Using a word to sanitize 'gambling'
Within your masthead the words "Facts Matter" appear. As a matter of fact, your reporting on the fact of "gaming" has confused me. Maybe being in my 94th year has caused some befuddlement. Someone please help me sort it all out.
In the June 3 issue of the Daily Herald, on the front page and on Page 4, the word "gaming" appears nine times, and the word "gamers" appears twice. These words describe an extracurricular activity that might soon be sanctioned by the Illinois High School Association. In the June 4 edition of the Daily Herald, almost the entire front page is consumed with the bold faced topic of gambling. Again on Page 4 of this issue, the word "gaming" appears 11 times when describing the activity of gambling. Three of these times the Illinois Gaming Board (IGB) is referenced.
Now, the IGB is the official government agency overseeing gambling activity in Illinois. There are two other nongovernment groups dealing with gambling. They carry the names Illinois Video Gaming and the Illinois Casino Gaming Association. All three of these organizations appear reluctant to use the word "gambling" when, in fact, that is their focus. Can the down side of gambling behavior, its addictiveness and other negative features, be sanitized by simply calling it gaming?
Can the introduction of gaming at the high school level be a subtle way of endorsing gambling behavior as a way to consume a larger part of a young person's life? What is the fact of the matter named gaming? Help.
Cal Claus
Arlington Heights