an unpleasant confrontation.

[Pepsquad]

[ QUOTE ]
axioma, I'm suprised you told her the truth, only now do you realize that outside of us here, very few admire the professional gambloor.

In any case, the defence everyone should use for being a professional gambloor are:

Capitalism/Communism

If anyone has the audacity to berate you for choosing to make a "legal" living because they don't think it's ethical, always bring up Karl Marx and Communism and talk about the evils of capitalism and how its the Bourgeois who daily buy and sell peoples lives and souls with no regard for the Proletarian and how you are stuck in the system and everyone who stands by and lets it happen is apathetic and therefore to blame. (Mention governments and Africa too)

They will usually back off instantly as Communism and political ideas are deep concepts and most people who judge you on the surface of things won't have the apt to get into it.

On the off chance one of your McCarthiast rivals mentions the USSR or Cuba point out that Communism was never present in the USSR it was Stalinism under the guise of Communism and that Josef Stalin killed more than 20 million people and was a sociopath and made Hitler look like an amateur, but you never hear about Stalin ... hmm I wonder why?

If Fidel is brought up, you can make more character assasinations about Castro and/or blame the US for some of the atrocities they have committed towards Cuban people in an effort to get to Castro. (Bay of Pigs for example)

Cheers,
SDM

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a great idea! Just BORE them all to hell with something like this next time.

[sexdrugsmoney]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
axioma, I'm suprised you told her the truth, only now do you realize that outside of us here, very few admire the professional gambloor.

In any case, the defence everyone should use for being a professional gambloor are:

Capitalism/Communism

If anyone has the audacity to berate you for choosing to make a "legal" living because they don't think it's ethical, always bring up Karl Marx and Communism and talk about the evils of capitalism and how its the Bourgeois who daily buy and sell peoples lives and souls with no regard for the Proletarian and how you are stuck in the system and everyone who stands by and lets it happen is apathetic and therefore to blame. (Mention governments and Africa too)

They will usually back off instantly as Communism and political ideas are deep concepts and most people who judge you on the surface of things won't have the apt to get into it.

On the off chance one of your McCarthiast rivals mentions the USSR or Cuba point out that Communism was never present in the USSR it was Stalinism under the guise of Communism and that Josef Stalin killed more than 20 million people and was a sociopath and made Hitler look like an amateur, but you never hear about Stalin ... hmm I wonder why?

If Fidel is brought up, you can make more character assasinations about Castro and/or blame the US for some of the atrocities they have committed towards Cuban people in an effort to get to Castro. (Bay of Pigs for example)

Cheers,
SDM

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a great idea! Just BORE them all to hell with something like this next time.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, the idea is to debate with the woman the idea of Capitalism and its positives and negatives for society and humanity.

His confronters argument is something along the lines of 'his occupation being "wrong" for society because of its increased potential for harm among some people' with the underlying notion that 'he can do something better to benefit society'.

The problem is if you say that, you have to ask yourself what is society and take a good look at it.

Hard cold facts are that a large portion of professions are quite unecessary for humanity to function, ofcourse law, medicine, science, education, and food production notwithstanding. (I'm sure there are a few more)

So really, if axiom sold mobile phones for a living, he wouldn't have got any static from that lady. Yet a mobile phone salesman is not an essential part of society. While mobile phones may be a welcome addition to the fast paced post-modern lifestyle, most people who use them don't *need* them, in fact very few people outside of urgent situations need a mobile communication device.

So in truth, whether axiom sits at a 10/20 table at his casino dragging an occasional pot of someone who can't really afford to lose the money, or he stands in a shop signing up someone to an overlong contract on an overexpensive phone the user doesn't really need and can't afford to pay for (but the credit company will pass him because they don't care) there is *no* difference.

A poker player contributes nothing to society, neither does a mobile phone salesman, neither do insurance salesmen, neither do etc etc. (too much [censored] we don't need)

The counsellor may percieve her job to be of importance, yet one would ask how important her job would be and the need for it in a perfect world. If she deals with alcoholics and gamblers well then Capitalism has alot to answer for there, and it opens up a number of debates ranging from the legality of alcohol, to a free market system, etc etc.

If she is going to come out attacking him, she needs to herself step back and take a look at the world, and maybe she would see things differently.

And if nothing else, you bore her to tears and she runs away ... both work. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[sexdrugsmoney]

PS - You commited a heinous act of duckslaughter, don't ever do it again and make sure you feed them everytime you go fishing from now on. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Xhad]

The overlooked assumption here is that your income source has to benefit society somehow. Is poker the only thing you do with your life?

Do you keep up with current events? Do you pay your taxes honestly? Do you vote? That's a lot more than can be said for many people with "real" jobs (jobs that, as sexdrugsmoney said, society at large could do without).

Someone once told me that he didn't like homosexuality because gay people aren't reproducing and contributing to the perpetuation of the species; I replied that society could use a gay microbiologist more than a Wal-Mart cashier with five children. By the same token, if given the choice between a poker player who contributes to society outside of the job, and someone whose position can be summed up as "random corporate middleman" who spends all his spare time watching TV or cheating on his wife, evades his taxes and either doesn't vote or votes based on little information ... keep playing cards.

[axioma]

"The overlooked assumption here is that your income source has to benefit society somehow."

this is exactly what i based part of my defence on. i told her that as far as i am concerned, the sole purpose of a job is to pay the bills, and to allow me to live a confortable life. the assumtion that i as a person add nothing to society because my job does not acomplish this is obviously false.

she also made another false assumption in her arguments (if you could call it an argument), in that all addicted gamblers are losing poker players. again, this is obviously not the case.

[KingCon]

You shouldve kicked her in the balls, because of the 2 in the conversation, she obviously is the one with them. Why even stand there and listen to someone belittle what you do? Tell her to F Off and that nothing she says is going to change your mind, then walk away.

[jmgurgeh]

You should have replied that it adds a great deal of intellectual curiosity to both your life and those who you correspond with. Additionally, it allows you to (probably) work shorter hours with no commute and have more time to spend with family and friends, both of which are a hell of a lot more than most people with "real" jobs contribute. Why exactly is poker no good but trying to condition people into buying some shitty product through the use of sensationalist marketing is just fine? What about people who are addicted to shopping?

Then you should have asked what she contributes to society as a bitch. You aren't changing her mind no matter what you say, so the only thing left is to amuse yourself. Next time try to have fun with it.

[coffeecrazy1]

The problem with this is that she is reacting emotionally, not logically...she just thinks she's reacting logically. There is no sense in trying to reason with her, so either brush her off before she can get wound up, or, if you feel like having some fun with it(as I often do about other things), play right into her worst fears.

Her: What do you do?
You: I play poker for a living.
Her: Do you think that's ethical?
You: Of course.
Her: I think that's it's evil.
You: (Paraphrasing Churchill) Yes, and I think you are ugly, but I could stop being a poker player at any time.

[Dov]

[ QUOTE ]
Her: What do you do?
You: I play poker for a living.
Her: Do you think that's ethical?
You: Of course.
Her: I think that's it's evil.
You: (Paraphrasing Churchill) Yes, and I think you are ugly, but I could stop being a poker player at any time.

[/ QUOTE ]

ROFLMAO

PERFECT [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[Autocratic]

So a counselor was basically lecturing you because you take people's money for a living?

It's a cold one in Hell.