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  1. #1
    Minty23185Fresh's Avatar
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    One Fish, Two Fish, Us Fish, Them Fish

    Pundits love to point at social media as one of the driving forces behind much of the division and derision that many believe pervades today's society.

    (Aarrrgh! A statement like that is sure to pique the trolls; not the ones we see in D&D dungeons! And that's not the intent of this little segue.)

    This morning while I was Google searching the world for information about an obscure little Faerun town that disappeared off the face of most maps, I came across an archived Dungeon magazine. For some inexplicable reason I read the editor's page. Mr. Gross talked about us-them prevalence in society. The "us" being role playing gamers.

    It seemed ironic that in November of 1995, the editor of issue #223, would be talking about societal division. A division that current media likes to harp on as if it were some new phenomenon. And it certainly looks like the whipping-boy, social media, is not the appropriate scapegoat that they paint it to be.
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    Valarian's Avatar
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    At the heart of things is the fact that we humans are still very much tribal in nature. In modern society, we divide into tribes of our own making rather than the vilage, clan, or extended family. We separate "us" from the "other" based on hobbies, sporting teams, nationalities, religious belief, and all manner of other divisions.
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    Minty23185Fresh's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Valarian View Post
    At the heart of things is the fact that we humans are still very much tribal in nature. In modern society, we divide into tribes of our own making rather than the vilage, clan, or extended family. We separate "us" from the "other" based on hobbies, sporting teams, nationalities, religious belief, and all manner of other divisions.
    So true. It's uncanny how quickly one can be ostrisized from the tribe. At social engagements I have had to modify my conversation tactics to avoid being pushed into the "them". Persons I consider more than just acquaintances, some close friends, have asked me, "So now that you're retired what are you doing with all that time?"

    "Oh, I've been developing modules for Dungeons and Dragons." The deer in the headlights facade appears, or a smirk is painted on, and the conversation is over. I've just become a "them".

    To prevent throwing myself over the precipice I have developed an alternative tactic: "I have been doing some creative narrative and artwork for role playing games. You know like, 'How to Host a Murder'." Something they can identify with. Something to comment on and remain engaged. A little more elaboration and "Dungeons and Dragons" is no longer a conversation terminator. I'm still in the tribe.

    One might immediately jump to the conclusion that I am embarrassed by D&D. Not at all. Sometimes one must soften up one's elders before blasting them with a fireball.

  4. #4
    LordEntrails's Avatar
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    In those cases Minty, it's about putting something in the terms that the listener will take a positive connotation of, before a keyword or phrase immediately causes them to rush to judgement.

    It pervades every aspect of the world I see. In business, when I talk to different groups of people, I have to use different language. Talking to business executives their is one language, to administrative personnel another, to engineers a third, a fourth for technical, etc.

    We like to label things with words. And by doing this is helps us understand the topic. But the problem is, words have imprecise meanings and vastly differing connotations (that often are far from the definition). So, even in social groups that consider themselves outsiders and non-judgmental, you still see labels and judgements for each of those labels. Look at the phrases; "power gamer", "optimizer", "munchkin", "story focused", etc. To some, those are bad words, to others they are descriptors.

    As long as people have a need to belong, they will have a need to understand. To understand something you must use language and labels. Language is never precise, especially as it is so colored by our experiences.

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  5. #5
    Listening to a podcast on this very topic. An interview with Prof. Lilliana Mason whose book talks about how our reptilian brains naturally seek out and identify with like-minded groups. The interview is interesting, the book is on my backlog.

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    Minty23185Fresh's Avatar
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    Thanks for the podcast link. I was just about to ask.

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    Minty23185Fresh's Avatar
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    experiences->connotations->judgement
    Gotta love ‘em

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