We live in a time when tolerance is celebrated. In many ways, that is a good thing. There are a lot of great things about tolerance. However, tolerating something is different from embracing it.
We tolerate people of different religions. That doesn't mean we prohibit proselytizing. It doesn't mean that you can't say "I dont think someone should be a Muslim" (or whatever religion you want to put here) or tell your kids that they shouldn't be Muslims. You can say that. You just can't force someone to not be a Muslim. You can't take away their rights because they are a Muslim. You can't punish someone for being a Muslim. But you can complain about it. You can march in the streets with your little placards and complain all day long if you want. That is what freedom of speech, religion, assembly is all about. That's how it works.
As much as it pains me to say this, Zak Sabbath has come the closest to accurately assessing the controversy of the past few days, when he said...
Likewise: people on the other side of the debate see publicly encouraging (not "demanding" or "requiring", but still, "advocating for") someone NOT to publish a labor of love the way they want to publish it but instead to change it to fit some perceived ethical or commercial imperative is likewise equally bad-in-itself.
He is right in his assessment, but wrong in his morality.
He is right in that I am advocating that publishing a book with obscene imagery contained within it is bad. Bad for everyone who loves RPGs. And it is bad because it makes it that much harder to advocate for roleplaying games with that kind of material out there. It is bad for the same reason that Furries are bad. Furries undermine legitimate cosplay by casting aspersions on people who dress up in costumes. It is bad for the same reason that Mazes and Monsters was bad, because it was falsely creating fear about a legitimate game. It is bad because it creates a false image about what RPGs are really all about.
I have been compared to the moral panic of the 80s by numerous observers. The difference between them and me is that they were wrong. Wrong about D&D. The information was false. If I was arguing that this game was going to turn our children into zombies to eat the flesh of humans, I would be equally wrong. Nothing ever done with false information is going to be right. And this game creates equally false perceptions of roleplayers, if picked up by an unsuspecting person it would lead them to believe that this is what we all do with our time.I think you could even make an argument that it is worse than FATAL; in at least FATAL is so far fucking out there that someone could say this is just a farce, a joke, not to be taken seriously. But you want to take LOTFP: GE seriously. You want to actually play it. (as far as I know, you don't play FATAL)
Now if D&D really was Satanic and Satan was real and it really was a threat to your immortal soul, then maybe D&D really did pose a threat to the earth. But it doesn't. I know it doesn't. You know it doesn't. Hence, wrong. And if roleplaying was really all about telling stories about medusa's fucking people and turning them to stone and demons climbing out of bloated vaginas, then I guess LOTFP: GE would be a great thing. It would get the word out about RPGs. But it doesn't. That isn't what RPGs are about.
This game is the same thing for RPGs that rowdy sports fans are for their sport.
Now maybe you are one of those rowdy hooligans. And you like things to be crazy and violent and nasty. Good for you. You're fucked up, but good for you. You see, this is a free country and I can't do anything about you being fucked up. Nor would I even try. You have freedom. Get to it.
But the tempo of the past few days has been to cast me as some kind of censorship hound. Which is absolutely false. I am just saying that I think hooliganism is bad for sports and LOTFP: GE is bad for RPGs.
I am saying I don't think you should get drunk at sporting events and act like an ass. And I don't think you should put this kind of art in RPGs. I am not imprisoning hooligans (or drunks) or stopping the presses on LOTFP: GE. So please, stop blindly accusing me of being a fascist or some other ridiculous shit.
I am not picking out LOTFP:GE singularly here. There are other games that are bad for the hobby. Life with Master, for example. Pretty fucked up premise there, same problem as LOTFP:GE. Also a work of love. Some might argue that there are worse games. Sure. You're right. But this is the flavor of the month. So here we are.
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Ultimately, you have to realize that you are in a box. It is a very very small box. When I tell people about the box, they are incredulous that there is anything actually in there, the box is so small. This box is you, on the fringe, on the edge of the hobby. You are the creative pulse, you are the 1% of people who actually do something really cool. And that is great. I'm also in the box.
But you have to accept that you are in a box.
You cannot think that your beliefs about this stuff are normal. If you think for one second that the vast majority of people out there in the world are going to pick up artwork like this and say "oh, this is pretty cool", you are fucking delusional. To the overwhelming majority of people, anyone carrying around this kind of art is fucked up. A weirdo. Don't want to hang out with them.
And that's why I am tired of being associated with people like you. You are the guy in the corner who is having masturbation fantasies about horror movies. You are "that guy". And that's why I am speaking out.
See most of us, we live in this place called the real world. Where people can suffer negatively if other people think they are fucked up. And I want to be able to be proud to be a gamer. But there are so many goddamn hooligans that sometimes I feel like just giving up on you bastards.
Now maybe you disagree with me. Great. Wonderful. Hoorah. Welcome to the internet, you get a free pass automatically. Kick back and write up a storm. You earned it.
Just know that you are in a fucking box. And they are never letting you out, unless they feel like you are normal. Balanced. Well-rounded. And if you look at violence porn, they will never ever think that about you. No matter how cool your haircut.
Now maybe you are cool in the box. You are happy in the box. You like it here. Great. I don't. I want to be able to tell people what I do in my free time without having them think I am fucking psychotic. Hence, my beliefs on this matter.
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Now when I get back on Monday, this shit is over for me. Dead. Finito. I have had it with trying to discuss this with you people. You are not reasonable. You apparently can't read English very well. You build a million straw men and I have to knock them down over and over. You are what people hate about the internet.
So I am coming back here on Monday and I am going to start working on my games again. Posting about gaming related topics and moving on with my life.
And if you bring this up again, I will ignore you.
And I can easily ignore you. Because you are in a box.
Enjoy your box.
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