Mercurius
Legend
Most things - including opinions - exist on a spectrum, from one extreme to the other. In the case of "pro and con WotC," these two extremes can be caricatured as:
(Actually, this either/or X-axis spectrum is part of the problem - as I'll illustrate in a bit)
Now obviously literally no one holds either view, but most tend to constellate towards one end or the other. Meaning, if the former is "0" and the latter is "10," everyone is somewhere in the 1-9 range, but most people are 3-7.
But the problem arises - not unlike in other contexts - when we act as if people we disagree with are more extreme than they actually are, which creates a strong polarization of two camps or tribes. "Wait, you don't agree with me and those I agree with on every little nuance?! You're one of them!!!!"
So everyone from 1-4 is treated as a 0 by those in the 6-9 range, and everyone from 6-9 is treated as a 10 by those in the 1-4 range (and woe are the 5s, as they either stay out of it, or are pushed to one side or the other, depending upon who they are talking with).
This is a cultural problem that has been exacerbated over the last few years. In my life time at least, discourse of all kinds has never been so polarized, and it leaks into every little aspect of cultural discourse, even something as relatively inconsequential as D&D. Perhaps even more damaging is that there's a tendency to inflate relatively small things to larger proportions than they probably should be, so every little thing becomes part of a larger conflict resulting from said polarization.
One way to address this problem is by uprooting what I feel is an underlying shared delusion: the belief that there are two tribes (whether that belief is conscious or not; meaning, even if we realize there aren't two tribes, we tend to act as if there are). So the solution is the realization and enactment of the following: There aren't two tribes, but countless variations; and more so, the spectrum isn't simply on an X-axis, but there's also a Y-axis. Meaning, sometimes people who seem to be over there because they're not here, are actually in a different part of the "Y-axis."
Or sometimes a person who is frustrated about certain aspects of what WotC is doing, but not others. Meaning, not only is the two tribes erroneous, but actual individuals hold nuanced views. And sometimes people disagree with certain things not for the reasons we think they disagree ("because they're one of them!").
So we have someone saying, "I don't like a lot of the recent D&D art" (or whatever), and another responds, "You're a hater! Go back to your 1970s-era man-cave and enjoy your bigoted art!" And the first person responds, "Wait, who said anything about bigotry? And I'm 34 years old and never saw the 70s!" Or we have someone saying, "I generally like the direction that WotC is going," and another says, "You're trying to erase history and push out anyone who likes older stuff! You think everything WotC creates is great, no matter what!" And the first person says, "Wait, I'm just saying that it is more good than bad - we've got lots of settings, a good amount of product but not too much, and billions of new D&D players..."
And around and around we go.
Maybe we can find a middle ground: where we realize there aren't two tribes, but countless variations. Maybe we can all enjoy the fact that our beloved game is thriving, even if we don't like everything WotC puts out. Maybe we can also tolerate some difference of agreement, and recognize that even if we like where the game is going, it is making others feel left out or forgotten about - and it probably isn't because they're bad people or hold wrong views.
The in-fighting doesn't get us anywhere. We all share a love of D&D, and D&D is a vast and varied thing. There's room for all of us, and the actual Dave Johnsons of the world are very rare. The vast majority of fellow D&D players are basically good people, even if we don't agree with them on everything.
I apologize if I sound preachy, I just feel that we endlessly end up in these back-and-forth dynamics and miss the forest for the trees.
- WotC sucks - everything new sucks, I hate what they've done to D&D, at least now, rather than back in Ye Olde Days, when it was better.
- WotC is great - everything they create is golden, and all change should be embraced and gloried in, no matter what it is or does.
(Actually, this either/or X-axis spectrum is part of the problem - as I'll illustrate in a bit)
Now obviously literally no one holds either view, but most tend to constellate towards one end or the other. Meaning, if the former is "0" and the latter is "10," everyone is somewhere in the 1-9 range, but most people are 3-7.
But the problem arises - not unlike in other contexts - when we act as if people we disagree with are more extreme than they actually are, which creates a strong polarization of two camps or tribes. "Wait, you don't agree with me and those I agree with on every little nuance?! You're one of them!!!!"
So everyone from 1-4 is treated as a 0 by those in the 6-9 range, and everyone from 6-9 is treated as a 10 by those in the 1-4 range (and woe are the 5s, as they either stay out of it, or are pushed to one side or the other, depending upon who they are talking with).
This is a cultural problem that has been exacerbated over the last few years. In my life time at least, discourse of all kinds has never been so polarized, and it leaks into every little aspect of cultural discourse, even something as relatively inconsequential as D&D. Perhaps even more damaging is that there's a tendency to inflate relatively small things to larger proportions than they probably should be, so every little thing becomes part of a larger conflict resulting from said polarization.
One way to address this problem is by uprooting what I feel is an underlying shared delusion: the belief that there are two tribes (whether that belief is conscious or not; meaning, even if we realize there aren't two tribes, we tend to act as if there are). So the solution is the realization and enactment of the following: There aren't two tribes, but countless variations; and more so, the spectrum isn't simply on an X-axis, but there's also a Y-axis. Meaning, sometimes people who seem to be over there because they're not here, are actually in a different part of the "Y-axis."
Or sometimes a person who is frustrated about certain aspects of what WotC is doing, but not others. Meaning, not only is the two tribes erroneous, but actual individuals hold nuanced views. And sometimes people disagree with certain things not for the reasons we think they disagree ("because they're one of them!").
So we have someone saying, "I don't like a lot of the recent D&D art" (or whatever), and another responds, "You're a hater! Go back to your 1970s-era man-cave and enjoy your bigoted art!" And the first person responds, "Wait, who said anything about bigotry? And I'm 34 years old and never saw the 70s!" Or we have someone saying, "I generally like the direction that WotC is going," and another says, "You're trying to erase history and push out anyone who likes older stuff! You think everything WotC creates is great, no matter what!" And the first person says, "Wait, I'm just saying that it is more good than bad - we've got lots of settings, a good amount of product but not too much, and billions of new D&D players..."
And around and around we go.
Maybe we can find a middle ground: where we realize there aren't two tribes, but countless variations. Maybe we can all enjoy the fact that our beloved game is thriving, even if we don't like everything WotC puts out. Maybe we can also tolerate some difference of agreement, and recognize that even if we like where the game is going, it is making others feel left out or forgotten about - and it probably isn't because they're bad people or hold wrong views.
The in-fighting doesn't get us anywhere. We all share a love of D&D, and D&D is a vast and varied thing. There's room for all of us, and the actual Dave Johnsons of the world are very rare. The vast majority of fellow D&D players are basically good people, even if we don't agree with them on everything.
I apologize if I sound preachy, I just feel that we endlessly end up in these back-and-forth dynamics and miss the forest for the trees.
