In which we blink...

[jesshartley]

What the hell?

When did gaming become a Republican political insult?

http://www.johnmccain.com/McCainReport/Read.aspx?guid=181471d0-5456-4434-9f78-2f30ffc39459

I try to avoid mixing my political views and my career, but seriously people... WTF?

The money shot is here: "It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman's memory of war from the comfort of mom's basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others."

Comments

[naebler.livejournal.com]

When did being a republican become an insult? It all goes in cycles, much like Connery's statement in the Untouchables. It is a cold war of insults and both sides use each other.

I am a Republican Gamer. I believe in Equal rights, but I believe in State Rights over those of the federal government. Yes I am a contradiction.

[jesshartley.livejournal.com]

I didn't use the term as an insult. I have friends on many sides of the various political fences. I just said that the Republican candidate was using gamer-references as an insult.

As a Republican and a gamer, how do you feel about the use of "Dungeons & Dragons" label here?

[matt-m-mcelroy.livejournal.com]

This doesn't really address the fact that the McCain staffer used D&D as an insult to Obama supporters.

It is a strange stereotype to include in a political post.

[ulaliya.livejournal.com]

Yeah, mostly I agree with the weirdness of including that particular stereotype when it seems like some other stereotype might be more applicable. I wonder if there was actually some tiny grain of truth that prompted the author to write that (aside from perpetuated tidbit of truth the stereotype itself arose from, I mean). Like, were the "liberal bloggers" he's talking about also gamers or something? Otherwise I'm really not entirely sure what he's trying to communicate. Maybe he just thought it sounded clever. Because, you know, Michael is totally one of the cool kids. Way too cool for me to hang out with EVAAAAAAAAAAAR. I can tell.

[scholargipsy.livejournal.com]

It's weird, yeah, and also ironic, given how many Dungeons & Dragons gamers have historically also been military men and women. Someone knows not of what he speaks.

Yeesh.

[sheriffjoe.livejournal.com]

Oddly enough, I am both a D&D guy AND a military guy...and McCain is a psycho whose only real interest is in keeping us at war and getting our kids killed...for no good reason. I don't buy into the rhetoric. I've been there. It's all BS. You are absolutely right scholar...he knows not of what he speaks. He knows not much of anything at all.

[sheriffjoe.livejournal.com]

What a pathetic human being. More insults and attacks on people for the sake of making a soundbite. Politics disgusts me.

[sabbathunter.livejournal.com]

OK now its personal!. :P

It is from a blogger and not McCain himself so I am not too worried. Sounds more like a person who doesn't understand gaming. Probably thinks it is satanic or something :P

[sagawizard.livejournal.com]

Best

LJ pic

EVER.

-SW

[zacharythefirst.livejournal.com]

That's just silly, and more than a little strange.

Is there really a pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd? :) Or a pro-McCain one?

[ioianthe.livejournal.com]

I think terms like "gamer" "disposable income" "elitist" and "flaming liberal" are seen as going hand in hand... like those are bad things or something?

*laugh*

[annathepiper]

.... wow. What's he on about, then?

[nagaina-ryuuoh.livejournal.com]

I will maintain my personal Olympic Truce.

I WILL maintain my personal Olympic Truce.

I WILL MAINTAIN MY PERSONAL OLYMPIC TRUCE.


.....I WILL AT LEAST REFRAIN FROM REMARKING ABOUT HOW I'D TAKE THE HONORABLE SENATOR'S PROTESTATIONS ON THIS ISSUE MORE SERIOUSLY IF HE HADN'T BEEN CAUGHT PLAGIARIZING WIKIPEDIA FOR EVERYTHING HE KNOWS ABOUT GEORGIA.

On my own journal at least.

What a wanker.

*blinks*

[technovixen.livejournal.com]

wow...it amazes me the intolerances and ignorances that exists in some people out there. Several people in the gaming community are active duty (amongst other various professions not normally thought to be stereotypical) due to the portable nature and the escapist quality inherent within. This person definitely was unaware of accurate gaming demographics. Perhaps I should pull out my various studies for them from my grad work (all scholarly journal work used for papers I had to write) to show them how skewed their perceptions are. (sorry felt very pompous and arrogant at the moment. I get that way when my high hat is on. :) )

[cartoonlad.livejournal.com]

Too bad that comment wasn't made a week ago. I could have made a killing on "Proud Member of the Pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons Crowd" t-shirts and bumper stickers at Gen-Con.

[cartoonlad.livejournal.com]

Fast comp for the t-shirts I didn't get to make last week:

[doctorcaligari.livejournal.com]

Heheheh. Nice.

[brigidsblest.livejournal.com]

*splutters in incoherent rage*

[maresulubrium.livejournal.com]

I wonder if this means he doesnt want votes from any gamers, or just the ones that play D&D?

[cartoonlad.livejournal.com]

He's going for the Worlds of Darkness fans.

[jesshartley.livejournal.com]

"Graduate your Election?"

[(Anonymous)]

Well, he certainly won't be getting mine.

Although I haven't played D&D in something like 4 years...

[mythdude.livejournal.com]

He's just bitter that his level 15 Hexblade died in the Tomb of Forbidden Secrets to a contact poison trap. :P

[saracate.livejournal.com]

::headdesk::

...And I just sent the McCain staffer an email discussing how a good portion of the gaming community is in fact military and a request to better research his material.


Yay education!

[poly-scott.livejournal.com]

Good! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of doing that. I hope everyone else here does, too.

[sixswordsamurai.livejournal.com]

McCain for Changeling?

I can agree with that.

[sagawizard.livejournal.com]

It's odd. I identify as a left-of-the-Democratic-Party progressive, but most gamers I've met tend to be on the conservative side. Not so much conservative in the "votes Republican sense" (although many of my gamer friends do), but in the libertarian, "the individual is smarter than the government, so get the government out of my life" way.

There also seems to be this close concordance between scifi/rpg geekdoom and military enthusiasm, and so it seems many geeks I know look at military ventures abroad and groove off the strategy and the technology, adoping this kind of Hobbesian/Draconian, George RR Martin view of politics, as opposed to a more humanitarian, Marge Piercey-esque "war is always an abomination to the 90% of people, mostly civilians, who suffer it, regardless of the politics involved." Neil Stephenson's books seem to exemplify this - a romance with the opportunities for nerding-out that war provides (technology, politics), which seems to bleed into my discussions with my friends when we talk about Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, etc.

So when I read what McCain said, it puzzled me. I know far more gamers who align with McCain than I do those who align with Obama. McCain may be insulting his base, and insulting geeks is never a good idea. We run the world, yo. :)

- SW

[sagawizard.livejournal.com]

Whoops, wasn't McCain, 'twas a blogger. We all know how unreliable they are. :)

-SW

[cartoonlad.livejournal.com]

It was McCain's deputy director of communications. We all know how unreliable they are. :D

[mythdude.livejournal.com]

The guy was going for the slam of "Heh, Obama's supporters are dorks who live in their mom's basement and hate our veterans." Personally, I don't hate veterans. Just certain assholes who have served in the military.

[tonysalieri.livejournal.com]

Old Man McCain Says:

You damn kids! With your Dungeon and Dragons imagination games that Jack Chick says are evil! And your parachute pants, and your acetate pressings of music that you play at thirty-three and one thirds revolutions per minute! And your "Whip Inflation Now!" buttons, and your Space Food Sticks, and your 12" GI Joe dolls with kung-fu grip, your "The Judge" GTO cars, your cargo cult crafts, your Jelly shoes and flannel shirts, and your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Get off my damn lawn! Go back to your lower-middle class lifestyles where you only make a paltry 3 million dollars a year!

[habibbibrod.livejournal.com]

It is clear to me now.
World of Darkness is for McCain.
D&D is for Obama.

And we all know who Call of Cthulhu is for...

Why vote for the lesser evil?

wow, i never new that some identities were exclusive

[la-loba.livejournal.com]

wow, i'm totally forwarding this to all of my gamer buddies who are/were army and played RPGs from the confort of iraq and afganastan.
i'm sure they'll appreceiate this.

[the-gil-monster.livejournal.com]

"It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd"...

I'll tell that to the guys I've played Final Fantasy XI Online with who are serving in Iraq...

..."to disparage a fellow countryman's memory of war from the comfort of mom's basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others."

And YOU can tell THAT to JOHN KERRY. You and your swift-boating jack-ass buddies.

[doctorcaligari.livejournal.com]

Wow. Well, you must admit, this double smear is a double win. If you despise gamers (and think they all live in mom's basement), then you'll hopefully hate Obama because of the association here...or if you hate Obama, then the association makes gamers look bad in your eyes.

Win-win!

Like many have said -- plainly he doesn't understand how many of our men and women in uniform are gamers.

Nor am I sure where he derived the idea that gamers are somehow more likely to spit on a man's memory of his war service, when I rather suspect they are LESS likely to. Especially the ones with the katana collections.

If someone is really trying to scream plagiarism over something as iconic as faith-based grafitti in prisons, I can understand this guy's irritation, but to inexplicably drag gamers into the brouhaha? WTF.

ROFLMAO

[ladyrutile.livejournal.com]

http://tinyurl.com/5k7sdd

Funniest response to that article yet!