Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site im4u.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!genrad!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!ut-sally!im4u!riddle From: riddle@im4u.UUCP Newsgroups: net.suicide,net.games.frp,net.kids Subject: Suicide and D&D (Re: Violence and the arts) Message-ID: <449@im4u.UUCP> Date: Thu, 22-Aug-85 13:35:36 EDT Article-I.D.: im4u.449 Posted: Thu Aug 22 13:35:36 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 25-Aug-85 02:23:31 EDT References: <6601@ucla-cs.ARPA> Organization: U. of Tx. at Houston-in-the-Hills Lines: 23 Xref: watmath net.suicide:713 net.games.frp:1862 net.kids:1743 Deviled-Ham: "Bob" > An interesting article (from AP) discusses Dr. Thomas Radecki's study > of violence in television, and, incidentally, other places. Some examples > of his concerns: ... > > "Games - 'There is no doubt in my mind that the game Dungeons and Dragons > is causing young men to kill themselves and others. This game is one of > non-stop combat and violence.'" ... > > I wonder if Radecki could come up with a single case where he can demonstrate > that D & D contributed to a killing or suicide? I'm no fan of the culture of violence, but the case for linking D&D with suicide seems to be overstated. Interested readers can take a look at page 18 of today's New York Times. It seems that a group of fundamentalists in Connecticut is trying to get the local school board to ban Dungeons and Dragons from the schools, on the grounds that D&D caused a 13-year-old boy to commit suicide and is the work of the devil to boot. The kid's friends tell reporters that it wasn't D&D that made him kill himself, but drugs. Chalk another one up for the fundamentalists' grip on reality... --- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.") --- {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech}!ut-sally!riddle riddle@ut-sally.UUCP --- riddle@ut-sally.ARPA, riddle%zotz@ut-sally, riddle%im4u@ut-sally