Game Playing

I read the news a man who is serving life in prison has lost his legal battle to play Dungeons and Dragons. Really didn’t make me think of much until I read the line that it “promotes gang activity”.  I looked at the paper shocked It mad no sense to me this one was new to me.

Back in 1982 a friend of mine was told she couldn’t spend time with me because I played D&D. Her church had taken issue with the game as a conduit of Satanism. She knew all of the kids at our small school that played the game. She didn’t believe it and so she worked it out that we could spend time with each other at her house and with there youth group functions. These were a bunch of kid from the Cudahy area of LA and  many were probably destined for gangs as the youth group was for many their only adult supervised time and were already on a bad road.

The year before I left the US for the UK there was a book burning at a church near my high school and many D&D book were burned because of their promoting of witchcraft. OK as a girl who grew up surrounded buy CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and other books filled with magic (that was called magic). I could kind of see that, but as a girl very involved in her church I thought this group was a bit off in their estimations (years later they burned Harry Potter).

In the years since I first picked up the dice in 1978 I have heard these time and time again. I have also heard how it leads to violence. As someone who owns several swords in steel, foam, and wood. I can see where people get it.

So many of us who play such games spend so much time in our own heads I don’t see that were are much of a danger to any one. But now apparently gathering a group a people with one person directing the action of the game promotes gang activity. Hmm haw many situations in life are a group of people gathered together to accomplish a goal with one person directing or guiding the activity.

Makes one think. Well I will leave you with that thought. Now go play a game and have fun.