Jacob Rush Rep. Lawyer for Congress is... I don't even know

[DGayle]

I don't know if this is the right place, but this "devout Christian" guy, um...he is a "vampire" by night who is kind of rapey.

http://issuehawk.com/igor/2014/04/02/ou ... night.html

[Rebelwife]

Trust me, for a Florida political wannabe he's probably kind of tame. Welcome to the land of crazy. :roll:

[DGayle]

I know Flori-duh is pretty crazy, but I guess the people are crazy enough that the politicians get overlooked.

[Savoring Samsara]

This is standard issue LARP stuff. I keep my gaming around a table for a reason and it's largely because of the creepy shit that seems to proliferate in the live action role play community. (not that there aren't creepy tabletop gamers too.)

That being said, a relatively harmless hobby should not keep him from being elected. His horrible Teabagger views are what should keep him from getting elected.

[nausicaa]

This is standard issue LARP stuff. I keep my gaming around a table for a reason and it's largely because of the creepy shit that seems to proliferate in the live action role play community. (not that there aren't creepy tabletop gamers too.)

That being said, a relatively harmless hobby should not keep him from being elected. His horrible Teabagger views are what should keep him from getting elected.

I was curious about this as I read the article. My best friend is Goth and I've gone to some of her events, so I'm well aware that there are normal, nice, well-adjusted people who like to dress weird sometimes and pretend to be someone else. I have no problem with him dressing as a vampire and taking on another persona. But I was really bothered by his attitude toward rape, even in the context of playing a game and pretending to be a character.

Is misogyny common in the storylines of LARPers? Are there a lot of men who find this to be an outlet for their issues with women and sexual assault?

[Savoring Samsara]

I was curious about this as I read the article. My best friend is Goth and I've gone to some of her events, so I'm well aware that there are normal, nice, well-adjusted people who like to dress weird sometimes and pretend to be someone else. I have no problem with him dressing as a vampire and taking on another persona. But I was really bothered by his attitude toward rape, even in the context of playing a game and pretending to be a character.

Is misogyny common in the storylines of LARPers? Are there a lot of men who find this to be an outlet for their issues with women and sexual assault?

I have only done a very small amount of LARP stuff so I don't feel fully qualified to answer that.

That being said, I have played a lot of tabletop Vampire and other World of Darkness games and, well, "creepy White Wolf game player" is an RPG stereotype for a reason. Vampire as a game system can be a pretty disturbing setting when you stop to consider it. I mean, the protagonists are monsters who basically rape people in order to survive (not literally - I mean in the blood drinking sense). Some players ignore that aspect of the game altogether, some engage with it in a thoughtful manner without making anyone else around the table feel violated, and some use it as an excuse to be utterly disgusting creepers while claiming that they're just playing a character. I definitely think that in the gaming community in general, there is a subset of participants who mistake "this is a game for adults that will explore mature themes in the concept of a dark horror setting" for "this is the happy awesome playground where my id can run free and nobody can call me on it, yay!"

More to the point, I cannot imagine talking in any detail about horror gaming activities on the Internet and then expecting to run for public office. Though I believe that gaming as a hobby is generally pretty innocuous, and even if you excuse it with "I was just playing a bad guy character," this guy should have considered how all of these pictures and posts would look to the public at large. How dumb can you be?

[DGayle]

I was curious about this as I read the article. My best friend is Goth and I've gone to some of her events, so I'm well aware that there are normal, nice, well-adjusted people who like to dress weird sometimes and pretend to be someone else. I have no problem with him dressing as a vampire and taking on another persona. But I was really bothered by his attitude toward rape, even in the context of playing a game and pretending to be a character.

Is misogyny common in the storylines of LARPers? Are there a lot of men who find this to be an outlet for their issues with women and sexual assault?

That's the part that bothers me. I'm a LARPer (and live it even during the day in public), and I've never known another LARPer with his attitude.

I'm also bothered by how he claims to be this good ol' devout Christian boy on the one hand while participating in something he'd likely condemn during the day.

[Savoring Samsara]

That's the part that bothers me. I'm a LARPer (and live it even during the day in public), and I've never known another LARPer with his attitude.

I'm also bothered by how he claims to be this good ol' devout Christian boy on the one hand while participating in something he'd likely condemn during the day.

Got it. I couldn't tell from the OP what you were objecting to. I'm glad you haven't met gamers like him before. Unfortunately, I've come across way too many gamers who think that rape is just absolutely hilarious. :? That attitude is starting to die out, I hope, and I will be glad when it goes for good.

[Mama Mia]

I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it's incredibly stupid to think you can be active in something like that and not have it turn up in the media if you're running for public office., plus he gives off a very creepy vibe given his choice of characters. On the other hand, it really isn't different than the " quotes" people were discussing that were attributed to feminists - showing how man hating and evil they were- but were from works of fiction they had written.

I guess it's kind of like if Steven King was running for office, I suppose I'd vote based on his political views, but I would probably look extra closely at what exactly they were.