A number of folk have linked to Open Letter to the Gaming Community.
It dawned on me then that as players, we’re in trouble. We will need to censor our gaming in public.
I've walked rounds for Security for various conventions with my father since, well, for as long as I can remember being able to walk. The one thing that has always been strong in my mind, something I've had many confrontations with, is that, "The pretend can appear as strong as the real, without investigation."
It's not quite a koan, not quite pithy enough for quoteability...but it's been a bit of a mantra for me. A reminder that a kid with a toy gun can appear menacing.
It's happened. I've seen it happen. The whole thing: S.W.A.T., handcuffs, flashing lights, shouting, and the tears. The kid was lucky; he wasn't shot.
How about the game of KILLER, where they left a note on the elevator that merely said, "Ka-Boom!"?
Don't do it. It's not funny, just like making jokes at the airport about explosives is Not Funny.
Yes, we can make nuisances of ourselves. This is nothing new.
In line at the bank, the LintKing and I discussed human sacrifice in gaming context. Did we make others uncomfortable? Probably. But so did the screaming kid, and the argument between the two biker chicks around the bend of the cattle spacers.
Do gamers get singled out? Yes, I suppose they must. If you give "gamers" a "look", a style, an iconoclastic idiom which makes them "suspicious," or suggests they might be "troublemakers."
The harassment I’d face in this scenario would be severe, at best. What the media would use for a headline would mortify me.
Are we freaks?
Should I live my life in fear because I have a hobby that most people don't understand? It's always a possibility that some aspect of my life will be placed in the public eye. Trust me, gaming is probably one of the least of my worries.
...if we want to avoid trouble we must face up to it.
I appreciate the warning. I know it was meant with the best of intentions.
If I want to avoid being hit by a bus, I should probably avoid walking down the sidewalk, too. Life isn't about avoiding trouble. Living means accepting that yeah, sometimes you get hit by a bus. If you're walking next to the bus station, the odds get a little higher. Living in this day and age, I might have more of a possibility of being singled out for my opinions, hobbies, or even personality... but I refuse to be ashamed of these things.
Asking me to "curb my behaviour" is really asking me to wear the mark of shame. Who am I to cater to fear?