People are stupid, part 1

In my ongoing quest to chronicle the stupidity of the human race, I thought I would start a series.

Today's offering is two fold. On one hand, we have the Israeli Defense Force, who mentioned in this article, catagorize Dungeons and Dragons players as "detached from reality and susceptible to influence". People in the military who play are considered security risks and might even be kicked out of the military or have their security clearances demoted is the impression that the article gives. My response: Stupidity Warning! The stability of a person is not determined by games. I think it could be a factor in determining creativity or group interaction, but using that as a test of connection to reality is just dumb.

Second, we have the writers of the article itself. My response: Stupidity Warning! Linking DnD playing to LARPing is dumb as well. I would hazard to guess that over 90% of Pen and Paper players do not LARP (live action role play). People that LARP are no different from re-enactors; SCA or other people who take their private time to relax by doing some role acting. No one thinks that a person who acts with their local theatre troupe is not in touch with reality because they like doing theatre. Once again making broad generalizations has reduced the argument to the absurd on their part.

People's connection to "reality" is different per the person. Most people that follow these pastimes that I know use them the way someone does a book or a movie. It is to provide them a mental break or let them stretch other mental muscles that they dont normally get to stretch. Let us also not forget what I think is a core human desire to tell a story or be a part of one.

Anyway, that concludes People are Stupid for today. I return you to your "reality".