Warning: This is Not a Game
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 10:14AM ;)
With the House of Representatives vote yesterday to create two casinos and to allow slot machines at race tracks in Massachusetts, I want to take the opportunity to vent about one of my pet peeves: lying though choice of words. You can easily identify lying politicians by the way they talk about things: do they use real, honest words to describe things, or do they use words that destort reality?
Case in point: whatever you think about legalized gambling, you should beware of politicians who refer to it as "gaming." I like games. I play chess frequently, enjoy scrabble from time to time, and will never pass up the chance to participate in a classic like Monopoly. I like computer games, too. I play chess on my phone and have enjoyed various strategy games over the years. Putting money into a slot and pulling a lever is not a game. There is a word for it: gambling. Other activities that take place at casinos like playing cards are games if they are not played for money. When played for money, however, they are more accurately described, as gambling.
Gambling. We have a word for it. Don't trust anyone who calls it gaming. They are gaming you and should not be trusted with your tax dollars.
Reader Comments (6)
Ken by your definition would professional baseball not be a game since it is played for money?
Nathaniel,
When people bet on the outcome of a baseball game, that is gambling not gaming. The players are professional athletes, not gamblers, since they are paid salaries. So, yes, baseball is a game, but betting on it is not.
Ken
Nice post Ken. Gamers can be gamblers, sometimes even gambling on gamers, but gambling gamblers definitely aren't gamers.
Well said, Shawn. Reminds me of an Ogden Nash poem.
"Greater Boston" aired on 4/17/2010 on WGBH touched on this same point.
Ken, I agree with your linguistic awareness of word choices. "Gaming" is a minimalization of the ravage called gambling. I am very opposed to this proposed legislation; gambling is an addiction that wreaks havoc on individuals and families.