Why do prostitutes keep getting busted . . . (Asheville, Gastonia: hotel, high school, closing)
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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anifani821
Never thought of it being justified quite that way (as far as putting people in jail for prostitution).
Seems like it would be an IRS issue if it just had to do w/ taxes . . . ?? Or no???? So they must charge them w/ something to do w/ a sex act. I guess there are laws about getting paid for sex, LOL.
All I know is . . . these women get treated badly and the people to go to jail should be the pimps.
I agree, Ani, the pimps & the johns should be treated the same. Showing the johns is a relatively new practice. I remember a furor in this area when, in the early '70s a local station sent Jessica Savitch out with the vice squad & you could see 1 or 2 johns. Technology being what it was, they were not identifiable, but it created quite a stink.
I noticed the ages of those women. Those women could be displaced workers from mill closings.
See what I mean. No one admits to using a call girl, prostitute or frequenting massage parlors - but it appears selling sex is big business. Unreal. I find it difficult to fathom.
Well that likely has to do with the social stigma attached to it. I am sure most people also have no idea what may (or may not) be kept in a certain drawer in the bedrooms of their acquaintances - because it is simply not the kind of thing that is talked about openly.
I am sure the legality of it may also keep people hushed up about it (just like I doubt most people on here who may use illicit substances from time to time likely would not openly admit it in a public forum). See the posts regarding posting the photos of the "johns". Although, if anyone has seen that HBO series "Cathouse" - a lot of customers appear on camera and apparently have no qualms about doing so.
Prostitutes are like social workers, they provide many services and don't really have to study very hard to become qualified.
hmm, interesting comparison. i just wanted to note that social workers study very hard to be qualified as they receive a masters degree to provide their many services...
Without a true punchline following the header, this thread is just epic fail.
Oh well. I tried.
We did get some discussion going.
When I saw the latest story on the Gastonia hooker round-up, my first thought was . . . what a sad commentary on our society that women resort to selling sex and accepting abuse from both pimps and - possibly - johns in order to make a living (and in many cases - support a drug habit).
My second thought was . . . is this how our law enforcement spends their time and our tax dollars - rounding up hookers instead of rounding up the thugs who are breaking in our houses and jacking our cars?
My third thought was . . . seems pretty unfair that the women get their pictures plastered all over the place when it takes two to tango - where are the men who were paying for these services?
We have talked about two of the things that I was thinking about when I read this article on the "big bust," but no one has really discussed the other thing that kinda chaps me about it all . . . that our LE is spending time chasing johns and hookers instead of figuring out who the heck is kicking down doors and stealing plasma tvs and computers - and in some cases - beating up homeowners.
Plus the Char/Meck sheriff's website has an arrest lookup tool which also shows the mug shots.
Thanks for the link, Config. There is also a copy of an interesting editorial from WSOC about crime in Meck . . . and a judge who is fed up with it. Good read . . .
Prosecuting victimless crimes such as prostitution when the "perps" are caught red handed is enough of a waste of resources as it is ... but when a police department does a "sting" operation such as this, it brings it to a whole new level.
How many tax dollars were flushed down the toilet to acquire the vehicles used in this operation? How much overtime is used up doing the paperwork required when multiple "offenders" are brought in all at once (especially in a small department like Gastonia's)? How much valuable time is wasted in the court system to prosecute these women? How many crimes that involve actual victims (whether they be violent crimes or property crimes) are put aside for these publicity stunts.
Oh, and make no mistake about it, this is a publicity stunt. No amount of arrests and fines will end prostitution. It will move to another area for a little while, if a certain area is considered "hot", but it will still exist. So unlike working on crimes that have victims, where there is a possibility of preventing future harm to others by at least temporarily removing a victimizer from the public, this grabs headlines for the Gastonia PD (which really needs some good publicity) but does nothing to make anyone's life or property safer.
You can never legislate morality or clean living and expect to succeed. When are we, as a society, going to learn that?
I won't mention the town, but years ago someone in a small NC town tried to open a topless night club. The local church had it members take pictures of the men as they went inside. It didn't take long for the place to close. I am sure someone would bring legal action for something like that today, but it worked then.
Don't you think that call girls, dope, and organized crime go together. That is the biggest reason I would like to see a zero tolerance for it and I don't care whether it is the person selling or the person buying that is arrested. I just don't want to live somewhere where this goes on. Congratulations to the police and sheriff for their good work.
Prostitution as it exists in the U.S. is discusting. Nevertheless, I feel that your objection is meaningless as it will always be around. The best thing that can be done is to control it and keep in in prospective. I think that since it will always be around, it should be contolled by requiring prostitutes to have regular health checks, registering with a controlling agencyand therefore, pay taxes on incomes. The areas where prostitution is allowed should be legal would be away from neighborhoods where they are in contact with the mainstream thus elliminating any unwanted exposure. Legalizing prostitution would end the crime and drug element. Licenced prostitutes would be screened to ensure that they aren't in fact, sex slaves (legal or illegal immigrants). Using anyone as a sex slave would carry a stiff prison penalty. This is the way it is done in Hamburg, Germany and other progressive cities in the western hemsphere and is successful and controlled.
As far as the church in the small N.C. town taking pictures of men going into a topless bar, I find it embarrasing that the church would encourage its parish to stoop so low and show such ignorance. That is the type of action that makes outsiders think that N.C. is a bunch of ignorant hillbillies. It is possible that if the wives of the men in the bar would make themselves presentable, they wouldn't have to look at others? Looking never hurt anybody. Seems to me that the church is the embarrassing venue, not the bar. In the end, I believe that God (if one exists) will be the judge and not the patrons of a church.
I do not approve of pimps, drugs, prostitutes or any crime and I am certainly not a left wing liberal. But, I am not an idiot and I realize that the best we can do is to control the occurance, the logistics, and the proximity of such activities. This can only be done through legalization.
Well, they don't call it the world's oldest profession for nothing! Perhaps, legalizing prostitution as Nevada has done would go a long way to eliminate a great deal of the problems associated with it. Even legalization would not eliminate it entirely, since there would always be some who couldn't afford the cost of "legal prostitution". As long as human nature doesn't change, prostitution will always be with us!
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