Posted by Eugene Volokh:
Is Israeli Military Anti-Dungeons-&-Dragons?
[1]This story says yes:
Ynet has learned that 18-year-olds who tell recruiters they play
the popular fantasy game are automatically given low security
clearance.
�They're detached from reality and suscep[ti]ble to influence,� the
army says.
I'm not sure how accurate the story is; for instance, a few paragraphs
down it says:
"One of the tests we do, either by asking soldiers directly or
through information provided us, is to ask whether they take part
in the game," he says. "If a soldier answers in the affirmative, he
is sent to a professional for an evaluation, usually a
psychologist."
More than half of the soldiers sent for evaluation receive low
security clearances, thus preventing them from serving in sensitive
IDF positions, he says.
"Automatically given low security clearances" isn't the same as "more
than half . . . receive low security clearances" (though it's not
clear whether the denominator in the latter statistic is all people
referred for evaluation, or just D&D players); and this is the sort of
inconsistency that makes me uncertain about the rest of the story's
claims.
Still, if the story is accurate, it seems odd. Maybe D&D circles have
changed a lot, or maybe the ones I was in were unrepresentative -- or
maybe I'm a lousy judge of who's detached from reality and susceptible
to influence. But my sense is that most D&D players are perfectly fine
people. Geeks, mind you, but geek is good.
On the other hand, the Israeli military is supposed to be pretty
sharp; doubtless it has the normal share of bureaucratic folly, but
I'd assume that most of their judgments about soldierly quality are
better than my judgments. So, who knows, maybe they're right.
Thanks to Dylan Alexander, Ken White, and Michael Koh for the pointer.
References
1. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3052074,00.html
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