[Cathryn Crawford]

How is gambling bad for society in general?

[Political Junkie Too]

How is gambling bad for society in general?

When lottery tickets are "for the schools?" No, wait...

-PJ

[Mamzelle]

How is gambling bad?

A matter of perspective, judgement, moderation. Do you think we'd be taken aback (and that's what we are...nobody's got their pitchforks and torches out for Bennett) if we were talking about the guys getting together for poker, cigars, spitting, scratching, and swearing?

Millions of dollars in losses (if that's what it is) is surely lacking in moderation, and brings with it the taint of the swaggering Hollywood high-rollers who pay wads of cash for a brief thrill. Throwing that kind of money away is simply a contempt for hard work. Unseemly. Indiscreet. Tacky, tacky, tacky. "Waste not, want not."

Such glitter and excess is not the image that conservatives choose to ally themselves with. But he's hardly being lynched, you know, to have to listen to the annoyance and disapproval of his fellow conservatives. Bennett's a big boy.

I did not appreciate Jonah Goldberg's apologia--and I'm fond of Goldberg. Perhaps the elites ought to be aware of how they come across to us, the "rank and file" conservative, and take a few pains not to offend. Goldberg runs with the elites, perhaps, more than he's aware.

Bennett is a pundit. His fortune comes with a public.

[Stone Mountain]

How is gambling bad for society in general?

Before I answer, understand that I think gambling and other vices should be legal. Gambling is bad for society in the same way that alcohol or drugs are bad for society. The majority of people can handle them. But many cannot. Those who get addicted to drugs or gambling can cause great personal pain to themselves and their families. Now I tend to believe that when society attempts to prevent vices like these, it leads to greater harm to society than the vices themselves, but Bennett clearly does not believe this. He says that when someone smokes marijuana alone, he is responsible in part for the evils that large drug cartels perpetuate. Therefore, it is hard for me to fathom that Bennett takes no personal responsibility for supporting casinos that encourage people to gamble beyond their means, and who have taken advantage of those members of society who aren't able to control their gambling.