It’s the Lottery’s Fault?

I read an article today in one of the local newspapers about the 30th anniversary of the Vermont lottery and the possibility of expanding the lottery in various yet unsaid ways. What caught my attention about this article was that among the interviews of local folks about how they felt about this possible expansion of said lottery, one of the respondents declared that Vermont needs to take more responsibility for the people that play who have gambling addictions. Another actually stated that he was thinking of suing the State Lottery Commission because he had spent all his [family's?] money on lottery tickets was now broke, debt ridden and wifeless to boot.

Excuse me? Let’s wait one minute here. Broke, debt ridden and his wife left him? Now whose fault is that I ask you? The only one to blame for this individual being in financial and marital strife is the individual himself, not the State of Vermont.

Sorry buddy but you’ll get no sympathy from me. Shall I sue the Bicycle Playing Cards Company because I was too pigheaded to stop playing poker when I was ahead of the game and ended up losing my butt? It was obviously their fault that I lost my money. And which credit card company should I sue for providing my first wife the means to get way over her head in debt? It’s surely Visa and MasterCard’s responsibility to make sure she used her plastic responsibly, yes? It’s their fault that I ended up having to commit bankruptcy because I was too young and naïve to stop her, right?

Which bar do I take to court for letting me drink past my capacity to drive safely and then purposely ignored the fact I was actually going to ride my Harley Davidson home after closing time? Which of the many bars that I frequented during my younger days can I sue the daylights out of for letting me ride off, completely inebriated, on my 800 lb American made motorcycle to not only endanger my own life but other lives as well?

How much money can I suck out of an “establishment” because of my own stupidity and lack of responsibility?

I smoked for 28 years before I quit and it’s not the tobacco company’s fault or responsibility if one day I’m diagnosed with lung cancer and/or heart disease–It’s entirely my own for smoking cigarettes in the first place.

No Lottery Commission of any State in the Union is responsible for human stupidity and lack of personal responsibility. Have a problem with gambling? Then don’t play, it’s that simple. Yet invariably somebody out there is guaranteed to cry “gambling addiction is real! It’s a sickness! Oh, the poor gambler.” Well you go ahead and believe that if you want; to me it falls under the category of Ultimate Stupid People Tricks.

To the man whining about how the lottery commission is to blame for his current situation, here’s a wake up call. It’s your own fault, buddy! You cocked up your own life; no lottery commission did it for you so stop your whining and get your act together. It’s never too late.

Sound cold and heartless, do I? I don’t think so and no one who knows me would ever accuse me of being heartless. However, I have to admit that I have absolutely no patience or tolerance for this kind of moronic human behavior.

Even in myself.