Prison Bans D&D For Mimicking Gang Structure

Trepidity writes "In a case that has been winding its way through the courts for a while now, a Wisconsin prison banned inmates from playing Dungeons & Dragons, using the justification that 'one player is denoted the Dungeon Master... [who] is tasked with giving directions to other players... [which] mimics the organization of a gang.' The prison also cited some sparse evidence that a handful of non-inmate D&D players once committed some crimes that allegedly were related to their D&D playing. On Monday the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the regulation (PDF) against challenges from inmates. The court appeared skeptical of the ban, sarcastically referring to it as the 'war on D&D,' but upheld it nonetheless as having a 'rational basis.' Law professor Ilya Somin suggests that the court may have had no choice, given how deferential rational-basis review usually is."

Comments

Re:Is it just D&D ?

[Alex Belits]

It took me until the end of the comic to realize it wasn't a joke. WTF?

THIS IS WHAT CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISTS ACTUALLY BELIEVE.

Re:Is it just D&D ?

[Vexar]

This is a debate over "fun" versus paying a debt to society and investing in the social adjustment that is supposed to improve a criminal's ability to return to society. You can't fight D&D. It is paper and pencil and dice, or it is excellent memory skills, and any number of ways to generate a random number. Flutter a few scraps of paper to the ground, or a dried leaf. Which end is up determines the number value. Strategy, chance, and imagination. That's where the fight really is.

Do these elements show socialization skills? Cooperative ability? Evaluation of morals? Imagine if the prison ruled that all players must be Lawful Good. All these scenarios acted out in imagination helps decision-making, provided there's a good GM in charge of player role accuracy. I actually think role-playing games could be very useful. Role-playing is quite useful in psychological counseling, is it not?

If I were imprisoned, I'd consider it a significant investment in an opportunity to work hard on improving myself, so as to no longer be a detriment to society. I would certainly not expect to be permitted to write Mein Kempf, or plot my next Una-Bomber attacks, much less communicate with folks on the outside to plot the next tragic act in my Jihad against the Great Satan.

Prison should be about rehabilitation, not detention. In there, it is a battle for hearts and minds on an individual level, and the treasure of redemption. I say someone takes the fight into the dungeons, and helps slay the dragons on the inside of every man's heart.