No matter how strenuously our enemies fight to hold us down, and no matter how many cops and politicians they conspire with, we must still win in the long run. – “Hands On”
When I first wrote about International Sex Worker Rights Day five years ago, it was to lament the fact that it was only barely observed in the West, and to call for it to be more widely observed. In the intervening years, I’ve gotten what I asked for; the occasion is now celebrated by sex workers in North America and Europe as energetically as it is in Asia and Africa. As I wrote two years ago,
…Though the day caught on fairly rapidly in Asia and Africa, it was still virtually unrecognized in Europe and North America in 2008, and only barely recognized the first time I wrote about it in 2011. But it’s quickly gained ground since then; by 2012 a number of Westerners were writing about it online, and last year it seemed to get even more attention than Whores’ Day…
Last year, I observed it with my sisters by protesting outside the Washington state capitol in Olympia; since then I’ve testified against bad laws before that same legislature twice, and otherwise annoyed Seattle, King County and Washington state officials, calling them out on their lies and tyranny both in print and on television. And this week, I’m participating in Seattle’s Annual Sexwork Symposium (SASS), which we decided works better centered around this day than around December 17th (which was when the first one was held, in 2014). Last night Savannah Sly and I co-hosted a panel discussion featuring Conner Habib, Kristen di Angelo, Deon Haywood and Monica Jones, and today we’re protesting both the court proceedings against the people arrested in the TRB raid and the awful prohibitionist policies of the city, county and state in general. Tomorrow we have a health fair, on Saturday a sex worker social and Harlot’s Ball, and Sunday an art show and silent auction (in which one of the items up for bid is a dinner date with yours truly). Last year I told you that I was going to be doing a lot more hands-on activism, and as you can see I’m as good as my word. And this year I’m telling you that you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Regarding the TRB raid, have there been any reports lately on the status of the ladies? And/or, anything on their side of the story?
It seems to have ‘gone dark’ on that front, and I assume if LEOs had found that any or all of the women had been ‘chained to the bed’ (metaphorically speaking) it would have been touted to the moon and back in support of someone-or-others reelection campaign, or increased budgetary requests.
Come now, they don’t need to actually ‘find’ the women you refer to. They just need to say they exist out there somewhere and the reelection and budget increases take care of themselves.
11 of the 12 ladies were tipped off and escaped before the cops could “rescue” them into cells. We’re not sure whether they escaped to other states or left the country, but the cops couldn’t get their filthy, abusive, exploitative, rapist hands on them, and that’s all that counts. The cops deny that right now, but it’ll have to come out in trial unless they all plead out.
So, if we were to compare the fight for sex worker rights to that of African Americans in the 1950s/60s, would you liken yourself to MLK or Malcolm X in terms of temperament and tactics?
If I were Maggie I wouldn’t touch that question with a ten-foot-pole!
Read my answer to the question above and then ask yourself that question. I will achieve decriminalization by any means necessary.
Sounds like the Malcolm X route, then. If so, a few observations/questions:
– I guess you weren’t being as facetious as I initially thought when you pondered if you’d still be alive at the next Leap Day.
– It would not surprise me if you and your allies have to widen the horizons of your fight at some point, because for decriminalization to have any true worth (beyond writings on a piece of paper called ‘The Law’) a lot of other facets of modern America will have to be at best modified and at worst done away with entirely.
– In light of the above, when can we expect the guns to start going off, before or after the election? While I know this not going to get any sort of specific answer, I doubt it’s contingent on who actually wins the election.
Dear Ms. Mcneill,
I was wondering what is the route that you had in mind to achieve decriminalization? I know at some point the rubber is going to meet the road politically because at some point it is going to have to end up in a legislature. Would you continue to use, your demonstrations to get the attention of the legislator’s? Or would you begin to challenge certain laws with respect to their constitutionality in the courts? Also how will fundraisers play and important part in this as well? What are some of the key contributors that you are looking to identify with? Finally what type of administration gives you the best chance to get your legal and political agenda acknowledge much less accomplished?
Would have given anything to be in Seattle for that panel last night. Ah well, next year!