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What? Gambling certainly gets you status - walk around Vegas and check out the businesspeople playing together. Or for a non-casino version, read about people
by Bartweiss 10y ago
What?
Gambling certainly gets you status - walk around Vegas and check out the businesspeople playing together. Or for a non-casino version, read about people playing Liar's Poker on Wall Street (in, aptly, Liar's Poker).
And on a smaller scale, it gets you enjoyment. I've had some fun times playing low-minimum blackjack, chatting to other players and the dealer. It got me "nothing at all", but in the same sense that a concert or the markup on drinks at a bar gets you "nothing at all".
- coldtea 10y ago>Gambling certainly gets you status - walk around Vegas and check out the businesspeople playing together. It's the money (they can spend) that gives those businesspeople status. Nobody looked at them and said "they are gamblers, hence they have status". >And on a smaller scale, it gets you enjoyment. Heroin too. But nothing lasting and nothing sociably valuable.
- Bartweiss 10y agoOk, but I'm not a gambling addict, and most people who gamble don't become addicts. I know people who are literally homeless because they'd rather spend their money following bands around. Some of those bands are too niche to be "socially valuable". Does that mean we need to equate music with heroin, too? The existence of addicts, or the lack of a social movement or physical product, does not determine whether something is worthwhile. Applying your standard would cut out everything up to "going for a walk in the woods", unless by socially valuable you just mean "things I find aesthetic".