He's 19 years-old, the son of a Baptist minister, and president of his class at Lehigh University, where he also plays Cello in the orchestra.He is Greg Hogan, and he was just arrested for robbing a bank in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
USAToday writes: That Hogan would be accused of such a crime is the talk of the Bethlehem, Pa., campus.
"It's really ironic," Kathleen Haselton, a freshman at Lehigh from Easton, Pa., said Tuesday. "He's not the type of person who you would think would be involved in that. He's going to a prestigious college. ... Everybody's talking about it."
Why did he rob the bank? Drugs? Stupid, irresponsible cry for attention? Paying off a loan shark, maybe?
Oh no. According to Hogan's attorney, it is because he is addicted to Internet poker, and had to pay off his gambling debts.
In a laughable article at Morning Call, this kid is actually portrayed as a "victim" of the dangerous Internet poker craze. "It's everywhere and now it's even on the Internet, where there is almost no controls,'' [ William N. Thompson, professor of public policy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas] said. ''You can expect it to get worse, and you can expect to see more and more college students fall into it."
Here's a non-expert opinion: maybe this kid just totally fucked up, and didn't consider the consequences of his action. Guess what? It happens. He'll have his trial, where he can make his case, and he'll deal with the outcome. He's rich, and from a privileged family, so it's doubtful he'll get more than a slap on the wrist. But trying to place the blame on the Internet poker bogeyman is just ridiculous. What would Hogan's laywer have done ten years ago? Blamed heavy metal and D&D?
1. "What would Hogan's laywer have done ten years ago? Blamed heavy metal and D&D?"
Your tone there in the article seems to be sarcastic, but that's probably exactly what would happen. It's the same thing with video games now, too. People refuse to take any responsibility for their actions anymore; it all has to be blamed on some other aspect of society. It makes me sick. Video games didn't make you beat that old lady and take her purse, you CHOSE to do it. Internet poker didn't make you rob a bank, you MADE A CONSCIOUS DECISION to do it. I swear the fearmongering and blaming in the press today just royally pisses me off. I won't even watch the news. It might make me go out and kill someone...
Posted at 4:44PM on Dec 15th 2005 by kaellinn18