If the facts do not conform to the theory, they must be disposed of. – N.R.F. Maier
In 1960 N.R.F Maier, writing about the neurotic behavior of experimental psychologists like himself, proposed Maier’s Law, which forms my epigram above; he explained that for one who has become convinced of his own correctness…
…the theory supersedes the fact. It is the fact that must conform; and it is the theory that we must strive to nurture, develop, and abstract…The method of how psychologists as scientists dispose of facts is of special interest. One of the most common is to give the facts a new name. In this way they are given a special compartment and therefore cease to infringe on the privacy of the theory…Giving disturbing facts a name is almost as good as explaining them because a name supplies a useful answer to inquisitive people. Other ways of disposing of facts are omitting them in reference books, and the most efficient method…that of failing to report them…
Of course, psychologists aren’t the only ones whose misguided minds adhere to Maier’s Law; politicians also practice it, and cops follow it obsessively. And nowhere is this more evident than in the interactions of modern police with prostitutes. Only a few years ago, prostitution was regarded as a “crime” and prostitutes as “criminals”, and police defended that theory by ignoring well-adjusted hookers and concentrating on the maladjusted minority, even creating criminal conspiracies in their minds and claiming without the faintest shred of evidence that discreet indoor prostitution magically “attracts crime”. But now police departments are switching to “trafficking” rhetoric, which teaches that all whores (especially those even one day under the Age of Shazam) are “victims” in need of “rescue”, and that they are always and without exception “forced into prostitution” by evil men. The fact that an official study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice found that only 8% of teenage prostitutes in New York City were forced into prostitution by a “pimp,” and only 10% currently worked with one, is immaterial; the “trafficking” theory says that 100% of them have pimps so that inconvenient 90% who don’t has to be explained away somehow. How they do it is explained in this October 19th article from Metro, called to my attention via Laura Agustín’s column the next day:
New York City police say they are trying to rescue teens forced into prostitution, only to find that the girls often don’t want their help. A state law enacted last year considers prostitutes under the age of 18 victims, not criminals, and police are encouraged not to charge them with a crime. But according to Inspector James Capaldo, head of the NYPD’s new anti-sex trafficking division, their efforts to help girls forced into prostitution are often spurned, he told the City Council at a hearing on sex trafficking yesterday. The teens are often terrified of being punished by their pimp, or they’re brainwashed into thinking he is a boyfriend, said Capaldo. They also often lie and say they are 19. “Sometimes they refuse to talk,” he said. “If it takes a man six weeks to put this woman in a situation, how do we undo that in 46 hours?” The teen prostitutes often advertise their illegal services on Backpage.com, according to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office. Earlier this year, in Brooklyn, a tip led police to “Jennifer,” 18, who refused to testify against her pimp. Instead, prosecutors found him through a prostitution website. He was charged with sex trafficking.
That’s right, it’s the social engineer’s best friend, “brainwashing” again. When people act like free-willed individuals instead of victims and behave in a way contrary to what the control freaks consider “right thinking”, that person must somehow be deranged. And if someone the “authorities” label a victim insists she isn’t victimized, obviously it must be brainwashing (or as they sometimes prefer to call it, “Stockholm Syndrome”). As Maier pointed out, the most common way to ignore facts is to give them a new name, to redefine them. When a woman says she doesn’t want to be “rescued”, her statement is called “lying” and her desire is said to be the result of “programming”. When the 90% say they are not victims, they’re suffering from “false consciousness” or else they’re “terrified of their pimps”. And when a legally-adult woman refuses to “testify against” a pimp she doesn’t have, she is treated as a child and the police railroad somebody she had some contact with through a hooker board (a client or moderator, perhaps?) to play the role of the nonexistent “pimp” in their sick psychodrama.
This is, as many of you may remember, exactly what I predicted would happen once such laws became popular; if all prostitutes are victims it follows that each of them was victimized by someone, and if there is no such person it becomes necessary to manufacture him out of an innocent bystander so the “theory” is not revealed as arrant nonsense. The fact that most prostitutes, including teenage prostitutes, are acting under their own volition doesn’t fit the trafficking/coercion/“no woman would prostitute herself voluntarily” theory, so it must be disposed of.
One Year Ago Today
“November Book Reviews” discusses A Renegade History of the United States, Ain’t Nobody’s Business If You Do, The Internet Escort’s Handbook and Sex Work: Writings by Women in the Sex Industry.
Maggie, Maggie, Maggie – you little Human Trafficking DENIER you!
Which is another method they use discredit anyone who attempts to speak the real truth on this issue.
But, quick question – I was reading the story of a gym teacher in Ohio who was recently sentenced to four years in jail for having sex with several students (football players I think). They were all over the age of 16 though and therefore, of the age of consent. However, Ohio has another law that specifically makes it illegal for teachers to have sex with students. That’s not what I want to ask though – although I think that woman got railroaded and it’s stupid to think she committed a crime by having sex with these obviously grateful teenage boys …
But … the “age of consent”, I had never thought of this but do the cops take that into account when they’re dealing with this issue? For instance, if you are under the age of 18 – but if you’re OVER the age of consent – they still consider you to be a “trafficked” individual who was coerced into prostituting herself?? Are these girls still figured into the stats even though they are legally able to consent to the activity?
Everywhere else in the world has a statute against teachers having sexual relations with students, not just in Ohio, no matter what the age. In strict statutory interpretation, a teacher having sex with a 50-year-old student both could be prosecuted, although you’d find the authorities hard pressed to want to prosecute.
On the other hand, the age of consent for sexual relations exists simply to make prosecution easier for statutory rape – there has to be some sort of cutoff age for that. Some countries set them quite low (12 for Japan) but those countries always have qualifications (two indigenous Ainu Japanese can have a leg-over at 12, but not between an Ainu and a Tokyoite, for instance).
It is not the job of the police to ‘interpret’ the law or its application. If this or that statute says under 18 is a ‘trafficked’ individual, then that’s it. Now, of course, you could readily see whether or not a person is trafficked is largely then up to perspective the legislators when drafting the original statute, the legislated language of the enacted statute, and what is expected of the law enforcement personnel in enforcing that statute. Whether or not the statute had been ‘fair’ in its professed aims/objectives starts way, way before the enforcement and prosecution stage.
Well, I certainly think it compromises a teacher’s position of authority when she has sex with a student – however, shouldn’t she just be fired rather than incarcerated? That’s just another example of a stupid law I think. In my opinion, this woman didn’t take advantage of those football players – or cause them any lasting emotional trauma, or really any emotional trauma at all since they are probably viewed as “heros” on campus now. That’s the way it rolls with males. With girls – the stigma is much more negative.
And – regardless of the legal wording and what lawmakers think – if someone old enough to make a decision to have sex in one law … how does another law then automatically consider that girl to be a “trafficked” or “coerced” individual if she decides to have sex for monetary compensation?
Well I guess, this is the law isn’t it? It doesn’t have to make sense! LOL
Well, yes, I agree with you that a teacher in such circumstances should just be sacked instead. I mean, that was the normal situation back in the 1960s and 70s (certainly in the UK where I was). But as the bleeding hearts with their sociological perspectives have gained the upper hand since the mid-1980s, the law has changed, not for the better, not for better sense, so that’s what we’ve got.
The point about law is that it really isn’t about whether an 18 year old or under-18 has the ability to think for himself/herself. If the legislated language of the law has decided that for the person, the law enforcement agencies are pretty much tied in their hands about getting things done.
Let me give ourselves a perspective (albeit British one) from the 1960s and 70s. Back in the good ole days in the UK, when an underaged girl had a leg-over with a grownup, if caught, and the police had no way around it but to prosecute, that grownup would have been imprisoned for maybe around a year. But that situation would have been for the really screwed. Otherwise, it would have been more like, “You lucky bastard.” But it sort of depends on the situation. If it was a fling, everybody wants to skip it. If it was out-and-out prostitution, it’s a different story altogeher. If the fling was between two underaged people, the police really want to forget about it, or just pressurise the kids to get married and be done with it now that they’ve been caught. You see what I mean?
The bottom line is, don’t blame the law for what it expects to be done. Blame the legislators for drawing up a law that expects wrong to be done on top of another wrong.
Since it came up a few times… here’s a global map of
“Age of Consent”
Keep in mind most First World countries (and probably many others) make (some) allowances for teens being teens. An basic AoC might be 16, but that only applies to sex with other teens. One would have to be 18 (to use Canadian example) to have sex with someone over 21 without said person being in legal hot water.
That is exactly what I had wanted to say.
New York State enacted the 2010 law defining prostitutes under 18 as victims, not criminals, for two reasons: 1. Actual underage human sex trafficking victims, 2. It was believed that the only or main reason an underage prostitute won’t testify against a pimp is fear that she herself will be criminally charged with prostitution. The legislators and prosecutors who believed that are now discovering that they were wrong. Even when the threat of a prostitution charge is removed, most underage prostitutes still won’t testify against their pimp, either because they don’t have one or because they prefer working with a business manager at an age when they may not be ready yet to work independently.
And that, perversely, is exactly the same situation in land law, where you have an 18-year-old buying a house when only a 21-year-old could legally draw up a deed of purchase to buy land/property. The vendor isn’t likely to be too fussy about an 18-year-old with the cash to buy, and the conveyancer (though probably not a fully fledged lawyer) isn’t likely to grass on the buyer.
In the same way, like you said, under 18s won’t tout on their pimps or because they haven’t got a pimp in the first place. But I can appreciate the direction where the NY state statute is coming from: there has to be a cutoff age. The problem is not the law itself but in the way enforcement is expected to be done under the terms of the law – that’s what differentiates a good law from a bad one.
thenakedlistener, what do you mean by “But I can appreciate the direction where the NY state statute is coming from: there has to be a cutoff age.”
There has to be a cut-off age for what – being assumed to be under the control of a pimp regardless of whether you really are? I don’t think there should be a cutoff age for that because I don’t think that assumption should be made at all.
What this law ignores is that anyone who is a prostitute while still under 18 probably has a horrendous home life. It usually takes severe abuse/neglect to make a teenager decide she’d rather be a prostitute than rely on her parent(s) to support her. Many of these kids ran away from homes with sexual abuse, violence, addicted parents or other horrors. The law doesn’t acknowledge that prostitution, even underage prostitution, can sometimes improve someone’s life.
You misunderstand me, or maybe I wasn’t being clear. I appreciate what there exists a cutoff age for the NY state law to consider under-18s as victims rather than criminals – this is mainly because of how the legislative process works (in any country), no matter how insane or brain-damaged that appears to the rest of us. No, I agree with you – the law’s an ass here, drawn up by asses who listened to more asses with their asses stuck up their arses.
I could post a huge list of cases where the justice system has worked greatly and justice was truly done. Are there still problems with the system? YES. But, there’s also been many all through history who have worked and are currently working to make the system as best as possible. At least a few have succeeded. I get so tired of the constant negativity about the justice system. Always the bad things, always the “gloom and doom”. To those of us who have literally experienced the justice system and have gotten full or even partial justice, it’s not “insane” at all.
You are right. In this and other threads on this blog, I’ve always said the legal system is just a machine. If we’re lucky and know which buttons to push, we get what passes for justice, sometimes even fairness.
Maybe my next comments belongs in your previous 5 November 2011, “Revolution” article as well. The problem with the politicians is that they believe in Meier’s Law on just about everything with few exceptions. The majority of the public feels the same way. People don’t want to hear the truth until it is either too late or almost too late. Now you see the Tea Party and Own Wall Street(OWS) people making a ruckus, because the drunken foolish stupid party is over and the hangover is beginining. I’m personally more sympathetic to the Tea Party. I was at my local American Legion post talking to a Vietnam Veteran as I’m an Iraq and Afghanistan Veteran, and he said the truth. Most Americans don’t have a clue as to how the world works. They work their job, do their errands and watch the television and believe whatever they’ve been taught in schools and on the TV. They don’t pay attention to what is going on around them nor to reality.He said that they’re in for a shock because it will become nasty and our civilization disintegrate before their eyes. I agreed with him.
By the way, he had his paid for whores and paid for (whore)mistress which the family was grateful for the money he supplied them even though he threatened violence agaisnt them if they ever crossed him. He told them what would cross him and gave fair warning, and they never did. Does that make him a past pimp? Prostitution in Iraq and even more so in Afghanistan was almost nonexistent unlike Vietnam. It’s even illegal to have pornography in these countries even on your own personal computer. I knew some Soldiers who were caught and screwed by the Uniform Code of Military Justice(UCMJ) for it even though it was rare to be caught. The military offers incentives to be married or even have children in or out of wedlock such as more money and moving out of the barracks. By the way, fornication is still illegal according to the UCMJ. The men being flushed with more money and other incentives try to get a girlfriend or wife, often impregnating her. Then all too often the girlfriend or wife leaves him taking his money and children if he has them while often cheating on him. The Divorce rates for the Army and Marine Corps. were at 75% and 70% respectively and their suicide rates were sky high and higher than they’ve ever been. I’m not sure if prostitution could help these military men, but it couldn’t hurt. Maggie, I know you told my brother in arms, Krulac, recently that he needed to have sex not medication for his anxiety while deployed to Iraq. Sex can be a great stress reliever. I think it’s true for women and know it’s true for men.
As much as I love my Country and put on the uniform to serve it, Americans as a whole are so delusional when in comes to sex, “romantic relationships” and prostitution, it isn’t even funny. There’s less reason to criminalize prostitution tham marijuana, but watch! Marijuana will probably be decriminbalized and legalized faster as is already being done so than prostitution. Sadly, South Korea(SK) under pressure of the USA is becoming more like the USA in some negative ways. Getting narcotics in SK was more difficult and dangerous than and getting prostitution was easier in SK 10 Years ago than the USA when I was there. Although the Koreans like to get drunk more than Americans, they also use less narcotics. Korean men also used prostitutes more. Sex sounds like a better way to get relief than being intoxicated, but most American seem to disagree. Don’t listen to what they say, watch what they do and watch what laws are put in place and enforced and what they pay for.
doclove, I reckon your comment is the best ever I’ve read in a long time, totally deserving of a separate post.
Hey brother I get your point!
I joined the Navy at a time when we were encouraged to work hard and play hard. Back in those days, when we pulled into the Philippines, the Chief of the Boat (COB) would go out to every brothel on Magsaysay Street in Olongapo – and talk to every “Mamasan” and let her know how she could get a hold of him in case any of the “boys” got in trouble in her place.
Today – any Submarine COB that made any kind of contact with a “Mamasan” would be put on report by his CO for encouraging human trafficking.
I finished my last sea tour in the Navy as the Command Master Chief of an Aegis Cruiser. I took over from a (very famous in her own right), female CMC there. She told me … “Don’t go to Thailand.” I asked her “why not?” and she said … “well, you can go there I suppose – but I wouldn’t … I lost so much respect for men when I was there.” Hell, this was a woman in her forties – and she was just learning how males behave when they’re placed in the immediate vicinity of CHEAP, GOOD LOOKING hookers? I mean – they are so cheap you don’t even think of it as prostitution. My first girl in the PI was $20.00 for a whole night – and she SCALPED me! By the way – she was older than me too – like in her mid-thirties. I got a good look at her the next morning in the daylight! She wasn’t “trafficked” by any means.
I seriously worry for our folks in the service these days. They’re simply not allowed to blow off steam the way we were allowed to. In Japan, I won’t go into it – but ALL Sailors (male and female) are treated like indentured servants and expected to perform work – with almost no promise of decent, unsupervised liberty (off-time) out in town. It’s horrible.
Just on one point, there has been scientific research that indicates that several biochemicals in seminal plasma act as antidepressants via bloodstream absorbtion; of course our Ladies of the Evening can’t avail themselves of this, due to STI concerns.
See? We were designed sexually to make each other feel good.
Since so many people seem to be brainwashed, we need to establish facilities (let’s call them “camps”) to clear up their brainwashing (let’s call that “reeducation”) in some remote place where it’s cold and harsh so people won’t escape… some place like Siberia, but in the US.
Looking at some of the more brainwashed in society, I reckon a Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum might be the cheaper and more humane way to go…
That was sarcasm…
I know … but wouldn’t it be nice just once if it could be done, though…
Yes, how “nice” it would be! It’s very “nice” for those people who are the surviving family members/friends of those killed by violence. It’s incredible and disgusting to me how casual some can be about saying people should be killed. I’ve noticed a pattern with this: there’s never a WORD about the people left behind. Another thing never said: there’s many of the people left behind who aren’t “brainwashed” (eyeroll). In other words, they can and many times ARE the opposite of their murdered loved 1’s and/or friends.
I don’t think we were talking about the same type of brainwashed people that you’re talking about. The comments for this part were supposed to be sarcastic. Don’t think I know nothing about getting left behind – I do, actually, more than most would presume.
Actually I’m talking about ALL people who are called “brainwashed”. None of them deserve to be killed for being “brainwashed”. The exceptions would be those who have literally hurt others, but they ALL deserve a fair trial before possibly getting the death penalty. When I saw the word “but” used that got to me because to me that was to say “we’re not supposed to be violent, but it would be great if we COULD and that it would be OK”. I apologize that I got wrong what you were saying. I’m very sorry that you’ve experienced being left behind and didn’t intend to make light of that.
Nah, it’s okay, Laura. I’m easy 99% of time even in extreme circumstances. Maggie the author here knows (hopefully!) I’m kinda loopy and longwinded and boring but easygoing. I actually like the comments you’ve made.
Thanks for your kind words. I like your posts also! Yes, I’m longwinded also especially on certain subjects. I have to really watch that at work because we’ve been told to NOT talk about certain things like politics and religion. While I hate this directive, I can understand it to a degree as the peace has to be kept to a degree for work to get done, etc.
IF you’re being serious here, you down those being “brainwashed” (eyeroll) but then get right on their level with your “solution”. Is that any better than them? Putting people in “camps”? Taking away their freedoms? I’m wondering: would you VOLUNTEER to be in 1 of these camps? You know, to show people how “OK” it is? Be an example?
Laura, that was obviously sarcasm. It’s like when you say something about Christians always ordering people around and dancing with snakes. You don’t say that because you believe, or want your readers to believe, that Christians are doing the snake dance while barking orders, but because you want to show how silly that is.
Here I thought it might have been a little too heavy handed…
Dear Jason, there’s people who aren’t being sarcastic when talking about camps:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Defense_of_Internment
I honestly couldn’t tell if you were being sarcastic or not. Now that you’ve stated you WERE, I apologize if I upset you. To Sailor B, I put the “IF” in caps because I wasn’t positive if Jason was being sarcastic or not. I didn’t want to automatically say he wasn’t. Sometimes even someone like me who loves to use sarcasm to makes points won’t get others’ sarcasm right off. Unfortunately, there’s people who support the message of the book I put the link to above also.
The fact that that PoS is written by Michelle Malkin tells you pretty much all you need to know.
Please note I put an “IF” in caps at the beginning of my post. That was because I didn’t know for sure if he was being serious or not.
Maggie —
I saw this article in one of Mark J Perry’s blog postings.
I heard a bit on a show a few weeks back about how so many gay, lesbian and trans kids get tossed out of their homes, and end up working the street. Pretty shocking, those numbers.
For the life of me, this is something I can’t wrap my head around. I mean, these are THEIR kids, who just happen to be gay, lesbian, etc. I don’t understand why and how parents could do this to their kids. Unfortunately, here in Hong Kong where I am, we’re starting to see rising numbers of ‘home-evicted kids’ (a term I find defamatory because it imparts the idea of the kids having done some wrong).
Hey Naked, what part of the UK are you from? Yorkshire, here.
Our society really doesn’t have any good solutions for kids on their own, mainly because it’s put no effort into it. There’s either being returned home, usually to a bad situation, and often the parents don’t wan the kids, or some institution, mostly a bad deal. Occasionally, one gets lucky and lands in good foster homes, but those are really rare. Often times, the kids are better off fending for themselves.
If only we made it safer.
London, but I’ve grown up in several different countries around the world so I pretty much identify with anywhere you could name.
You are right. There has been no genuine effort for a long time. There has also been the tendency of institutions to piggyback on the plight of people (adults and kids alike) for career enhancement by the law enforcement and court personnel.
I don’t know how that happens in the UK.
I live in the Bible Belt of the US South and I haven’t seen it happen. My sister-in-law’s brother is gay, and lives with a guy. They both attend all the family functions and they’re accepted.
It’s a bit difficult to explain their relationship to the really small kids in the family … one of which is a little siren and she asks A LOT of questions … but we deal with it.
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. We’re all supposed to ‘deal with it,’ sirens and all.
In case anyone gets the wrong idea that people in the UK toss out their gay, lesbian or trannie family members, they don’t. The large majority of British people are in fact openminded about this sort of thing, and have always been, even back in the 1920s, 30s, 40s and 50s (so I understand from my folks). British society is a high-context society full of quirky and eccentric people, and every other person we meet is in the street is a little non compos mentis in some way anyhow, so everyone gets used to it.
Hah such a great description of the people of the UK, we’re all a bit potty.
London, eh? Exciting. Believe me, where I spent my childhood was one of the least happening places on the planet. Sheep everywhere.