Roleplaying is eeeeevul (rant alert!)
Oh dear. Media sensationalism again. I expect I'm not the only one to
notice that these sort of things come in cycles, normally along the
lines of "concerned" newspapers reporting on how "TV programs/computer
games/roleplaying games are hideously corrupting our youth/promoting
violence/encouraging devil-worship/increasing crime rates. (Delete as
appropriate)" Frankly, it smacks of newspaper editors trying to increase
circulation.
Perhaps it would be justified if it were a real risk. Admittedly there
are a statistically small number of incidences of suicide, crime or
violence committed by people who are involved in roleplaying/computer
games etc, and all it takes is for someone to say "Little Johnny
roleplayed on his days off from stealing cars, mugging old ladies etc."
for the media and fundamentalists to say "A-HA! So his criminal
tendencies must be a result of his roleplaying!", when, in fact, he is
just as likely to have been a criminal whether or not he roleplays.
Correlation is not necessarily causation, and in fact in most cases
there isn't even a correlation.
In fact, roleplaying is much more desirable than, say, computer games or
TV for a number or reasons. First and foremost is that it is a (buzzword
alert) interactive pastime in the truest sense of the word. Whilst TV
programs and, to a similar extent, computer games are passive
entertainment, with the viewer simply sitting and watching or at most
twiddling their thumbs, RPGs encourage players to respond to the
imaginary world around them, to interact with the characters they meet.
Players excercise their imaginations, dramatic skills (I'm sure Simon
will offer his opinions on drama students who are disdainful of RPGers)
and powers of reasoning to deal with the situations they encounter.
Secondly, it is a *social* activity. TV viewers are in their own little
worlds watching the pretty moving pictures, and computer gamers, even on
multiplayer games, are separated from their fellow players by wires and
modems. However in RPGs, the players talk to each other. In fact, it is
vital that they do if they are going to succeed in their quests.
As for the "Fantasy roleplaying leads to Satanism because it involves
spells and Magick" argument, you might as well argue that reading
Tolkien or watching some Shakespeare plays (Macbeth and A Midsummer
Night's dream spring to mind) or fantasy movies leads to Satanism too,
because they have characters casting mighty magics. But I don't see
schools banning Shakespeare for its "occult content".
One thing I do wonder is whether these RPG-bashing fundamentalists ever
played "Cops and Robbers" or any other goody vs. baddy or "Let's
Pretend" games as children. If they had, and if they had actually
experienced, or even just watched a roleplaying game first hand (as
opposed to relying on the opinions of other fundies), they would realise
that RPGs are the same (or maybe even safer, as there isn't the running
around shouting "Bang! I got you!" element), just with rules to
determine the outcomes of actions.
Over all, I think it is just a matter of the anti-roleplay squad not
actually having a clue as to what they are burbling about, but looking
for a target to demonise and blame for society's ills.
Rant over, for now.
Steve :-)
_
__
(oO)
/||\ Actually quite a nice, friendly and
not-predisposed-to-violence-or-Satanism minion of Cthulhu.
notice that these sort of things come in cycles, normally along the
lines of "concerned" newspapers reporting on how "TV programs/computer
games/roleplaying games are hideously corrupting our youth/promoting
violence/encouraging devil-worship/increasing crime rates. (Delete as
appropriate)" Frankly, it smacks of newspaper editors trying to increase
circulation.
Perhaps it would be justified if it were a real risk. Admittedly there
are a statistically small number of incidences of suicide, crime or
violence committed by people who are involved in roleplaying/computer
games etc, and all it takes is for someone to say "Little Johnny
roleplayed on his days off from stealing cars, mugging old ladies etc."
for the media and fundamentalists to say "A-HA! So his criminal
tendencies must be a result of his roleplaying!", when, in fact, he is
just as likely to have been a criminal whether or not he roleplays.
Correlation is not necessarily causation, and in fact in most cases
there isn't even a correlation.
In fact, roleplaying is much more desirable than, say, computer games or
TV for a number or reasons. First and foremost is that it is a (buzzword
alert) interactive pastime in the truest sense of the word. Whilst TV
programs and, to a similar extent, computer games are passive
entertainment, with the viewer simply sitting and watching or at most
twiddling their thumbs, RPGs encourage players to respond to the
imaginary world around them, to interact with the characters they meet.
Players excercise their imaginations, dramatic skills (I'm sure Simon
will offer his opinions on drama students who are disdainful of RPGers)
and powers of reasoning to deal with the situations they encounter.
Secondly, it is a *social* activity. TV viewers are in their own little
worlds watching the pretty moving pictures, and computer gamers, even on
multiplayer games, are separated from their fellow players by wires and
modems. However in RPGs, the players talk to each other. In fact, it is
vital that they do if they are going to succeed in their quests.
As for the "Fantasy roleplaying leads to Satanism because it involves
spells and Magick" argument, you might as well argue that reading
Tolkien or watching some Shakespeare plays (Macbeth and A Midsummer
Night's dream spring to mind) or fantasy movies leads to Satanism too,
because they have characters casting mighty magics. But I don't see
schools banning Shakespeare for its "occult content".
One thing I do wonder is whether these RPG-bashing fundamentalists ever
played "Cops and Robbers" or any other goody vs. baddy or "Let's
Pretend" games as children. If they had, and if they had actually
experienced, or even just watched a roleplaying game first hand (as
opposed to relying on the opinions of other fundies), they would realise
that RPGs are the same (or maybe even safer, as there isn't the running
around shouting "Bang! I got you!" element), just with rules to
determine the outcomes of actions.
Over all, I think it is just a matter of the anti-roleplay squad not
actually having a clue as to what they are burbling about, but looking
for a target to demonise and blame for society's ills.
Rant over, for now.
Steve :-)
_
__
(oO)
/||\ Actually quite a nice, friendly and
not-predisposed-to-violence-or-Satanism minion of Cthulhu.