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Post by Punkrabbitt on Dec 29, 2017 21:57:46 GMT -9
I've been working on some WW2 Manchuria buildings. I thought it might be fun to put some Japanese propaganda posters on them. They look pretty good on the computer screen, I hope to print and build them next week. I am also putting together a sheet of Machukuo (the Japanese puppet state in Manchuria) flags, and some more propagands posters to add to my existing ruined buildings as well.
The problem is, after I started on it I really began thinking about the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and Nanking and how awful it was. Now I am depressed o.0
This was supposed to put me in a good mood, not make me worse...
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Post by Vermin King on Dec 30, 2017 6:35:25 GMT -9
It doesn't really matter what ethnicity or nationality, there are few (probably none) that don't have skeletons buried just under the surface. Some folks choose to blow off the atrocities and pretend they didn't happen. Others truly believe they didn't happen. Some folks believe that mentioning these is a hate crime. The only real control (per Michael Crichton, et. al.) is the control of history.
I have a sense of impending doom that today's view that you shouldn't talk about the ugly side of history, except to prove a point is absolutely wrong, and points us down the path of history repeating. Stalin once said something like 'Killing one person is murder, a dozen is an atrocity, but killing thousands is just a number'. Covering up historical atrocities because they make folks uncomfortable, only makes it more likely that they will happen again.
If you have to walk away from this, it is understandable. It is also an opportunity to promote (or provoke) righteous indignation about the crimes that occurred. Sometimes you just need to be angered by things that are not right. If it were me, I'd make the evils that occurred a part of the game, and one of the goals of the game should be to stamp out the evils. There were evils on both sides, you know, but concentrate on the biggest ones.
The game could be a way to purge the elements that are so depressing.
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Post by Vermin King on Dec 30, 2017 7:48:21 GMT -9
After our DnD group broke up, I started playing wargames with someone who was into them, but I didn't enjoy them nearly as much. Part of that was that I am a history buff and looked into the conflicts and causes.
Wreaking havoc on fictitious creatures, rather than unnamed real humans, was just more fun
Wargames were a lot more fun when we played in 'alternate universes'.
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Dec 30, 2017 13:49:29 GMT -9
I was significantly depressed yesterday before I started on the project o.0 Today I can handle it perfectly well. While I was driving (7 hours to my in-laws) I even came up with some more ideas for Japanese-occupied scenery. It's hard for me to stamp out the evil, I am the Japanese player lol! I appreciate your considerable commentary on the subject. I agree with you. I could add to it, but the foam flecks at the corners of my mouth would show in my message and would cross the line from family friendly Someone important once said, "those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it" or some such...
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Post by Vermin King on Dec 30, 2017 14:03:32 GMT -9
Well, you could 'enlighten' the other players...
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Post by Punkrabbitt on Dec 30, 2017 14:36:42 GMT -9
Lol, they know! We had a little discussion about it a couple of weeks ago. Interestingly, I will play WW2 Japanese despite their atrocities, but I will not play WW2 Germans because of their atrocities. A bit of a double standard, I admit.
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Post by okumarts on Dec 30, 2017 17:16:39 GMT -9
I must admit the whole war thing kind of interests me in a way as a RPG setting. I have some fond memories of my Maquis team in the Behind Enemy Lines RPG, even though they all died horribly in a barn. I've been tempted to run this: www.drivethrurpg.com/product/196284/OWB001-WWII-Operation-WhiteBoxIt is compatible with Whitebox/1st ed. D&D so it would work well as a Weird War game, but I already have a weird war game called Warcana that I have been running for a while.
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Post by lightning on Dec 30, 2017 22:59:32 GMT -9
History of human kind is full of terrible things, but also of great! Usually the great happens when people realize the madness of the bad and start to evolve. So I think you are on a good path then Punkrabbitt !
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