Why Has D&D Been Such an Easy Target for Cultural Marxists?

[jhkim]

There's a major difference between online TTRPG discussions and how TTRPGs are actually played. Online communities tend to skew more left than the U.S. population as a whole, and I suspect the same is true for online RPG communities and in-person RPG communities.

Also, the video from the OP talks about RPGs like heroin as if the RPGs are twisting people -- but I don't buy that. RPGs are terrible at mind control, because 90% of playing an RPG isn't from the game book - it's from the GM and the players. If the game doesn't fit their preferences and values, they'll pick a different RPG.

So I agree with Ratman_tf. TTRPGers are just reflecting the same political polarization that has swept up all the rest of culture.

Heavily moderated online "communities" tend left harder.

Even Far Right Salon agrees with me, leftist ideas are so popular they have to force it down your throat at gun point. https://www.salon.com/2019/08/05/why-unmoderated-online-forums-always-degenerate-into-fascism/

Free of jackboot liking leftist moderators an online "community" will become more right wing, because we're the side of reason, science, common sense and human decency.

Do you think that lightly moderated forums like here actually have more people on them than forums like ENWorld and RPGnet - as well as mainstream platforms like Facebook and X? I'm not claiming any reason why, but what I observe is that there seems to be more users on moderated forums.

[GeekyBugle]

There's a major difference between online TTRPG discussions and how TTRPGs are actually played. Online communities tend to skew more left than the U.S. population as a whole, and I suspect the same is true for online RPG communities and in-person RPG communities.

Also, the video from the OP talks about RPGs like heroin as if the RPGs are twisting people -- but I don't buy that. RPGs are terrible at mind control, because 90% of playing an RPG isn't from the game book - it's from the GM and the players. If the game doesn't fit their preferences and values, they'll pick a different RPG.

So I agree with Ratman_tf. TTRPGers are just reflecting the same political polarization that has swept up all the rest of culture.

Heavily moderated online "communities" tend left harder.

Even Far Right Salon agrees with me, leftist ideas are so popular they have to force it down your throat at gun point. https://www.salon.com/2019/08/05/why-unmoderated-online-forums-always-degenerate-into-fascism/

Free of jackboot liking leftist moderators an online "community" will become more right wing, because we're the side of reason, science, common sense and human decency.

Do you think that lightly moderated forums like here actually have more people on them than forums like ENWorld and RPGnet - as well as mainstream platforms like Facebook and X? I'm not claiming any reason why, but what I observe is that there seems to be more users on moderated forums.

That's an argument ad popollum and also a non-sequitur

Those other "communities" are (almost all) older than this one, they didn't start as heavily moderated and became so when leftist entryists became moderators and started pushing out the old moderators.

Then you have to take into account that there's a perpetual campaign to brand this forum (and any other that resists them) as "far-right istophobes", which would make some not even think of comming here.

Now, once dismantled your "arguments" you didn't even came close to disproving an observed reality even leftist places like Salon can see.

[rytrasmi]

There's a major difference between online TTRPG discussions and how TTRPGs are actually played. Online communities tend to skew more left than the U.S. population as a whole, and I suspect the same is true for online RPG communities and in-person RPG communities.

Also, the video from the OP talks about RPGs like heroin as if the RPGs are twisting people -- but I don't buy that. RPGs are terrible at mind control, because 90% of playing an RPG isn't from the game book - it's from the GM and the players. If the game doesn't fit their preferences and values, they'll pick a different RPG.

So I agree with Ratman_tf. TTRPGers are just reflecting the same political polarization that has swept up all the rest of culture.

Heavily moderated online "communities" tend left harder.

Even Far Right Salon agrees with me, leftist ideas are so popular they have to force it down your throat at gun point. https://www.salon.com/2019/08/05/why-unmoderated-online-forums-always-degenerate-into-fascism/

Free of jackboot liking leftist moderators an online "community" will become more right wing, because we're the side of reason, science, common sense and human decency.

Do you think that lightly moderated forums like here actually have more people on them than forums like ENWorld and RPGnet - as well as mainstream platforms like Facebook and X? I'm not claiming any reason why, but what I observe is that there seems to be more users on moderated forums.

What's the cause and what's the effect? The way you phrase the question makes it seem that moderation causes growth. I think it's the opposite. Look at how Reddit used to be. Heavy moderation came after popularity.

[jhkim]

To clarify here:

The video from the OP suggested that D&D players were an easy target to be converted by cultural Marxists, and gave a number of reasons why.

Agreeing with Ratman_tf, I don't agree with the premise. D&D players aren't easy targets compared to others. I suspect that D&D players largely reflect the politics of the population - like roughly 50% Republican and 50% Democrat in the U.S., for example. Most D&D players just play it as a game with friends and are not active in online communities.

Do you think that lightly moderated forums like here actually have more people on them than forums like ENWorld and RPGnet - as well as mainstream platforms like Facebook and X? I'm not claiming any reason why, but what I observe is that there seems to be more users on moderated forums.

That's an argument ad popollum and also a non-sequitur

An argument ad populum would be if I was saying that moderated forums are better because they are popular, but I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is that they have more online users.

[Ratman_tf]

To clarify here:

The video from the OP suggested that D&D players were an easy target to be converted by cultural Marxists, and gave a number of reasons why.

Agreeing with Ratman_tf, I don't agree with the premise. D&D players aren't easy targets compared to others. I suspect that D&D players largely reflect the politics of the population - like roughly 50% Republican and 50% Democrat in the U.S., for example.

That would be 50% Independents, 25% Republicans, 25% Democrats.
But I don't think party affiliation is a great indicator of the influence of "cultural marxism".

[BadApple]

I'm going to come back with a counter statement.  Marxist ideas and cultural elements are being aggressively pushed in to many facets of culture.  I would argue that churches, corporate produced entertainment, and education has been far more infiltrated and corrupted than gaming has.  There is no internal resistance in education against Marxism and far more churches are progressive per capita than are gaming tables.  I would even go so far as to say that table top gaming, board games and war games as well as RPGs, have been a lot less of a soft target than the progs thought it was going to be.  I think a lot of the noise lately is due to frustration and anger that we gamers aren't just ceding the field to them like so many other places have.

[GeekyBugle]

To clarify here:

The video from the OP suggested that D&D players were an easy target to be converted by cultural Marxists, and gave a number of reasons why.

Agreeing with Ratman_tf, I don't agree with the premise. D&D players aren't easy targets compared to others. I suspect that D&D players largely reflect the politics of the population - like roughly 50% Republican and 50% Democrat in the U.S., for example. Most D&D players just play it as a game with friends and are not active in online communities.

Do you think that lightly moderated forums like here actually have more people on them than forums like ENWorld and RPGnet - as well as mainstream platforms like Facebook and X? I'm not claiming any reason why, but what I observe is that there seems to be more users on moderated forums.

That's an argument ad popollum and also a non-sequitur

An argument ad populum would be if I was saying that moderated forums are better because they are popular, but I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is that they have more online users.

In response to my assertion that they have to push their ideas down your throat at gun point.

So yes, it is an argument ad popollum.

But as I pointed and then rytrasmi echoed those were bigger BEFORE the heavy moderation.

But go ahead and keep on denying the reality even leftist publications can see.

[jhkim]

Agreeing with Ratman_tf, I don't agree with the premise. D&D players aren't easy targets compared to others. I suspect that D&D players largely reflect the politics of the population - like roughly 50% Republican and 50% Democrat in the U.S., for example.

That would be 50% Independents, 25% Republicans, 25% Democrats.
But I don't think party affiliation is a great indicator of the influence of "cultural marxism".

Sure. I would agree with both those. My point was just that I think RPG players roughly reflect the population. They have a few demographic differences, but they aren't strongly weighted politically.

I'd agree party isn't a good indication of any position. However, I'm not sure of what is a good indication of cultural Marxism. From your view, how would you tell if someone is or isn't a cultural Marxist?

I'm going to come back with a counter statement. Marxist ideas and cultural elements are being aggressively pushed in to many facets of culture.  I would argue that churches, corporate produced entertainment, and education has been far more infiltrated and corrupted than gaming has.  There is no internal resistance in education against Marxism and far more churches are progressive per capita than are gaming tables.  I would even go so far as to say that table top gaming, board games and war games as well as RPGs, have been a lot less of a soft target than the progs thought it was going to be.  I think a lot of the noise lately is due to frustration and anger that we gamers aren't just ceding the field to them like so many other places have.

I generally agree. I don't think that RPGs are influential as propaganda, because groups decide the games they play and will adapt or house-rule them as they prefer. It's too much of a Do-It-Yourself hobby to be controlled from the top down.

[Ratman_tf]

Agreeing with Ratman_tf, I don't agree with the premise. D&D players aren't easy targets compared to others. I suspect that D&D players largely reflect the politics of the population - like roughly 50% Republican and 50% Democrat in the U.S., for example.

That would be 50% Independents, 25% Republicans, 25% Democrats.
But I don't think party affiliation is a great indicator of the influence of "cultural marxism".

Sure. I would agree with both those. My point was just that I think RPG players roughly reflect the population. They have a few demographic differences, but they aren't strongly weighted politically.

I'd agree party isn't a good indication of any position. However, I'm not sure of what is a good indication of cultural Marxism. From your view, how would you tell if someone is or isn't a cultural Marxist?

That's a tricky one. The reason I put "cultural marxist" in quotes is because it's an imprecise term. We need a term to reference people of any category, but those categories can be critiqued and made unuseful, especially by people who otherwise fit a description but resist being labeled, typically to avoid having to defend their beliefs against robust criticism.

By Cultural Marxist, I refer to the illiberal regressives who push identity politics and 'cancel culture' activism under the banner of equality and social reform. They types who recently were tearing down missing person posters of people captured by Hamas despite the fact that most of them would be killed or at 'best' persecuted by Hamas for their lifestyle choices, sex and identities. People who think that hate speech isn't free speech. etc, etc. I think you understand the people we're referring to. They typically identify as liberals, but I think the rift between liberals and these "cultural marxists" is starting to become evident and noticed by "standard" liberals.

I also think that party affiliation is a starting point to understand someone's positions. It's just easy to find exceptions so that such affiliation shouldn't be a given for any specific position.

[Exploderwizard]

Do you think that lightly moderated forums like here actually have more people on them than forums like ENWorld and RPGnet - as well as mainstream platforms like Facebook and X? I'm not claiming any reason why, but what I observe is that there seems to be more users on moderated forums.

That is because lemmings prefer safe spaces where no one is allowed to break their precious echo chamber. The moderation lets them live in their fantasy world where there is only one opinion and everyone lives in joyous agreement.

Then they encounter the real world, have meltdowns, and need crying rooms because someone disagreed with them.

[oggsmash]

   Its a target because left wing people (today's lefties) are rabid religious zealots that demand compliance or you have to go away.  Today's right wing is much more a live and let live and leave me alone than it was (it used to put HEAVY pressure down for conformity as well just with less wailing and screeching).  The RPG crowd is likely fairly apolitical historically and only started to notice when it suddenly got very obvious lefties are aggressive assholes who have a god sized hole in their hearts that lefty bullshit has filled.   A crowd/organization/institution that is not strongly right wing will be infested and maneuvered to left wing..at this this seems pretty clear so far as US history the past 70+ years.  This has created a group of reactionaries who now find themselves (even if not right wing) lashing out and a little disgusted by how well screeching and wailing has worked to hijack their hobby.

[Trond]

   A crowd/organization/institution that is not strongly right wing will be infested and maneuvered to left wing..at this this seems pretty clear so far as US history the past 70+ years.

There's certainly some truth to this. I still think RPGs were especially susceptible, but a LOT of groups/field/hobbies have caved in to the insanity.

[oggsmash]

   A crowd/organization/institution that is not strongly right wing will be infested and maneuvered to left wing..at this this seems pretty clear so far as US history the past 70+ years.

There's certainly some truth to this. I still think RPGs were especially susceptible, but a LOT of groups/field/hobbies have caved in to the insanity.

Correct pretty much ALL the ones that were not demonstrably right wing.  If they were apolitical or in the middle, highjacked.  This is because lefties realize politics is downstream of culture and understand their way of doing things requires indoctrination and is not something anyone in the middle who had led a normal life and seen the world with their own eyes would identify with.   Even what was right wing at one time has been harshly eroded by attacks, lawfare, or insidious infestation.

[Trond]

Pinball is an interesting counterexample. Some of those guys are still thinking that "woke" is a bit of a joke (showing that they are a bit in their own world). When social justice comes up they typically point and laugh. I have seen people bringing up counterpoints like "we should reach out more to women" (which is typically how this starts) but it usually goes nowhere, thankfully. Women can join if they want to, but don't pander to them. Road to hell, and all that.

[oggsmash]

  Pinball...the thing is maybe women just do not like pinball that much?  Sort of like how men generally do not take up knitting.  I think if something is male dominated it is ABSOLUTELY imperative we find a way to put women into it (Boy scouts for example) but if women dominated, well no need to gets guys in there (Girl scouts for example) because the only reason women are not partaking in extremely dominant male activities HAS to be something the men are doing to create that.   This often ends up being just dudes acting like dudes together...which is called toxic...which means men acting like men is toxic.... and so and so it goes.