The truth is that it does not suit our social narrative to recognize that a woman can be raped and get on with her life. – Charlotte Shane
As soon as anyone who has some unusual interest commits a crime, you can be sure the loudmouthed bigots will blame the interest rather than the criminal:
Three roommates involved with a “sex dungeon” at their home may have murdered a…California [woman] as they tried to satisfy their fetishes…Detectives found “bondage type sex apparatuses, toys and tools” at the home of the two women and man who have been charged with murder in the death of 22-year-old Brittany Killgore…[who] was last seen April 13…Jessica Lopez…said she strangled the victim, fearing the victim would upend a kinky sex ring by seducing her “Master,” according to…a seven-page letter that [Lopez wrote]…The documents give no indication that Killgore knew about the sex ring, and prosecutors call her an innocent victim…
Ignoring the dyphemisms like “ring” and “kinky”, what do we have here? A woman murders another woman out of jealousy. Period. If the house had been full of workout equipment or sports memorabilia, you can be sure the cops wouldn’t be calling it an “athletics-related murder”, but let there be anything sexual in the house, and suddenly it’s a “factor”.
Things have grown far worse in the 21 years since Paul Reubens’ career was destroyed by vice cops who accused him of masturbating in an adult theater; back then, he might’ve survived the bad publicity had his audience not included children. Fred Willard’s audience is all adult, yet he’s being crucified anyway:
…His career is now abruptly over because he was arrested by L.A. vice cops at an adult movie theater. Not convicted, not sentenced. Arrested. For “lewd behavior” in a porn theater…In the past 35 weeks, L.A. police have apparently “inspected” the adult theater 40 times, arresting 23 people. One can speculate how many of those “inspections” involved cops getting blow jobs. One can wonder how much tax money was spent on these “inspections.” And one can wonder, in a city where 300 people are murdered and several thousand are raped every year, how the city can possibly justify spending millions on “inspecting” porn theaters…If convicted, the State could require Fred Willard to register as a sex offender. Depending on where he lives, he might have to move. No producer or casting director would ever look at his photo ever again…
Though cops are well-known for being both astonishingly ignorant and disgustingly barbaric on the subject of whores, this moronic op-ed on the “hookernomics” of Chattanooga, Tennessee’s “fugly” streetwalkers represents a new low for puerile police vulgarity in print; it’s also a fine example of how when a cop is allowed to run his filthy mouth he’ll usually reveal more about himself than he realizes.
The Clueless Leading the Hysterical
Nestle Corporation proves it’s almost as clueless as cops are: “Nestle…[removed] an image from its Kit Kat Facebook…page, after [discovering] it was similar to…‘Pedobear’ – considered visual shorthand on the internet for sites posting material with inappropriate overtones towards minors…”
“Objectification”, blah blah blah. “Sending messages”, simper simper.
…Melinda Liszewski is part of a campaign against the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls…”We’ve got an expanding sex industry in Queensland, we’ve got billboards advertising that kind of thing and we’ve got…children being exposed to the…message that women exist to be bought and sold,” she said. But speak to 21-year-old Portia…and it’s all about money [and] flexible hours…[she’s] been accepted to study Post Graduate Development Psychology…Indy…is 31 and said she was angered by the backlash. “I’ve been in this industry for 13 years and I have a child,” she said… “I’ve studied vet science and nursing and now I have my own business…”
“Justice Minister Anna-Maja Henriksson is planning to push for a bill that would completely prohibit the purchase of sexual services..[which] would bring Finland’s legislation in line with the Swedish and Norwegian model…” I have a suggestion for the minister: talk to Norway’s social affairs chief before you make a complete ass of yourself.
In The New Inquiry, Charlotte Shane published an excellent essay on how the feminist myth that all rape is equally traumatic and always life-destroying harms women and shuts down discourse:
…Though some feminists regard “rape equals devastation” as sacred fact, the notion that a man can ruin me with his penis strikes me as the most complete expression of vintage misogyny available. Common sense instructs us that it is far more “dangerous” to insist to young women that they will be broken by an unwanted sex act than it is to propose they might have a happy, healthy, and sexually pleasant future ahead of them in spite of a sexual assault…When we refuse to acknowledge the possibility that a rape could be anything less than a tsunami of emotional and mental destruction for a woman, we establish a fantasy of absolute male sexual power and absolute female vulnerability. We are, in essence, honoring the timeless belief that a woman’s worth, self-respect, and ability to function within society are dictated exclusively by the sexual use of her body…
One can’t blame Anna Gristina’s partner for employing the “arbitrary line” defense, but it does demonstrate the inanity of prostitution laws:
…”Paying two individuals to watch them engage in sexual activity…is simply not prostitution,” veteran defense lawyer Robert Gottlieb argues…on behalf of…Jaynie Mae Baker…[who is] fighting a single count of promoting prostitution, for allegedly sitting at a restaurant with a prospective john last July and booking him…with a pair of escorts…not once do the parties specifically mention sex for money…[and] the recordings capture “the undercover officer meeting two other women at an apartment who eventually appear to engage in sexual contact with each other, but not with the undercover officer”…the fake john never even took his clothing off…prior judges have defined prostitution as specifically “A paying B for sexual activity to be performed on A,” and not as charging a fee merely to provide a building space for sexual activity or to let someone watch a sex performance…
Here’s a look at the British version of these idiotic technicalities from New Statesman, in which an accountant who represented a number of prostitutes points out the absurdity of taxing them as businesses while simultaneously denying that they are covered by business law:
…although prostitution is lawful…a prostitute cannot do things such as advertise, go into partnership, form a limited company, employ people, rent premises or sue for debts…the big problem lies with the legislation on brothel keeping. This – unlike prostitution, is considered a crime. Common sense dictates two fairly simple things: one, prostitution won’t go away any time soon (something about that whole “oldest profession” thing), and two; the women doing it are safer working indoors with a maid, rather than working on the street. There’s neither rhyme nor reason to this law, besides the rule that for every outraged Daily Mail headline there’s an equally cowardly political reaction…
The article goes onto say that the old brothel laws are now being justified with “sex trafficking” hysteria, and includes a 2009 video of a politician being forced to admit on television that the government’s source for “trafficking” figures was an article in the Daily Mirror.
…Singapore-based Lovotics…unveiled…Kissenger…an egg-like orb outfitted with two soft plastic lips packed with sensors and actuators. When a human…plants a kiss on the robot lips, the sensors record the shape changes the kisser creates on the lips and translates those pressure patterns into a mirror image that can be beamed over the Web to another Kissenger…[which] reproduces the sender’s unique kiss for a human on the other end. It’s supposed to be a means of maintaining a sense of intimacy when two people are separated by distance, translating a person’s signature kissing style into something that can be transported and delivered to a recipient…
First They Came for the Hookers…
Of course we already knew this, but it’s nice to see them admit it for a change: “Police have admitted that they do not have any evidence to support a claim that lap dancing clubs may contribute to sex offences…” Meanwhile, teacher Stacie Halas (who was fired for having acted in porn) in now suing the school district with the help of feminist attack dog Gloria Allred, who as you may remember also took the case of the reporter fired for her past work as a stripper.
Some readers seemed skeptical of my position that peaceful protest alone has done nothing for the sex worker rights movement, and that it’s time for us to be disruptive so we can no longer be ignored. This made the national news, which is extremely unusual for any US sex worker protest:
Here’s another one from Wednesday.
It’s really heartening to see a story like this from a major news outlet:
… while the United States lifted a travel ban on people infected with HIV in 2009, it has clung to a prohibition on the entry of foreign sex workers established more than two centuries ago. Activists, and some [International AIDS] Conference officials, say that runs counter to a goal of achieving an end to the epidemic…”I don’t know how we’re going to ever see an end to AIDS in our lifetime…without including all of those populations who must be involved as part of this solution,” said U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee of California…Michel Sidibe, executive director of the United Nations AIDS program, said it was “outrageous” that in 2012 “when we have everything to beat this epidemic, we still have to fight prejudice, stigma, discrimination, exclusion, criminalization”…
The article then goes on to discuss the public health menace presented by allowing cops and prosecutors to seize condoms as “evidence”. Incidentally, I’m not sure where this reporter got the idea that the whore immigration ban is “more than two centuries” old; it was part of the Page Law of 1875, a racist ploy to reduce the number of Chinese immigrants.
Metaupdates
The Crumbling Dam in Further Developments
Los Angeles billboard companies refused Furry Girl’s sex worker rights billboard, but were happy to display this:
The Pro-Rape Coalition in We’re Not Done Yet
Just in case you may have forgotten about Mitt Romney’s campaign promise to work hard to increase the rape rate:
Former Justice Department official Patrick Trueman, who proudly participated in federal pornography prosecutions during their “heyday” in the late 1980s and early 1990s…[said] that Mitt Romney’s campaign assured him that Romney would “vigorously” prosecute pornographers if elected president. Trueman, the president of Morality in Media, contacted the Romney campaign earlier this year about the “untreated pandemic” of Internet pornography…
Good News, Bad News in TW3 (#14)
A brief respite: “Western Australia’s new Attorney-General…has conceded the Government’s proposed prostitution laws are unlikely to be passed before the next election…”
This Week in 2011
Several “Harlots of the Bible” were positively portrayed, and many sex workers are abducted and caged “Against Their Will” in the name of “rescuing” them. “A Load of Farley” vivisects the most recent bogus “study” from the most active font of such filth, and “Imaginary Crises” does the same for claims of a “rape epidemic”. “A Working System” demonstrates how problems can be handled under decriminalization, “Peeping Toms” looks at the legacy of Lawrence vs. Texas, and “Profanation” discusses the neofeminist campaign to rewrite the history of harlotry.
This Week in 2010
An essay on the legends about “Mary Magdalene” was followed by one on why women lie about our weight and age, how escorts go about “Playing the Part”, a two-part column on rape in calls, and a debunking of the myth of “Pimps”.
sex work=objectification
working for large corporations,that force you to work 12 and more hours with no extra pay and if they decide you cost them too much they fire you at 50 years of age,when you are unable to get hired anywhere else=feminist act
beauty regimes=objectification
not taking care of your outer self,which is absurd even by ancient greek standards(one of the biggest ideals was a healthy mind in a healthy body)=feminist act
enjoying male attention,liking being called beautiful=brainwashing into being objectified
hating men,your own sexual self=feminist act
trying on make up or your mothers heels as a child=worrying trend that indicates early growth of girls
being made to study way too many hours,instead of playing=just fine
having sexual thoughts before 18=indicator of early sexualisation of kids,because being a feminist means you dont have hormons and are forced to act sexually because of the evil patriarchy.
Agree 100%! Especially with the beauty regimes. I mean, we all have our days when you just don’t feel like it, but those days for me revolve around being horribly sick, usually with the flu or a bad sinus infection. But those days are few and far between for me. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoy beautification. Helps in the daily ordering of my “personal cosmos”.
Fred Willard! Nooooooo! I loved his cameo in “This is Spinal Tap” … which is my favorite comedy.
Charlotte Shane’s article is spot on – but she will be dismissed – because she’s a sex worker and so yes, people expect her to take a casual attitude about sex even though she’s right here. Would be much better to find a “normal” gal to be the messenger on this.
By the way – I may be Pro-Choice now but I’ll never leave my position that men who commit violent rape should get the death penalty. I’m not talking about “date rape” here – I’m talking about unexcused, premeditated sexual assault on a woman where at least a portion of the “intent” was to physically wound her. Yeah, she might heal up and yeah – she might get on with her life. But there are certain crimes that are so stupid-ass we should have the right to say … “Thank you very much asshole, but your presence on the planet is no longer required or desired.”
I’ll pull the switch on ’em if you guys don’t want to. No charge.
“KISSINGER!” Fukin’-A! You know where this will be big? In two places … first, the military LOVES this kind of thing to keep soldiers in touch with their wives and second – I think Maggie McNeill will purchase a pair of these and stuff one in her hubby’s suitcase for when he’s on travel!!
(What happens if my little english bulldog kisses it though? 😛 )
On this sex worker protest – call me stupid – but I see that as a peaceful protest. I didn’t see anyone harmed, or any attempt to harm anyone. Let me also say that you can get away with pushing a bit harder against organizations that don’t get a lot of popular support. For instance – crashing a Catholic lady’s club during “bingo night” – not likely to produce positive political results. Crashing an international body and interrupting the venting of their hot-air … very popular with Mr. and Mrs. John Q! 😀
Mitt Romney is the worst kind of conservative. He adopts virtually ALL of the extreme liberty strangling policies that conservatives are routinely ridiculed for – while at the same time he forsakes the “smaller government” ideas that they’re known for which actually make sense. That’s why I’m voting for Obama in November – we’re not electing a President – we’re electing a pilot to take this plane to the scene of the crash. I encourage everyone to join me – and pull the lever for Obama, then go home and put on a Motorhead CD while you stock up on canned goods!! 😀
AND NOW I TAKE MAGGIE MCNEILL TO TASK!! My dear … why have you ignored this little gym here – which is PROOF POSITIVE that the “myth of the wanton” — IS NOT SO … “MYTHICAL’!!!
This poor … poor … poor … man.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/crime/nigerian-man-uroko-onoja-raped-death-5-wives
i find Romney to be much much worse than Obama,although in reality i dont like Obama either.i guess the truth for most voters in most countries is that they vote for the lesser of evils.the bad thing about the U.S elections is that they affect the whole world and im not fond of the policies of the conservatives,especially if they are going to have a say in the future policies of the e.u.
I believe that story exactly as much as I believe other stories from Nigeria like this one:
You are sooo jaded. 😛
Nigerian police are investigating a bizarre claim that a boy has been turned into a yam by a witchdoctor, the Daily Star claims.
Officers have even taken a large yam into custody.
Three schoolboys in Maiduguri told their headteacher their friend had been transformed into a vegetable in front of their eyes after accepting a sweet from a stranger.
As word spread about the schoolboy yam, hundreds of curious people began flocking to the police station to catch a glimpse of it.
An official reportedly said: “There has been a mysterious incident here.”
As Tim Cavanaugh famously sang, “A Yam, I Said…”
I think the problem with America is that politicians and the people want to have their cake and eat it too. They try to adopt the more efficient policies of the statist while still trying to have the pro-human rights policies of the anti-statism movements.
I actually doubt that Fred Willard’s career is over. I even saw Paul Rueben’s doing his Pee Wee Herman act recently on HBO I believe.
Paul Reubens has indeed staged a small comeback, but A) It took almost 20 years, which the much-older Willard doesn’t have; and B) he isn’t nearly as mega-popular as he was before the cops decided to get their jollies by arresting him.
Re Alex Teach : 20 years of experience is no indicator that one has 1. any viable experience, thus credibility, 2. not spent 20 years doing things in a stupid, and perhaps objectively incorrect fashion.
Given the entrenched bigotry and stupidity of police departments, I’d say 20 years as a cop should be enough to destroy anyone’s credibility in the eyes of informed citizens.
You are just jaded by the ones you’ve dealt with in NO.
Not all of them are that way.
unfortunately i find that a large percentage of cops is exactly that way,everywhere.when we talk about vice cops that Maggie has dealt with,even worse so,it is my firm beleive now that this department attracts some of the worst people that exist,in every country.in a recent study it was found that nazism within police officers reaches 50%.the reason i suspect this going on is the power that the gun gives them.many get a high out of this,they think that they can act however they please,because noone is going to question the power the gun has.on top of that it is so easy for them to avoid consequences,the word of a cop has more gravity than the arrested person who might report them for abuse of power,especially if that person belongs to a marginilised group.i really wish ”the hollywood cop”was more common.those smart,efficient men that genuinely care about helping the citizens-it is how each and everyone of them should be,but from what ive seen so far it is not as common.
I agree that it does appear that cops drawn towards vice work, seem to have more of those issues.
It may also have to do with the particular town or city, and the tone set. Some places are just more ‘respectful’ than others.
Not “all of them” have to be. I’d say about 50% are completely corrupt, 40% are followers who go along with the crowd, and 9% are too stupid and/or scared to buck the system. If you really believe only “some” cops are a problem, you need to read The Agitator and the National Police Misconduct Reporting Project more often.
Yes, I know. I read it and the other items when you sent them to me before.
There are horrible people in every position in all walks of life. I am sure people could come up with examples of bad people in every profession.
If anyone has a reason to hate cops, it would be me because of my personal experiences. But I realize that there is no one size fits all, because of other things I’ve seen.
It’s like me saying that all sex workers are drug addicts, if all I’ve ever seen were the street walkers on the west side highway. I know thats not the case, because I’ve kept an open mind, and saw past what i grew up seeing everyday for years.
Yes, i am sure that the vast majority that you have come it to contact with, are toolbags. But I also think its because of the type of people who are drawn to vice work, or who get jaded by being it in too long, and lose their compassion.
I knew you wrote something about this before
http://maggiemcneill.wordpress.com/2010/08/24/bad-girls/
No. They are NOT the same as people in other professions, because 1) they can beat, torture, maim or kill people without consequences; 2) they cover up for each others’ corruption and misconduct; and 3) their words are taken as equal or superior to physical evidence in court. That makes them different from every other profession, and it shows.
I know this is an issue you are passionate about, and I completely understand why.
I have seen them suffer the consequences; been outed by co-workers for their misconduct; and been labelled as liars in court. But I am in a different area of the country than you are.
I am more angry at the politicians who create these invaisive laws, and then don’t hold themselves to the same standards as we are held to.
A friend of mine who is a cop says he figures that even the best departments have 10% of their number who are bad cops and that the large urban departments probably run about 30%. And, he says that standard disciplinary actions actual exacerbate the problem.
Most of the disciplinary actions involve putting the bad cops on night shift or on “shit shifts” as “punishment.” He believes that if you have a problem cop, the last place you put him is on night shift; there is less supervision and less citizen observation to keep the SOB in check.
Unfortunately, his attitudes started to change when he got into management. Which probably reflects the corrupting nature of the institution. He tends to defend cops more now where he used to critique them.
Has Alex Teach attained the rank of Captain? ARRRRHH!
“…Melinda Liszewski is part of a campaign against the objectification of women and sexualisation of girls…”We’ve got an expanding sex industry in Queensland, we’ve got billboards advertising that kind of thing and we’ve got…children being exposed to the…message that women exist to be bought and sold,” she said. ”
Actually, we’ve got this concept called capitalism, that promotes a message that PEOPLE exist to be bought and sold. It’s not just women.
Has Lizewski ever signed a model release? The standard one, at least in the adult industry, gives them the right to sell your image. It’s what you’re being paid for. And they can sell it again and again. (Yes, it’s unfair that porn actors do not get residuals like Hollywood actors.) That’s what the business sells, images. Same with advertising. Woman, man or child, if you do any sort of modeling or acting, you are selling your image.
As for rape, it happens. Always will. In some areas of life, it happens a bit more. I mean, my work for quite a while consisted of meeting men, alone, while projecting a very sexually available image. It’s amazing how seldom I was raped. Cops are the worst for that.
But, of the traumatic things I’ve had happen in my life, the few times are far, far down the list. Loss of loved ones to disease, age or accident top the list. That’s just another part of life. But with both, you deal with it as best you can. The idea that any of us can walk though this life with no emotional scars is pretty silly. And how interesting a person would you be if you could?
See, this is something i don’t get, people who are paralyzed by their emotions. Things happen. We are made to be resilient. Had our ancestors failed to clear out of the way of the tiger because they were too traumatized, they wouldn’t be our ancestors.
But what do I know? I’m just a tough old whore.
Sometimes I suspect that Monty Python had a hand in writing the British prostitution laws. Prostitution is legal, as long as you don’t do anything “Prostituety”. Kind of like making selling cars legal as long as you don’t have a showroom, any staff, advertise, or make any money.
I have always felt that women who claim rape is the very worst thing that can happen to a woman must’ve had very easy lives. Of the six horrible things that happened in my “year of disaster” (August 1994-July 1995) I don’t count the aggravated gang rape as worse than the other five; the worst was being abandoned by my ex-husband without any warning.
One of my dearest friends suffered what I think must be the worst kind of rape when she was 17: losing her virginity to an aggravated rapist at gunpoint. But now, 25 years later, it’s clear that her troubled relationship with her father caused her far more grief over the years.
comixchik wrote, Actually, we’ve got this concept called capitalism, that promotes a message that PEOPLE exist to be bought and sold. It’s not just women.
I think you are buying into the same mindset regarding economic actions as the mainstream prohibitionists are about sexual actions coupled with an economic incentive.
The fact that I agree to exchange the work of my hands, the work of my mind, or the image of my body for specific type or term of remuneration doesn’t mean I exist to be bought and sold anymore than a woman exchanging sexual favors for money is selling herself as the prohibitionists claim. And it doesn’t matter if the other consenting parties are a partnership, a sole proprietorship, a corporation, or any number of independently acting clients, I’m still an independent agent, to act or not act in accordance with my preferences to the extent that others will voluntarily reciprocate those actions.
Now I’m am obviously leaving out the real world fact that governments do initiate force on behalf of some of their political cronies in various institutional forms. That’s called fascism. And the fact that otherwise freely-acting people are so victimized doesn’t make the rest of their transactions suspect anymore than you being gang-raped against your consent* or being unjustly arrested by the police renders suspect the voluntary nature of your other transactions with other clients.
You seem to recognize this fact very well in regard to your own profession. Why do you have difficulty extending that recognition to the voluntary interactions that happen in the non-sexual economy?
*I included this modifier in light of the more aggressive sexual services that you provided, not to postulate that there is such a thing as rape with consent. Role play, perhaps…
Ah, if only it were really that way, everyone being a free agent, free of coercion in their business dealings. Tell me, do you have a cel phone? Is the legal agreement that you’re under, because of something you horse-traded to get? Or did you sign a “standard contract,” take it or leave it? How about software? To get any software to work, you have to click on an End User License Agreement, which starts out as “I agree that…”
About the only time I’m a free agent in my business dealings is buying grapefruit; if I think the price at one store is too high, I can go to another store. The rest of the time, I’m told a dozen times every day, “This is what you’re getting, this is what you’ll pay for it, and TFB if you don’t like it.”
These “take it or leave it” deals are called contracts of adhesion, and in most industries the lack of choice is an illusion because there is plenty of competition. (In the few cases where there isn’t enough competition to give you a real alternative it is because of too much government intervention, not too little.)
Here’s a good explanation of why it is an illusion:
http://daviddfriedman.com/laws_order/index.shtml , page 148.
Really? The XM-Sirius merger is the result of too much government intervention? The Comcast-NBC merger happened because of too much government intervention? And where was all this government intervention when broken-up AT&T came back together? Of course Wall Street has been way too regulated for years, right?
*buzzer*
Here are the facts: Never in my lifetime have the rich but unscrupulous been as free as they are now to do as they pleased. It’s like living in medieval Europe, where the laws are made by the rich, and apply only to the poor.
If we regulated vaginas like we regulate corporations, prostitution would have been decriminalized since 1994.
GrimGhost,
Why do you think we had oligopolies in the Broadcast Media to begin with? Take a look back to the runup to the creation of the Federal Radio Commission under Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover.
Prior to that time, the airwaves were “homesteaded;” that is, you claimed property rights by building a transmitter and the extension of your homestead was determined by the broadcast frequency and the distance you could broadcast intelligibly.
Starting in the mid-20’s certain business interests were a bit pissed off that some of the independents were reluctant to consolidate. So they begin to encroach on the small operators. Hoover, instead of letting these cases be settled in the civil courts where all previous questions had been settled – usually against the trespassing party, used certain provisos contained in the Licenses that the gov’t required these operators to obtain, to Federalize the disputes. That was the entering wedge of government. Note that if it had been truly homesteaded, the operators would have had Deeds of Title, NOT Licenses.
He founded the Federal Radio Commission, and, employing the Doctrine of Scarcity, nationalized the airwaves. The small operators were at a distinct disadvantage in regard to their better connected and funded rivals. Consolidation proceeded apace and we ended up with the Big 3 Oligopoly, a condition that persisted for almost 60 years.
You also realize, I’m sure, that almost all cable companies operate as franchised monopolies where localities forbid the entrance of non-franchised operators? And that satellite operators actually had to fight this in court to provide competition to the franchised operators?
And AT&T was a monopoly that came about by a four cornered deal between AT&T, RCA, the federal gov’t and state/local gov’ts who regulated rates and prohibited competition. This also tied in with RCA’s actions in regard to the oligopoly created in the radio spectrum as detailed above.
If you want a good book to reference for this time period, I would recommend “Freedom, Technology and the First Amendment” by Jonathon W. Emord. It’s on Amazon. He does not deal with the AT&T issue but has information about Hoover’s little coup d’ airwaves as Secretary of Commerce.
to the extent that others will voluntarily reciprocate those actions.
G.G., I think you missed the qualifier.
Let’s take the software example. I don’t particularly care for the EULA model, so I limit the software I use to what I have to have for my purposes. I use a lot of open source applications – for instance, I won’t touch Microsoft Office but find Open Office to be sufficient for my needs – and use other programs that allow me to pay the programmer directly, or make a contribution after I’ve tried them out.
Now, if Windows 8 is as atrocious as the indications are, I might have to bite the bullet and go Linux, including the steep learning curve and all that that implies.
As for the cell phone; I don’t find Verizon’s terms all that onerous, but if I did, I could look at something from Cricket, or possibly VOIP running out of a tablet.
It all comes down to whether the tradeoffs are worth the trouble.
I’ve never had a perfect job. If one employer gets to be too much of a problem, I will look for another job. I like the idea expressed by one union fellow; “F**k you buddy, I was looking for a job when I came in here and I can sure as hell look for one when I leave.”
I always have choice, short of coercion. I’ve yet to figure out how to tell the IRS I don’t want to do business with them.
You see, I don’t like the way that Apple tends to view ownership of their product, so I don’t buy Apple. Even though Apple is arguably the best consumer product maker out there, the intangibles of the experience irritate the hell out of me. So I choose not to buy.
I ended up paying Microsoft 3 times for their Office Suite which I lost to a chronically crashing computer. That’s when I said Hello to Open Office.
I have my problems with Adobe, but if you’ve bought something from them, registered it, you can download the program again years later if you’ve lost it to a crash. So I use Adobe as they’ve addressed one of my frustrations with software companies.
I buy Toyota cars, but when Toyota’s quality control went south starting in 2002, I decided I wouldn’t buy new; I’d buy and fix up their more reliable older vehicles.
If I had the money, I’d buy grassfed beef and open range pork and chicken. I don’t have the money; that is, there are other things that I prioritize over them, so I try to buy the best beef I can afford. Again, tradeoffs matter.
And back to the cell phone thing; most people get locked into their contracts as a result of “free phone upgrades” that aren’t really free. My solution? I wait until the phone company is willing to give me the discount without the lock in – usually 3 or 4 generation turnovers or I buy the phone outright. Once again, my choice between tradeoffs.
You always have choices, short of coercion. It’s just that most people aren’t willing to search for someone to reciprocate with what you want for what you are willing to pay. And then blame the bad effects of their short sighted behavior on the big bad other that wouldn’t give them what they wanted when they wanted it.
Actually, in all my years of sex work, very little ever happened against my consent, which would probably surprise most people. Maybe it’s because I offered as you put it a “more aggressive” range of activities, or maybe I was lucky, or maybe clients are a much better group of men than they are depicted to be. I think it’s the latter.
I know that whole “We’re all free agents” is a cherished libertarian fantasy. It’s true only in a very limited way. Our society is structured in a certain way, with control and wealth at the top, and abuse at the bottom. If you’re going to participate in society, you must deal with that. So unless you want to live alone, in the wilds, you’re in the mix, like it or not. You have to make the compromises, or band together and fight back.
People tend to think the sex industry is full of abuse. And it may sometimes appear that way. And there are abuses. But when there are, they tend to be more graphic perhaps, and more documented, then other industries, where the abuses often become commonplace.
i always wondered how everyone pities sex workers but dont have the same sympathy for agricultural,factory and mine workers.even the activists who say that society has to eliminate poverty in order to eliminate prostitution,why dont they campaign for those people to not be forced by poverty into jobs with very high mortality rate because of the hard work and expose to dangerous chemicals,why dont they highlight the exploitation in such industries as well?it is of course easier to focus on prostitution;for journalists,because its scandalous,meaning more eye catching headlines,for politicians because it would be detrimental to their interests,to accuse the bosses of the multinational companies of the sweatshops and the exploitation of their employees.but in the end no matter what theese jobs are nessecary.while the best possible working conditions for the employees are important,working in a factory will always mean health problems,yet someone has to do theese jobs.they are necessary for the economy.and everyone who understands a little about human nature realises that sex work is necessary as well.
“i always wondered how everyone pities sex workers but dont have the same sympathy for agricultural,factory and mine workers.”
Because the average person knows they derive direct benefit from those workers and indeed, needs them in daily life: food, clothing, minerals used in creating technology that builds roads, schools, houses, etc. They don’t want to think of themselves as contributing to a problem, so they ignore it or minimize it. However, providers and clients constitutes a comparative minority in this regard, so it’s easier to cast us out and point a finger of blame and get their noses in the air saying, “I’d never do that.” Also, sex is not considered by them as a “normal, necessary” part of daily life, ergo, sex workers are ultimately unnecessary.
What’s wrong with Nestle taking down a picture of something that looks like Pedobear?
All they’re doing is saving themselves from a bunch of stupid jokes.
Ironically, it sounds like you want everybody to completely serious about sex at all times, and nobody is allowed to laugh at any kind of sexual humor.
As to why it made the news, well that’s because it’s HILARIOUS.
Yeah I tend to agree that business should be business. Take the example of Chick-Fil-A … we’ve always known they are a Christian company and they’ve proudly worn that title by explaining that that is why they aren’t open on Sundays. I don’t have any problem with that but …
When they start getting involved in the homosexual marriage thing – they’re asking for trouble and reduced profits. And that kind of goes the same for Amazon’s CEO who decided to publicize the fact that he’ll give 2.5 Million dollars to the cause of homosexual marriage in Washington, State.
It’s their right to do this – but they shouldn’t complain when some of their customers take offense and go elsewhere for business.
I think Nestle was simply trying to navigate the tangled waters of neutrality which is becoming very difficult these days for businesses.
I have no problem either with a business expressing political opinions, or with others boycotting that business because they don’t want to be part of supporting those opinions. (Or patronizing it because they do — and I like Amazon already.)
Still, it’s progress that the labor laws are now robust enough that Chick-Fil-A doesn’t dare tell its own employees whom they can go to bed with.
Nothing’s wrong with it, you troll; what’s funny is that they are trying to be “hip” yet didn’t know about Pedobear. I’ve had enough of your amateur psychoanalysis, your stupid comments and your willful misinterpretation of nearly everything, and it’s going to stop. Today. Learn to discuss things like an adult, or go troll elsewhere. Discussion, dissent, and criticism of my views are all welcome here, but puerile trolling is not.
Maggie,
I don’t know if you saw this, but this is from wired with the usual genuflections performed toward the prostitution is exploitation crowd. Commenters begged to differ, however.
http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2012/06/inside-a-prague-brothel-where-sex-is-free-if-you-perform-for-the-web-nsfw/?
OMFG, that cougar billboard piece is just too funny.
The Finnish situation: at least right now it looks like that asinine idea will get stuck because there is just too much opposition to it among the government parties. Although that just probably will only postpone it until after the next elections. That’s what happened the last time.
The Crumbling Dam – a commercial website that exists to explicitly facilitate sex is absolutely okay in prohibition central. It would be amusing if it weren’t so tragic.
I Swear To God – “I don’t know how we’re going to ever see an end to AIDS in our lifetime”. Perhaps we will, if Vorinostat’s efficacy is proven for all strains of HIV:
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/world/new-hope-in-search-for-functional-cure-for-aids-20120727-22zmi.html
although prostitution is lawful…a prostitute cannot do things such as advertise, go into partnership, form a limited company, employ people, rent premises or sue for debts…the big problem lies with the legislation on brothel keeping.
This is right up there with the doublethink in 1990 under perestroka when the Soviet Union “privatized” property that subsequently couldn’t be sold, transferred, leased, or used as collateral. It could, however, be levied by the State.
I think comixchic is right; this is pythonesque. If only it would remain absurd instead of descending to the atrocious. As usually happens when state force is used to prohibit consensual actions.
See tomorrow’s column for a similar example, courtesy of the IRS.
If that’s the IRS story I suspect, it is TOTALLY insane.
Just wanted to let you know, you’ve won the “Beautiful Blogger Award” by being on our blogroll.
Lo & HH
You’re better than Reuters.
Somehow, I missed this post. I’m glad I found it.