God is not happy with the proposed Suffolk Downs casino

What does God have to do with helping people in a low-income neighborhood?

For many of these people, everything. Yes, it is entirely possible to dedicate your life to helping others without bringing God along for the ride, but for these people, God is the motivator. I don't think that deserves mocking.

And yes, churches have done bad things and we do well to learn from their mistakes. I am sorrowfully acquainted with that history. However, I'm also acquainted with many of these priests and pastors and I know a little about what they've sacrificed to help others. I know about how they've taken in refugees, fed people in housing projects, provided a loving place for people new to the country, and trust me, none of them are getting rich by serving in Eastie.

I appreciate most of your comments, but I felt the need to call out the snarkiness aimed at some people trying to help. Perhaps we would do better to acquaint ourselves with the practices of casinos who want their customers to play to extinction and care much more about money than most clergy trying to make a difference.

Swirls , really , surely you have heard of Catholic Charities. Be nice now!

Then why doesn't he just burn the casino down?

I live up the hill from Kelly's and grew up in Saugus with relatives over here and in Revere. So, there's our bona fides for what that's worth. The trash around here in the streets is horrible. I know, I volunteer with groups over here working to improve the situation. I've done Boston Shines Days, park clean-ups and informational campaigns with youth on the topic. Some people who live in this neighborhood are trying to make it better.

You and Swirly really should get off the high hobby horse on the religion topic. I'm damn near an atheist at this point in my life (keeping in mind the priest at Blessed Sacrament in Saugus when I was born was John Geoghan) but if someone wants to have spirituality in their lives, knock yourself out, just don't try and convert me. These religious leaders are trying, like many other neighbors around here, to do what they think is right for their community. The community they're dedicated to serving (not just walking through after a night at Kelly's). I'm not going to get into the position of defending a couple few thousand years of shitty behavior on the part of organized religion, but you might as well complain about any and all conglomerations of humans that come together. They all end up killing people.

But the religion part just shows you and Swirly to be pretty self righteously uppity about plebes who rely on religion for whatever purpose in their lives, whatever. Have at it, just makes you guys look like Bizarro Westboro Baptists. The annoying part is to snarkily brush off efforts by people who are trying to improve things and then simultaneously bitch about what a dump the place is. Are you doing anything besides talking shit on the intertubes? Just one of those two shitty attitudes would be fine, but the two of them together really suck dry turds out of dead rats. Enjoy the buffet sunshine.

> "But when a massive casino (and one that will be the most profitable in the western hemisphere, according to the proponent) wants to move into your n'hood, you tend to take a different position."

No, I wouldn't. If there was any reason to drop it off in Brighton, they should feel free. As long as their comps are good and they don't gouge on the food prices, it'd be a nice change of pace to visit on occasion without even wanting to spend a penny (or 60 to get the 5x multiplier and cover all 12 betting lines) in the slots. If nothing else, it will be a more than just a mecca of gambling...it will be a cavalcade of commercial space. On off-season times, you can use it as a home-away-from-home without feeling the need to drop hundreds on a room at the Four Seasons downtown. Dozens of semi-fancy to fancy restaurants under one roof. Who knows, maybe we'll even get a Krispy Kreme back again like they have in Mohegan (the lines late at night at that place go down the hallway towards the garage!).

I just stayed at the Wynn in Vegas for a friend's destination wedding and if Wynn ends up being the East Boston winner (I honestly haven't kept track of who's bidding for which location), then this place is going to be extremely classy too and very generous to its patrons as well as its employees.

I get it. You don't want a casino and you're not thrilled about making money off of vices. I say we don't make ENOUGH money off of vices. That's what keeps them ugly vices that keep getting debated all the time. If we make them less profitable, then there aren't going to be as many places willing to open on the poor margins of profit and there's going to be fewer people willing to blow their money because nobody wants to put it all on one horse and then walk away 5 minutes later a loser...it doesn't feed the addiction. All of the bad things in the world are the playgrounds of the rich and the distractions allowed the paupers. There's no way to make that any different. The least we can do is make sure those who can't afford to do it don't do something stupid just for trying and that the rich fund the kinds of efforts we need them to fund and get a chance at a 100,000:1 shot so they don't think we only love them for their money.