This is why the system fails....(Political rant)

Australian bent here, but could apply anywhere really


www.theage.com.au/national/jai…

Pokies (slot machines). A blight on modern day Man. Sinister machines giving false comfort to those who become lost to society. A systemically flawed approach to entertainment that draws in people like the lady in the article above.

Who won here? She didnt. Her kids have lost their mum. Nor the bank....and they are usually big winners and will always be due to the nature of monetary policy and a right wing ethos of capitalism for all....the big guys at the pointy end, but that will be another rant for another time. The only people that won here were the pubs/clubs she frequented, the machine creators (she would have had her favorites, never deviating much from them) and the real big winners; the State Government.

How did she slip through the cracks? Gamblers are a very creative bunch. Most of the time, the real problem gamblers, will have weaved a web of lies and sleight of hand for years, that all the little excuses and justifications become so plausible to those around them that it is normal. Someone once told me that the best spies that ASIO could ever hope for are gambling addicts. All the subterfuge that is poured into the hidden gambling lifestyle where there are no spectacular lies, all very believable; even if there is slight doubt, most will shrug that off and trust to a point....and this is one of the greatest weapons in a gamblers arsenal.

Creativity is poured into elaborate schemes for lost time and in this case for stolen money. There is nothing that will stop this once the trigger is pulled, apart from either getting caught or an epiphany of monumental proportions where the gambler can say enough is enough and come clean. With this ladies history, this was never going to happen....and somewhere deep inside herself she knew she was going to get caught and definitely hoping for it.

The toll and the burden grows as the losses multiply. Relief comes less and less as the wins are thrown back in for greater prizes....which never come. All the time dreaming of the big one and living a life of the giver, the extravagant, the centre of attention and freedom.

So now this person goes to jail. Not the first, not the last. System fail. Sure the bank could have had different techniques for fraud that would have picked this up, but humans are an ingenious lot and systems are cracked daily for all sorts of reasons...mainly just because they can. So when someone on the inside with in depth knolwedge does it, well you can read what happens.

And where can gamblers turn when all seems lost and the shame and guilt multiplies to suicidal proportions? You really think they want to do live this life? Sure some do, some dont care and some just enjoy it, but someone like this? Depression, broken home, abuse....for fuck's sake! Culpable driving gets less gaol time than what she got!!!

What the fuck is wrong here??

There are funded groups to help out, but the waiting lists are long and in reality you have to be very lucky to get someone who actually cares about what you have to let out. From the billions the government rapes from gambling losses....nary enough is put back in to prevention and counselling to cover the cost of tea and biscuits for funded groups.

www.austgamingcouncil.org.au/i…

Above is a little fact sheet. Revenue from gambling and percentages of what forms of gambling make that up.

www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vict…

Another news grab. 27 Billion lost to pokies in 15 odd years. Equates to approx 7 million per day in losses. And they want to increase the amount of pokies in the state to keep it in line with population growth....hahahahaha! I put forward earlier in this piece, that gamblers can make people, especially themselves believe the bullshit spin....well they are not the only ones trying to pull the wool over others eyes.

When is enough, enough??

Billions lost....but that is not the real cost. Societies ills are multiplying rapidly because no one is prepared to say stop! The almighty dollar rules the roost. Socialism has been thrown out the window for what exactly? Even in politics, the flag waving socialists of the Labor left are silent nowdays as the centre and the right jockey for positions of power to exploit the one resource they have left at their disposal.

We the people.

This lady needed help. She didnt need a 3 year gaol term, or the loss of her children....she needed someone to help her....and the system failed once again. The proportion of problem gamblers grows daily in this state. Mental illness is on the rise....and the days for many get darker as we all slide into a more chaotic world where everything just whizzes past way to fast for us to do anything about anymore. Oblivion is at our doorstep and I am more than a little concerned that maybe there is n ot enough people out there who give a damn any more.

How much does everyone yearn for those days where life seemed a little slower, a little more relaxed where the time was ours to live....breathe....and just be? Is that just me? No I dont think so. There are many, and it seems that the conscious collective is growing.

Are we headed for another social protest similar to the 60's? Where this time the hippies of that era, who now rule the corporate roost (irony much?) are now the antagonists for this new push towards a new form of enlightenment?

Fuck I hope so.

So where to now though? Why is this addiction so bloody minded in its ability to drag even the strongest people in on one push of a button? Why do the governments we elect to ensure that we are looked after from a colective perspective so beholden to the almighty pokies dollar? Where has the collective gone? Has our right to stand up and protest been lost to the perceptions we hold of oursleve and want to convey to others, ie not being who we truly are instead falling into wanting others to believe something else?

Why cant we say no?

More and more people are turning away from reality and do not want to know any more. How long can that go on for....before it is too late for us all??

Anger is bubbling to the surface. Social bent raising the flag. Defiant and upset.

This just has to end.