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American Politician plays WoW

moody_magemoody_mage Member Posts: 2,054
edited October 2012 in Off-Topic
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19842704

Not a fan of WoW but it is good to see. The claims against her for playing a Rogue border on the ridiculous.

Comments

  • Blakes7Blakes7 Member Posts: 83
    edited October 2012
    People are always trying to pander to others worst impulses for influence and power, frustrating sometimes. I think I remember a time when D&D was demonised in the movie media; a young Tom Hanks starred as I recall. Can't remember the name...
  • NWN_babaYagaNWN_babaYaga Member Posts: 732
    edited October 2012
    Some of the teabagger female puppets probably play as a witch..(I´m not a witch, I´m YOU...). not that the class is available but as a witch myself i tell ya it would fit:D
  • CheesebellyCheesebelly Member Posts: 1,727
    Wait, so those republicans went all like "OMG, she's a gamer, she's not fitted for her rightful role!!!"
    I mean, nothing against republicans, I just didn't know how to name them but...
    ... isn't that slightly ridiculous? Gaming is such a growing element of life, I wouldn't wonder that by 2030, about 90% of the world will be gamers!

    Saying that you're a gamer as something diminishing is an archaic thing. It's like calling the inquisition for every scientist you see on the street!
  • Troodon80Troodon80 Member, Developer Posts: 4,110
    Blakes7 said:

    People are always trying to pander to others worst impulses for influence and power, frustrating sometimes. I think I remember a time when D&D was demonised in the movie media; a young Tom Hanks starred as I recall. Can't remember the name...

    I don't remember anything about a movie, but I know a book or two were written.

    BADD (Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons) was set up by Patricia Pulling. As much as I sympathise with people who lose family members, there's far too much blame against games. An example being that boy who shut himself in his room for four days playing CoD(?), and then had to be rushed to hospital after collapsing. There's a time when common sense should kick in and tell them that they've been playing for long enough, either for the parents or for the person playing.

    It is nice to see politicians playing games, though. I think I read something a while ago about a politician in the Netherlands who played video games, but I can't find the article.
  • leyshjonoeleyshjonoe Member Posts: 59
    Blakes7 said:

    People are always trying to pander to others worst impulses for influence and power, frustrating sometimes. I think I remember a time when D&D was demonised in the movie media; a young Tom Hanks starred as I recall. Can't remember the name...

    Mazes and Monsters (1982)

  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629
    How conventional that something like this gets 'discovered' in times nearing the elections. Truly baffling. *sarcasm*

    If I were her, I would've said: 'So what?'. It's nobody's, I repeat, NOBODY'S business to critizise what someone does in their free time. I hate the fact that gaming still has this negative stigma stuck all over it in these modern times. It reminds me of my own parents who dismiss it as a 'tool of the devil'. Lol yeah. I wouldn't change my hobbies and pastimes for anything or anyone. Sorry, but that's just how I am. I have a right and free will to choose how to spend my free time and nobody has any say in that. So what's next for that poor woman? Will the media now start focusing on what kind of books she reads in her free time? Which movies she enjoys? Which sports she likes? It's despicable and shameful. It's breaching a person's privacy and wanting to control them. Do we live in a Big Brother world where everything we do, read, watch etc gets monitored and criticised? Again, if I'd been her, I would've told those guys to kindly fuck off and stay out of my private life.
  • NWN_babaYagaNWN_babaYaga Member Posts: 732
    edited October 2012
    To make the armaments companies responsible to give out the tools for a killing spree to lunatics and I-live-in-the-past fanatics is a to far fetched thought for politicians... well, or to put it simple: The gaming business as a whole has not yet made any succesfull lobbying against these stupid remarks about the gaming-to-amok connection. Many conservative politicians are somehow "pro-god" (well it´s to me the opposite but anyway) and pro-weapon liberty but almost suspicious when it comes to gaming. Thats what i call succesfull lobby work!!!

    EA_ATVI NEWS channel FTW!!!
  • KlonoaKlonoa Member Posts: 93
    As someone on Jez said, they had to dig apart her hobbies because there was nothing else incriminating against her they could find - that's a good thing! Mostly I think it will backfire because it will make her more relatable to some.

    I doubt they have a problem with hunting. Which includes actual violence and murder lol
  • PhælinPhælin Member Posts: 316
    Really, never thought that politicians would be so desperate to seek a flaw in somebody. I mean, seriously? They really give a shit about what the other person is playing during his/her free time? Hope this will not come to Europe, that would be a laugh :)
  • Kitteh_On_A_CloudKitteh_On_A_Cloud Member Posts: 1,629
    @Przemkas: Exactly what I was thinking. What does it even matter? Whose business is it anyway what you're doing in your free time?
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    I found this really interesting. I know it would be highly frowned upon if my work colleagues widely knew that I like to play computer games. I hope she wins her election. It might help begin to reduce the stigma associated with gaming.
  • DeeDee Member Posts: 10,447
    This is unacceptable behavior for a senator.

    Everyone knows that SW:TOR is where it's at.

    :D

    My only concern would have been that WoW tends to be addicting, which isn't a good thing for someone in public office. But it sounds (from her response) like she has set aside her gaming because of her public work, which is promising.
  • sandmanCCLsandmanCCL Member Posts: 1,389
    belgarathmth said:

    I found this really interesting. I know it would be highly frowned upon if my work colleagues widely knew that I like to play computer games. I hope she wins her election. It might help begin to reduce the stigma associated with gaming.

    What exactly do you do where your personal hobbies would be frowned upon by your colleagues? :O

    That's one thing I really like about Radio. Everyone I've met is a huge, enormous geek in one way or another. And everyone is a musician, whether it's a total beginner nub at guitar like myself or
    any of the people in town with actual bands who would probably get noticed if we lived in a bigger market.

    Anyway, about the topic at hand:
    http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/ingame/world-warcraft-playing-candidate-im-real-person-1C6303203
    NBC News did a pretty comprehensive article about it. There's at least one republican already in office who's in support of her because she also plays Horde.

    This is an example of why you don't bring personal hobbies into attack ads. All you do is alienate everyone who also shares that hobby or sees nothing wrong with it. Anyone that'd be swayed by this particular attack campaign was NEVER going to vote for her to begin with.

    Why do you think the Obama administration doesn't attack Romney for owning horses and enjoying horseback riding? That's a predominantly super white, rich guy activity: IF YOU'RE FROM A CITY. Attacking him for that would just piss off the huge middle class base in the center of the country where owning and riding a horse is more common. Attacking this woman for playing WoW would be along the lines of attacking Obama for following basketball. HE OBVIOUSLY DOESN'T HAVE TIME TO ENJOY SPORTS, HE'S THE POTUS.

    We see right through it.
  • BelgarathMTHBelgarathMTH Member Posts: 5,653
    @SandmanCCL, thanks for posting the second article. In answer to your question, I'm a music teacher at a private religious school, and also at a local private lessons conservatory. The parents I work with almost universally see gaming as something that wastes time and is addictive, and they have to fight with their kids who game to get them to stop gaming and do their homework. So, they would see me as a bad role model if I told the kids or the other adults that I like to spend most of my free time playing computer games.

    Many people also have religious objections to a lot of the content in the games. And finally, there's the general stigma of just being seen as a dorky loner. A lot of responsible adults out there, especially parents who have to work all the time and be transporting their kids from activity to activity to activity when they're not working, see gaming as a sign of laziness, or even view it with suspicion, as though the gamer somehow must have a sinister or hidden bad moral character.

    The political campaign managers who decided to try mounting an attack based on the opposing candidate's gaming habit knew exactly what they were doing, unfortunately. It was a calculated gamble on their part, one that I hope backfires on them.
  • GilgalahadGilgalahad Member Posts: 237
    Being Canadian I had to laugh at this. I hope Bill Maher gets a hold of that tidbit of information. I can only imagine what he'd say to that. Probably make a good "new rules" segment lol.
  • PhælinPhælin Member Posts: 316
    Kitteh_On_A_Cloud said:

    @Przemkas: Exactly what I was thinking. What does it even matter? Whose business is it anyway what you're doing in your free time?

    @Kitteh_On_A_Cloud, there is one easy explanation! They are jelous newbies; and all those other political nasties, you know them - those who are present in every country, mine, yours, theirs - they must be like "damn, how do I get past Nashkel mines".

    I wager!

  • LadyRhianLadyRhian Member Posts: 14,694
    leyshjonoe said:

    Blakes7 said:

    People are always trying to pander to others worst impulses for influence and power, frustrating sometimes. I think I remember a time when D&D was demonised in the movie media; a young Tom Hanks starred as I recall. Can't remember the name...

    Mazes and Monsters (1982)

    Based on the book by Rona Jaffe. There is also a Chick Tract about D&D. "Dark Dungeons". And I read it and was like "Where do I get to learn the spell that enables me to get my parents to buy me $200 of D&D stuff?"
  • ARKdeEREHARKdeEREH Member Posts: 531
    I think it would be hilarious if articles like this one actually caused her to win the election. The intent of her opponents was likely to draw attention to her as someone they thought the voters wouldn't identify with, but if enough gamers vote, it could have the opposite effect.
  • ARKdeEREHARKdeEREH Member Posts: 531
    Klonoa said:

    As someone on Jez said, they had to dig apart her hobbies because there was nothing else incriminating against her they could find - that's a good thing! Mostly I think it will backfire because it will make her more relatable to some.

    I doubt they have a problem with hunting. Which includes actual violence and murder lol

    Yeah, they're all for limiting access to virtual weapons, but fully support access to guns and other weapons in real life. The logic escapes me.
  • Lord_GayLord_Gay Member Posts: 94
    Everyone here is missing the real item in this whole thing:

    "Gaming researcher Ladan Cockshut said the row revealed how gaming can be seen as a bad thing to do."

    Ladan Cockshut.

    So. Many. Jokes.
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