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Message no. 1
From: bouillon.jeremie@*******.fr (Jeremie Bouillon)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 11:08:51 +0200
Le 10:02 14/10/2002, Shannon Buys écrivait :
>Does anyone know anything
>about this and where I can find out what the idiots are doing now so that we
>can be prepared next time we face Mr van der Merve and his arm waving, wide
>eyed rumour-spreaders?

In France we had our awful years about this, in the 90's.

Now there are still some problems from time to time, but most of them are
handled by a special organisation (http://www.ffjdr.org , in french sorry).
They try to explain what is roleplaying game, why it's not that differant
from any other game, and so on to people who have some fears about it and
the power to make troubles (politics or government people, most of it).


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Message no. 2
From: eryk@*********.net (Adam)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 13:22:02 +0200
>In France we had our awful years about this, in the 90's.
>Now there are still some problems from time to time, but most of them are
>handled by a special organisation (http://www.ffjdr.org , in french sorry).
>They try to explain what is roleplaying game, why it's not that differant
>from any other game, and so on to people who have some fears about it and
>the power to make troubles (politics or government people, most of it).


Check out Poland for that matter.
I keep hearing people organising in local churches against Role-playing and
other signs of satanism like Pokemon.
Creepy!

Adam
Message no. 3
From: bouillon.jeremie@*******.fr (Jeremie Bouillon)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 13:31:26 +0200
Le 13:22 14/10/2002, Adam écrivait :
>Check out Poland for that matter.

The nordic one (Sweden iirc) are very, very good at non-profit organisation
to do such thing as protecting poor lonesome roleplayers. I could find an
old paper about this (somewhere in my never ending trash, hum, closet) if
someone want to contact them.

>I keep hearing people organising in local churches against Role-playing and
>other signs of satanism like Pokemon.
>Creepy!

Well... about Pokemon...

:-D
Message no. 4
From: jason@******.org (Jason Lantrip)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 05:50:05 -0600
>>and other signs of satanism like Pokemon.

But...but...

It's *Pokemon*. I mean, they could have something there... ;)
Message no. 5
From: shannon@*****.co.za (Shannon Buys)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 14:13:11 +0200
Of course they have something there! The pokemon are named after Demons!
>From Hell! Didn't you know that?! Do you really want to allow this into
your life? It's so obvious, with names like "Jigglypuff" and
"Wigglytuff"
how can you not see the blatant satanic link?

-----Original Message-----
From: shadowrn-bounces@*****.dumpshock.com
[mailto:shadowrn-bounces@*****.dumpshock.com]On Behalf Of Jason Lantrip
Sent: 14 October 2002 01:50
To: 'Shadowrun Discussion'
Subject: RE: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments


>>and other signs of satanism like Pokemon.

But...but...

It's *Pokemon*. I mean, they could have something there... ;)
Message no. 6
From: KiltedJamesman@***.com (KiltedJamesman@***.com)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 22:21:15 EDT
In a message dated 10/14/2002 7:23:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
eryk@*********.net writes:

> I keep hearing people organising in local churches against Role-playing and
> other signs of satanism like Pokemon.

I've heard this too. Actually I have some friends who were brought up very
close to religion and the argument goes something along the line of it
promotes fantasies which are supposedly a tool of the devil. Not sure if
that's still the line they try to drop or how often it goes around these
days... I just tend to leave them be (yeah, that's right, the resident
drek-stirrer passing up an opportunity to start a really heated debate!) and
they let me believe the way I choose.
Message no. 7
From: KiltedJamesman@***.com (KiltedJamesman@***.com)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 22:22:32 EDT
In a message dated 10/14/2002 8:09:41 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
shannon@*****.co.za writes:

> It's so obvious, with names like "Jigglypuff" and "Wigglytuff"
> how can you not see the blatant satanic link?

Between this and the gay teletubbies, we're all doomed! ; )~
Message no. 8
From: lunatec@*****.com (Danyeal De La Luna)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 22:35:12 -0500
> > I keep hearing people organising in local churches against
> Role-playing and
> > other signs of satanism like Pokemon.
>
> I've heard this too. Actually I have some friends who were
> brought up very
> close to religion and the argument goes something along the line of it
> promotes fantasies which are supposedly a tool of the devil. Not sure if
> that's still the line they try to drop or how often it goes around these
> days... I just tend to leave them be (yeah, that's right, the resident
> drek-stirrer passing up an opportunity to start a really heated
> debate!) and
> they let me believe the way I choose.
>

God I love the closed mind...what an amazing conservation of space. In this
fast pased world of devolpment and engineering marvels, it's so nice to see
that there will be some uncharted and unused space left for our
childern....to point and laugh at.

Lunatec
Message no. 9
From: lunatec@*****.com (Danyeal De La Luna)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 22:39:09 -0500
> God I love the closed mind...what an amazing conservation of
> space. In this
> fast pased world of devolpment and engineering marvels, it's so
> nice to see
> that there will be some uncharted and unused space left for our
> childern....to point and laugh at.
>
> Lunatec
>
>

Hmm...my spell check has been possessed by Santa...er...Satan.

Bill Gates is the Evil Overlord...and looks a lot like Emperor Palpatine!!

Lunatec
Message no. 10
From: jch8169@******.net (Doctor Doom)
Subject: [OT] Anti-Roleplaying sentiments
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2002 18:06:38 -0500
On Mon, 14 Oct 2002 10:02:18 Shannon Buys wrote:

>I was under the impression that people had in the last few years become more
>open minded and where no longer fooled by glory-mongers like Pat Pulling and
>her ilk. Anyway, a friend informs me that instead, the whole
>anti-role-playing thing is taking off again.

The moving image is the most compelling and indelable "truth." If the
average layman has heard /anything/ with regards to role-playing games,
he has likely heard about Dungeons & Dragons. If he has heard anything
at all about Dungeons & Dragons, he has likely heard about the case of
Irving Pulling -- although our man on the street likely does not know,
nor has even heard, the name -- and hence "knows" about it what the
media's conclusions regarding it are, to wit: all Dungeons & Dragon
players are delusional and are at risk of violent, suicidal, or other
anti-social behavioral tendencies.

Popular contemporary gamer perception is that these perceptions were
promoted solely by fundamentalist Christians; however, the truth is
that the mainstream media, enticed by the irresistable scent of blood,
also participated in the expose dogpile which became the last mainstream
media word on role-playing games and their affects on those of impres-
sionable age.

The next ignition of controversy and sensationalism regarding role-
playing which I recollect was in 1996, during the so-termed "Vampire
Clan Cult Killings," the furor surrounding the homicides committed
by one Ron Fennell. The media's lexicon for character sketches to
describe disaffected youth became expanded to include a new entry:
Vampire: The Masquerade.

Vampire cult leader gets death sentance in Florida 27 February 27 1998
http://www.cnn.com/US/9802/27/vampire.slayings/index.html

Book review of "The Embrace" a "true crime" novelization of the
incident
by Aphrodite Jones
http://www.cnn.com/books/reviews/9909/03/embrace/index.html

Florida v. Rod Ferrell "The Vampire Cult Slaying Case" 22 June 2001
http://www.courttv.com/verdicts/vampire.html

Lest one conclude that the feeding frenzy focused solely on live-action
role-playing, included in the above article is this passage:

"Rod also claimed that as a young child, he was exposed to occult
rituals and human sacrifices, and was introduced to the "Dungeons
& Dragons" role-playing game."

... which would appear to imply that participating in Dungeons & Dragons
is in some fashion comparable to human sacrifice.

Also, do not be remiss in examining the media coverage of the Columbine
High School shootings, where the perpetrators were quickly described as
obsessed with goth culture, the occult, and role-playing games.
Vampire: The Masquerade was mentioned in specific. It was only in later
media reports that drew into question whether or not the two young men
had actually ever played the game.

However, interestingly in one article, a police official described as
an expert on Goths, invoked Dungeons & Dragons to describe Vampire: The
Masquerade, seemingly drawing on the older, negative media image to
establish the other game as a negative influence:

"'The game -- Vampire, the masquerade -- I call it Dungeons and
Dragons on steroids,' he said, adding that players assume the
persona of vampires and act out attacks.

"'There are people who I have seen who lose touch, who think the
gaming system and mythos are real. They have gone off and done
some very strange things. Basing things on my experience, is
there a propensity for this? It's possible.'"

[ Sergeant Dave Williams of the Dayton, Ohio Police Department, quoted in
"Classmates Describe Shooters As Obsessed With Goth World ''Trench Coat
Mafia'' members treated as social outcasts" from Staff and Wire Reports
21 April 1999 San Francisco Chronicle ]

Turning the dial to more contemporaneous settings, I do not know of a
current upswing of anti-role-playing sentiment. Although I dread the
times when the practice of role-playing is made scapegoat by media
sensationalism, better to know of the rising controversy than to be
taken unawares by it. Hence, I would welcome intelligence of such.
Forewarned is forearmed.

-- Doctor Doom

~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
"Here me, men. I've decided that the so-called Pan will return in three
days to commence the arbitrament of the sword. Smee, translate."
"In three days we'll have a war. A battle between good and evil, to the
death."
-- Captain Hook & Smee, to the crew of the Jolly Roger
Message no. 11
From: robertennew@*****.com.au (Robert Ennew)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 18:34:34 +1000 (EST)
--- Adam <eryk@*********.net> wrote: > >In France we
had our awful years about this, in the
> 90's.
> >Now there are still some problems from time to
> time, but most of them are
> >handled by a special organisation
> (http://www.ffjdr.org , in french sorry).
> >They try to explain what is roleplaying game, why
> it's not that differant
> >from any other game, and so on to people who have
> some fears about it and
> >the power to make troubles (politics or government
> people, most of it).
>
>

FUCK 'EM, FUCK 'EM ALL I SAY!!!! I knew this bloke in
our local game club once, he was so brainwashed by a
commercial "Jesus, JEEESUUUS, come down from the
heavens & HEEAAAL THIS man" fineprint: please leave a
small donation (very fine print:nothing smaller than
$50 bills or send us your credit card details so we
can leach you dry. cheque, credit or savings?) so we
can pick up the tab on jesus's behalf (p.s. & send me
a prostitute & a brand new car - eminem), that he
burn't several thousand $$$$$$ worth of roleplaying
books & material as he'd been convinced It was
"satanical" to relate to demons & study them (CTHULU,
d&d etc) in a fantasy world, It's against their law to
have or even exercise an imagination I feel. (GZ)

> Check out Poland for that matter.
> I keep hearing people organising in local churches
> against Role-playing and
> other signs of satanism like Pokemon.
> Creepy!
>
> Adam
>

http://careers.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Careers
- 1,000's of jobs waiting online for you!
Message no. 12
From: robertennew@*****.com.au (Robert Ennew)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 18:46:24 +1000 (EST)
--- Shannon Buys <shannon@*****.co.za> wrote: > Of
course they have something there! The pokemon
> are named after Demons!
> >From Hell! Didn't you know that?! Do you really
> want to allow this into
> your life? It's so obvious, with names like
> "Jigglypuff" and "Wigglytuff"
> how can you not see the blatant satanic link?


Well OF course with names like THAT? I mean their all
so cute & cuddly names, of course their evil spawn
created by the union of satan & his poofta mate Saddam
Inane in their own little fairy'sland, hell, or at
least according to south park :) (GZ)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: shadowrn-bounces@*****.dumpshock.com
> [mailto:shadowrn-bounces@*****.dumpshock.com]On
> Behalf Of Jason Lantrip
> Sent: 14 October 2002 01:50
> To: 'Shadowrun Discussion'
> Subject: RE: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
>
>
> >>and other signs of satanism like Pokemon.
>
> But...but...
>
> It's *Pokemon*. I mean, they could have something
> there... ;)
>
>

http://careers.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Careers
- 1,000's of jobs waiting online for you!
Message no. 13
From: Christian@********.org (Christian Casavant)
Subject: [OT] Anti-roleplaying sentiments
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 08:19:58 +0000 (GMT)
> "satanical" to relate to demons & study them (CTHULU,
> d&d etc) in a fantasy world, It's against their law to
> have or even exercise an imagination I feel. (GZ)

Well, I don't know about you lads, but I feel a bit insane when I play
Call of Cthulu.

Further Reading

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These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!