When truth is no longer free, freedom is no longer real: the truths of the police are the truths of today. – Jacques Prévert
Three more dispatches from the War on Whores.
…And Always Know Where Your Towel Is (November 17th, 2010)
SWOP suggests that “every hooker…develop a ‘Don’t Panic’ plan she can give to friends in case she is arrested. The idea is that if a woman knows her kids, pets, house, etc are being taken care of while she is delayed for hours after the arrest, she is less likely to panic and let the cops take advantage of her.” Well, technology marches on, and according to this October 12th article from CNET some clever fellow has decided to automate the process:
Imagine you’re in New York…peacefully protesting…to curb excessive influence of big business…on U.S. laws and policy. You’re holding up a sign declaring your heartfelt beliefs and chanting a bit with some of your fellow demonstrators when, all of a sudden–bam! The cops slap the cuffs on you, with the intention of carting you off to the nearest police station. Meanwhile, your friends and family are at home completely clueless about your situation. Enter I’m Getting Arrested, a creative Android app that…was inspired by a similar incident. It lets you quickly notify your family, friends, and crack legal team (if you have one) of your situation with a single tap of your finger. Just initially enter a custom message and some SMS-ready numbers to contact in the event of your arrest.
Then, as you’re about to be corralled into the back of a squad car, fire the app up and long-press the bull’s-eye for 2 seconds. From there, you can rest assured that your message will be sent to the appropriate contacts…
Clearly, this could be useful for whores as well, though I’m not sure an entrapped girl would be able to get her hands on her smartphone quickly enough before the pigs snatched it away from her. Perhaps a mark II version could include a timer that fires off the panic message unless a code is entered by a certain time, thus foiling the sadistic “you’ll get your call later” game.
Where Are the Victims? (May 14th, 2011)
Considering the economic and social collapse of Detroit (which has lost 60% of its population in the last 30 years), one would think its “authorities” would have better things to do than persecute hookers. But for that to happen, they’d have to have sense and a moral center, which they don’t. So instead they keep wasting tremendous amounts of money, resources and manpower to persecute people for having parties, as reported in the October 14th Macomb Daily:
…Three men have been named in federal indictments accusing them of setting up events [at bowling alleys] where male customers could engage in “meet-and-greet” [events with] prostitutes who would then take them to hotels for sex for cash. The alleys, the owners say, are unfairly being singled out and had no knowledge of what went on after those who rented their party rooms left the premises. David Kilvington, Steven Thompson and Mark Leblanc are charged with creating websites to lure customers to the sex parties, according to a complaint unsealed in U.S. District Court in Detroit…A cover charge of $20 at the door allowed guests inside to meet up to 72 prostitutes — or “service providers” — for the purposes of later having sex. The prostitutes were expected to give “donations” to the prostitution organizers of between $100 and $1,000 for the events…While the bowling centers may have served as staging areas for the alleged prostitution ring, the owners of the locations say nothing untoward occurred at the alleys…[which] have meeting rooms that can be booked by anybody, and are glass-walled and what goes on can be seen by everybody at the lanes, the owners say…FBI agents were alerted to the operation by the mother of a 17-year-old escort who sent an email to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office claiming her daughter was lured to the operation by promises of money and drugs in exchange for sexual favors. The mother provided information because she feared for her daughter’s life and was concerned other women would become involved, according to the message contained in court records. Over the course of three years, federal investigators used confidential informants, an electronic paper trail and PayPal records to build a case against the suspects…The case was investigated by the Violent Crime Squad in the Detroit division of the FBI…
Most of this is the typical filth vomited out by cops and prosecutors (party organizers “lured customers”, the mother “feared for her daughter’s life” from a bunch of middle-aged businessmen at a bowling alley, etc), but there are a few points of interest, not the least of which is that the “violent crime squad” is so idle that it could devote three years to busting a bunch of guys for organizing social events for consenting adults
(I’d lay good odds that “17-year-old escort” is some kind of red herring). The lesson to be learned here? In these days of gigantic FBI boondoggles, “meet and greet” events are not a good idea; that many fat ducks in one pond presents far too tempting a target for the shotguns.
Mind Reading (June 1st, 2011)
Remember that Utah law that made it illegal to “act sexy”, and how when it was challenged as criminalizing normal female behavior its sponsor insisted it would only be used against “real” prostitutes, as determined by the super-duper psychic mind probe powers of cops? Well, obviously Florida believes its cops have that power as well, because they’re trying to criminalize not only acting sexy, but strolling, waving and asking “are you a cop?”:
Hillsborough County authorities are looking for ways to make it easier for authorities to arrest suspected prostitutes…[by] passing a law making it illegal to participate in activities that signal an intent to sell sex. Potentially illegal activities would include “strolling” along public rights of way while waving to or trying to stop passing motorists, or repeatedly entering different vehicles for short periods of time. Touching oneself in a provocative manner could also be grounds for arrest. The ordinance would also seek to thwart suspected prostitutes and their customers from trying to identify undercover officers. It would make it illegal for the suspected prostitute or customer to ask someone if they are a law enforcement officer. It would also be illegal to ask someone to prove they aren’t an officer by asking them to expose themselves. Today, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s deputies rely on state laws that typically require an undercover officer to get a prostitute or customer to agree to exchange sex for money before making an arrest…
Wait, you mean right now somebody actually has to break the law before being arrested for breaking it? Well, we can’t have that! But just in case you think the ignorance of these “authorities” only extends to the U.S. Constitution, Commission Chairman Al Higginbotham (who obviously fancies his position magically grants him a degree in sociology in addition to super psychic powers) has a message for you:
While he said he holds no expectation that the measure will end prostitution, he rejected characterizations that it is a victimless crime. He cited statistics showing many prostitutes are teenagers, are often victims of violence and tend to abuse drugs. “This is no story about a pretty woman,” Higginbotham said.
Obviously, Mr. Higginbotham thinks the best way to help drug-addicted teenage crime victims is to arrest them for walking down the street or asking questions; I suspect the ACLU is of a different opinion.
One Year Ago Today
“Meretrices and Prostibulae” is a glossary of the many, many different kinds of whores who lived and did business in Imperial Rome.
