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  • Seriously, Republicans?!

    'World of Warcraft'-playing candidate: 'I'm a real person'

    Winda Benedetti

    'World of Warcraft'-playing candidate: 'I'm a real person'

    Colleen Lachowicz is a long-time health care worker who works with teens and young adults. She is a wife and a step-mom. And she likes to knit.

    But this week, the 48-year-old Lachowicz — who is running as a Democrat for the State Senate in Maine — abruptly found herself at the center of a Republican smear campaign because of one of her hobbies. No ... not knitting.

    Lachowicz is a gamer. More specifically, the Republican party of Maine discovered that Lachowicz enjoys playing the online role-playing game "World of Warcraft." And, on Thursday, the party launched a campaign to out what they are calling her "disturbing alter-ego" and her "bizarre double life."

    The Republican Party not only launched a website, they sent out post cards to voters in her district and even issued a press release — all of which showed off the level-85 orc named Santiaga that Lachowicz plays in the game and also highlighted online comments she had made about the game (some of which contain curse words!). (For more on that, read our previous story here.)

    News of the "WoW" witch hunt has since made international headlines and kicked up a storm of outrage in the gaming world. I had a chance to interview Lachowicz after she had spent a day out knocking on doors, campaigning in her district not to mention fielding a flurry of calls and emails about the anti-gaming crusade. And she seemed nothing short of stunned by the turn of events.

    "This whole thing is just so weird," she said sounding flustered. "It's just so weird that it's an issue."

    Lachowicz said that she has played games her entire life and has never tried to hide the fact that she's a gamer. She says she got started gaming way back in the good old days with an Atari home console and loved going to arcades.

    "Do you remember 'Marble Madness'? I loved that game," she says. More recently she has enjoyed playing the hit "Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim" on her PlayStation 3. And she points out that even her elderly mother (nearly 70 years old) enjoys playing games.

    "She doesn’t play any massively multiplayer online games but she can kick some butt in 'Super Mario Bros.'," Lachowicz says.

    Lachowicz got started playing "World of Warcraft" four years ago when the "Wrath of the Lich King" expansion arrived. "I liked hanging out with friends and working on a goal together," she says of what drew her to the game.

    She thinks those who don't play the game don't realize that the stereotypes about its players aren't true. (Think: basement-dwelling teenagers without a life.)

    "When I played, I played with people who are college professors and lawyers. I played with adults," she says. "The average age, I think, is mid-30s for people who play online MMOs."

    The 'G' word
    Indeed, with hundreds of millions of people around the world playing not only online games like "World of Warcraft" but Facebook games and mobile games, it's stunning to see that the term "gamer," in some circles, remains a dirty word.

    "By 2012, it's far easier to identify those Americans who are not game-playing consumers than those who are," says Hal Halpin, president of the Entertainment Consumers Association. (The ECA is a non-profit organization dedicated to gamer advocacy.)

    "Who among us has never seen nor heard of 'Angry Birds,' 'Plants vs Zombies' or 'FarmVille' much less classics like 'Pac Man,' 'Asteroids' or 'Space Invaders'? This is akin to demonizing politicians who admitted to listening to, and being fans of rock-and-roll 50 years ago."

    Additionally, while the Republican party claims that that Lachowicz spends "hundreds of hours playing in her online world," Lachowicz says "WoW" was never a central part of her life. And that is a common misperception — that if you enjoy playing video or computer games, you must have an addiction to it.

    Though Lachowicz concedes that some people do have a problem with playing "WoW" too much, she says that has never been the case for her. In fact, she hasn't logged into the game for about a month. And before that, she hadn't had a chance to play since January.

    Why? "I've been busy running for office," she says. And that's not the only hobby that has suffered because of her political ambition. "I also don’t do much knitting anymore either."

    As for the comments Lachowicz has made about playing "World of Warcraft" — comments in which she has, for example, professed her love of stabbing things and, yes, used derogatory terms for Tea Party members — "Many of those comments go back to 2005 or 2004 and they are taken out of context," Lachowicz says, pointing out that anyone who has ever played a game like "WoW" knows that enjoying fighting is all part of the game.

    But she adds, "I would say I’m sorry if some people are offended. I certainly I said those comments before I knew I was going to run for office."

    Welcome to the modern digital age — the age when anything you type online can and will be used against you.

    "I work primarily with young people — teenagers and young adults — and I think, 'What kind of message is this for us to send to them?" she says. "That every little tweet you might have done or Facebook posting or comment on an article, that this is going to come back to haunt you? Are we really going to go back years and years to try and drag people through the mud rather than talk about the issues?"

    The people respond
    As stunning as the entire experience has been for Lachowicz, it could, in fact, work in her favor. Gamers around the world have been coming to her defense in online forums and on her candidacy Facebook page, cheering her on and pledging her support with comments like this:

    "Good to see you standing up for your beliefs and hobbies, the country needs more people like you to lead it, we need people who are willing to share their hobbies and show they are normal people just like everyone else. Thumbs up to you."

    "As a one time WOW player, retired NYC Police Det. and a person way older than you :) I applaud you," writes William Crespo on her Facebook page. "It only shows your ability to interact with many, many people. I have met many people my age and older who still play WOW. My brother still plays and at one time it was my brother, my nephew, my grandson and myself all playing together... It's a great hobby."

    Even Republican gamers are coming to her defense. For instance, a woman named Kari Zielke sent the above photo to Lachowicz's campaign and to the Republican Party of Maine. "We may have different political views but I wont stand by while my fellow Horde are treated this way," she wrote on Lachowicz's Facebook page.

    Meanwhile many of Lachowicz's new supporters have pointed out that knowing she was gamer would make them more likely ... not less ... to vote for her.

    "That website won you every single vote from people under 30 and every single gamer vote for those over 30," writes Greg Hussein Kinney on Lachowicz's Facebook page.

    I asked Lachowicz what she thought of the idea that people might just vote for her because she's a gamer.

    "What I would say is that I knock on doors a lot and I talk to potential voters and I try to make a connection with them and be a real person," she said. "And maybe this is just the kind of thing that says I'm a real person. I do things just like everyone else does — like millions of other people."

    Indeed, Halpin believes the days in which the term "gamer" means something negative are very much numbered.

    "There still is a stigma, but the negative connotations are far less than they were even five years ago," he says. "With the assimilation of social and casual gamers and the proliferation of gaming types and styles, I think the clock is ticking."

    For now, Lachowicz says she is staying busy going door-to-door and preparing for the coming election. She's been so busy, she hasn't even had a chance to try the new "World of Warcraft" expansion, "Mists of Pandaria."

    In fact, when I ask her what she thinks about this panda-themed expansion — which has been somewhat controversial in the "WoW" world — she responds with the answer of a true politician: "I have no comment on the pandas at this time."

    It's honestly like the GOP A) Has found nothing better to harp about, so they are getting on her for playing a game played by millions of people all over the world and B) Has absolutely no freaking connection with this century.

    There are so many things that are worth debating and getting upset over, they choose to smack a Democrat down for playing WoW? Jesus Christ, the Republicans deserve to lose this particular election. Seriously, how dumb can they get?!?!
    Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

    Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

  • #2
    I'm not touching the political aspects of this, but that F%&%$g game WoW almost destroyed two of my children. I hate it with a mind-altering passion. It sucked the life force from them over a period of 3 or 4 years.

    And yes, I know how to parent. Computers are EVERYWHERE, are required for school. I had better things to do than see if my kid was playing WoW at a friend's house all day instead of engaging in appropriate boy activities.

    Comment


    • #3
      Be that as it may, (and I'm not gonna argue that point because I play Freecell and Risk on my computer, that's it) I honestly believe the GOP really showed themselves to be bleeding morons here...
      Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

      Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

      Comment


      • #4
        I find the whole thing ironic since video games have been becoming more and more "American" over the years. Games like Call of Duty or Skyrim are now almost as familiar as baseball and apple pie with my generation. The GOP needs to do some serious reassessments with their PR if they want to further avoid looking out of touch.
        "Draft beer, not people."

        Comment


        • #5
          I'm mildly addicted to Age of Empires III
          “He was the most prodigious personification of all human inferiorities. He was an utterly incapable, unadapted, irresponsible, psychopathic personality, full of empty, infantile fantasies, but cursed with the keen intuition of a rat or a guttersnipe. He represented the shadow, the inferior part of everybody’s personality, in an overwhelming degree, and this was another reason why they fell for him.”

          Comment


          • #6
            This fall in stadards must not be allowed

            Nowadays, people get things much too easy.

            Back in my day you really had to earn the title "living a bizarre double life".

            It would at least involve getting whipped while being tied down to a chair wearing ladies underwear. And not just once, because that would only be "curiosity". Noooo, you would have to go to repeated weekly whippings and like it. Even then it could be considered only "doing something to keep things interesting after years of marriage".

            Nowadays, you just have to unwind with a video game after a day of work to be called "living a bizarre double life".
            Well that is just not good enough! Standards must be maintained.

            You wanna be "living a bizarre double life" you better be doing something pretty outrageous on a regular basis!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by TopHatter View Post
              I'm mildly addicted to Age of Empires III

              I dabbled in Age of empires a bit myself. Then I got a new mac and could no longer play the old version. I quit cold turkey but I miss it every once in awhile.
              Removing a single turd from the cesspool doesn't make any difference.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by bigross86 View Post


                It's honestly like the GOP A) Has found nothing better to harp about, so they are getting on her for playing a game played by millions of people all over the world and B) Has absolutely no freaking connection with this century.
                Ben, this is not party specific tactics, but typical of both parties at state and local level campaigns. The local GOP is playing on lingering suspicions among a lot of ordinary folk that computer wonks and gamers are weird people. It's really a fill in the blank kind of thing. Every election season brings out these prejudices and that's how will go as long as we have democratic elections between parties. Is it stupid? Yes. Does it work? Yes.


                There are so many things that are worth debating and getting upset over, they choose to smack a Democrat down for playing WoW? Jesus Christ, the Republicans deserve to lose this particular election. Seriously, how dumb can they get?!?!
                Hey, I thought Jesus Christ was our guy. Anyway, if you look at all the thousands of local campaigns going on in this country all the time, you'll find no one party has a monopoly on seemingly ridiculous lines of political attack. It's not just this season. It makes no sense to say that the GOP should lose a national election because an independent county or state GOP campaign is leveling foolish charges against a Dem candidate.
                To be Truly ignorant, Man requires an Education - Plato

                Comment


                • #9
                  Two more republicans who would do better if they could keep their mouths shut.

                  Sometimes I think these guys are trying to throw the election. I understand the bigotry but no way can they say something so stupid weeks before the election.
                  Ark. GOP calls candidates' statements 'offensive' - Yahoo! News




                  RELATED CONTENT
                  Enlarge Photo
                  In this Feb. 23, 2012 photo provided …
                  LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Republicans tried to distance themselves Saturday from a Republican state representative's assertion that slavery was a "blessing in disguise" and a Republican state House candidate who advocates deporting all Muslims.
                  The claims were made in books written, respectively, by Rep. Jon Hubbard of Jonesboro and House candidate Charlie Fuqua of Batesville. Those books received attention on Internet news sites Friday.
                  On Saturday, state GOP Chairman Doyle Webb called the books "highly offensive." And U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, a Republican who represents northeast Arkansas, called the writings "divisive and racially inflammatory."
                  Hubbard wrote in his 2009 self-published book, "Letters To The Editor: Confessions Of A Frustrated Conservative," that "the institution of slavery that the black race has long believed to be an abomination upon its people may actually have been a blessing in disguise." He also wrote that African-Americans were better off than they would have been had they not been captured and shipped to the United States.
                  Fuqua, who served in the Arkansas House from 1996 to 1998, wrote there is "no solution to the Muslim problem short of expelling all followers of the religion from the United States," in his 2012 book, titled "God's Law."
                  Fuqua said Saturday that he hadn't realized he'd become a target within his own party, which he said surprised him.
                  "I think my views are fairly well-accepted by most people," Fuqua said before hanging up, saying he was busy knocking on voters' doors. The attorney is running against incumbent Democratic Rep. James McLean in House District 63.
                  Hubbard, a marketing representative, didn't return voicemail messages seeking comment Saturday. He is running against Democrat Harold Copenhaver in House District 58.
                  The November elections could be a crucial turning point in Arkansas politics. Democrats hold narrow majorities in both chambers, but the GOP has been working hard to swing the Legislature its way for the first time since the end of the Civil War, buoyed by picking up three congressional seats in 2010. Their efforts have also been backed by an influx of money from national conservative groups.
                  Rep. Crawford said Saturday he was "disappointed and disturbed."
                  "The statements that have been reported portray attitudes and beliefs that would return our state and country to a harmful and regrettable past," Crawford said.
                  U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, R-Ark., kicked off the GOP's response Saturday by issuing a release, saying the "statements of Hubbard and Fuqua are ridiculous, outrageous and have no place in the civil discourse of either party."
                  "Had I known of these statements, I would not have contributed to their campaigns. I am requesting that they give my contributions to charity," said Griffin, who donated $100 to each candidate.
                  The Arkansas Republican House Caucus followed, saying the views of Hubbard and Fuqua "are in no way reflective of, or endorsed by, the Republican caucus. The constituencies they are seeking to represent will ultimately judge these statements at the ballot box."
                  Then Webb, who has spearheaded the party's attempt to control the Legislature, said the writings "were highly offensive to many Americans and do not reflect the viewpoints of the Republican Party of Arkansas. While we respect their right to freedom of expression and thought, we strongly disagree with those ideas."
                  Webb, though, accused state Democrats of using the issue as a distraction.
                  Democrats themselves have been largely silent, aside from the state party's tweet and Facebook post calling attention to the writings. A Democratic Party spokesman didn't immediately return a call for comment Saturday.
                  The two candidates share other political and religious views on their campaign websites.
                  Hubbard, who sponsored a failed bill in 2011 that would have severely restricted immigration, wrote on his website that the issue is still among his priorities, as is doing "whatever I can to defend, protect and preserve our Christian heritage."
                  Fuqua blogs on his website. One post is titled, "Christianity in Retreat," and says "there is a strange alliance between the liberal left and the Muslim religion."
                  "Both are antichrist in that they both deny that Jesus is God in the flesh of man, and the savior of mankind. They both also hold that their cause should take over the entire world through violent, bloody, revolution," the post says.
                  In a separate passage, Fuqua wrote "we now have a president that has a well documented history with both the Muslim religion and Communism."
                  Removing a single turd from the cesspool doesn't make any difference.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I agree the stuff coming out is so mind mindbogglingly ridiculous. What's next 9/11 denial? Holocaust apologetics? Alien clones running the gov't. I suppose all of these have already been done in this "campaign". Its a sad commentary on the lack of critical thinking skills out there. It reminds me of what a fundamentalist "Christian" friend said to me once "I tried thinking for myself - it only got me in trouble". Blind faith in the party of your choice?
                    sigpic"If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
                    If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children."

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by USSWisconsin View Post
                      I agree the stuff coming out is so mind mindbogglingly ridiculous. What's next 9/11 denial? Holocaust apologetics? Alien clones running the gov't....
                      ....claiming the President was secretly born overseas & then his parents snuck a birth notice into a Hawaiian newspaper & faked up a birth certificate knowing that one day he would run for President....
                      sigpic

                      Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I'll add to the list 9/11 was planned by the CIA/FBI, bush stole the election (twice) and my personal favourite, a senators fervent belief that Guam would roll over if the US military based any more equipment and people on it.

                        Congressman's island-capsizing query goes viral | Politics and Law - CNET News

                        This particular chappie was happily re-elected.
                        The simple truth is America represents ALL its people, both in it's elected and it's electors, and that includes your abundant supply of loonies.
                        With any luck Lachowicz will put her skills to work on the armed services committee or some such.
                        In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

                        Leibniz

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Parihaka View Post
                          I'll add to the list 9/11 was planned by the CIA/FBI, bush stole the election (twice) and my personal favourite, a senators fervent belief that Guam would roll over if the US military based any more equipment and people on it.
                          The righties during the Obama years choose to display the same behavior as the lefties during the Bush years.

                          So I now have the same low opinion of righties, where I now dislike libertarians as much as communists.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            I'll bet this stupid attack ultimately helps Lachowicz in her bid - the people complaining about this weren't her supporters anyway.
                            sigpic"If your plan is for one year, plant rice. If your plan is for ten years, plant trees.
                            If your plan is for one hundred years, educate children."

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by FJV View Post
                              So I now have the same low opinion of righties, where I now dislike libertarians as much as communists.
                              Aye well, you're kind of stuck then. I have a high opinion of BigFella, Astralis, Dalem and of course JAD, because despite being from the left and right, all can put their point of view lucidly and argue their position from knowledge.
                              In the realm of spirit, seek clarity; in the material world, seek utility.

                              Leibniz

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