For those of you who don’t know, Maryland residents voted on a referendum legalizing slot machines over this past election. “Question 2″ they called it, and everyone, as always, was unreasonably freaked out about it. They were signing petitions, writing newspaper articles, publicly bickering about it, etc. As if just voting wasn’t going to make that big of a difference on its own. But what got me was, you got it, FACEBOOK. Ahhh, my arch nemesis. Anyway, more specifically, it was this note on facebook that some retard I met at a party put up. It’s too long and annoying to post right here, but I’ll put it at the end of this entry. I also want to be clear that this is not intended to change anyone’s mind, because it already passed, I’m just gloating:
victory http://errordactyl.wordpress.com
Ok, so now that that’s out of my system, here are the highlights of that retard’s argument:
1) “there’s a lot that they don’t tell you”. Ok, here’s something they didn’t tell you. Well, they put it on the ballot, but i know you were too busy looking for the “NO” bubble to actually read it. So here it is:
question 2 http://errordactyl.wordpress.com
Wait, you mean to tell me that there will only be five licenses spread across the state, and most of the money will go to education?!?!?!?!! ASSHOLES!!!!! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO OUR CHILDREN? But seriously anyone that’s been to Vegas will tell you in a second that 15,000 slot machines in five locations spread over the state is not that big of a deal. But hey, maybe she’s right, maybe I’m reading it wrong because it’s virtually impossible to understand for a person of my intellect. If this is the case feel free to call me out, until then, I’ll be over here gloating about…
2) It will DEFINITELY NOT “cause a ton of crime.” You say this as if criminals just love slots and will randomly start going on killing sprees as soon as you fill out the “wrong bubble”. Sorry, but it doesn’t work like that. People don’t really do anything unless they have something to gain, there are crime problems in gambling states because the criminals control the gambling, this will not be the case in Maryland. The money in this case is going to EDUCATION, and unless school administrators are going to be running underground crime rings we have nothing to worry about.
3) “Addiction,” as if there aren’t more addictive things out there. Until you ban nicotine, alcohol, sex, pain killers, and caffeine, shut the fuck up. Don’t forget that as we make more money, and give it to EDUCATION, the addiction factor will go down. If you’re dumb enough to spend your kids college fund on slot machines you have bigger problems.
4) “People should spend their money on better things” like, let me see, “restaurants, shops, and other attractions” I think you said. Yea that’s more important that EDUCATION, too bad these slot machines weren’t around when you were in school. How about you just read my post about how stupid people shouldn’t bother voting.
Hi everybody, I’m just writing this to urge all of you who are voting in Maryland this Tuesday to vote AGAINST slot machines in Question #2. Please urge your family and friends to also vote AGAINST slot machines. Legalizing slot machines in Maryland would have enormous costs that would most certainly outweigh any possible benefits. Here are some specific reasons to vote AGAINST slot machines: WHO REALLY BENEFITS? Law-makers in favor of slot machines argue that the revenue generated would go towards education. Here’s what they don’t tell you: Question #2 was written by Secretary of State John McDonough, who worked for 20 years as a lobbyist for the gambling industry. Additionally, a significant portion of the projected slots revenue ($500 million) will go to the gambling industry. MY POINT: DO YOU REALLY THINK THESE PEOPLE CARE ABOUT EDUCATION?? THEY JUST WANT TO MAKE $$$$$ Even if some money does go towards education… AT WHAT COST? Countless studies and the examples of other states show us that slot machines and other forms of gambling have extremely harmful effects on society. ADDICTION: Slot machines are controlled by a central computer with programming designed with one objective: to take your money. Research shows that addiction levels jump sharply when gambling is nearby. The industry’s own numbers show that one to two percent of gamblers will have an addiction problem. Additionally, in Canada, a comprehensive study on slot machines revealed that between 58 and 62 percent of slot machine revenues come from gambling addicts. CRIME: Other states that have legalized gambling have experienced huge jumps in crime. For example, in the Mississippi Gulf Coast riverboat casino gambling was introduced in 1992. By 1994, murder, rape, robbery, and car theft in the area had at least doubled! This is just one example, but the same trend is seen when you look at the effects of gambling in Colorado, South Dakota, New Jersey, Connecticut, Louisiana, Nevada, and Illinois. LOCAL ECONOMY: Almost every dollar that goes into a slot machine would have been spent on another more productive activity. Gambling draws spending away from legitimate businesses like restaurants, shops, and other attractions. Employers are not interested in locating near gambling facilities. Businesses perceive gambling as a sleazy industry that promotes addiction and embezzlement. MY POINT: ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS WILL HARM SOCIETY AND COST MONEY TO FIX. IT’S NOT WORTH IT!!! These are just a FEW reasons and examples of how slot machines do more harm than good. If you want more information see: http://www.marylandersunited.com/files/casinogambling.pdf Please vote AGAINST slot machines on November 4th and send this information to every Maryland voter you know. Most people don’t know about the issue and the question on the ballot is VERY misleading. The only people who would benefit from slot machines are the people involved and connected with the gambling industry. PROTECT OUR STATE… DON’T LET THEM WIN!
