Rantzilla

It's been one heck of a week, what with the bloody chaos in Boston (apparently coming to a head) - terribly bad, S&W appreciation day - terribly good, job stuff (that's personal but I'm sure you all can relate)- terribly boring, that when I read this post from Zak which was a highlight of a thread on Story Games I think that was pretty much all I could take this week.

First, Boston...

Tragic event, yes, without a doubt!  But with the press jumping on any brown-skinned person in the crowd as a potential terrorist and the far right-wing extremists ready to pull their guns out and hang, burn, torture anyone that fits their narrow world view conspiracy forgetting all laws of due process that this country (which they are supposed 'patriots' of) is founded on is pretty fucked up.  The posts I've read online during this event were pure insanity.  Ignorant, racist insanity.  I probably should have taken a step back but it was all over the place.  These are the far right extremists who worry about Obama taking their guns and fascist-socialist-communistic-islamic take over from within the government and Obama declaring martial law in the "next two days".  Your quick-to-judgement racist rantings and arm-chair detecting and your call to violence has done nothing but affect the lives of kids who are innocent Americans and had nothing to do with any of the fucked up events (see NY Post & CNN's John King and then reality).  But you folks are a bunch of unhappy, ignorant, trigger-happy racists who would have the blood of the innocent on your hands in no time.  You are also the folks who are so deep up the ass of the NRA's and Wayne LaPierre's paranoid rantings that even mild common-sense background check legislation is looked at as an attack on your freedom.  Ironically, you're also the folks that would love a racist theocratic police-state.  Go figure.  Don't get me wrong or label me as some stereotype.  I have no problem with responsible gun ownership (read that again if you must) though I don't own one, but you folks are loose cannons and shouldn't be near any type of lethal weapon.  I'm sure most of you wouldn't pass any psychlogical test for gun ownership and maybe that's what you're really afraid of - being called out on your bull shit and seeing yourself for who you really are without the 'enhancement' of a firearm.

Second, Story Games...

D&D is, has been and always will be just a game. Period. It's a pure fantasy game for ages 12 to adult if I recall by Holmes box set correctly.  To young folk, goblins, orcs an other creepy things are not races they're monsters, monsters as in The Creature from the Black Lagoon or Ghidorah, the three headed monster.  They're not real.  They don't exist.  They're meant to be nothing but fodder.  To adults playing the game perhaps you consider some of these creatures as race based  but they're still not real so it's okay to kill as many imaginary goblins, orc and kobolds as you like, or I should say as your character likes.  If you think they are real, you should probably stop playing fantasy RPGs altogether, and video games, and watching TV or reading books and you probably shouldn't own a weapon (see above).   The fact that people still need to explore this argument just shows how backwards and behind the times some people are - then again there's a creationist museum so I shouldn't be too surprised.

I'll give the parent in the thread the benefit of the doubt.  He may never have played FRPGs before.
Maybe he grew up in a christian household in the 80's and is scared of this 'devil-worshiping' game and is now open enough to look for a little guidance, and I hope he gets it, but the thread really takes some wacky turns. If you're worried about your 5 year old daughter playing the game "without it becoming training in sociopathic behavior".  There are may different ways to introduce a young child to FRPGs and there are many folks on the interwebs that have made 'kid' versions of the game, but it's up to the parent (DM) to make it a kid friendly rated 'G' game.  Simple as that.  But, come on, it's a game.  Don't read too much into it.

People need to chill the fuck out.

Here's a little treat for those of you who read though this indulgance...

Peanuts Komandi Mash-up

p.s. - for those of you planning on commenting that I'm being a hater being hypocritical making stereotype accusations, keep in mind that with regards to my Boston comments, some of the 'folks' I call out are real people that I'm related to in one way or another - of course, plenty were online as well,  so yeah, I'm grouping plenty of people together but based on their actions.  And yeah, a creationist museum is pretty fuckin' stupid.