In response, a Democratic congressman sent a list of Dungeons & Dragons demons to the Republican candidate, who claims that “demonic possession” is real.

 

 

This is not the first time Dungeons & Dragons has been seen as a demonological tool in America. The “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s, which sometimes saw role-playing games as a recruitment tool for satanic cults, played no small part in the rise of fundamentalist Christian political activism. Few could have predicted that Dungeons & Dragons would be mentioned again by politicians in 2022, yet that is exactly what happened. Fewer still would have thought it would be brought up in connection with the veracity of demonic possession.

The mention of Dungeons & Dragons comes from US Congressman Ted Lieu, representing California’s 33rd District in Los Angeles County.

Lieu made a post on Twitter in which he linked to an article entitled “15 Most Powerful Demons in Dungeons & Dragons,” going so far as to say that he had played the tabletop role-playing game himself. If that were the full context, it would be relatively harmless. Unfortunately, the situation is much worse than that.

Lieu made the Dungeons & Dragons post in response to a CNN article about Kristina Karamo, Michigan’s Republican candidate for Secretary of State. The article was about Kristina Karamo’s comments, in which she explained her feelings about demonic possession. Karamo explained that when you have “intimate relationships with people who are demonically possessed or oppressed”, you can open yourself up to “possession. Demonic possession is real.” At the time, Karamo tried to link proponents of freedom of choice and women who had abortions with satanic cults and child sacrifice.

Karamo’s remarks hark back to the era of satanic panic in the 1980s, which never passed, but which has not been so dramatic in politics for a generation.

Perhaps that’s why Lieu chose to mention Dungeons & Dragons in his Twitter post if only to refer to a time when Dungeons & Dragons players were seen as Satanists. It’s happening again; only instead of Dungeons & Dragons players, it’s pro-choice and women seeking reproductive health care who are being targeted.

Lieu meant it as a snide remark to make fun of how silly the idea of demonic possession is by referring to the demons of Dungeons & Dragons. But they also suggest a strange insensitivity to a dire situation. Karamo is indeed the Michigan Republican candidate for Secretary of State. Although he is not doing well in the polls, he still has a realistic chance of winning a very important political position in 2022.

In recent years, we have seen that candidates who seem to be lunatic underdogs, can, unfortunately, sometimes ride the public mood to a surprising victory.

It is questionable how appropriate it is to joke about Dungeons & Dragons in this situation. Perhaps Mr Lieu could have been more specific with his references to the demon Fraz-Urb’luu or Pale Night, the Prince of Deception, whose proper form drives those who look upon him mad. Alternatively, Dungeons & Dragons players would probably prefer not to see their favourite RPG mentioned at all in the policy.

Source: Twitter

Dear GOP candidate @KristinaKaramo: Demons are stronger than you think. They don’t need an “intimate relationship” to do “demonic possession.” I played Dungeons and Dragons and know this for a fact. Here is a list of the 15 most powerful demons from D&D. https://t.co/F31T4kl3oJ https://t.co/URttac9Drw

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) July 3, 2022