Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies are. – Friedrich Nietzsche
It’s time once again (though relatively early this month) for my monthly collection of articles which hearken back to previous columns.
Think of the Children! (September 30th)
The considerable hysteria around child sexual abuse, which has grown to the proportions of a full-fledged witch hunt in which thousands of lives have been ruined, rests upon the belief that any sexual contact between two humans, at least one of whom is under the local age of consent, is inherently and devastatingly harmful, no matter what the circumstances. Yet, “playing doctor” was at one time very common among children, even children separated by a few years, and I’m not aware of any claims that practically the entire human race existed in a permanent traumatized state prior to the genesis of sex abuse hysteria in the 1980s. I’m not talking about rape or exploitative incest (which can be harmful indeed), but rather contact between children who are friends or voluntary contact between adolescents and adults. At one time it was common for girls of 14 or 15 to marry men in their 30s; are we to believe they were all irreversibly traumatized by it? And frankly, I’m highly skeptical of currently-fashionable claims that the average teenage boy considers being seduced by an adult woman anything other than fantastically good luck. What if most of the trauma associated with sexuality involving minors derives not from some mystical property of sex itself, but from the considerable fuss adults make over it when it is discovered (including endless invasive and uncomfortable interviews with creepy strangers asking highly personal questions), not to mention guilt over getting someone else in trouble?
Psychologists Bruce Rind, Philip Tromovitch and Robert Bauserman asked those questions, and in 1998 published a meta-analysis of 59 child abuse studies which found that, when physical abuse and other such factors were controlled for, university students who had experienced what authorities termed “child sexual abuse” (CSA) reported that “negative effects were neither pervasive nor typically intense, and that men reacted much less negatively than women. Basic beliefs about CSA in the general population were not supported.” But did the therapeutic and law enforcement communities breathe a collective sigh of relief upon hearing the good news that most of those kids weren’t as badly hurt by this “secret epidemic” as previously thought? Of course not! Therapists were unhappy at the prospect of a lucrative income stream being interrupted, and cops NEVER welcome the removal of excuses for harassing, controlling and destroying people. For their pains, the good doctors were widely vilified and even subjected to a vote of censure by the United States Congress, and since then the paper has been largely ignored except for misuse by child molesters attempting to defend their disgusting actions in court. This is particularly sad because, though child sexual abuse is relatively rare in comparison with physical abuse (beatings, etc), the sexual abuse gets vastly more money and attention due to its lurid appeal; the common problem with serious (sometimes fatal) consequences is therefore pushed aside in favor of a far less common one with less serious consequences. And that’s a damned tragedy.
Lack of Evidence (December 16th)
I’ve often pointed out that as long as prostitution is criminal not even amateurs are safe because, since prostitution is defined by its motive, no actual evidence of the “crime” is possible and cops are allowed to claim almost anything as “evidence” of it. Well, a particularly horrible example came to light on March 23rd as Amnesty International reported that Egyptian women arrested in last month’s protests were subjected to “virginity tests” and told that any who “failed” them would be charged with prostitution. Would these women have still been tortured if prostitution were legal in Egypt? Undoubtedly, but it would have been impossible to pass off a sort of medical rape as an “evidence-gathering” procedure for any other “crime”.
It’s a Start (December 30th)
It looks like New Orleans may really be serious about curtailing its long tradition of harassing prostitutes; according to a March 25th report by WDSU-TV, the NOPD fired two cops for arresting women on a charge of “loitering for the purpose of prostitution”:
The New Orleans Police Department terminated officers Beau Gast and Thomas McMasters on Friday after an administrative investigation…[which] revealed that both men falsified records and knowingly arrested two women on prostitution charges without a warrant…[both] admitted that they didn’t check to see if either of the women had a prior conviction of prostitution solicitation within the previous year…That check is required by law to arrest anyone on prostitution loitering charges. Both men said they were aware of the law, but they did not abide by it. The charges…include…false imprisonment, neglect of duty, failing to take appropriate and necessary police action and creating false and inaccurate reports. McMasters had been with the force for 13 years and Gast became an officer in 2007, NOPD said.
Thanks to regular reader Joyce for calling the story to my attention.
Check Your Premises (March 10th)
Witch-hunting is apparently still a popular pastime in Salem, Massachusetts, where a journalist was recently convicted of “victimizing” two prostitutes by employing them in his low-end escort service. The following is paraphrased from a story which appeared in the Eagle-Tribune on March 19th and was sent to me by regular reader Alex:
Former sportswriter Kevin Provencher, 52, was sentenced to 2½ years in jail after he pled guilty in Salem Superior Court to running a “prostitution ring” out of hotels in Andover, Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. Assistant District Attorney Melissa Woodard accused Provencher of “taking” half of his employees’ earnings and charging them for the hotel rooms he booked for them. Provencher carelessly booked rooms for the hookers at the same hotel every weekend, eventually attracting the attention of busybody hotel staff who called the cops on them. The women earned $240 per hour or $150 per half hour with a 50% agency fee. Provencher was also charged with intimidating a witness after he “threatened to have his attorney shred the two women apart in the media if they spoke to the police,” Woodard claimed.
The two prostitutes, who were identified only as “Jane Doe” and “Jill Doe” during the hearing, decided not to appear in court but one said she believed Provencher took advantage of her, and the other said that she was held accountable after being arrested, and Provencher should be as well. Based on these claims, Woodard tried to get Provencher imprisoned for 35 years and was apparently disappointed when she didn’t get her way; “His crime was not a one time lapse in judgement,” Woodard said. “(Provencher) planned, thought out and ran these services on the expense of these two women.” Defense attorney Paul Garrity said that his client should only serve probation because he has no prior record, saying that the “side business” was started because the downturn in the newspaper business resulted in a significant salary reduction. He called it a bad decision on Provencher’s part and said the district attorney’s recommendation was not reasonable. “To call these women victims is really overplaying this,” Garrity said. “That’s just not accurate.” He said the two women and Provencher were “equal players” in the operation, and said there is evidence that the two women still may be active prostitutes.
Of course they were equal players, and of course they’re still working as whores; why shouldn’t they? They probably have extensive client lists now, and if they get caught again they have learned how to play the victim card by pointing a finger at a driver, boyfriend or other convenient male. Assuming the threat accusation was a prosecutorial fabrication intended to paint him as a dangerous criminal, Provencher made three major mistakes that I can see; he took too high an agency fee (50% is excessive if he charged the girls for the room), should have changed hotels and enforced discretion, and should have provided a lawyer when the women were arrested. But his greed and stupidity don’t automatically convert hookers into innocent lambs, except in the eyes of predatory DAs employing trafficking rhetoric to score convictions.
How Old is Oldest? (March 12th)
In this column I mentioned the blog The Scientific Fundamentalist and described a correspondence I had with its author, Satoshi Kanazawa. He was very interested in what I had to say, and told me he was going to do a follow-up column on what we discussed. Well, he published that column last Sunday night (March 27th) and not only was I very flattered by his praise, but also very pleased at the huge amount of traffic which came from the links in his post! That influx enabled me to hit a milestone I’ve been slowly approaching for a few weeks now: 100,000 total views as of the morning of March 28th. That’s still just a small cloud in the blogosphere, but it’s growing fast (116,208 at the time this was posted) and is a big step toward my first million. Thanks, Satoshi!
Re “think of the children”…
I thought about this sort of thing only today making my way through my local supermarket. A woman with three little children (two boys and a girl – as if it really matters) between 4 and 6 crossed my path. Now, my natural reaction was to pause and let her pass – including her children who were in tow. However, another natural reaction of mine would have been to pat one or more of her offspring on the head, smile, say a kind word, and continue on my way. Sadly, in this day and age, even in a country at least a little bit freer and open minded than the US (Blighty, i.e. Britain), what I did – lest I attracted unwanted and humiliating attention – was to look the other way as if I just realised I needed a pack of organically grown courgettes.
Not necessarily related to the post or the tenor of this blog, but the incident did remind me of the “think of the children!” that I read here.
A sad, sad comment – not least when my mother of nearly seventy feels the same unease these days…
🙁
PS
Maggie, I do have to say – this being my first comment here (and hopefully not the last) – that you have lightened up my worldview. 😀
You’re exactly right, Vlad; in most of the American South a woman can generally still compliment and touch another woman’s children without fear of some horrid accusation, but I’m sure my husband would never attempt it. 🙁
Thanks for the kind words, and I hope to see you here often. BTB, I must compliment you on your exceptionally clever screen name! 😉
I may have mentioned before that I have a blinky binky: a pacifier with blinking, colored lights. Several times I have been in a public place and calmed down a fussy child by sticking it (the binky, not the child) in my face and turning on the lights. Never failed yet.
But I wouldn’t dare try that if the parents weren’t right there. I’d be accused of “grooming” or “luring” the tyke to a fate worse than death. The very fact that I had a binky would be “evidence” of my evil pedophilic intent (and probably “evidence” that I’m on drugs, which I’m not).
Do tell me that you carried it only because you had kids yourself at the time? LOL
Otherwise the blinky dinky could really be taken as a sign of something. If not paedophilia then psychedelia? 😉
This is very true Sailor B and sadly enough MOST of the abuse comes from the PARENTS!!! MOST abuse is not sexual, it is physical, emotional and verbal. The Midwest leads the nation in Child Abuse, neglect and death.
Hugs……….JOYCE
Psychedelia. I did read that many ecstasy eaters experience side effects of clenching the jaw and grinding the teeth. Though I’ve never taken E in my life, I tend to do this myself. A binky can help with this, and I thought that if it can help with that, even for those under the influence of MDMA, then surely it can help me.
And I’m not saying I wouldn’t ever take E, though when it comes to drugs I tend to be all talk and no action. An expensive hobby, and a dangerous one (mostly because of prohibition).
Kind words never need thanking – they’re there for a better reason. 🙂
As for the screen name: it owes a lot to a very good friend, who wasn’t a friend at all at the time, merely a fresh co-worker ten years ago, greeting me into the office with a Vlad The Imapler wallpaper and screensaver on my first day in a foreign country (which I now proudly call my own – too) and a completely new (albeit related) industry. Happily, I can now count the person amongst my bestest friends ever (if you’ll excuse my ungrammaticalness).
BTB, when I was starting my own – vastly inferior – blog, and looking for a screen name so I can say a bit of what might make my employers (and friends, and family) a teeny bit uneasy (or worse) the ten (or thereabouts) year old joke sprung to mind and there you go…
But anyway, I am sure to keep an eye on your musings, not least because they are very much aligned with my worldview – even if I have to be a bit careful still about letting everyone know about my worldview, hence still a screen name, rather than a real, or at least a more recognisable one. 🙁
And. as world+dog knows, alliteration is the master of us all, and hence Impaler became Impatient. Especially since I am not. Impatient. 😉
Anecdotal evidence of course, but I have no doubt that much of the trauma from childhood sexual exploration comes from, or is amplified by, the adult involvement.
My first experience with my own sexuality was with a schoolmate. I was 6 and she was a 8. Both of us girls, we played doctor in a bathroom stall. It was about as traumatic as what we did later, which was run around the playground and play bean bag tag while both pretending to be she-ra. I shudder to think if an adult with issues had found us that day.
Lesson learned from the experience? Bodies are squishy, different, and feel good. Also, she-ra needs a cape to carry around so many damned bean bags.
My first traumatic experience (but not the last) was about a year later when a mother with the tact of a moose discovered a few of us day-care kids huddled under a blanket looking through a sex-ed book. Jesus Christ, she freaked. The slightly older kid who’d given us the book got in so much shit. We got a stern talking to about how this information wasn’t “for children”. Everyone’s parents got contacted. Kids crying while waiting to be picked up.
And then, because I guess the context was somehow fitting, we got served an uncomfortable talk about stranger danger, and how if anyone (no distinctions made) where to touch us “down there” (yep, she used those words) for any reason, we needed to report them immediately.
Lesson learned? Communicating or even expressing curiosity about our bodies was something only adults could do. It’s also shameful and has to be done in secret because it would get you in trouble. Also, “down there” was a really bad place to touch.
Yep. As a society we’re definitely forming healthy, well adjusted adults!
Now that I’m much older I sometimes wonder if the moose mother had her own traumatic “helpful adult” encounter as a child, one that she never got over. It’s such a sad circle, only we can break it when raising our own children.
I wrote a post about the same topic last year (traumatizing children through condemning anything sexual), so I’ll link it here even though it’s in German:
http://sinamore6.blogspot.com/2010/06/schadet-die-missbrauchshysterie-den.html
Susan Clancy did similar research. The result was that many children weren’t traumatized by the actual sexual contact with adults, as mostly penetration and violence was not involved. Only later did they realize what had happened to them and started getting psychological problems. In some cases, those problems stemmed from guilt of not feeling terrible at the time of the incident.
Of course, Ms. Clancy got a lot of hate mail simply for publishing her research, even though she constantly pointed out how wrong such exploitation is. But from actual victims, she got many thanks for taking away the burden of feeling abnormal because they didn’t experience the abuse as terribly as society told them they SHOULD feel.
I honestly think one of the greatest of social evils is people’s insistence on telling others how they “should” feel, instead of respecting the right of individuals to feel what they do feel. In the past homosexuals were often subjected to this, and today sex workers are subjected to it almost constantly, but perhaps it’s worst of all when inflicted on children or adolescents because their minds are still plastic enough to be molded by other people’s strongly-expressed opinions. 🙁
[I honestly think one of the greatest of social evils is people’s insistence on telling others how they “should” feel, instead of respecting the right of individuals to feel what they do feel.]
^This.
But as always, whoever’s in power gets to decide what is ‘moral’ and ‘right’ and that seems to always include women not being able to make up their minds, at *any* age, on whom they’d like to share their body with and why.
Although in recent years, cheating men have now worn the Scarlet Letter.
😐
This falls under the category of “Chaps my ass #242” when society tells women that prostitution is degrading, humiliating, something to be ashamed of… I’m looking around the room, knowing that they aren’t talking about ME.
And CONGRATS! on the milestone!
Congratulations Maggie! I bet you the million mark comes before the end of 2011 🙂
I really like Satoshi Kanazawa as well; his openmindedness and genuine delight in his own somewhat controversial ideas are earmarks of a true original thinker.
Coincidentally, just this morning I finished a post I’ve been writing over the past week about Kanazawa’s question of prostitution being evolutionarily familiar or evolutionarily novel and the ensuing discussion he had with you http://sincerelykellyjames.blogspot.com/2011/04/oldest-profession.html
Congrats on breaking the six figure mark!
I think on KEVIN PROVENCHER, he is guilty of GREED and should pay a price for that. I have known several agencies that have done this same thing. Of course the girls could have walked, but when I did the Agency posted bad things about me. Whenever I hear of an arrest of a girl in that area, I post about that agency and why is the police not busting them. I know this certain Agency is paying the cops off and having them bust the INDYS so the men are forced to see THEIR over priced ladies.THey also played a huge role in getting Craigs list into trouble.
Yes the Agencies got greedy in the late 90s and NO agency needs to piss off a girl. They charge you to stay in a room that they are getting at a HUGE discount on, take 1/2 your fee and expect TIPS also!!! Some Agencies charge an “Escrow”. This is what I call the STUPID FEE, it is now called a(listing fee). I did have to enlighten them that “Escrows” earn INTEREST!!! It is a fee that the girl NEVER sees again.
What this agency told me was that they were going to send me a 1099, I said ok and I will have my accountant send you one because YOU made money from THIS “Individual Contractor”. They were confused as to who got the 1099.
Yes this guy was living off the back of women. I have often said MEN have NO business running this type of business. I would never work for a man in this business again. I have been there and can personally vouch that they see it as one big candy store. The women owners can get greedy, but at least they do not want to test drive the worker as most MEN owners do.
The Agencies need to know that the police do not want a few hookers, they want a “Big Fish”, That be the owner!. In this case it was Kevin P. I really think his GREED was his down fall.
I saw no problem with Miami Companions though and those guys were not greedy. They were straight up guys. I will never know why only one got into trouble though. Perhaps the Brother had stepped out, not sure.
I have to disagree with you on male service owners, Joyce; the worst service owner I ever knew was female and the best (other than myself) was male. Of course he was gay so he wasn’t sexually interested in girls, but he was sweet, fair and conscientious and cared about the girls’ safety. 🙂
Again YOU get lucky Maggie.
I guess my luck is just bad luck with Male Service owners, but I had a female in the Midwest that was a Greed Bitch from hell. I had couple of female service owners in aother city actually STEALING from me!
I knew three Male owners and ALL three wanted to sleep with the girls. I never really knew the brothers from Miami Companions, just had spoken with them and always heard good things about them.
With Service owners, MOST of the time you will get fucked one way or the other..LOL!
Then I have had VERY good Service owners, but only female on the good ones that I actually worked for.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_uRIMUBnvw
Behold, the new castrated male! Try not to vomit.
Looks like a Viagra commercial.
Oh…yes…I saw this on spearhead….Apologising for MY gender? Speak for yourself dude. I have done nothing to apolgise for.
My policy is: I should apologize when I do something wrong. I don’t need to apologize for being male, or white, or middle-aged, etc.
I agree. The idea that a person is responsible for the sins of a group he has not chosen to be a member of (i.e. sex, race, national origin etc) is philosophical nonsense, as is the belief that he can apologize for those sins. 😐
On THINK OF THE CHILDREN,
Thank you for this Maggie.
I would like to remind everyone that April is (National Child Abuse Prevention Month). Yes Abused children suffer mostly from Physical, Verbal and emotional Abuse. I donate time to abused children and I am an advocate for abused children. Sadly, it is a fact that most abuse comes from the PARENTS!!!
I am giving away free arm bands and Lapel pins to anyone who ask. You can email for the free arm band or lapel pin at voiceforkids@aol.com
Just let me know if you would like the arm band or pin or both. They are free and no donation is accepted or expected. The arm bands and lapel pins are very nice and they are Blue to represent that we need to raise awareness for abused children. Rememer kids have no voice and cannot fight back. Please include remember to include your address if you request the arm band or pin.
Wear them with pride and wear them for the Children.
For more information and to help prevent child abuse, please look at the following sites.
http://www.baca.org
BIKERS AGAINST CHILD ABUSE
http://www.preventchildabuse.org
This too is a really great group.
Please see this article in the Starpress.com
“Child abuse prevention month stirs action.”
Thanks to all.
Joyce (:
Dear Joyce, it’s wonderful you’re doing all this! Please keep up the good work! If you don’t mind my asking, how did you get involved in this? Unfortunately, abuse is like murder in that a huge % of it happens within the family. I’m going to order a pin from you. Thanks for sharing all this and keep up the good work!
Thank You Laura,
I was an abused child and teen by my Mother. There was never any sexual abuse, but growing up was very difficult. There were times when I did not think that I would get to grow up. Many days I could not go to school. I did however, do very well in school.
I became involved as an advocte for abused kids because I am a survior and I wanted to give something back.
When I was a kid, the laws to protect kids were not in affect. I knew if I ran away, they would only take me back home if they found me. We lived in the country and I really had no place to run to anyway. I was afraid to tell my teachers, although I think they knew.
I finally left home at 17 and made it on my own, just renting rooms out of people’s homes, I went to school, got a scholarship for nursing and made my own way. I met the love of my life, we got married, I was finally happy, then he was killed. I married another man 4 yrs later, that was abusive and I could not deal with that all over again. I then was discovered by a scout for the business, but kept helping kids through various organizations.
Very few knew I was in the business from the organazitions, because I knew they would not accept a prositute doing anything good..LOL. Alot of my clients knew though and even made donations to the organizations for kids. Every April for the past 5 yrs, half all my money made in the business is donated to help abused kids.
My life as a child was not as bad as DAVE PELZER’S, but pretty close. I always reccomend his first book A CHILD CALLED IT. His website is http://www.davepelzer.com
Your pin will be on its way to you (: I have sent out over 500 so far.
A happy childhood last a life time.
Hugs………………………..JOYCE
Great post, Maggie!
The devastation wrought by sex abuse hysteria has been documented in many books (e.g. “Witch Hunt” by Kathryn Lyon, and “Making Monsters” by Richard Ofshe). The countless lives literally destroyed – children driven to suicide by their “therapists,” and young girls gang-raped while under government “protection,” is a crime against humanity.
The rescue industry makes big money from the hysteria, at children’s expense, while the primitive religious custom of mentally castrating children through anti-sex education continues without question.
When are the opportunists in power going to realize they can become real heroes by announcing THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES! as the Rind Study did, and begin the work of reversing the mass hysteria over childhood sex play?
Some other effects of the hysteria are discussed at: http://sexhysteria.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/sexual-inhibition-and-mental-castration/
@Walenty,
I couldn’t prevent it. That video is utterly vomit-inducing.
For the children? Hhhmmmm. How many of you know this quote.
“The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.”
Adolph Hitler in Mein Kampf
“Think of the Children!”
Here in the UK any teacher who has a sexual relationship with a 14 or15 year-old pupil can expect a custodial sentence – often as much as 6+ years.
Surely the loss of a career and being banned for the rest of their working life from a job that involves any contact with children, plus the effect of the adverse publicity on their private life, would be punishment enough? Especially when we are constantly being told that too many people are in prison and, anyway, prison doesn’t work.
Then there’s the effect on the boy (or girl) in the case. Something they’ve found enjoyable is made to seem wrong and they themselves as victims who must have counselling and help. If, however, they’d had a sexual relationship with someone the same age as themselves the law would show no interest – even in a child results from the union.
That’s mostly true. Unfortunately, there are more and more cases of teens getting in trouble for “molesting each other” or even “raping each other.”
I’m into science fiction, fantasy, and anime, and I have trouble finding any way, even fictionally, for that to make sense. Maybe if they’re both possessed and……………….
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