Jaeger,
I disagree with your assessment of AD&D back in the 80s. Have lived through that era of the "Satanic Panic", I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that quite a few people saw the game a dangerous, or at least weird.
...and I was ok with that.
because who wants a bunch of mundane types screw up the game and the greater culture that was built around it?
Not me.
For a kid who wasn't the best at sports, who had a knack for history, English lit, and some science-y stuff. A kid who gravitated towards Tolkien, HPL, etc. and enjoyed everything sci-fi like Star Trek, Star Wars, Space 1999, Dr. Who. When I found out there was a GAME that allowed me to create a character and play out exactly those sorts of things, I was hooked.
And when I went to my first convention, I finally saw there was a larger group, a culture, that didn't care what color you were, your religion, or your political beliefs. It was all about geek culture and everything about it, and it was GOOD.
Now? They have it BACKWARDS. They're putting the politics and the political correctness FIRST and saying if you're not they're side of the aisle politically, you are not a gamer.
That is wrong. 100% wrong.
This is why there has to be gatekeepers, and this gate has some easy to follow rules:
1. if you're into geek culture, you're in.
2. keep your politics, religion, and all other real world stuff OUT.
3. have fun.
but we can't have this now. not anymore. so, we have to create a sub-set of a sub-set: the OSR.
and if that's how it going to be, then fine.
Sorry for the rant.