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Don't worry, that nice lady on the corner is just there to earn a living

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Spartan Squad, Jan 30, 2016.

  1. Spartan Squad

    Spartan Squad Well-Known Member

    Just in time for the unwashed masses to descend on the Bay Area for the Super Bowl, a San Jose alternative publication (which by the way publishes escort ads) claims for all the hype about sex trafficking, there is little evidence it is as wide ranging of a problem. It claims the world's oldest profession is occupied by nothing but professionals and not those forced to sell themselves.

    The Myth of Super Bowl Sex Trafficking Obscures Real Issues

    The story claims trafficking cannot be true because established prostitutes have a corner on the market, so to speak.

    The story's major sources for debunking the "myth" are "professionals." It uses voices from the other side but just writes them off as wrong.

    So is this a myth or is this story full of it? Not sure what the "real issues" are except that if we crack down on trafficking, we might take a huge source of advertising away from this publication.
     
  2. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Didn't bother clicking the link, but the whole human trafficking thing around the Super Bowl is a myth. It's this century's "surge in domestic violence visits to ER rooms" myth.
     
  3. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    Eugene Robinson wonders what the fuss is all about.
     
    LongTimeListener and jpetrie18 like this.
  4. PCLoadLetter

    PCLoadLetter Well-Known Member

    Correct. They hype the hell out of the sex trafficking thing before the game, then after the game sort of quietly admit the number of arrests didn't really spike at all. It's a convenient way for advocates to get an audience for the weekend, but nothing more.

    (Also, many years ago I had to work on Super Bowl Sunday and we didn't have a story, so we went out to the sewage treatment plant to find out of it really does get a surge at halftime. It doesn't, because even if everyone used the bathroom at exactly the same, they all live different distances from the plant. They said we should come out the day after Valentine's Day, though, to see all the used condoms bobbing like jellyfish.)
     
  5. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    Awesome. I wonder if Flint condoms sink to the bottom.
     
  6. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    Yeah, that went over like, you know ... a lead balloon.
     
    Vombatus likes this.
  7. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    Dumb story aside, I don't see the great harm involved in taking a moment around big events to bring attention to human trafficking, even if it gets way overhyped.

    It remains a real issue that most of us prefer not to think about, but there are vulnerable and underaged people being forced into nightmarish situations.

    That said, we should also find ways to do this without harassing legitimate sex workers.
     
  8. Vombatus

    Vombatus Well-Known Member

    What's a legitimate sex worker? One who hasn't been human trafficked or who has a pimp? One who is like an independent Mary Kay consultant or Amway business owner?

    Personally, I think both prostitution and drugs should be legalized, regulated and taxed out the wazoo.

    No human trafficking though. No screwing kids and animals either.
     
  9. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

  10. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    Those French subtitles are sexy as hell.
     
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