Only, I only said the “I am not amused” part. The rest of it was created by you.
If someone gives a reason, it’s perfectly reasonable for me to have an opinion about that reason.
So, you are objecting to the form or framing of my OP? In the same way that I am objecting to the form or framing of gambling? That’s an interesting comparison.
I will never have the patience for this kind of endless bickering and nitpicking. I offer the OP a hearty “bugger off” in its stead.
I’ve reached that point. Not sure why I bothered. The OP was answered right off:
No the contest format does not strike pretty much any of us other than them “as treating with disrespect the lives of your fellow humans”.
We think that contests as a format provides a structure for discussion. The “rules” of a “game” helps clarify exactly where analyses differ. Knowing who does better and who does poorly helps inform whose opinions to in the future take with more or fewer grains of salt. Which @Lance_Turbo explained as I did later. It does so with much greater efficacy than freewheeling discussions without having to make explicit choices which are then revisited after the fact (whether call them “predictions”, “bets”, “hypotheses” … or “fan theories” 
).
The OP is “unconvinced”. The OP finds anything that they imagine is somehow related to a game to be offensive related to Things of Grave Importance.
The vast majority here think the OP’s idiosyncratic definition of gambling is … different. That their specific sense that having a contest is disrespectful is way way off base.
I haven’t followed the midterm races closely enough to engage in any predictions myself but I have learned by reading the prediction contest thread and may try to read up enough to place my own “bet” … again, thank you @Lance_Turbo for your tradition of creating these very useful contest threads. They are much appreciated especially by those who think elections are gravely important.
After reading through this thread I can’t say more to the ridiculousness of the OP and the replies to well thought out posts so instead I’m going to call you out for butchering this quote. And this being the Dope I’m surprised no one else did.
“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.” ~ Mel Brooks
“Comedy is merely tragedy happening to someone else.”
–W.C. Fields.
Well yes, as you stated your position as a question, rather than actually stating your position honestly.
No, it’s your continued insistence that everyone else should find it distasteful that is stupid.
Right, because saying that people predicting the outcome of a senate race is like murdering your grandmother “sharpens” your analysis.
And it’s perfectly acceptable for me to think your opinion is stupid.
Yes, as I said, framing an objection in the form of a question is extremely disengenous on your part.
Not the same way, there is nothing disengenous about it, even if your definition of gambling had any relation to reality, which it doesn’t.
It is, actually, but only in that it is interesting just how you twist others words and act in a disengenous fashion. You know, acting like that is just like murder, you should be ashamed of yourself.
I am duly chastened. Hopefully, I will not be targeted by space lasers.
Mel Brooks’ Jewish space lasers? 
Of course. Ya don’t think a Hebrew of his importance and wisdom has access to the Space Lasers?
I always thought the royal “We” was capitalized. Divine right and all.
~Max
I’m spit-balling, but I believe it follows the same rule as “royal”, only capitalized when it’s part of a name (e.g. His Royal Highness Prince Charles of Edinburgh). In this case, “Karen” is a generic term.
If you are not interested in knowing the answers, because it’s just wrong to do x y or z, then why ask someone WHY they did x y or z? If you’re pissed that someone lit a cigarette in an elevator, then why ask why? Is there going to be an answer to accept? “Well, my doctor said that if I don’t smoke every 30 seconds, I’ll die.”
If you do want to know, by all means ask why. In this case, it doesn’t seem like you actually want to know the answers. So when people answer you, you are just telling them that they’re wrong.
Steve Martin – “My doctor said I wasn’t getting enough tar.”
To make light of things is one way people deal with stress and danger.