The Great Dungeons and Dragons Panic of 1980

[dampfpanzerwagon]

I have just updated my Blog to include a link to a recent BBC news story about how D&D was seen as EVIL back in the 1980's.



For details go to this link;
http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/the-great-1980-dungeons-dragons-panic.html

Tony

[Emir of Askaristan]

Read the article and remember having to justify my gaming to one or two people but funnily enough never to my school teacher or local library who let me run a game in class a couple of times! However we did have a fellow gamer who was contacted by his church and stopped playing fantast games because of the content for a while!! Each to their own.

It seems people are ready to blame anything but their own failure to help their kids deal with problems - parallels between 80's D&D paranoia and similar issues with the PMRC and 80's Rock. At least I still get to listen to the latter, no chance to play D&D now

[The Gray Ghost]

I bought the first set at my local book store but they stopped carrying D&D after about a year due to parents complaining, wouldn't even order the stuff for me.

[Too Bo Coo]

My first set was a 'basic set' in an 'Expert box'.  The FLGS, where I ended up working as a teenager, owner did not have the basic set in stock (pre-Red Box set) and so took the contents out of the Expert box and took the correct Basic items of the shelf, put them in and handed me my 'custom set' He even showed me, seeing my confused face trying to figure the 'crayon' out, how to mark my own dice. 

By the by, I ended up getting rid of those dice after about 15 years.  They were literally 'rolled round'.

[Cubs]

It seems people are ready to blame anything but their own failure to help their kids deal with problems

This. If you decline to be involved in large chunks of your child's life, you can't then pass judgement on what happens during your absence. I can't even imagine the pain of losing a child and can easily understand them thrashing about in their grief for someone to blame. That's just a natural part of suddenly losing a loved one.

But it doesn't excuse other people for taking it seriously and giving credence to such nonsense. D&D (other roleplay games are available) is just a work of imagination, like any fictional literary work. The only difference is that it leaves the story open to the players' imaginations.

Critics shouldn't confuse the vehicle by which the symptoms of mental disorders are manifested, with the root cause. Perhaps if the parents had been willing to share their child's interests a little more they might have been alerted to potential problems before it was too late.

[Doomhippie]

Oh yeah, I remember those times. Seems like a million years ago. Superstitious and stupid people are still around and still try to force everyone else to be like them. Rather pathetic, I'd say. Actually what I want to say is "F*** off and die, asshole!"

[Doomhippie]

Its still banned in prisons. Lets them escape being in prison you see... 

That can only mean one thing for me: Never go to prison....

[Cubs]

That can only mean one thing for me: Never go to prison....

Well no. Without D&D I just don't see the appeal.

[northtroll]

The thing about prisons isn't exactly correct. Some prisons ban it, others tolerate it begrudgingly as it keeps the prisoners happy and out of trouble. What they don't allow are dice, as that causes gambling problems. I lived through that panic crap in the 80's. Hell the video games that teenagers play today are more evil-themed and violent than D&D ever was! Thank you ever so much 700 Club, Jerry Falwell and the rest of the defenders of hypocrisy....

[Conquistador]

Well, since religion was already brought up...

I was originally involved in the white box period of the OD&D game and remember, being an Evangelical Christian, more than a few times patiently talking to the members and staff of the church I attended about how the flyers (by some overwrought pastor) were misleading.      

Hell, I was a substitute Sunday School Teacher for the Nazarene church (look it up) even though I was not a member of that denomination (being Presbyterian.)  I even brought some of the miniatures I used to a discussion to show them how we were talking about "toy soldiers" not idols...

My "Moment of Triumph" came when I was home sick from work during the week - I think it was aroud the day Indira Ghandi was assassinated but I could be wrong and, in boredom of daytime TV,  flipped to the 700 Club show which conveniently was discussing the AD&D DM guide (Pat Robertson was supposedly quoting from it) and I just happened to have it on my over-stuffed chair where I was trying to relax.  He was giving page references so I turned to those pages.  Misquoted is being polite.  Not wacked out interpretation of quotes but actual 'selective partial quotes' and actual misquotes to a degree that would seem intentional.  Either Liar or Fool or both.  I never felt too comfortable with "Mr." (I refuse to call him pastor,) Robertson anyway but that was quite enlightening as they say.  Face it, no person listening that day to that show (well, except me,) would have a copy at hand to actually checking the accuracy/veracity of the speakers.  They completely lacked both those elements of integrity in what they were saying.  

I hammered that home the next Sunday when (as inevitable) some people brought that show up after church.  I even had the DM guide in the car and offered to show them the pages and "quotes" from the show.  Several people took up my offer (only one apologized but all were chastened or embarrassed - several slunk away without  a word - and hopefully a bit less naively trusting of TV pastors after that.)  

I mean, seriously, if I as a DM actually had the power to curse a player (not character, player,) with a 'mental illness' I would (being a "young adult" male) have cursed one or two of my female players (Yes, Virginia, they were hot and they did play D&D,) with Nymphomania!  Not schizophrenia or depression - how useless would that be compared to Nymphomania!!  Yes, that was sarcasm but there is a seed of truth/confession there..  

The following short article has quite a 'post-panic. view of how we Christians, as humans, approach more than D&D (sports -  active or fan, etc.,) in the wrong way.  IMO, Non-Christians are worse but YMMV.

http://www.russellmoore.com/2011/08/29/dungeons-and-dragons-and-doctrinal-debate/

"... it seems to me that these debates are so intense for reasons other than just fidelity to Scripture...  The Dungeons and Dragons clubs came to mind because those guys, at least in my junior high school, seemed to be obsessed with something that seemed to have no relevance at all to their lives, or to anyone else’s. But D&D became their identity. Because it mattered, they mattered. This was by no means restricted to these folk, and to their video-gaming or skateboarding cousins. It’s the same phenomenon in the people for whom a sports team became a personal obsession. The win or loss of my team is a personal victory, because it is totemic of who I am."

Ego, Pride, self-justification...  All those flawed human traits.  Truth (and small "t" truth,) takes too often a backseat to personal agendas.

I as still an Evangelical Christian (Presbyterian flavor) and I would still play D&D if I had more time but neither the wife (who was one of my hot players) and I have the time needed to play the game well.

I will never apologize for doing something that is harmless and that I enjoy.  Not D&D, not the glass of red wine with supper the doctor prescribed, and not military miniatures.

Gracias,

Glenn

[warlord frod]

I like Glenn am an Evangelical and a Pastor who has played D&D and still own the white box edition.

Boy oh boy do I remember this period and the debates. I was given copies of "Chick" tracts and even a book "Playing With Fire". But in the end most people came to realize as I had that its JUST A GAME! The key of course was to inform and educate people so that they knew the truth and did not believe the fear mongering crusaders.

I have told young people that as Christians we do want to be aware of others and not unnecessarily offend so explain and educate. I also suggested that if it was going to cause to much division especially among a family then play some other role playing game. Our focus should be on peace and moderation (Glenn's point of anything can become an "idol") For example some folks were willing to compromise as long as the idea of "Demons" and "Chaotic evil" was not used. In fact TSR actually produced the game with out those concepts for a brief period (If my memory serves me right)

The bottom line is people often react without full knowledge and because they fear for their children. Our job is to help people be reasonable and discerning. There are things we should worry about but role playing is not one of them

[Matakakea]

I remember late in the 'Panic' reading a study by a psycholgist (whose name escapes me now, sorry). He had come to the conclusion that the main reason the leaders of these religious movements didn't like roleplaying was because it taught players to think for themselves, and this was something they could not tolerate. To misquote the late Sam Kinison 'You won't get into heaven without my stamp of approval, so you'd better just do as I say boy!' Having had to deal with a couple of these zealots I found myself agreeing with the report.
By the way, my group never had any problems with the mainstream religions. We even hired the local Catholic girls school to hold our annual convention, althought two of the girls mentioned that a couple of the oldr nuns weren't to happy with them playing on the grounds that 'surely it was a boys game'  

[gary42]

 "...demonology, witchcraft, voodoo, murder, rape, blasphemy, suicide, assassination, insanity, sex perversion, homosexuality, prostitution, satanic type rituals, gambling, barbarism, cannibalism, sadism, desecration, demon summoning, necromantics, divination and other teachings".

I'm in.  Who's GMing?  Seriously though, that laundry list looks like the contents on another " Player Handbook" that is quite famous...

[marcusluis]

I remember steve jackson defending rpgs on a bbc debate in the 80s agaist some priest i think?? anybody else remeber that??

[Conquistador]

<snip>He had come to the conclusion that the main reason the leaders of these religious movements didn't like roleplaying was because it taught players to think for themselves, and this was something they could not tolerate. <snip>

A Christian author (whose name escapes me currently (paraphrase alert) has said," God does not require you to check your brian at the door."

Boy have I got into "heat" for making that comment in some circles...

Gracias,

Glenn
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