"They told me it was something else."

[1Mac]

I wasn't gaming any time near the Great Satanic DnD scare of the 80's, but this post by Jerry at Penny Arcade from Friday hit me like a punch in the throat. Read the last half, where he starts to talk about his mom's enthusiasm for PAX, then behold her epiphany.

 

[Umbran]

Yes, well, you'll get that when you listen to third parties about what your kids are doing, rather than listen to your kids. Good for her to get past that.

 

[jimmifett]

I recall during my rugrat years in the early 80s, my grandmother (on dad's side) who is a christian that happens to be a nutjob (christian and nutjob are independant terms, she'd be a nutjob regardless what religion) making a big deal about DnD in the 80s. The discussion was slightly over my head at that age (somewhere between 4-7), but i didn't care about fantasy at all back in those days. My thinking at that age was dragons, elves and unicorns were sissy things in books made for girls. Boys shot and stabbed things in videos games and threw thier bodies at each other in the name of sports. At least until i addicted to JRPGs. Then i could shoot fireballs and stab something besides commies in the face, but with a SWORD!

(getting all nostalgic for shooting/stabbing commies in the face games...) mmm, I need to play Paranoia...

Anywho, back on subject...
She was always a sheep of a human being, and believed whatever she was told, never looking into things for herself. She remains today ignorant on all sorts of things.

Meanwhile, later in life, I learned my dad played back when i was in diapers. He drew chits out of a hat. I'm still trying to get him to sit down and game with me, but distance and work makes it hard for us both.

It is really a shame that there were a bunch of morons in the 80s that gave religion an ignorant slant towards a game.

 

[ExploderWizard]

It is really a shame that there were a bunch of morons in the 80s that gave religion an ignorant slant towards a game.

I don't think the bunch of morons you reference "gave" religion of any flavor, anything at all. Close-minded people are who they are independent of their beliefs.

 

[MichaelSomething]

It is really a shame that there were a bunch of morons in the 80s that gave religion an ignorant slant towards a game.

I prefer to think of them as people volunteering their time to advertise the game.

 

[1Mac]

It seems to me that the moral of Jerry's story is that not everyone involved in the moral panic was a "moron." I mean, read his post again and tell me if Mama Tycho comes off as stupid, or prone to stubborn prejudice.

Certainly there were a few ignorant, righteous, highly-vocal rabble-rousers without whom the anti-RPG hysteria would never have transpired. But the story of how it spread is a lot more complex than "people are stupid."

 

[Dedekind]

I'm certainly willing to cut some parents some slack on the 80s craziness. If the first thing you saw was the MM, you might have second thoughts about your kids playing anything with demons and devils in it. Particularly if you don't have an adult to ask about it. Surely its easier now with so many lapsed players in the world?

 

[Umbran]

If the first thing you saw was the MM, you might have second thoughts about your kids playing anything with demons and devils in it.

Sure. But then your second thought should be, "Son, let me see those books, please. I want to read through them and understand."

I can't see much excuse for not taking the effort to look at the primary source when it is right there.

 

[Theo R Cwithin]

Sure. But then your second thought should be, "Son, let me see those books, please. I want to read through them and understand."

I can't see much excuse for not taking the effort to look at the primary source when it is right there.

That would be the logical thing to do. But I also wonder to what extent forbidding one's kids from D&D wasn't so much a fear of D&D itself, as a fear of being branded "that guy who lets his kids play that creepy D&D game".

I was only 10-ish at the time, but I get the feeling that some communities had people in positions of authority (teachers, pastors, businessmen) driving the mania. That alone could have effectively turned a lot of parents off D&D for purely "political" reasons, regardless of the actual merits of the game.

 

[Umbran]

That would be the logical thing to do. But I also wonder to what extent forbidding one's kids from D&D wasn't so much a fear of D&D itself, as a fear of being branded "that guy who lets his kids play that creepy D&D game".

So, in a world with drugs, alcohol and teen sex as major problems, parents set an example by... giving in to peer pressure! Excellent!

I know it is hard to be a parent, and hard to get along in society, get along with people. And I'll accept anyone who feels the actual practice* of playing violates some fundamental principle of theirs. I'll also cut slack to anyone who suffers some major emotional trauma to be a bit off the deep end.

But ye standard person, who doesn't bother to actually find out what their kid is really up to? When the only effort is... reading? Not a whole lot of slack from me. Sorry.


*as opposed to the fictionalized version where we all get Eevill Magyk Powerz!