Cloak of Stupidity +5, or the Art of the False Political Assumption
I have to admit it. There are somethings I admire about John McCain. Primarily, spending five years in a North Vietnamese prison. Like I used to tell my buddies when I was on active duty, there were two medals I had no desire for -- the Purple Heart and the POW Medal. Thanks Uncle Sam, but I'd prefer not getting shot or being locked up in a sweat box and beaten by Communists. Nope, no thanks.
However, I was initially irritated, and later just out and out mad, when I read this by McCain staffer Michael Goldfarb (you can read the original here:
"It may be typical of the pro-Obama Dungeons & Dragons crowd to disparage a fellow countryman's memory of war from the comfort of mom's basement, but most Americans have the humility and gratitude to respect and learn from the memories of men who suffered on behalf of others. John McCain has often said he witnessed a thousand acts of bravery while he was imprisoned, and though not every one has been submitted into the public record, they are remembered by the men who were there (one such only recently reported by Karl Rove though it escaped mention in any of Senator McCain's books). But as Swindle said, this is a "desperate group of people trying to make something out of nothing."
Ok, second admission. I played Dungeons and Dragons for years. Started with the old "blue" rule book from 1977-78, graduated to the 2nd Edition hardback books later, waiting eagerly on a small family dairy farm in northwest Arkansas for the newest module or book to come out. Working a part time job to make enough cash to afford the hobby and spending weekends staying up all night trying like hell to survive Tomb of Horrors.
Yes, I'm a card carrying geek. And at the ripe age of 17, I raised my right hand and swore to "uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and bear true faith and allegiance to the same." Just like Senator McCain. Just like all veterans do. And you know what? In basic training, in the streets of Panama City, in the deserts of Saudi Arabia and Iraq, and in fact, all over the U.S. military, there were D&D players. It was one of those things you never expect.
Why? I wonder what the fine folks at the McCain camp think about things like teamwork, loyalty, duty, honor, responsiblity, friendship, and good old wholesome family entertainment -- all things I learned and practiced playing D&D. Apparently, not too much, as noted in the quote above. It seems Mr. Goldfarb, with the blessings of his employer, has decided that anyone who plays Dungeons and Dragons is some sort of anti-social uber nerd, incapable of manly activities, such as political blogging or being shot down over Hanoi.
Well, as anyone with half a brain should know, not all D&D players live in their parents' basement. Some live upstairs.
And others, the vast majority of them, became doctors, lawyers, excelled in business, the arts, and even politics. And a more than a few of them put on the uniform and stand by the colors. And more than a few of them have come back from the very wars that men like Mr. Goldfarb have sent them covered in the colors, the same colors that are given to grieving mothers, wives, and girlfriends.
Yes, Mr. Goldfarb, I play Dungeons and Dragons. And I have, in my home, a very large box filled with medals and decorations that prove my service to this nation. Where were you, sir, when your country called? Oh yes, writing for the Weekly Standard.
While gaming geeks rallied around the flag.
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You're calling out Goldfarb as a chickenhawk because he made a joke about D&D?
Wow.
Just. Wow.
Mackey, you're wrapped a little too tight.
All that hate, son, it's gonna eat you up.
Goldfarb? Talk about a really bad D&D sounding name.
"Goldfarb the Grey, Grand Wizard of the Right Wingnuttia, Slayer of Libroolz, Defender of St. McCain!!!"
Dude--it was a joke.
You're takng yourself a wee bit too seriously.
Something tells me that come November, McCain is going to miss his electability saving throw . . . hard. Might even futz.
A whole couple of generations had Tolkien, D&D, and related mythic adventures, and then we went on to create the video game industry, re-charge the Entertainment industry, build the microcomputer and internet industries. Oh, and we programmed a lot of VCRs for guys like . . . well, like John McCain.
Considering some of the outstanding 17-hour gaming marathons I've had with the fellas down at Ft. Bragg , I think he's nuts. Those guys had an advantage, a thorough background in small unit tactics and games theory unlike their less-geeky peers.
We should pool our geekiness on the Prime Material Plane, with the capability of rending the fabric of the universe asunder, toppling an evil dark lord, and bringing peace to the land. It's called an election, and I call on all my fellow geeklings to register to vote. Bring your dice into the voting booth, if you want. Vote for whom you want to, but the choice is between the tired old 18th level fighter, years back from the wars, and an inspiring new mage possessing BOTH an 18 Charisma and an 18 Intelligence. I know which way I'm going.
But it begs the question: if we view the politics of the moment in D&D terms, what do we have?
I look forward to your responses. Let's start with the Elves . . .
SPPP, Geek
THE GEEKS ARE INHERITING THE EARTH. And I for one cannot wait for our generation to take power so that I can finally see a Dungeon Master in charge of long-range military strategy.
My old D&D buddies were respectively: Marines, Navy, Air Force. This is NOT a coincidence, I figure.
Ouch.
Yep, I had the original set from the 70s - blue book, the five original dice (d10s didn't exist yet) which were made of such a cheap plastic the d20 eventually became a sphere.
The now 40-year-olds I played with back then? One doctor, one software engineer, and two small business owners (self included). And my younger brother, now an evangelical who is becoming disillusioned with Bushco.
These little twerps can mock us all they want, we just need to keep hammering them on their two-faced ways.
I'd like to see you draw up a character sheet for McCain. Revenge of the Nerds indeed. Would he be a Lawful Evil dwarf fighter with a short sword?
Well written sir ... there are proud moments for us geek types ... Bill Gates crossing the one billion dollar mark ... Brian Lamb ... Alan Greenspan getting the girl(Andrea Mitchelle) of his dreams.
Ah ... the latter ... who can forget the crowning moment of glory in Greenspan career as(arguably the most important man in the free world) the head of the federal reserve was caught on camera ... hustling out the fed building with a double handful of quarters to keep Andrea from getting a parking meter ticket.
All of us geeks sat up a little higher in that moment ... we knew who was getting the boody.
I was a soldier. I served in the army, just outside Panama City while Noriega was still in power. I later volunteered and went back into the army for Operation Desert Shield, serving in Saudi and there-abouts during the Gulf War.
I am also a gamer. I was first introduced to gaming (AD&D) by my brother (the one who was air force), and I have been a gamer ever since.
My current job involved roleplaying games. I am a full time author/editor for a gaming company. I have written a roleplaying game and it has been on the market for around 5 years or so now.
What I am normally not is political. I tend to consider myself politically agnostic. I vote for the issues, not for the party.
However, come November, I will be voting for either Obama or Bob Barr or anybody else who might be on the ballot.
What I will not be doing is voting for McCain.
This is not because I am pro-Obama, it is because I am anti-McCain. His campaign seems to be about nothing more than making Ad Hominem Attacks against Obama.
Every time I see another attack ad, everytime I hear McCain flip-flopping on yet something else, it drives me further and further towards voting for anybody but McCain (personally, I would rather vote for Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinnich).
"...What I am normally not is political. I tend to consider myself politically agnostic. I vote for the issues, not for the party...."
Here's the problem: If one looks at the crises facing the nation, and decides what is the acceptable solution, THEN looks at party philosophy
What I do is that I look at the issues.
I then determine MY viewpoints on those issues.
I then look for candidates whose public views most closely match my personal views, and that is who I vote for.
Yes, in many cases, this tends to be democrats. Ron Paul was a major exception, as I was very much in tune with his ideas and proposals.
Another example - when it comes to immigration, I side with the majority of republicans who want tougher immigration laws (personally, I think that babies born in the US should not be automatically made US citizens unless they have a parent who is a citizen or who is a legal resident on track for citizenship).
Pretty sure that ConstitutionFirst is right. I was suprised to find that out when I used to play a number of role playing games. It was even more strange when as a teenager the local paper published a story from a priest stating that the "skateboarders" in town were satan worshiping. Proof was of course the levitating of the board. This was in 1993
As a D&D player, educated, politically active single mother I appreciate you article very much. I did not know that many in the military played the game but it makes sense. I am outraged that Bush/Cheney started this war based on a lie and that McCain was ready to go to war in Iraq the day after 9/11 happened, no facts, didn't even need tro make up a lie he was just ready to 'win wars'. I do not understand personally why anyone wants him to be president. He is terrifying
Maybe we'll be able to lock up the D & D vote in the next election! All 8 of them. Sorry, but if this is the most deserving blog piece that can be found criticizing McCain, then your not looking hard enough.
I'm waiting for a better analysis of his GI bill argument. It seems to me that McCain has split the military into two groups: Officers who deserve further education and greater GI bill benefits, and Enlisted who do not. He's also opposed to expanding benefits for those who did not retire in the military, but instead did their 4, 8, 12, etc years. I think that's typical of an officer who had all his schooling paid for, but he's missing the point of the GI Bill in the first place. As an ex-military member, that upsets me more then comments from his advisors about a game.
All that said, you can probably tell I was enlisted, and in honesty we did play D & D a couple of times while I was in!
See Robert Mackey's Profile
@Mr Tessier: I've written on the subject, recently. Here is the link: http://www
McCain's military instincts and values are real, but they're the instincts of the non-commissioned officer or Junior Lieutenant, not of a commanding officer or strategist. McCain sees 'the faith of his fathers' as showing commitment, enthusiasm and effort in any assigned cause. It's not for him to reason 'why?"; his responsibility is to show courage and do whatever he's ordered to do as well as he can.
Those are entirely admirable traits in a sergeant. The problem is that they're disastrous in a general, let alone a C in C.
HuffPost's Pick
If I worked for a candidate with a track record of making up fanciful stories that supposedly took place long ago and far away in dungeons (stories that improve with each retelling), the last thing in the world I would want to bring up is Dungeons & Dragons. McCain’s story about memorizing the names of the players from the Pittsburgh Steelers of 1968 and using those names to dupe his Vietnamese jailers is about as plausible as the adventures of Mordenkainen the Wizard in the realm of Blackmoor. At least when the late Gary Gygax invented fantasy tales about dungeons, he was entertaining.
Not to worry, McCain is about to fail his saving throw versus losing elections.
See Robert Mackey's Profile
HuffPost's Pick
Ok Marshall Lucky--you are an official geek as well!
Ah, good old Mordenkainen. Brings back some memories--the Slavers/Gi
Here's the link:
http://www
It's ok, dear.
You are hearing from the "GloryBoy" choir of ...,."YOU WEREN'T THERE SO WHATYA KNOW???"
It's a nasty little "Them versus Us" thingie that's been around in every war.
You see - men CELEBRATE war - it's all they birth.
So, they have to go back to that "feeling" when they are insecure in their private and public lives.
"You weren't THERE, so WHAT DO YOU KNOW?"
It used to be that the only history of wars was provided by just such men on the ground.
And their "tales of valor" were very much overstated in many situations.
I understand McCain's nickname in the prison was "SONGBIRD"
You are definitely NOT going to hear the story about that in the Corporate Media...
But you WILL find it on the web.
And that is the paradigm that needs to be followed.
GOOGLE
http://ans
See Robert Mackey's Profile
@Baden,
Having seen war on three occasions, and having watched men (and women) die in combat, I can honestly say that there is no glory or beauty in it. There is glory and beauty in those that serve, and sacrifice, and I don't begrudge Senator McCain an ounce of that.
What I do find insulting is that there are neocon minions running around espousing such belittling drivel as noted in my blog.
Good point.
War, as a political tool, is no longer an option for the United States of America in the 21st Century.
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