably haven't

You'd be surprised...