So many things have been labeled “racist” and “systemically racist” since 2020 it’s hard to keep track. From policing, to housing, to the job market apparently systemic racism is everywhere. Who knew? Thank goodness we have experts to tell us. So, what’s the latest example of systemic racism? The lottery! Who had that on their 2022 bingo card? I didn’t!
I haven’t played the lottery in two decades, mostly because it’s a bad bet and I CHOOSE not to. That’s right. Playing the lottery is a choice. No one is holding a gun on anyone forcing them to buy scratchers, Powerball tickets, or to play keno. So, how can the lottery be racist if it’s a choice? Luckily, we have white people to tell us how! Check this out!
A CNN piece on Wednesday spoke with critics knocking the lottery system as a form of systemic racism that targets poor black and brown communities across America.
Researchers told CNN that despite the extremely low chance of winning, state lotteries still aggressively market the lottery and sell tickets to low-income communities at higher rates, thus misleading Americans to believe it will help them quickly generate wealth.
Okay so go remove it from all the stores in area where it’s mostly black ppl, then watch it still be racist because they don’t have the opportunity to play. No one’s making ppl spend money on the lottery this shit is stupid. pic.twitter.com/07xUiEF4AH
— Delacroix (@DelacroixHero) November 11, 2022
Well, if you haven’t read or heard anything incredibly stupid today, you are welcome! I live in a state that has had the lottery in place since the 1980’s. Lottery sales aren’t just restricted to black neighborhoods. You can literally buy lottery tickets EVERYWHERE. To assert they are marketed to poor black people as a way to get rich quick is patently absurd. My guess is if you go into the mountains of Eastern Kentucky where there is a sparser minority population, you will find that low-income people also purchase the most lottery tickets there as well. It’s not race, its socio-economic. However, that explanation doesn’t satisfy the race-baiters.
“These communities are disproportionately made up of Black and Brown people. Critics say the consequence is that marginalized people will be driven into deeper debt by a system that is transferring wealth out of their communities,” CNN’s Nicquel Terry Ellis and Justin Gamble wrote.
According to the research, lotteries are a regressive service, with low-income groups paying larger chunks of their budget on games versus their wealthier counterparts.
The piece also highlighted how stores selling lottery tickets are more likely to be located in poor communities of every state. The state money generated from the lottery sales often do not feed back into the communities, but rather into colleges and higher-income school districts.
Once again, nearly every grocery store, convenience store and gas station sell lottery tickets. Why wouldn’t they, as store owners get a cut of any winnings? What would be the impetus for store owners in wealthy communities for not selling lottery tickets?
Also, while it may sound mean, there is a reason that lower income folks tend to stay lower income. Bill Gates didn’t get rich writing checks and spending his money unwisely, however it is still a personal choice to play the lottery, so to label it racism is just ignorant.
At least one of the so-called researchers was being reasonable.
Jonathan Cohen, cited in the piece, appeared to disagree with the racial angle pushed by many researchers CNN spoke with. He claimed that the lottery often sees more players when the economy is suffering.
“And for folks who, especially black and brown Americans, maybe face discrimination in the traditional economy, well, the lottery doesn’t discriminate, anyone has just as terrible odds of winning,” Cohen said.
Cohen is correct about the lottery, even if he is wrong about discrimination in the traditional economy. Bottom line is, the lottery is a choice, and it’s a slow news cycle when the best CNN can come up with is to label it as racist.
