The Hobby Which Dare Not Speak Its Name!

A coworker of my friend Richard is also a gamer.
However he and Richard must speak in hushed tones about this as the coworker is worried that other of their coworkers may find out.
Now we do live in Virginia, the home of Pat Robertson, but I don't think it is the condemnation of the Religious Right(tm) he fears... it is the ridicule of his fellow man. I find it strange that our hobby, as well as sci-fi and fantasy in general, is seen by major components of our society as childish or unworthy of the attention of 'regular' people.
This attitude is somewhat hypocritical too. What is a fantasy football league if not a type of wargame? You choose your players and combine them into the 'ultimate' team and pit your invented reality against that of your fellow fantasy footballers. Or you sit and argue the merits of past sports figures against those of today. Wargamers have been re-fighting Waterloo pretty much sence it happened, and they also try to convince each other that Patton (for example) could out general Alexander (for another example).
Roleplaying is just an extention (or niche) of the wider pasttime of playing 'what-if', and I feel it is long overdue that it should be allowed out of the closet and people should stop feeling that they have to hide their interest.

So, there it is. Nothing new perhaps but I feel better for giving voice to my opinions on the matter.