Why "waste" so much time discussing the past?

by Hawke Robinson published 2019/01/30 04:01:00 GMT-8, last modified 2022-10-22T14:48:02-07:00
The past is still very present for many. We regularly meet people in the gaming community who do not understand why we "waste" time talking about all the misconceptions of the past regarding role-playing games and gamers. This is because outside of the fandom bubble, a very large percentage of people unfortunately still believe the negative myths and stereotypes. If we don't address those issues up-front and head-on, it is literally the difference between our programs being accepted or denied.

A historical context is important in being prepared for any potential “push back” that may sometimes occur because of many inculcated conceptions regarding role-playing gaming and gamers.

Even as recently as 2019, we have run into many settings and people who still believe the inculcated negative stereotypes and myths about role-playing gamers and games.

Outside of the geek culture "bubble", the majority of people need to be educated about the myths and realities of role-playing games. We run into hundreds of parents a year worried about the "dangers" of their child participating in a role-playing game program. We are usually able to assuage most of these concerns if given the chance to present our methodical approach to these discussions.

We literally have to spend most of our initial presentation when we first approach new clients outside of fandom, addressing their concerns that role-playing games / Dungeons & Dragons are dangerous or inherently evil.

I kid you not, this is still a VERY SIGNIFICANT issue even in 2019!

Examples in just 2018 and 2019 include presentations at public school districts, libraries, professional therapeutic & medical conferences, social workers (see the 2017 survey), rehabilitation centers, hospitals, modern day "orphanages", prisons, and much of the general public outside of the fandom community bubble. Every subculture has its own internal bubble of in-group acceptance, that often are not shared in the out-group populations.

We often run into those in the gaming community who do not understand why we still "waste time" addressing these issues. And when speaking to the gaming community, it is preaching to the choir, so we usually don't need to spend much time on such issues at conferences, but in training people they need to have the facts at their fingertips to prepare themselves for the heavy resistance outside of the gaming community that they will run into bring RPGs to other communities.

We have found that if we do not address these issues head-on and up-front, prospective clients will not be able to listen to the rest of the information we provide, and that it is literally the difference between getting acceptance for the RPG program or rejection of the program.

Once the methodical approach is used, then excellent progress can be made moving forward.

 

Reference

Christian Gamers Guild FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions by Christians about Role-playing Games

2019 - Mother to child: "Those kinds of people kill people" (role-playing gamers) March 15th, 2019.

2018 - Therapeutic Role-Playing Games (RPG Therapy) for older adults. & Cohort Considerations

2017 Social Workers’ Perceptions of the Association Between Role Playing Games and Psychopathology

2017 - How to get started using RPGs

PNWATRA 2016 Pacific Northwest American Therapeutic Recreation Association Conference RPG Research Presentation 1 20160125zw

How far to go with trolls?

2016 - Mockery of Gamers

2016 - Role-Playing Gamers Have More Empathy Than Non-Gamers

2016 - Why The Popular Negative Stereotypes About Role-playing Gamers Are Important to Address

05 Big Bang Theory Examples of Inculcated Gamer Stereotypes Propagation

04 Big Bang Theory Examples of Inculcated Gamer Stereotypes Propagation

2015 - RPG as Therapy Presentation - Seattle Childrens Hospital WSTRA Con 16

2015 - Yet Another Example of Inculcated Stigma Regarding Role-Playing Gamers

2015 - Another (Anecdotal) Example Why The Popular Negative Stereotypes About Role-playing Gamers is Important to Address

2014 - Presention on Conflict and Barriers to Interpersonal Effectiveness Addressing Inculcated Stereotyping and Prejudice toward RPG

2014 - Why The Popular Negative Stereotypes About Role-playing Gamers Are Important to Address

2014 - Self-Deception & Propaganda Against Role-Playing Gamers by B.A.D.D. and Others.

2013 - Gamer Floater Theory - Hypothesis of the Role-playing Gamer "Floater"

2008 - RPGR-A00003 - The Defamation of Role-playing Gaming and Gamers.

2007 - RPGR-A00006 - The Battle Over Role Playing Gaming

The Patricia Pulling Report by Stackpole

 

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