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The phrase, "I play Dungeons and Dragons," does not have the same meaning today that it did twenty years ago or does it? In 1985, if you said, "I play D&D," people would glare. Some thought that you were living in a fantasy world; while, others thought that you were going to end up a witch or a Satan worshiper. I on the other hand, knew it was just a game. That did not stop people all over the United States from complaining that D&D had a negative effect on society.

In the mid eighties I have the luxury of attending a middle school that had an activity time at the end of the day. This activity period took place during the last half hour of the day. This activity period consisted of classes associated with teacher's interests. For instance if a teacher was interested in hunting they could teach hunters safety. During that half hour we were allowed to pick an activity and as luck would have it our school had an RPG class. I loved being able to spend the last half hour of the day playing Dungeons and Dragons; however, as with everything that has a beginning it must also have an end. By the end of the year a local religious leader who's children also attended the school complained? He said that if the class was not removed from the schedule he was going to complain that the school district and the media. In addition he threatened to tell the local newspaper that the school was supporting a satanic activity and that was a violation of the first amendment. (Or something to that affect) As a result the class was removed.

Does this Stigma exist today? I did a little research and found the following. On Bruce Schneier's blog (http://www.schneier.com/blog/ archives/2005/03/security_risk s_1.html) he informs his readers that the Israeli Defense Force, gives soldiers who have listed D&D as a hobby, a lower security clearance than those that do not. Further research revealed this quote, "we have discovered that some of them are simply detached from reality," a security source told Ynet (http://www.ynetnews.com/artic les/0,7340,L-3052074,00.html) The article goes on to state that, "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." (Ynet.com) I am shocked that a military organization like the IDF would think such things about a game. I guess there

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