It is the old practice of despots to use a part of the people to keep the rest in order. – Thomas Jefferson
The greatest defect of any democracy lies in the tendency of a certain segment of the population to cooperate with the agents of oppression. Some do it because they are simpering, spineless cowards; others are moral imbeciles who think “authorities” are wiser and better than they are, and others are badge-licking lawheads who actually believe in the masses of wastepaper they use for brains that the mere fact that a law exists makes it right. But the worst and most dangerous of these are the amoral, narcissistic busybodies who believe not only that they have the right to decide what others can do with their own bodies, money or time, but also that they have the right to use public resources to enforce these dictates by siccing the police on those who offend them. On July 7th the Edmonds, Washington Patch (by way of the Huffington Post) announced that heroic local police, after a grueling nine-month undercover operation, had arrested four dangerous, vicious criminals…apparently for touching people’s hands and flashing their tits. The owner and three employees of Java Juggs Espresso, a coffee stand staffed by bikini-clad lovelies, were arrested on charges of prostitution, permitting prostitution and “unlawful exposure”: As the article bleats, “Most of the violations involved employees exposing themselves to customers for large tips. Some of the violations involved physical contact with a barista in exchange for money.”
I have on many occasions pointed out that prostitution laws allow persecution of all women, not just whores; this is a perfect example. Does anyone believe for one second that these girls did anything through the window of a coffee stand that any rational adult would honestly consider “prostitution”? They flashed their tits in return for tips; whoopee. And if “physical contact in exchange for money” (letting guys feel them up, perhaps?) is now “prostitution” in Washington State, then medical professionals, manicurists and masseuses need to be very, very nervous. The story also demonstrates the typical police pomposity and the vile sleaziness of “undercover” vice pigs, who no doubt chatted up these girls on a number of occasions so as to relax them before making their moves; it’s called “grooming”, and is the same tactic some rapists and most child molesters use to put their victims off-guard.
But it’s in the follow-up from July 10th that we see examples of all of the collaborator types I mentioned in the first paragraph:
The Edmonds Police Department is defending itself after its undercover investigation of a bikini barista coffee stand drew condemnation and sarcastic comments nationwide. Most of the public comments centered on the investigation’s nine-month time frame, which the police say doesn’t accurately reflect the amount of time officers spent on the case…in October… the EPD…began its investigation…[which] ended recently with the arrest on June 30 of business owner Carmela Panico and three employees…“This investigation was a response to complaints from Edmonds citizens,” said Sgt. Don Anderson…“Frankly…I’m not concerned about what…the readers of the Huffington Post think”…Anderson said officers did not spend nine months staking out Java Juggs. “The actual investigation…didn’t begin until the middle of April…[it] was conducted by a plainclothes street crimes investigation unit who were working on several matters at the same time. This wasn’t their only ongoing investigation or their only priority, but enough complaints came in from the community that it was obvious we had an obligation to investigate…this matter involved three different businesses, several different employees engaging in illegal activity, and required a significant level of evidence to support prosecution…
A “significant level of evidence” my high-priced bottom; as regular readers know all cops have to do to “support” vice charges is to lie. They only kept going there for months because they were enjoying their filthy little game of victimization.
The most morally degraded of the collaborator types appears in the story, in the person of the “upstanding citizens” who thought it was their right to put three girls out of work and an entrepreneur out of business (the stand is still open but the health department and code enforcement vultures are trying to remedy that). But the other three types – the cowards, the moral imbeciles and the lawheads – appear in the commentary (both on HuffPo and the Patch). I’m happy to report they’re a tiny minority, but a little digging will turn them up like puffy, white grubs under an overturned rock: “Honoring illegal activity for your own personal gain and putting law enforcement down is weak!” and “…All complaints about free speach [sic] aside, the stands attract a very bad element to the neighborhood,” are featured in the follow-up, and “Anderson’s comment about not caring what Huffington Post readers think is great. Good for him,” appears in the comments below it (you can practically hear the lip-smacking on that one). But my favorite was this:
You GUYS don’t get it! You guys are known for voyerism [sic] and getting your rocks off any way you can. This is just an easy venue for you to do that. Have you considered the women and children out there that have been hurt by their daddie’s [sic] affection for porn and worhtless [sic] garbage like this that they bring into their relationships, only to have them fall apart because the ol [sic] man can’t keep his eyes to himself or his hands off himself?! This issue goes much deeper than all of these loosely thought out and uncaring for anyone else but yourselves comments! I know, I had a marriage of 15 yrs fall apart because my ol [sic] man couldn’t “keep it at home”. I can hear you now, that was my fault right?! Not! He had a history of this type of voyerism [sic] since before I met him and he promised he didn’t need it anymore after we were together. An addiction is an addiction and you guys apparently have one to this! Sow your seeds with a real woman and a real relationship… that will keep the need for these types of slut stands off the streets! And, make you more of a man!!!
I think it speaks for itself, and what it says is pretty disgusting…but, alas, predictable. One year ago today I wrote about the “myth of the wanton”, the notion that women are not only more lustful than men, but are actually responsible for male lust; this vile fantasy is behind many males’ support for prostitution laws, and even some women’s. Though this commenter’s rhetoric is purely neofeminist (normal male behavior [including masturbation] is an “addiction” and a problem, porn and the male eye for beauty “hurt women and children”, a bit of “end demand” rhetoric, etc) it is clear where she actually places the blame. She proclaims that sex workers (even “slut stand” workers) are not “real women” (which probably comes as a shock to my whore readers who menstruate and have babies and stuff like that) and is only too happy to see a female business owner and her employees persecuted in revenge for the wrongs this commenter imagines other women inflicted upon her in the past. Women like this, who blame other women for their own intolerance and their husbands’ weaknesses, are among the worst of the prohibitionists because like neofeminists and religious fanatics they feel entitled to hold others responsible for their own problems and selfishly ignore the danger in which prostitution laws place all women, including themselves.
“and others are badge-licking lawheads who actually believe in the masses of wastepaper they use for brains that the mere fact that a law exists makes it right.”
Hey! I resemble that comment Maggie!
Not that I have ever been involved in law enforcement – but I did a full career in the Navy, believing – every step of the way up until my last few years of service – that everything I was doing was for truth, honor, and the American way!
I can see this applying to some cops and law enforcement officials.
Society doesn’t just control women – it controls men also and it starts when they are little boys. When I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s – here in the South – I was very much taught that, as a man – I should be willing to defend, with my life, those Americans who are weaker than I am. The best way, of course, to do this – was to defend the Flag – which by extension defends those individuals. Of course – the notion of an “infallible” government was infused in that message – so you didn’t have to think – just do as you’re told and you’re fullfilling your destiny as a man and duty to those you love.
The problem is – you really don’t “see” the emperor is naked until you’ve spent a lifetime crawling up the ladder – and by that time, many people are so invested in the illusion that they are blinded even after being introduced to the truth. That didn’t happen with me, fortunately – I was able to see the truth when I reached the top of the ladder. Not that I disdain my Naval service – quite the contrary – I met a lot of fine people – but those were common people, not the people in charge of running big Navy policy. And – I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy blowing up terrorists – but I do question whether or not there will be fewer of them in the future due to my efforts.
So … if I apply this to law enforcement – and I realize you have a track record with them – but I think there is another “class” …
And that would be the people who are living and working under an “illusion” that they’re doing the right thing. Call us “weak minded” and “easily led” I suppose those would be good descriptors. One of the things I envy about people like you, Maggie – is your individualistic mental independence. Some people, like you – can navigate a lifetime through this society with all it’s “social norming” messages and not be influenced by the “group think” … others, like me – tend to get caught in it.
Alchesay, you’re right; I neglected to include the naive in my essay. And that is the right word; such people aren’t weak-minded, they simply don’t know any better and I’ve even talked about them before. I’ve always been a rebel from the time I emerged (three weeks late) into the world, and it’s only become more pronounced in the ensuing four and a half decades. I know that not everyone is as fiercely independent, though, and that’s why I feel those of us who are have the moral responsibility to wake up our sleeping brothers and sisters, encourage them to think critically and help them to escape the control of those who would use them. But some people are hard to wake up, so my preferred method is to dance around naked, shaking them until they either awaken, slap me or run off to another room to go back to sleep. 🙂
Maggie and Alchesay, how do you characterize the role of my neighbors (I live in the DC area): scientists at NIH, nurses and docs in the US Public Health Service, computer programmers at the FDIC?
I understand the critique of criminal laws, the politicians who create them, and the police apparatus created to enforce them, but what of the “civil” aspects of government; i.e., having a public sector to solve “tragedy of the commons” externality problems (pollution), collective action problems (insuring bank deposits), or market failures (researching drugs for rare diseases)?
How do my neighbors, who mostly are smart, diligent professionals who choose to work for government because they are interested in solving problems the private sector declines to address, rate in the typology? Does being part of the government make them collaborators, even though their personal work is entirely technical and generally beneficial (I certainly like having people who will run towards Ebola outbreaks in order to stop them, or keep me from having to keep my money in a mattress due to bank runs, or keep my drinking water from having mercury in it)?
Heavens, no, Bandoblue! I don’t think working for the government automatically makes one a collaborator with tyranny! In fact I have great respect for military men, who take an oath to uphold the Constitution and to disobey unlawful orders. I don’t believe in the concept of “tainted money”; if I did, I would be equally guilty myself because I’ve had many, many customers over the years who were government employees. No, when I say “collaborating with tyranny” I’m not talking about mailmen, scientists, or secretaries in police departments; I’m talking about people who by their actions directly facilitate tyranny, such as by “reporting” people for victimless “crimes” and defending the malfeasance and brutality of police actions.
Well – I STILL work for the government after retiring from the Navy. I won’t say where – but my job … I call it a “3D Mission Specialist”. “3D” is for “Difficult, Dirty, or Dangerous”. I travel all over the globe to very harsh environments (Arctic, Antarctic, etc) and do a very physical and dangerous job – still for national security. You don’t have to be smart to do my job – just be willing to get on a plane and deal with whatever is at the other end.
I LOVE THIS JOB. I took a $30,000 pay cut to get this job. I left a desk job where I managed a contract of 13 people. I hated it though. I have always “gotten off” on doing dangerous things – and, at 49, I haven’t changed. This job allows me to stay in shape and stay sharp – aside from the crow’s feet around my eyes – my body looks like it’s 25.
I’m angry that I still work for the government – but what do I do? There are no private sector jobs that even come close to what I’m doing now.
But – I think there is the downfall. The Government has gotten so big that it has carved out “monopolies” for itself in certain activities.
So no – I would not say we are “collaborators” … we are just people trying to make our way through life in the reality that is the world.
We need a new reality though.
Thanks, friends. I’m pleased you feel the way you do.
Ever since Oklahoma City I’ve had an allergy to rhetoric which treats the Federal government as a monolith, and obscures the humanity of the people who work for it. I have no problem with strong critiques of aspects our current system of government–Lord knows, I have plenty of my own– but I prefer them to be precise: “Legislators” rather than “Washington,” “Federal Program X” rather than “the Government,” “Regulation Z” rather than “Faceless Bureaucrats,” etc.
I hasten to say that I don’t mean this as a criticism of any post or poster, in this thread or any other!
I just thought it might be worth getting the distinction onto the coffee table if Maggie and the habitués of her salon are going to continue to focus on government as much as we have recently.
Oh goodness, what a delicious vision! Would Maggie have an actual salon where we all sit on chaise lounges, drink liqueurs, and discuss philosophy, politics, economics and human sexuality.
I can think of worse places to hang out.
I know that everyone isn’t as fiercely independent…
Apologies in advance: I’m putting on my pedantic hat here. The meaning of that is “No one is as fiercely independent…”. I think you meant “I know that not everyone is as fiercely independent…”
BTW, I wish that all women would follow your preferred method! 😉
You’re of course correct, and I’ve fixed it. In essays, I catch such errors in the proofreading, but because I don’t really proof my comments an occasional goof will slip through. Mea culpa! 😉
Yes, but you see, if the “undercover cops” gave the Java Juggs business establishment even one red cent while they were doing their nine-month sting operation (yeah, right), then that would be promoting prostitution, wouldn’t it?
But of course, that would only be “misconduct”, right? Whereas with everyone else (without money or influence, that is), that would be a “crime”.
Seriously, though, it’s telling how out of touch the so-called criminal justice edifice is when they don’t even care about the fact that most people consider this sort of thing a complete waste of time and money, and certainly do not consider the cops “heroes” for it. I mean, do they even read the comments posted on media reports of their operations? Gee, I guess they’ll care when local tax-payers find a way to withdraw all their money from the police department.
No … they don’t read comments on those reports and one of these officials even mocked them saying “I don’t care what HuffPo readers think”.
They only bow to political power – local political power and – that’s the problem (or part of it). In Washington State – I’d think they are dealing with a neo-feminist mindset. Down here in Louisiana – it’s often evangelical preachers and their followers. They produce the same result though – they put pressure on local law enforcement and city councils to do things their way and enforce the morality they wish to see.
Somewhere behind all these guys are the real political powerholders and they’re applauding these guys and will reward them in the next election. Don’t expect them to back down on this unless something exceptional happens.
That’s the problem. As Americans – we don’t have an understanding for how infringing someone else’s rights ends up infringing our own.
“we don’t have an understanding for how infringing someone else’s rights ends up infringing our own.”
Naivety also seems to play a role. A case of some people thinking it could never happen to them because they are “good people” and it’s only the “bad people” who get in trouble. The whole “this would never happen to ME because […]”
Exactly, Maria. People think that the cops never, ever abuse “good citizens”. That’s why there’s a saying, “libertarianism happens to people.”
“I don’t care what HuffPo readers think”.
Well most HuffPo readers aren’t constituents of the town of Edmonds. I’m referring to the comments on the Edmonds Patch local paper. The police *should* care about that, at least for their own self-interest.
Is it sad that I’m just not surprised by news like this anymore? Every time I think we’ve hit bottom I remember, “No, no. There’s always more bottom.”
It’s sad, but I’m the same way.
Well, here’s a little good news: I think you especially will enjoy my column of the 31st. 😉
That comment is a classic, especially the part about giving up voyeurism in order to be with “a real woman in a real relationship”. This has been the latest tactic of those trying to shut down stripping and porn, saying it is damaging men so that they can not enjoy real sex with real women. It’s the last refuge of the desperate: “I’m really on your side”. From extrapolating anecdotes into data and making ignorant statements about neurology, that line is becoming the new trope for the neofeminists. Did you happen to catch Naomi Wolf’s latest ignorant screed? Sad.
Nope, got link?
hi maggie,i just discovered your blog and i find it really great for sex workers standing up to the so called feminists who try to oppress us with their ”caring” laws.im also sick of seing financially privileged people deciding what job is moral and not degrading.i work as a phone sex operator because i will have to leave my parents house in athens and move to another city to study and i will need more money than my parents can afford(economy in greece is hell).i really feel bad for theese girls that were put out of work because some whackjobs considere them prostitutes and some angry housewives feared that their husbands might ogle naked girls in a coffee stand.i enjoy my work and im not making anyone use my service the same way noone force theese men to enter that shop.if their husbands go there they should blame them and not try to force people to unemployment.what theese people and radcal feminists in general fail realise is that sb who tries to make ends meet wont care about the so called objectification of women, that theese people have so much time to get concerned about since noone attacks their source of livelihood, but to make ends meet.what they see in their tries to shut the sex industry and any other business that profits from the employees sex appeal is stopping the objectification of women(like men enjoying the sight of a naked woman is because of the evil sex industry not because of biological reasons.)what i see is some well off bitches with too much free time in their hands trying to force people to unemployment and try to tell them how they should use their bodies because they only know whats good and empowering for females and that is never related to sex because male sexuality and gaze is predatory and evil.again congratulations on your blog ,it is very refreshing.ps.sorry for any errors,english is not my native language.
Laida, your English is excellent (I can tell you that it’s many, many times better than my Greek!) I wish you very good luck in your job, education and future, and I hope you continue to find m column inspiring!
So many self-proclaimed feminists are white, middle-class women who have never had to worry about anything real in their lives, that it isn’t surprising they’re completely unsympathetic to the concerns of other women. What’s sad is that the leaders actually listen to such women and make laws to address their pet peeves at the expense of our livelihoods!
Eventually, the bosses of this country will decide that the way to compete with low-paid jobs in Asia is to have our own heavily controlled, low paid workers. Prisons are the perfect place for that- low or no pay, they can’t leave, and no rights! It’s a capitalist dream. Notice that private companies are getting involved in prisons.
And you don’t just want the stupid, mentally ill, and drug addicted. No, an imprisoned work force of people willing to work and show initiative is better. So our politicians have made so many laws, layered them on so thickly that it’s impossible to live without violating some.
Now we’re forming very aggressive cop squads.
We’ll fill the prisons so we can compete.
That’s not capitalism, though; that’s fascism. A fascist state in which businesses are owned by a power elite which exists in a symbiotic state with the political class to control the masses, something like the way the Church and State lived in symbiosis in the Middle Ages. The government addresses the concerns of industry in order to increase production and donations, and industry allows government to regulate it, and if any one company or one politician gets too far out of line it or he is quickly broken (as shown in recent cases here and in Europe). We’re not all the way there yet because there are still too many small businesses, but it won’t be long.
Considering the topic of this post … I think this is rather timely …
Abusive Cops … harassing a suspected prostitute and a “john” … with the “john” threatened with … execution??
See for yourself … I would like to knock this idiot in the head.
In addition to the things you mention (her moral superiority being perhaps the worst) I think we should consider that she may have been personally betrayed by her husband, or thought she had. This would make her venom much more heated than it might have been otherwise. It’s too bad she can’t think straight and assumes that if a guy looks at a woman’s pleasure mounds that children will inevitably be injured..
Her words give the impression that the “betrayal” she imagines was his reading girlie magazines and jerking off, or maybe going to strip clubs.
Just before I let my subscription to Playboy run out, I saw, each month, one woman after another writing in to earnestly explain why masturbation is adultery. The attitude of the writers ranged from a perplexity that the editors at Playboy didn’t seem to get this, even after it was explained to them, to a firm conviction that oh yes you do get it, and I’m pissed at you, my ex, and all these fucking MEN who read your rag and pretend you don’t!
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana
It’s the same old tripe, and it wears thin; if two people undertake monogamy, theres the mutually implied idea that each one accepts responsibility for the sexual satisfaction of the other.
Of course, thanks to the gender differences around testosterone being continuously output in men, and cyclic in women, the guys are going to be sexually charged (and increasingly aggressive, since T regulates this too) 24/7 if they are not getting sexual gratification *somehow*.
So while the ladies can, in the typical case, “shut up shop” with minimal behavioural impact, guys can’t do the same unless they basically cut their testicles off.
It’s hardly suprising, when a wife freezes him out or doesn’t match his level of drive, that a guy turns to porn & masturbation, or whores, or a fling, to mitigate the urge; which immediately begins building back up, because “ya know, testicles got no off switch, dude”.
It does tempt one to say “women who do that are idiots, and deserve whatever happens”. If karma had anything to do with it, a long life of lonely sexual dissatifacton : after all, you did it to your husband without a second thought.
The handling of divorce is pretty crappy too.
Is it any wonder that ground level male backlash is building in response to being treated like dirt?
Thanks, that first picture has got Beethoven’s Ninth stuck in my head.
LOL! Of course, the piece playing in the movie during that scene is “Overture To the Sun” by Terry Tucker. 😉
True, but when I think about that film the songs that come to mind are, in order, the Ninth, Carlos’ version of Funeral for Queen Mary, Singing in the Rain and The Theiving Magpie. One of my first 8 track tapes (showing my age) was Wendy (then Walter) Carlos’ version of the soundtrack. Even though I’ve had the CD version for over a decade, to this day I expect the kachunck of the track change two thirds of the way through Timesteps.
I’m with ya; I just figured I would try to shake the Immortal Ninth out of your brain. 😉
And btb, my first copy was the vinyl album, which I still own in addition to the CD. 🙂
Me droogies an me, we put A Clockwork Orange on the Netflix, you see. Gonna do a little bit of the old in-out, in-out with the DVD player.