While many would not openly admit to playing World of Warcraft, one Maine senatorial candidate does, and because of this, her opponents are ripping her apart. Colleen Lachowicz, a Democrat from Maine, is being slammed by the Maine Republican party for comments she made while in game, and for playing it, too. All of this video game hate brings up a few questions that I would like to address: Why does playing World of Warcraft automatically stigmatize you? Better yet, is what you do in the privacy of your own home anyone’s business but your own? Many people choose to play video games in their spare time, and is it really right to judge a senatorial candidate for something that many normal people choose to participate in on a daily basis?
The forty-eight-year old senatorial candidate controls an Orc Assassin Rogue named “Santiaga” in game, but her opponents apparently don’t care about that. What they do find interesting are the comments she makes in game to her fellow guild members and to other participants in this online world. The Maine Republican party has stated that they are concerned about what she says in game, remarks that they deem crude and violent.
This seems absolutely ridiculous to me. Whenever I play Mario Kart with my friends, we always shout incredibly vulgar and inappropriate things that should never reach anyone’s ears; does that mean I’m not fit to be a functioning member of society? Coming from a household where my brother plays World of Warcraft, I can definitely relate to listening and being repulsed by the complete garbage that my brother says, but who am I to deny him anything? You can’t fairly judge people based on the type of video games they play, or what they say in-game. Gaming almost brings out a different stream of consciousness, one that is not fathomable to a non-gamer, a mental state that is purely competitive.
There is even a website dedicated to some of her most interesting and vulgar statements called colleensworld.com. All of these quotes are taken out of context, so is it really fair to be appraising her quality as a candidate based on in-game quotes to her online friends? In game chat is much different than real life, and I can attest to that, seeing as I’ve been forced to stay up many a late night listening to my brother’s garbage mouth. After all, she is at level eighty-five, and with that much dedication, who is to say that she won’t put that much effort into being a senator? Clearly she is dedicated, which is not at all a bad thing, especially for someone who is running for a position of power.
The point is that as long as no one is being hurt and nothing illegal is being done, then why does it matter to anyone but the involved parties? Let Colleen enjoy playing, especially with her totally awesome level eighty-five Orc: please, it’s something that keeps her occupied in her free time that isn’t at all detrimental to society or herself. Everyone has something embarrassing that they don’t like to admit, and Colleen is embracing her inner nerd wholeheartedly. She has taken control of this storm of slander and turning it around. She’s not even fazed by the haters, and why should she be?
Colleen should not be ashamed of who she is or what she does in her free time, it ultimately won’t affect her job or anyone else in the state of Maine, unless they happen to be playing WoW with her. People who game can be productive members of society, and I don’t think it’s fair for the Republican Party of Maine to use her hobbies in order to bring her down. It certainly doesn’t change my mind about her, even if World of Warcraft does have a questionable reputation. •
