World of Warcraft hobby sparks US political row

Named as found:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-19842704

Summary: Republicans attack a Democratic candidate on the basis that she plays an Orc Rogue in WoW and is hence backstabbing and untrustworthy.

This is, of course, hysterical, but also slightly disturbing- not just for being a callback to 'video games mess people up' thinking, which effectively insults the majority of the population, but also for using someone's hobby against them in such a manipulative sense. It's also a interesting angle- would they have tried this if she was playing a human Paladin? It's the first time I've seen a thing like this focus on what the person did within the game rather than just what the game was.

Nothing the republicans do surprises me anymore.

Desparation tactics don't make them look very confident, tbh.

Did you guys know that Breivik played WoW? Holy shit! WoW obviously breeds terrorists.

Well it's true. ****ing rogues and their conniving schemes. They steal my trinkets and rings, too. And for what? To lose miserably to me on the dps charts. Better gear, lower dps. It's a perfect metaphor for big government. They take all our tax money and give us back nothing good in return. 'MURICA!

A quote from the accused:
"This would seem to run contrary to the other stereotypes that we love to assign to gamers: that they are lazy, antisocial people who don't have a 'real life'," she said. "Maybe this will trigger some dialogue about our perceptions of gamers and the role that games can and should play in modern society."

...petty lies in the guise of a perfectly rational and forward-thinking individual.

____

Seriously though, this will become even more laughable in just another decade or so. The number of gamers, with the advent of smartphones and such, is insane, and only climbing. The quote is a perfect retort. She's clearly good at handling PR. The more I deal in marketing and PR, the more I've come to appreciate great reactions like hers.

Also, if we're basing this solely off of WoW character stereotypes, I'd actually be less inclined to vote for a Paladin. But that's me, on the inside (of WoW) looking out; the public perception of paladins is obviously much different.

I only vote for Undead Rogues, personally.

Back in Wrath the biggest tards were DKs. Before that, in BC (and to a lesser extent, vanilla) it was hunters.

Or rather, those classes contained the highest concentration of tards. The class did not, by default, produce tard-ish behavior. They just happened to be the classes that the Call-of-Duty-style 16-year-olds gravitated toward.

I personally hate paladins for my own personal, legitimate reasons. But I can't remember a time when rogues were the most stigmatized.

The same thing can be done of stupid Democrats, too.

Watch:

In related news, Democrat Joe Lieberman hates video games and gamers: he wants them censored (despite ratings). He also hates free speech and wants to turn every citizen into "big brother" by bringing back the paranoia of the "Red Scare" to the internet but instead of hating "commies", it is hating "suspicious terror websites."

Man, those democrats sure are dumb.

Of course, not all dems are dumb. Just pointing out that there is idiocy from both sides.

I don't think this topic is be represented completely. Colleen Lachowicz, the democratic candidate from Maine vying for Republican Tom Martin's senate seat, says some pretty off-color things.

One of those that was particularly disturbing was, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and hunt down Grover Norquist and drown HIM in my bathtub."

Gorver Norquiest is a conservative (right wing) lobbyist and...well...a joke teller. I'm sure he took that comment for a grain of salt. But that does not excuse Colleen's statement. She's definitely not going to win with shit like that.

However, that website setup to smear and point out what a horrible person Colleen is...is mostly pathetic. I say mostly because she said a couple of things that were probably...not good to say. However, I did enjoy her sometimes witty commentary and how free she is with her cursing. HOOORAY! We need more real people like that...just less violent.

Originally posted by dadudemon
The same thing can be done of stupid Democrats, too.

Well sure, but...who is saying it's limited to only the Republicans? Stupid is everywhere. The point is: 1. lulz. 2. This is dumb.

Lieberman's a horrible example of a Dem, btw. Didn't he switch parties not too long ago?

But also, be honest, if you saw this story in a vacuum, with no mention of party, which party would you think it is? I'm not a democrat. I disagree with too much on either side to be able to claim one of the major parties. But I find it hard to say the crazy is equally distributed right now in our country.

Don't do it, Digi!

Originally posted by Digi
Well sure, but...who is saying it's limited to only the Republicans? Stupid is everywhere. The point is: 1. lulz. 2. This is dumb.

Lieberman's a horrible example of a Dem, btw. Didn't he switch parties not too long ago?

But also, be honest, if you saw this story in a vacuum, with no mention of party, which party would you think it is? I'm not a democrat. I disagree with too much on either side to be able to claim one of the major parties. But I find it hard to say the crazy is equally distributed right now in our country.

I have no idea who it would be because I would equally suspect the same bullshit from either party. Or did you forget the libtards during the 2008 presidential election claiming that Palin's baby was actually her teenage daughter's but Paling was just covering up for her daughter's slutty ways? Sounds every bit like the retarded bullshit your are trying to claim that the Republicans are.

It's more like I'm suspicious of both parties for being idiots and censors of freedom. I don't say shit like, "tsk tsk...another dumb thing republicans have done." They all do stupid shit...they even do the same kind of stupid shit.

Dadudemon's right, guys.

Umm... It was Palin's daughter's baby.

Edit: Oh, youre talking about the other baby.

Yeah, I really don't care who was Republican and who Democrat in this setup- this is not a political debate about stupid Republicans, else it would be in the GDF. It's the subject matter that is the point here, especially the detailed way in which they are making the issue out of what type of character she plays instead if just the game she is playing, and in turn the counterpoint that is the growing social acceptance of gaming that makes such attacks look silly.

I dunno. If these peoples' rhetoric was actually accepted by someone, somewhere, than I could see the cultural significance.

As it stands, the comment seem more like the sort of typical retard thing you expect politicians to say.

Originally posted by Digi
Back in Wrath the biggest tards were DKs. Before that, in BC (and to a lesser extent, vanilla) it was hunters.

Or rather, those classes contained the highest concentration of tards. The class did not, by default, produce tard-ish behavior. They just happened to be the classes that the Call-of-Duty-style 16-year-olds gravitated toward.

I personally hate paladins for my own personal, legitimate reasons. But I can't remember a time when rogues were the most stigmatized.

Bubble hearth?

Rogues used to get a lot of hate on PVP realms because of how easy it is to gank with them and then escape from any repercussions.

Really, the hate rolls with any class who is the current flavor of the month over powered class.

Originally posted by BackFire
Bubble hearth?

In my brief stint in PvP they were the most unkillable class for me. Rogues, by comparison, were no big deal despite their reputation.

And yeah, BS like bubble hearth, and their OP hybrid functionality for things like high-end soloing endeavors.

Also just a boring class imo. Probably the last I'd choose if forced to re-roll.

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Yeah, I really don't care who was Republican and who Democrat in this setup- this is not a political debate about stupid Republicans, else it would be in the GDF.

Thus my initial response.

Originally posted by Digi
Well sure, but...who is saying it's limited to only the Republicans? Stupid is everywhere. The point is: 1. lulz. 2. This is dumb.

I'm happy to drop the political aspect of it. Didn't want it heading there in the first place, but apparently my comments fueled dudemon's reaction.

Originally posted by ares834
Umm... It was Palin's daughter's baby.

Edit: Oh, youre talking about the other baby.

Yes. 😄 👆

Originally posted by Ushgarak
Yeah, I really don't care who was Republican and who Democrat in this setup- this is not a political debate about stupid Republicans, else it would be in the GDF. It's the subject matter that is the point here, especially the detailed way in which they are making the issue out of what type of character she plays instead if just the game she is playing, and in turn the counterpoint that is the growing social acceptance of gaming that makes such attacks look silly.

No, you are definitely correct. I was responding to Digi (and two others), not you. You were very neutral in your opening post about it. My bad for doing seeming derailing. It just seemed like the direction of the thread was "GOP is dumb, haha".

Fair enough!

I really am pondering this idea of targeting people for what they play, though. Once it becomes impossible to attack someone just for playing games- because pretty much everyone will have done at some point- does it become about the way you play them?

"Your honor, the prosecution would like to note that the defendant's Mass Effect record shows a steep inclination to Renegade tactics, indicating a general disregard for laws and others' well being..."