Why is it constantly necessary to do something to people? If we can’t do something for them, when are we going to learn to let them alone? Or must this incessant interference, this meddling, this mauling and manhandling, go on in the world forever and ever? – Samuel Milton Jones, mayor of Toledo, Ohio c. 1900
Today’s column is yet another collection of short articles on whores which have appeared in the news media recently; what can I say? If the mainstream media would talk to us as often as they talk about us public ignorance (and with it official persecution) would’ve been swept away long ago. This first item is paraphrased from an article in The Telegraph of Monday, October 25th:
For Their Own Safety
Spanish streetwalkers along a rural highway outside Els Alamus near Lleida in Catalonia have been ordered to wear fluorescent yellow bibs or pay fines of 40 euros under road traffic laws; police claim the sex workers on the LL-11 road are not being specifically targeted because of what they do but because they pose a danger to drivers. The prostitutes are in breach of a 2004 law which states that all pedestrians on major highways and hard shoulders must wear the high visibility garments. A spokesman for the regional police force said: “In the past couple of months the prostitutes have been fined for two reasons: for not wearing the reflective jacket and for creating danger on the public highway.”
Despite police claims, the order comes suspiciously soon after recent legislation in Els Alamus which bans prostitutes from soliciting in public urban areas; Mayor Josep Maria Bea has been accused of mounting a campaign to drive the sex workers out of the area. An estimated 300,000 women work as prostitutes in Spain, where prostitution is not illegal but “living off the avails” is. Streetwalkers on roadsides outside towns and cities are a common sight across Spain, and a recent survey found one in four Spanish men admitted to having paid for sex.
Apparently, Spanish men are either liars or the survey actually asked if they had paid recently.
Charlie Sheen, well known as a regular patron of hookers, was in the news again recently for going on a cokehead rampage and scaring the hell out of the working girl who was with him at the time. The following article was paraphrased from a New York Post article of October 26:
Charlie Sheen Trashes Hotel Room
Charlie Sheen, who left rehab only two months ago, allegedly trashed his room at The Plaza Hotel in the process of attempting to find his wallet and cell phone while high, authorities said.
Hotel security called police just after 2 a.m. after a prostitute called the front desk from the famed Eloise Suite and reported that Sheen had gone on a rampage and then passed out on the bed. Tables and chairs had been thrown around the room and a chandelier was also damaged, sources said; the damage to the luxury suite reportedly totaled about $7,000.
The star of the TV show Two and a Half Men was accompanied to New York Columbia Presbyterian Hospital by his ex-wife Denise Richards, who was staying in a separate room on the hotel’s 18th floor, sources said. Sheen was discharged from the hospital Tuesday night and is slated to return to rehab; he was only a week away from completing his probation, but told cops he was “out partying” and drinking and had snorted cocaine before he started tweaking, the source said. Sheen’s rep later claimed the actor was taken to the hospital after an allergic reaction to medication. Sheen was not injured, but checked himself into the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
Apparently, Sheen noticed his wallet and cell phone were missing soon after returning to the room with the escort and flew into a rage, sources said. The girl then called the front desk and reported that she feared for her life; a source for Life and Style magazine said, “Charlie was incoherent but started screaming slurs at the cops. They recognized him immediately and gave him two options: they could take him to the hospital or take him down to the station. Charlie chose the hospital.” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said no complaints were made and there was no arrest. Sheen was not expected to face any criminal charges.
Ah, cokeheads; once they start tweaking they get paranoid and then it’s best just to leave. I think it’s worth noting that if a hotel room was trashed by a coked-up non-celebrity, both he and the hooker would’ve been taking a ride downtown rather than offered a ride to a hospital. However, I’ll forgive Charlie because he’s the only famous man I can think of who had the balls to refuse to apologize and beg for forgiveness when caught with whores in the past. And when he was being sentenced for using a prostitute, the judge asked him why a man like him would have to pay for sex; Charlie replied: “I don’t pay them for sex. I pay them to leave.” Perhaps the judge is living in a fantasyland where men can get sex for free, but Sheen is smart enough to realize that only hookers come without strings.
Two Arguments About “Trafficking”
On October 20th this column was published in the Huffington Post; I’m not going to quote it because it’s just the usual farrago of lies claiming that suppressing prostitution is a good way to control the bogeyman of “human trafficking”, but following the link is worth your time for several reasons. The first is that the author, a graduate student at NYU (which could just as accurately called “PCU”) who clearly wouldn’t know a call girl if one sashayed up and snogged her, is obviously repeating the latest, trendiest party line from her PC articles and texts, which happens to be “Nordic Model” propaganda. The second is that the comments (including one from yours truly) is almost unanimously anti-prohibitionist and condemnatory of the lies this silly little girl thought she could spread with impunity (judging by her increasingly flustered responses to the comments). Though Huffington Post tends to be very pro-personal rights and has printed a number of pro-prostitution columns in the past, it still pleases me to see so many people recognizing that a woman’s right to control her body does not exclude sex.
Even more heartening is this article entitled “Sex Trafficking: The Abolitionist Fallacy” which one of the commenters linked; it was written last year but is still perfectly topical. Its author, Ann Jordan, is the director of the Program on Human Trafficking and Forced Labor at the Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, American University Washington College of Law. She is thus a respected expert in the REALITY of sex trafficking and a staunch anti-abolitionist; she even co-authored a letter to the U.S. federal government asking it to reconsider its prohibitionist policy, though as you might expect that has fallen on deaf ears. Still, it’s good to know that there are at least a few bona fide experts who recognize the prohibitionist propaganda for what it is and are willing to say so loudly and publicly.
Escorts.com Raided by FBI
The Philadelphia offices housing Escorts.com (a popular escort advertising site) and HotMovies.com, an adult video-on-demand provider, were raided by 100 FBI agents on Wednesday morning (October 27th). The FBI tried to pretend that the raid was pursuant to pornography charges and most sources of this story make that claim, but local cops who assisted in the raid leaked the information that “it was conducted in connection to an investigation into a prostitution ring.” The Philadelphia bureau of the FBI would not confirm this, but reiterated previous reports that no one was charged or arrested in connection with the raid. They also said that no news would be forthcoming from the FBI; “Any information about the raid will only come from the U.S. Attorney’s office, not our office,” said the chief agent. “And it will probably not be today, or for quite a while.” The PR officer for the US Attorney’s office in Philadelphia said even less; “Our office does not confirm or deny the existence or non-existence of investigations,” she said. CBS affiliate CBS Philly is reporting, however, that the raid was related to a prostitution ring investigation, but had no other information.
Clearly, somebody in the FBI wants to look good to the lowbrows, bluenoses and neofeminists right before election day; “prostitution ring” is cop jargon for an escort service or internet escort review and/or advertising site. By calling it a “ring” rather than a business, they hope to convince ignorant people that the escorts and owners are criminals (as in the term “drug ring”). If any of my readers advertise on Escorts.com, I suggest you cancel your ad immediately and do NOT under any circumstances see any clients calling from that ad. The FBI now has your information and will almost certainly be attempting to “sting” you so they can make a big show of arresting “human traffickers”.
Another Porn Influence
In yesterday’s column I talked about how fads which first appear in porn often work their way into the mainstream (such as complete removal or pubic hair). Well, here’s the latest example: Labioplasty, in other words cosmetic alteration of the labia. I decided to link the article rather than paraphrasing it because I want to use it to make another point: Note that the author makes the ignorant but increasingly common mistake discussed in my column of September 25th, using the word “vagina” to mean “vulva”. She keeps using the term “vagina sculpting” when she obviously means “vulva sculpting”; nobody can see what her vagina looks like without gynecological tools. There is such a thing as vaginoplasty, but it’s a different operation altogether and has nothing to do with appearance.
Those reflective yellow jackets are HOT! 😛
They might be hot, ant, but I wonder what the road safety implications are of people refusing to wear one in case they’re mistaken for a ho?
Re public hairs – Tracy Quan sent us a link to her latest wise words:
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/40444.html
Maybe the local workers will unite and start wearing brite pink jackets instead as a sign of unity! I actually have come up with a slogan for the group to use, but afraid Maggie might not appreciate my very twisted sense of humor
Like this one. http://wrenstorage.com/store/image.php?object_type=detailed&image_id=2911&window=popup
Chelsea-Lyn Rudder is a real cutie. I could see her earning some serious money as a call girl. She wouldn’t be willing to do it, of course. She’d only do it if she were coerced in some way. Unless she’s trafficked, it ain’t a’gonna happen.
And that’s fine. She doesn’t want to sell sex, she doesn’t have to. Throw the book, hard, at anybody who tries to make her.
But ease up on the women who DO want to sell sex. And while we’re at it, ease up on the men who want to buy it. Really, the Nordic Model is goofy. Just plain goofy. We wouldn’t do this if it were anything other than sex. Not even drugs. Would anybody, even the most dedicated drug warrior, propose a law that makes it legal to SELL drugs, but illegal to BUY them? No.
But don’t you know, Sailor? We’re all coerced, whether we know it or not. That’s the premise on which the “Nordic Model” is based; it is derived from Catherine MacKinnon’s sophistry about all heterosexual intercourse being rape because women under the “patriarchy” are like children and therefore incapable of giving true consent. Once one accepts the ludicrous premise, the “Nordic Model” is as logical as child rape law. 🙁
Well, yes, I suppose it does. A lot of things make sense if one accepts the premise. What Andrea Yates did makes perfect sense, if one accepts the premise.
That’s part of what you’re doing here: challenging the premise that makes the Nordic Model and similar things logical. And you keep right on doing it, babe. There’s a lot more than prostitution at stake.
Thank you, Sailor! I think you’ve actually made me blush. I don’t know if anything I say will ever change even one mind, but by Aphrodite it sure won’t be for lack of trying!
With regard to the HuffPo column, I will only say this. Slavery is the denial of freedom. It’s robbing people of the right to make heir own decisions, which is the very definition of what it is to be human.
I don’t take kindly to someone who advocates outlawing consensual activities at the same time as they claim to be against slavery. That they think I would fall for such an illogical argument is insulting. And I mean stunningly insulting. It ranks right up there with crushing my spine with a baseball bat and telling me its a massage.
The word is “doublethink”, and it’s become frighteningly common, especially among feminists. Another egregious example is insisting that in order to free women of “enslavement” to the “patriarchy”, society needs to paternalistically prevent individual women from doing anything the feminists consider to be submissive to men, thus “justifying” prohibition of sex work and mandatory prosecution laws for “domestic violence”. 🙁
Truer words were never spoken. You ought to send that sentiment to CNN (Attn: Amber Lyon).
I’m afraid I don’t watch TV; who’s Amber Lyon?
She’s just a sleazy third string reporter with CNN who put together a completely one-sided slash and burn treatment of the craigslist adult services controversy.
http://www.sexhysteria.com/2010/08/26/cnn-on-the-craigslist-witch-hunt/
For reference, the Fair Fund is an anti-prostitution activist group operating in the guise of a rescue organization. They apparently cooked up the catchy media-ready slogan that craigslist is the “walmart of online sex trafficking”.
Though I don’t voluntarily watch CNN, it’s often on the TV sets which most places of business now seem to consider mandatory in waiting rooms or informal dining rooms, and a few months ago I had the misfortune to see the rants and hate-spewing of that harridan Nancy Grace; it was at that moment I knew that the Fox News model had won. 🙁
The safety-vests are bizarre. Yes, it’s certainly targeting the sex workers, though I wonder if their business has increased since it’s easier to figure out who’s working. I also wonder if there are Spanish men developing a safety-vest fetish. After all, men fetishize EVERYTHING.
XX
Take a look at Ant’s comment at the top of the thread; it looks like he’s already starting! 😉
We do not! Why do women always to make us men out to be such perver… ooo, a girl wearing cat-ears!
Excuse me, I gotta go.
I did some research on these so called Human trafficking advocates and the main one is Dr.Farely and most of the others, collect doantions for human trafficking vicitms and then they spend the money touring the country like a politican, lying abou the number of people being exploited.
Then when we see PIMPS in the news arrested for forcing a women or child they get 5 years instead of the 25 for human trafficking.
REcently we have a cop that pimped a 17 year old out and plead guilty and only got 11 years, or how about the Boston courthouse cop theat exploited sex from 3 different women for sex right in the court house by threatening them with their pending court cases, he was not even charged with a felony and the jury said these women where not harmed, or the chief of police in Harrisburg PA who enagaged in a sex act with 13 different women and then arrested them for prostitution, or my favorite one is the town that spend 13,000 on lap dances and still couldn’t make an arrest. Your tax dollars at work.
Yet we see PREDATOR rape our children and only get 5 years.
When are we going to stop throwing VICTIMS OF POVERTY in jail. If a women is not in public and she is an adult, who she has sex with and for what is none of anyone elses business.
Houston is trying to outlaw all massage palors and the 287 spa’s right now pay 1.6 million in licesning fees, yet the only have one person for the whole state to check on businesses licenses, and these spa’s are paying taxes, who do they think is going to rent these 287 locations. these women pay 12% tax everytime they rent a hotel and are spending money in your local businesses. heck the 19 century madams financed most of the railroads and coal industry:)
Sex Workers have been the VICTIMS of some of the worst Hate Crimes of all, our current laws take away our SANCTION & PROTECTION under the law given to everyone else and it puts us in harms way. The life a life of constant harassment from the police and the public.
We also know no reasonable adult will report someone exploiting a minor is they fear being prosecuted. So criminalization actullay makes it easier for PIMPS and PREDATORS to operate.
Legalizing prostitution will be EXPLOITING these women too, because we will come up with stupid regulatins and licenses fee’s and women will be made to work in brothels, no choose which customers they want to see.
I say we do like Sweden and make it illegal to buy sex but no illegal to sell it or decriminalize willing consenting adults, and lock up the pimps and predators for 25 years.
We wonder why we have such a problem with bullying with our kids in the USA but look who we have TAUGHT SOCIETY to HATE HOOKERS, we think they get what they deserve and these women are abused by everyone through public stigma.
Where is or compassion for desperate middle aged women trying to put there kids through college and not end up homeless.
Hi Mrs. Robinson! As you know from reading my column I totally sympathize with your anger, but a lot of us who have studied the problem recognize that the “Swedish Model” is a disaster for two reasons, one practical and one philosophical. The practical reason is that tax dollars are STILL wasted pursuing clients by setting up fake escort ads, etc, and this aggressive pursuit cuts into women’s legal business by frightening clients; just imagine how badly a grocery store or theater’s business would suffer if there was a line of scowling cops outside arresting random people for trying to enter that business! The philosophical reason is that according to the “Swedish Model” all women willing to sell sex are victims who are not responsible for their own behavior; this is an incredibly dangerous idea because it sets a precedent for institutionalizing sex workers to treat their “problem”, i.e. brainwashing and drug therapy until they hate men and sex as much as the neofeminists running the programs (it’s already being done on a very small scale in some jurisdictions in the US).
You’re right that legalization (as in the UK and many other countries) is not the answer; that’s why prostitutes’ rights activists almost universally support decriminalization, where prostitution is recognized as a normal human behavior in no need of “regulation”.
Question of the day, what does a escort do when the FBI starts stalking them, they have been calling my cell number for a week now and they just hang up or if they get my voicemail they won’t say anything, it just records the silence and they are calling from 203 777 6311 New Haven FBI office.
I contacted the ACLU who told me to get an attorney and then I did have a consult with a criminal attorney who told me I need a civil attorney.
Does anyone have an ideas or suggestions, I am in fear of my life because law enforcment has been in the media regularly for raping and abusing escorts .
How do you get protection from LAW ENFORCEMENT when your being harassed.
This is, of course, one of the big problems of criminalization; law enforcement won’t protect you from law enforcement. My advice would be to get a civil attorney to file a cease and desist; there’s no way they can claim repeated hang-up calls from an unblocked number as an “investigation”. It’s just plain harassment, and that’s supposed to be illegal.
Hey good idea, but the johns need to be wearing them too, as well as any dogs in heat. A large percentage of male dogs hit by cars are hit because of the mass hysteria in the atmosphere as they wait their turn, same thing going on here with street walkers.