An old, flesh-based business model for the modern “bad guy.”
Gang members are smart. The streets where they live give them a perfect view of how to profit from the worst urges of manhood. Over the past few years, the really smart ones are getting out of the drug business. Now they’re offering an entirely new line of products.
For decades, America has been conducting a “war on drugs.” Whether you agree with it or not, I don’t care. The truth is that every local, state and federal investigator, prosecutor, and judge has the resources and experience to make life miserable for dealers. Law Enforcement pros have been fighting the “war” for most of their careers. They know what to look for, what evidence they need to make an arrest and have charges stick, and how drug cases work in and out of a courtroom.
They’ve been very busy warriors. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, America’s prison population topped 2.3 million in 2008—four times the amount of incarcerated people since 1980. Most of those prisoners are men, and most are locked up for drugs.
As tens of thousands are arrested for drug crimes and jailed in America each year, thousands are also being released. Many get out vowing never to return, but with an equally strong desire to make up for the time they lost in prison. Their new freedom is often coupled with an increased motivation to make as much money as they can as fast as they can. Just one problem: if they get pinched for drugs again, their next stint will be even longer.
They don’t have to look far for a profitable solution. “A federal crackdown on drug dealers has succeeded in taking some of Boston’s most dangerous offenders off the streets,” writes Maria Cramer in the Boston Globe. “But it is also driving some dealers and gang leaders to pursue another line of criminal work: prostitution.”
Their new product is girls. In fact, “the girl is the new drug,” observes Sergeant Detective Kelley O’Connell, who previously ran the Human Trafficking Unit of the Boston Police Department. Referring to the girls as a “prized commodity,” O’Connell explains how easy it is to exploit females in the digital age. “Pimps can advertise girls and women online—a way both to increase demand and avoid street arrest,” she says.
Paul Fitzgerald, Deputy Superintendent of the Boston Police Department’s Drug Unit, realizes the change in criminal business models is in part due to his department’s tougher crackdown on drug-related crimes. “They know we’re looking hard at drug dealing,” he explains. “They’re taking the path of least resistance when they go toward the girls.”
Boston is not alone in seeing more pimps and more abuse. “I made the decision to become a Detective and I went straight to our Vice unit,” explains San Diego based Special Deputy U.S. Marshal James “Chappie” Hunter. “Little did I know this decision would change my life forever. I thought, ‘I’ll go to Vice and get some good undercover experience. I’ll be able to chill out, go to a club, have a drink or two (partially consumed of course) and visit a strip club a couple nights a month. No case load and write some misdemeanor arrest reports. A good change of pace and fun stepping stone to eventually transfer to a detective spot in Investigations.’ Not! I walked through those doors and discovered a world I had kept an uneducated and blind eye to for 16 years.”
Detective Hunter soon discovered “a world full of mentally, emotionally, and physically abused young innocent girls being sold by a worthless gangster pimp to disgusting sex-driven pedophiles in plain view on our local streets, in motels and hotels, and all over the Internet.”
Explaining the nationwide trend in greater detail, Hunter asks, “How many of you have children with (Facebook) accounts? How many of you take your child to hang out with friends at the local shopping malls? How many of you have children attending middle and high school? These are the biggest recruiting grounds by pimps to steal your child away from you. I have even put a 15-year-old boy in Juvenile Hall twice for pimping a 14-year-old girl who he went to school with.”
“It’s all about manipulation of the person,” says Police Officer Tim Thomason of the Columbia, Missouri Police Department. Speaking about the phenomena affecting thousands of girls in America, he explains the pimps have become very effective at “getting that person in and coaxing them in. Many of the victims of human trafficking in Missouri are children or runaways who are looking for handouts and are easy to persuade. If a trafficker can offer shelter, offer food, and some larger promise of some better day, people will buy into that.”
Gretchen Means, Deputy District Attorney for San Diego County, provides more clarity about the reduced risk for these new pimps, saying, “With drug sales and gun running, it is the gang members themselves who take the risk of getting caught and punished. With prostitution, the girls take all the risk with law enforcement and with their bodies.” That is why, Means says, “Pimping is the new crack cocaine.”
“This is a reality check,” concludes Detective Hunter, “Pimping is the fastest growing crime in San Diego and across our nation.”
A continent away, Kelley O’Connell shares his nightmare. “More and more individuals are seeing the big money they can make,” she says. “You’re going to be seeing more and more of this demand. There is going to be more need for product and that product is a girl.”
In my next article I will be explaining the seven hidden dynamics behind the explosion of human trafficking in America.
—Photo emilio labrador/Flickr
About Raymond Bechard
I have been sitting here for quite a while, as an ally to sex workers who believes their voices should always be paramount. I have felt bile rise in the back of my throat as I see this man, who claims to be speaking for “those poor, trafficked women”, be given a platform on which to spread his shameful War on Girls hysteria. Yet what could I say that will matter to him, anyway?
So all I will say is this, to those reading – Listen to the sex workers. Pro and con, left and right, always always ALWAYS believe that the experts in any discussion of women’s lives are the women that live it. Stand as an ally. And if you believe you are an ally, and look, and see none of those you believe you are allied to standing by you? Believe that you may have misidentified yourself. And a man without sex workers, especially vulnerable “illegal” sex workers by his side, sharing their stories, giving their support, saying yes. YES. This man listens. This man shares our concerns… Well, that man is no ally. And absolutely no expert. No matter how many “social justice organizations” he advises.
http://www.bayswan.org/traffick/
Listen to sex workers.
PS – Fight Borders. Fight the Drug War you don’t care what people think of. Fight the criminalization of sex work. Listen to Sex Workers. Listen, listen LISTEN to “immigrants” and Sex Workers and use your privelege to put THEIR voices forward, not yours. Then you’ll be doing something about trafficking and pimping, Raymond.
Okay, I listened. Now you give it a try. Watch and Listen; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lOQVYjyOzQ
She needs to be heard. She has a right to be heard and her truth to speak. The voices of anti-sex work women who have been sex workers and been trafficked need to be heard. Have to be heard. But you aren’t putting even those voices forward, Raymond. Your organization is not about former sex workers speaking their truths to power. I can read your article right above me, and see how much these women really mean to you. You speak of them just as if they are a commodity. You put the voices of cops forward.
You wring your hands on your PAC’s website about a woman staring at a door, waiting for another man to come, praying for a man to save her. The fantasy of rescue, laid bare. Yes. Women who have been in sex work and speak out against it need to be heard. MUST be heard. But you only seem to bring them out when they serve a purpose for you.
Again, I don’t think my words will matter to you, but if just one person reading this learns that it’s not our discussion to have ABOUT sex workers, but sex workers themselves to be listened to, then that’s a success.
Why didn’t you use your power, and privelege, and standing to step aside and say. This isn’t about the experts, this isn’t about law enforcement, this isn’t about crime, this isn’t about me as a man. This is about women who have been hurt in the sex trade. They need to speak. We need to hear them. Even as an anti-sex-work activist, you could do it. You could be about the voices of the marginalized. Why aren’t you?
Maybe if you read Raymond’s book, you would see just how MUCh he cares about these girls individually and as a whole.
If that’s the case he needs to show it. In his activism. In his words and deeds. In putting them forward. Or, I guess, I could read his book and discover a completely different man. I linked to the powerful words of sex worker women. I linked to data and research and so many voices. And he came back with “Okay, I listened!” How dismissive to them. How childish. How hollow.
And he produced that brave, wonderful woman’s testimony like an ace in his hole. Like a nyah nyah nyah. If this is a man who cares about women in the sex industry. If this is a man who cares about the trafficked, he continues to do a very poor job of showing it. Or is there a reason it must be contained within the pages of his book?
The entire 500 page book was written for one purpose and one purpose only: to give a voice to all women. Perhaps you should stop embarrassing and contradicting yourself and read the book – which does exactly what you are calling me out to do.
Now, when are you going to do something instead of writing anonymously in commentary sections? Victims – women and men – need people of courage to openly stand beside them and do whatever it takes to assist them every day of their entire life.
They do not need more cowards. Perhaps a simple “thank you for trying” would be more appropriate. Then, you can go off and hide somewhere.
I stand beside sex workers in my life, and I am enriched by them every day of it. I stand with immigrants and I fight against borders as best as I can. I fight in my small way for them to be heard. I have no glory to win for myself. If this is how you treat me for failing to give you your “thank you” then that is all the more reason it should never come your way. My name is Katherine Gallagher. I am an ordinary woman and a mother. I have many health issues, and I am a survivor of domestic violence. I am trying to overcome my PSTD and someday obtain a PHD. I volunteer in many small ways. That you call me a coward makes me feel like I am becoming brave. Thankyou.
Why is “anonymous” this big insult or reason to dismiss people’s opinions? -_- She’s not anonymous, she uses the same internet name for everything. She put down her email and website when posting. The only reason that knowing her real name would matter to somebody is if that person was planning to harass her at work, or stalk her or something, otherwise, how would it matter? o_O If you knew my real name does that change my points? Address her points, not speculation about who she is or is not. She has good points about the way you’re treating sex workers in your writing here (maybe your book is a 180 difference… maybe in real life, I give millions of dollars to queer charities, but if I’m writing queerphobic stuff online, I would expect and understand being called out on it). Besides, as you keep stating, you’re the published author, activist, etc etc… you should act like one and not a troll saying “nyah nyah you’re anonymous, you coward” to dismiss rather than address her points. :]
Really? So I assume it contains sections dedicated to the activism of sex workers pushing for legalisation?
Like it or not, the only organisations I’ve ever seen founded and run by sex workers say that trafficking is relatively rare, and even if it were as common as claimed decriminalisation would still be the answer.
Given that he has enuf working knowledge of this to write a 500 page book, he should be able to explain to Zhinxy why her concerns are unfounded or inaccurate then :3
I have never referred to myself as an expert. And I never will. The victims are the only experts, as I repeat in my book.
Oh, and have the guts to see how much I “put the cops forward” here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHa9MJJgIzQ
I stand beside sex workers in my life, and I am enriched by them every day of it. I stand with immigrants and I fight against borders as best as I can. I fight in my small way for them to be heard. I have no glory to win for myself. If this is how you treat me for failing to give you your “thank you” then that is all the more reason it should never come your way. My name is Katherine Gallagher. I am an ordinary woman and a mother. I have many health issues, and I am a survivor of domestic violence. I am trying to overcome my PSTD and someday obtain a PHD. I volunteer in many small ways. That you call me a coward makes me feel like I am becoming brave. Thankyou.
You quote them as the experts in the above article, with no mention of how police function as an oppressor class in the lives of “illegal” women. Just lurid tales from their perspectives. Have the guts? The guts? Bechard, I was an anti-police brutality marcher when I was just a kid and oh what I’ve seen since.
Thank you Katherine. You have made yourself very clear to everyone here. We all understand you now.
All the best to you. I truly hope your healing is a process that brings you to a place of peace.
Who is this everyone here?? What do they all understand? *rofl*
Because I’m abused, this is some sort of broken healing process for me, the whole listening to the voices of women thing? Or the whole criticizing people who seem patronizing to those they consider victims thi… OH! I GET IT! I’m in your victim category now. Okay. So this is how you treat us?
Oh, Raymond Raymond Raymond, you’re awesome with the concern.
Also, seriously, the guts? Are you 12?
Raymond, peace and healing are great, but that’s not what I’m here to talk about. This isn’t about me, and it isn’t about you. You have the option of never writing an awful article like the one above ever again. You don’t even have to mention that you once did. Just make it about the voices of sex workers, if that’s what matters to you. Pro or con. Make it about them. Rewrite that article. Go talk to the women involved, throw out the voices of the cops, and make it about them.
You can do it. You can keep your position as the great hero of human rights. You can still be on the con side of the sex work debate. But you’ll be doing something better. The world will keep listening to you. Let them hear the women.
Okay, so still no addressing of her points… just a headpat “I hope you feel better, thanks for playing” response? -_- If you don’t want to address her points, say so? If you can’t address them, say that too. Don’t just be like “I heard you, kthxbai”. Be honest about what you mean. :3
This is going to piss you off (I suspect “I’m not pissed off, thanks for playing” is coming xD ), but your response to her is exactly what she’s complaining about. You treated her like the issue is about her being a broken thing in need of healing, and then just dismissed all her points saying “they’re heard”. She wants a response, not just to be heard. And her PTSD is not at issue or relevant to her issues with the way you’re condescending sex workers (and now her). XD
Agreed Ami and Zhinxy. (waves, nice to see you here from MBz)
*waves at julie!* Yeah. And, seriously, this isn’t about him condescending to me, I dont’ care about that really, and I’m not going to play his WHO DID MORE FOR THE TRAFFICKED AND WHO IS THE BEST ALLY WHO DOES THE MOST game, because that’s the opposite of the point.
It’s not about us and how great we are as allies.
I mean, by his own admission, since he said “The victims are the only experts, as I repeat in my book.” – This article is an article written by a non expert, QUOTING ONLY NON-EXPERTS, and giving NO INDICATION THAT IT IS THEREFORE NOT AUTHORITATIVE.* (With a note at the end that in the next installment, our complete non-expert will be explaining the seven reasons human trafficking is exploding… )
So by his own logic, I should have A LOT of problems here. And yet his response to my saying so… Yeah.
All I care about is, hey, somebody here may learn something. And if maybe Raymond decides, hey, I’ll put sex worker voices first from now on, and never mentions this, then that’ll still be an awesome success. Even if it’s just to SPITE us. I don’t even care.
* and treating the only experts as a lurid commodity, their only touch of real humanity that your daughter could get sucked in on facebook and become one. Also, the gang members are smart, at least, the girls (And it’s all girls, no women?) are… not strong, not survivors, not brave, not… Anything positive? Even the bad guys of the story get a positive attribute.
Everyone does? So you speak for me now?
As for Zhinxy I don’t agree that you’ve heard or understood her.
I mean, let’s back up here to the links I posted, about sex workers and their positions on trafficking and human rights, and how it affects them. You said you listened. “Okay, I listened,” you said. What did you hear in your listening?
Bechard is right that our current system of sex worker exploitation is cruel and uncontrolled. One obvious solution, of course, is to legalize prostitution so that these workers (male AND female, by the way) can have access to our legal system, workplace safety standards, and proper healthcare.
Now, why do I suspect that Article #2 will not take that approach–or even discuss it?
“Pimping is the fastest growing crime in San Diego and across our nation.”
This is very sad news.
We need to sterilize these pimps and johns; when word of that gets out, the crime rate for human trafficking will be zilch, no need to legalize anything.
How so? Sterilization has no effect on your ability to have sex.
Neutered then, same thing. It reduces sexual aggression and sexual behavior in dogs and cats, it can work the same for pimps, johns, and rapists. Here’s some cool information:
“Besides being a birth control method, and being convenient to many owners, neutering/spaying has the following health benefits:
Sexually dimorphic behaviors such as mounting, urine spraying and some forms of male aggression (relating to females in estrus) may be reduced due to the decrease in hormone levels brought about by neutering. This is especially significant in male cats due to the extreme undesirability of male cat sexual behavior for many pet owners.[2]”
“One study reported results of aggression towards familiar and strange people and other dogs reduced between 10 and 60 percent of cases,[30] while other studies reported increases in possessive aggression[31] and aggression towards familiar and strange people,[32]“
The 10 and 60 percent of cases sounds promising…the other studies reporting negative effects, must be quite low as there’s no stats or rate for that at all.
And on their forehead, they should carry one of the following permanent tattoos:
I AM A PIMP
I AM A JOHN
I AM A RAPIST
I guarantee the neutering and tattoos will show immediate results in the reduction of human trafficking and rapes, and be highly cost effective with long term benefits. This would be my strategy. A loving God would approve of this…helping to reduce sins in our world
And perhaps cut off the hands of thieves and stone adulterers while we’re at it? Maybe burn some witches?
Don’t get carried away…I don’t believe in superstition nor should anyone. But I believe we should bring back capital punishment – “an eye for an eye” or institute some serious, unconventional punishment and preventative measures to curb crimes.
Too much bureaucracy and sympathy makes our justice system soft…we need to go back to good old-fashion torture for serious offenses; and televise these on TV free of charge on a special 24/7 channel. These will be visual reminders of the consequences for committing serious offenses. This programming also doubles as educational tool to the public.
The irony of you saying “Don’t get carried away” is rich. Very rich indeed.
That’s a serious ROTFLMAO material right there.
Are you a comedian by chance?
…and all of the people that are posthumously proven innocent will feel quite mollified as zombies to learn what a peaceful society we have become?
If you look at some of the things prisoners tattoo on their own faces, you’d see that this would not be an effective punishment in the worst cases. Not to mention the fact that many people use the word “pimp” as a compliment.
Besides, on the street, isn’t it already pretty obvious who the pimps and the johns are? Wouldn’t this just help them find each other faster?
These forehead tattoos would just boost the tattoo removal industry and make people buy more headbands.
It is true the public views the word ‘PIMP’ to be a cool connotation…that is why tattooing it on the pimps forehead should change that public opinion.
Criminals will be on probation, they check with police weekly who will ensure their tattoos are visible. To ensure they won’t wear headbands, criminals could be enforced to gather 50 witness signatures per week to vouch that tattoos are visible (no families or friends). Furthermore, these criminals should have their heads shaved.
“Neutered then, same thing”
Obviously not, as I just pointed out.
The statistics you cite are referring to spaying and neutering PETS, not people. And why, exactly, do you want pimps and customers neutered as though they were rapists?
I don’t know. If you look at historical cases in which eunuchs have been in charge of anything, you’ll see that castrated men can be just as manipulative, greedy, and authoritarian as your average person. A brief look at Chinese history provides many examples. Perhaps a castrated pimp would be less violent, but would he stop being a pimp? I doubt it.
Right. Humans can be cruel without testosterone. In fact, my guess is that being castrated would increase a sense of vengeance and bitterness.
Yes I heard about that in the medieval times, the king castrated eunuchs. It also happened in ancient Greece/Rome and middle east.
Loss of manhood would prevent him from pimping. It’s a sex industry after all, pimps are no doubt also johns.
The human trafficking crime unit needs to hire Lorena Bobbit as its special task-force leader.
You know nothing about johns.
Nothing at all.
So it goes…
Here’s a better description:
WHAT BEHAVIORAL CHANGES CAN BE EXPECTED AFTER NEUTER?
The only behavior changes that are observed after neutering relate to behaviors influenced by male hormones:
Playfulness, friendliness, and socialization with humans are not changed.
The behaviors that change are far less desirable.
The interest in roaming is eliminated in 90% of neutered dogs.
Aggressive behavior against other male dogs is eliminated in 60% of neutered dogs.
Urine marking is eliminated in 50% of neutered male dogs.
Inappropriate mounting is eliminated in 70% of neutered dogs.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_canine_neuter.html#What-behavioral-changes-can-be-expected-after-neuter
What does the link say happens when you neuter idiotic blog comments Taylor?
Absolutely! When we see desperate women selling sex the obvious solution is to cut off their source of income (literally).
And its no less than those filthy johns deserve, the nerve to think that they paid somone cash to have sex with them rather than food and wine. No punishment is too harsh.
I have no doubt that there are “young, innocent girls” (Bechard) who are the victims of pimps and johns out there. I’ll take the author’s word for it that the numbers are increasing.
But, it seems odd to me that this is exclusively how the sex trade is being defined in the article – innocent girls preyed upon by unscrupulous, violent men. “Girls” being treated as a commodity, both by pimps and by law enforcement. I note that there is a brief use of the word “women,” but using the word “girls” over and over has a much bigger impact on the reader. In many cases, no doubt the girls and women have few choices and are coerced, but to suggest they are all “innocent” is a bit of a stretch.
Furthermore, assuming you can tell when a website is made by a man, how do you know that the man who made the online advertising is a violent pimp? How do you know his role is that of oppressor and exploiter?
It reminds me quite a bit of the Victorian-era stories about the naïve, virtuous country girl who arrives in London or Paris and falls in with the wrong crowd before finding her true love who rescues her from the clutches of the foul men of the underworld. The men do all the good things and bad things, and she is there to be the object of what the men do to her, to be exploited or rescued, raped or seduced, etc.
There are a lot of westernized men with wealth and corruption in mind, who go into these poorer countries and exploit girls there to make sex videos to upload on their websites (girls have more audience demand than women). The westernized men take part in these sex scenes themselves most of the time.
These westernized men justify their actions, truly believing they are doing the girls a favour, helping them from poverty, by exchanging sex for money. They see themselves as some sort of savior to these girls. These men if they wanted to truly help, they can offer money and not ask for anything in return — but that’s not the case nor the reason they are there.
I see we’re talking about America, but the same concept applies to American pimps – they see themselves as helping out the girls…exchanging sex for money; they don’t see that as exploitation or crime.
Wow, you certainly seem to have done alot of -ahem- research.
My comment seems held up in moderation – possibly because I’ve included an external link.
The Attorney General laid claims against the author’s organization (Ahava Kids) a few years back. I don’t know the veracity of the claim or its outcome, but since it is in the public sphere, disclosure of this information should not be an issue. You can Google the information by using those key words.
WOW…all the negative comments about a man who wrote a great article, gets footage of pimps, educates the public and law enforcement, advocates for the women…and yet some of you are just trying to cut him down. WHY? What do you do to help people caught in modern day slavery? Sitting behind a computer and trying to make an attempt at cutting someone down who is doing SOMETHING about this vile trade. You want to bitch at someone….get angry at the pimps and johns. Or better yet, our politicians that don’t pass bills to protect those in slavery. SCREAM at law enforcement when they treat these women like subhuman scum. Use your mouth to raise awareness…instead of slander someone who is doing his best to tackle this crime.
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Mahatma Gandhi
I hope you’re not talking about me.
I applaud anyone and any organization who willingly works to fight injustices in our communities and abroad. I applaud Raymond’s work. A Human Rights Advocate is not your typical career; your heart and mind has to be in the right place. It takes great understanding of humanity to fight against these unpopular human rights causes, which are usually embroiled in drama and turmoil; most of society wishes these problems were out of sight and out of mind. Sometimes these justice crusaders may even put themselves in danger’s way. These human rights crusaders are heros in my eyes, without a doubt.
Oh no…not you Taylor. Well said about Human rights advocates…NOT your typical career!!
Molly, can you explain to me why this article is so great? I mean, by his own admission, the women involved are the experts, yet there is not a single quote from them. Also, look how he handles those of us who have criticisms, above. The point isn’t who does more for the trafficked, or how good a person Raymond or anybody else is. The point is that the people affected, pro and con, need to be the primary speakers about their lives. Please see our criticisms above, and ask yourself why it’s slander, or cowardice to call out an ally on the floor. That’s part of social justice, too. If I wrote an article that was priveleged, sensational, and covered the voices of those I claimed to be helping, I would hope that I was called out on my behavior. And being defensive and asking those who called me out WHAT THEY DID instead of hiding behind a computer would totally, utterly miss the point.
The point isn’t that he’s trying, the point isn’t how great he is. The point isn’t playing WHO DID MORE FOR WHO games, when you’re an ally. Our job is to put the marginalized first.
Liberty. Equality. Solidarity,
The point has been made that what you ask of him, putting the marginalised first, has been achieved in his book. Raymond has already satisfied your demands, maybe not in this post but certainly in a larger, more detailed publication. This article is more about how the legal and criminal workings in America have led to a rise in trafficking with the drop in drugs. That’s the theme of the piece. It doesn’t HAVE to be about the voices of the sex workers all the time – remember that Raymond’s already written such a thing. This time it’s less about the experience of the sex workers and more about the system itself. It’s about how and why they were trafficked in the first place. And it’s good information to know.
“It doesn’t HAVE to be about the voices of the sex workers all the time”
Yes it absolutely does.
I’m sure his book is replete with anecdotal examples of poor women who were trafficed, and my heart goes out to them. But, in his article anyway, he seems to completely ignore the advocacy of sex workers calling for legalisation. Maybe his book is completely different. Perhaps you can enlighten us?
“WOW…all the negative comments about a man who wrote a great article, gets footage of pimps, educates the public and law enforcement, advocates for the women…and yet some of you are just trying to cut him down. WHY?”
Because he’s completely ignoring the opinion of many actual sex workers.
“What do you do to help people caught in modern day slavery?”
I do my best to listent to the people affected by the issue and canvas my representatives to listen to their suggestions.
“Sitting behind a computer and trying to make an attempt at cutting someone down who is doing SOMETHING about this vile trade.”
Not attempt, the holes in his argument are quite easy to point out. He may be doing something, question is whether its the right thing.
“You want to bitch at someone….get angry at the pimps and johns.”
Pimps? Sure, if they’re abusive. Johns? Sure, if they’re abusive. But then I tend to get angry at anyone who’s abusive.
“Or better yet, our politicians that don’t pass bills to protect those in slavery.”
Right, because prostitutes aren’t getting arres-I mean “rescued” enough.
“SCREAM at law enforcement when they treat these women like subhuman scum.”
I do.
“Use your mouth to raise awareness…”
We are, see above.
“instead of slander someone who is doing his best to tackle this crime.”
I’m not slandering him, I’m using my voice to raise awareness.
““First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” Mahatma Gandhi”
You’re not being ignored or laughed at. Just because someones fighting you doesn’t make you right, or your argument comparable to those of a pacifist.
I just don’t understand your argument. I’m not going to go back and forth with you on this. It is a well written article. Mr.Bechard is out there raising awareness. I don’t see how anyone can argue that. Why can’t we as “civilized” people just respect someones point of view, its not like he’s pro human trafficking…or pro pimps. I love the entire article. I cannot find anything negative about it. I cannot understand why you say he handled the criticism wrong. I think he was rather polite and to the point. Whats a part of social justice? Arguing with one another on a topic we all despise? That a MAN is writing articles and doing field work to help women caught in this is commendable. Mr.Bechard as a man in a male driven society is doing great things for women/girls in this horrific world. I applaud that….most men I know don’t dare talk much less think about this. Its nice to have a good one on our side. I find nothing wrong with his article and your abrasive attitude towards him is rather odd. A good guy doing good deeds. Nothing wrong with that. NOTHING at all. This planet is hard enough to live on with all that goes on…you should be kind to those making a difference for the better.
I can argue with it because hes raising awareness selectively.
Some points of view aren’t respectable. I can see how it might seem so to someone unaware of the issues, like the author for instance. But when you talk to actual prostitutes you tend to find that the poor innocent girl in need of rescuing thing is really quite toxic and contributes to alot of the abuse present in sex work.
I find it hard to applaud or commend this work when hes so selective about which victims he’s willing to write about. Who’s side exactly? Womens? Even if life were that simple I’d hardly describe his tactics as pro woman.
Wow you are really digging hard to really sell “sex trafficking!” Maybe if you try hard enough you will actually be able to back up your numbers!
@management
Why do you continually refresh the page? Your in the middle of a post or reading a story and bam! The page refreshes! Haven’t you ever heard of AJAX?
Really? Are we actually having a discussion about neutering on this site? Look, I’m a regular guy that came to this site hoping to find narratives that inspire me to heal learn and grow. Is this site mainly for guys like me or what? Lots of ivory tower theory goes on in the comment section. Was this particular article about the shift in criminal activity of gangs and former dealers or was it about something else? For me, let me grasp the big picture first, especially if it is a new perspective. Later I can go deeper into understanding the underlying causes. I could learn something if folks could stop yelling and screaming…and neutering. :/
Thanks Jefeocho — we are trying to stop the yelling and screaming, especially around the theoretical issues as you point out. But really, there are tons of stories about, for and with discussions around “regular guys”. Please email me if you want to learn more about what we’re doing hear. lisa at goodmenproject.com
Yep…what I’ve learned so far on this site:
1. This is a rapist culture
2. All men are rapists
3. rapists must be neutered.
So the only good man is a neutered man. Not just figuratively speaking but literally too!
Any regular guys here? Helloooo?
We’re here, Jef. It’s just that there’s a lot of cultural conditioning to wade through to reach the real guys.