Illegal gambling is notoriously hard to stamp out, because it is usually socially acceptable. A Philippine anti-gambling group wants to change that. From INQ7:
A man from a remote barangay in Central Luzon unwittingly placed a bet on “jueteng,†the underground lottery so despised by the clergy in his area.
He didn’t win the pot, but got an unenviable prize just the same: The infamy of having his name displayed at the local chapel as a “sugalero†(gambler).
A new movement formed by antigambling advocate, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, is planning a similar shame campaign to discourage people from gambling, whether legal or illegal.
“We would like our chapters to come up with their own creative approach against gambling,†he said yesterday in a press conference launching the Krusadang Bayan Laban sa Sugal.
The new group was the archbishop’s answer to what he called the Arroyo administration’s relentless promotion of a “gambling culture†in the country.
Like you, I wondered what a barangay is. It’s something like a village or ward.
Maybe this’ll work, but I think that it only have a chance if “sugalero” has negative cultural connotations. In the US, it’s doubtful that most people would find being called a “gambler” a mark of shame; Kenny Rogers, at least, embraces the label.