Good Reads

Saw these over lunch today and thought I'd link out and give a big Bravo Zulu to The Mad Adventurers Society.  They're postings on handling prejudice against gamers that you might run into out in what we laughingly call 'the real world'.  It's not something that I've run into much in the last couple of decades, of course I was out of gaming for awhile due to life and duty stations, and since I came back in I've been in a stable albeit infrequently meeting group for the last fourteen years.

I do remember the newspaper articles from the early 80's, may even have been the fall of '79 about D&D and devil worship.  When I was stationed out in Virginia Beach, I recall that the controversy was getting so much press that I wrote a letter to the editor myself debunking some of the BS that was being spewed.

So here's  Gaming In The Wild: Culture Shock about people's reaction to gaming based on their past as being addicted to or knowing some one who was addicted to gaming.

And here's The Mad Cleric: Dealing with Intolerance about dealing with people who's religous world view prejudices them against gaming, you know the D&D = Devil Worship crowd.

The recommendations they impart go beyond dealing with prejudice against gaming to general ways to deal with people who don't agree with you due to differing past experience or philosophical assumptions.

Of course I'm a crusty old salt, so my advice is always listen to people with respect for their beliefs and don't expect them to return the courtesy.  They'll appreciate you and you won't be disappointed that way.