Satanic Panic of the late 80's

[prabe]

I think that's true, though I do recall some family friends who claimed that D&D was the first rung of the ladder leading to Tarot and eventually up (down?) to the Devil himself.

I recall reading a ... pamphlet or booklet (don't remember which) that made similar claims about D&D--and IIRC cast a net wide enough to capture other TRPGs, as well. Fortunately my parents never bought into that, though they might have wished I devoted my energy to other pursuits.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

True story, the voice of Arby's commercials is none other than Ving Rhames.

Rookie mistake.
Sacrifices should always be done at an Arby’s.
After all...
They have the meats.

I feel like I spent most of my high school years getting called a Satanist for one reason or another. Again, I'm glad my parents didn't care about all that nonsense. I had plenty of friends that weren't so lucky.

 

[Bilharzia]

Check out the Satanic Panic psyops the British army was running in Belfast during The Troubles. Also Sabine McNeill's all too recent accusations that a London primary school was ritually murdering children and cooking their bodies in a McDonalds in an attempt to summon demons.

This isn't just an America problem. List of satanic ritual abuse allegations - Wikipedia

Absolutely nothing to do with RPGs, it was an American problem.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Growing up in the 80s, my religious conservative mom had no problems with D&D, but boy did she get upset about music (like Quiet Riot, Iron Maiden, and Scorpions tapes I had got). I recall many news stories about "that kid shot himself in the face after listening to Judas Priest"

 

[the Jester]

FYI there's a podcast called "Behind the Bastards" that has a two-episode series on the Satanic Panic, though it's a much broader look at it than just the D&D elements- those are barely touched on (if at all) in the first episode.

(Behind the Bastards generally takes an in depth look at really rotten people.)

 

[Nytmare]

Absolutely nothing to do with RPGs, it was an American problem.

(the satanic panic is an offshoot of the world's recurring obsession with imagined sexual predation by otherworldly and often demonic forces, it's not just about role playing games)

 

[Bilharzia]

(the satanic panic is an offshoot of the world's recurring obsession with imagined sexual predation by otherworldly and often demonic forces, it's not just about role playing games)

It has nothing to do with the moral panic of the 80s and beyond about RPGs. Did I miss a meeting? Because that's what I thought this place was about.

 

[MGibster]

It has nothing to do with the moral panic of the 80s and beyond about RPGs. Did I miss a meeting? Because that's what I thought this place was about.

The controversies surrounding RPGs in the 1980s really can't be separated from the moral panic going on at the same time.

 

[Bohandas]

It has nothing to do with the moral panic of the 80s and beyond about RPGs. Did I miss a meeting? Because that's what I thought this place was about.

The condemnation of D&D was merely a tiny aspect of it, and certainly not its root

(the satanic panic is an offshoot of the world's recurring obsession with imagined sexual predation by otherworldly and often demonic forces, it's not just about role playing games)

And its obsession with implausibly extensive conspiracies.

The case could be made that any conspiracy as large as some of these people were imagining wouldn't even be a conspiracy anymore, it would just be part of society, in the same way that telling little kids that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are real generally isn't considered to be a disinformation conspiracy (although I must admit that Yes Virginia... is one of the best blustering doubletalk non-answer answers ever)

 

[Mercurius]

It was actually rather absurd. The accusers evidently didn't understand the difference between correlation and causation.