LEGALIZE PROSTITUTION

06/09/2005

LEAGALIZE PROSTITUTION


For those of us that have been overseas, we know that in every nation, even in some of the most conservative societies such as the Islamist Saudi Arabia and Iran, and the Communist USSR, and Israel and Catholic Brazil and Philippines, the prostitution is a part of the society, even if not officially condoned or even acknowledged.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union we have begun to hear the stories about the slave trade and sex slaves and human smuggling, all of these have existed from well before. The slave trade in sex and otherwise has never been stopped at any time. The Gulf countries especially imported the sex slaves from places like India and Ethiopia and the Far East all along. And in a few but still some cases from the European countries and the Untied States and the United Kingdom. Proving that when there is a need there is someone there to supply. In the United States itself today there are prostitutes present from the four corners of the world.

It is a well known fact of humanity that as the poverty increases, so does the prostitution. A poignant example of the relationship between poverty and prostitution is in the Victor Hugo's play, "Les Misrables", where the character of Fantine turns to prostitution when she loses her job and has to provide for her son's care. Other examples of this fact can be found in the chronicles of the death camps and as well as the Japanese camps of the prisoners of war.
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Then there is of course the home grown kind, the local supply. Of course as the drug use and the poverty have been increasing in the United States, so has prostitution. Over the first four years of the Bush administration, it is estimated that over three million more new poor were created. Many of these the working poor, many more lost their medical benefits thus making these people more susceptible to fall into the old profession. The wages remain stagnant while the cost of living keeps increasing. Men walk away from their families because they can no longer provide support for their families.

And why not, look at the history of our country. From Dodge City to Carson City prostitutes were there right along with the pioneers. Even as recently as the nineteen seventies, as the Trans Alaska pipeline was being laid Anchorage was filled with prostitutes to keep those brave men focused. Why just pay lip service to the traditional values. And since we refuse to bring gambling to our state and millions of dollars of our money are being spent in the neighboring states, by legalizing prostitution we could bring much of that money back from other states and have an increase in tourism.

In this age of free trade and budget deficits, and the US congress declining to increase the minimum wage, the poverty is bound to increase and thus the need for some to join the profession. Of course in some cases in our country the stigma has already been removed. We know that the girl that married Donald Trump for instance will get a lot of money and the marriage will last may be two or three years and she will be rich as a result of it, now what’s the difference. And what about the reality shows where people are paid to make out with strangers on “live” TV. This is not to say that all prostitutes are females, when Liz Taylor or Lizza or Cher has no problem finding younger companions.

I think it was in Sudan, where two women were condemned to death for adultery but they did not say who and what men were involved in the sex crimes. Same is the luck of the American working girl. As it was in the case of Heidi Fliesch and here in Dothan when prostitution rings were exposed, the names of the clients were not. How do you try some one for prostitution without having to prove that it actually occurred? If a police case is ever made it can only be solicitation, but not prostitution it self.

And what does the justice system do to help a woman that is arrested for prostitution. Do we (the courts) try to get her trained for a trade or help her get a job or provide her shelter from her pimp or get her child support. No, mostly after she has already paid for her bondsman and her attorney, the judge would normally fine her a thousand or fifteen hundred dollars, pay able in thirty days or so. Can we thus conclude that in fact she is going back to work the street to pay her fine and we as the court and the society have de-facto agreed to be her pimps.

Should we not stop pretending, there is a demand in our society for sex workers. It has been said that masturbation will reduce the number of rapes. And so will the availability of a prostitute. Our laws say that one can be arrested for and convicted of raping one’s own wife if he forces her to have sex with him. Does it not make perfect sense to have clean and safe environment for those who would peruse the services of a prostitute to satisfy their most natural of human needs. Also this will provide for safety and welfare of our women that may have to resort to this profession.

Why does it make sense for one woman to have the right and the say so over her body to refuse sex to her husband, while we deny the other woman the right to sell the same to her own benefit? It seems to me that the two should have equal rights to do with their bodies as they please. And why is it ok for a woman to bring a man home from a bar or even her work and to sleep with him in full anticipation that he will buy her groceries, or help her with a car payment or the rent or electric bill or may be buy her a dinner but not ok for the other to just ask for her services to be paid for in cash.

From time to time we are forced to use the precious and limited talents and resources of our police forces to combat the so called scourge of prostitution. As a nation we are so consumed by our moral wars and wars of all those other kinds, the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, the war on littering, etc. Let’s give our selves a break, stop this crusade that we are bound to loose, and legalize prostitution. Surely our over worked court systems and officers of the law have better things to do.

As we look to the heavens (for rapture), and even to Washington for our salvation (to stop illegal immigration and to increase the minimum wage), we see scant help forth coming. There is no Manna from heavens for crying and hungry children. No more food stamps to feed the hungry. Our cups that had once runneth over now runneth dry, as we worship the twin gods of free trade and conservative compassionism.

Looking ahead, should it not then be so, that we find the kindness and compassion in our hearts and legalize prostitution or to decriminalize the same. So that our daughters and grand daughters and even our wives and our mothers will be able to take care of our sick and feed our hungry children without a fear of persecution or prosecution as more and more of our compassionate and conservative policies of low wages and better profits get implemented.

(M.N.R.)