D&D 5E Toxicity in the Fandom


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a.everett1287

Explorer
Being a jerk while wrapping yourself in one Cause or another, is still being a jerk. No Cause is immune to being used as cover by jerks.
So, if your cause is inclusion and you're a jerk, then yeah, you're a jerk and should probably think about how to less abrasive (although, if you're arguing against someone who doesn't even see you as a person or care about including you in the hobby, go off).

If your cause is arguing against 'wokeness and PC culture' or arguing how everyone is taking too much offense, then you're not a jerk; you're an unsympathetic POS and need to reevaluate your entire life before you DO become irredeemable.

That's the difference between the causes.
 






Ancalagon

Dusty Dragon
Interpretation without evidence is toxic. Accusations of racism and sexism based off Interpretation without evidence doubly so.
You have to realize that sometimes the statement is evidence of racism, sexism etc. For example, there were a lot of racist and sexist statements in that nuTSR Star Frontiers New Genesis PDF that Tenkar leaked... Another thing to consider is just because you didn't see what was sexist or racist about a statement or action doesn't mean it wasn't racist or sexist. We have quite a ways to go before we reach true equality, and there are things we have to be educate ourselves about.

That being said, ideally the person making those statements should have an opportunity to explain themselves or make amends.
 



Jahydin

Adventurer
Reading through the last few pages of this thread has got me thinking of Blaine Pardoe (Battletech author for 37 years) being let go for his far-right views and works.

His rants wouldn't put me off buying Battletech product, but curious how others feel. Specifically, is there room in the hobby for people like him too, especially considering how much he's contributed?

His latest book.
Example rant I found.
 

gnarlygninja

Explorer
Based on those two examples I don't seem capable of reading his work without my eyes rolling into the back of my head, so I'd probably give it a miss. I'm not really interested in Battletech, and I've had a pretty firm policy of ignoring people who insist there's a left wing attack on America since I grew up having to listen to Rush Limbaugh though so I'm probably not the best weathervane for this.
 





payn

Legend
Reading through the last few pages of this thread has got me thinking of Blaine Pardoe (Battletech author for 37 years) being let go for his far-right views and works.

His rants wouldn't put me off buying Battletech product, but curious how others feel. Specifically, is there room in the hobby for people like him too, especially considering how much he's contributed?

His latest book.
Example rant I found.
Is the idea that contributing to a hobby gives you allowance for a certain amount of potentially dangerous political rhetoric?
 


Snarf Zagyg

Notorious Liquefactionist
For what it's worth, I found most people using it derogatorily have postmodernism and/or CRT beliefs in mind.

Again, for what it's worth, I have found most people using it ("woke") derogatorily have as little idea what it means as they do postmodernism or CRT.

Which means that they are either using phrases that they don't understand as a catch-all term to cover their fear and hatred of inclusivity, or they are unthinkingly parroting phrases and should probably reflect on why they find them so objectionable.

If you think, for example, "CRT" (which is a conventional term in law schools that has become the bogey man du jour because it's been pushed by a single individual who thought that "political correctness" wasn't scary enough to flame culture wars) is something more objectionable than bigotry, hatred, and discrimination, that's probably something worthy of a little self-interrogation.

More importantly, I think it's important to bring this back into the context of the OP. The great thing about TTRPGs when I was growing up is that it was inclusive for many people that were considered outcasts at the time. Sure, "geek culture" is the new hotness now, but it wasn't that way when D&D started. TTRPGs were a welcoming place for people that didn't fit in elsewhere. That it wasn't always welcoming to some (women, POC, LGBTQA+, etc.) doesn't mean that when we think fondly back on the good aspects of older games, we carry with it the baggage of that exclusion.

In short, we should celebrate the legacy of this hobby by continuing to making it as inclusive as possible for as many people as possible.
 

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