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You think there doesn't exist a single mentally healthy middle-class 17 year old girl who would have sex with an elderly man for a large sum of money? That only

You think there doesn't exist a single mentally healthy middle-class 17 year old girl who would have sex with an elderly man for a large sum of money? That only the poor disadvantaged girls solicit sugar daddies? This idea is counter-intuitive to me. When I was 17 my religious convictions prevented me from having sex with anyone, but I imagine that without those beliefs I would have at least put _some_ dollar figure on the price for me having sex with a 74 year old woman, and I certainly didn't have any history of abuse or desperation.

chungus_khan 7y ago
There certainly do exist situations where that could happen. Epstein's island really isn't one though...
- coryfklein 7y ago
  I'm sorry, maybe you have more knowledge about the situation on Epstein's island than I do? But I imagine that is exactly the kind of place that young women seeking sugar daddies would be attracted to. That's not to preclude the possibility (or likelihood) that non-consensual sex happens there. I'm just trying to understand why you would expect the sugar-daddy-seeking-young-women demographic to be completely absent.
  - widowlark 7y ago
    >young women children* >sugar daddies abusers
widowlark 7y ago
The law has been set to prevent children from being taken advantage of by adults. Being capable of making the decision and being able to make the decision properly are two different things - the law is there to protect you even when you don't think you need it. At 17 I didn't think a lot of things were good for me. It would have been easy for someone to trick me into doing something I shouldn't - that benefits them way more than it does me. What you are suggesting is that we should be okay with this. The law, precedent, and public opinion all disagree with you.
- coryfklein 7y ago
  > What you are suggesting is that we should be okay with this. Anyone who can read my comment above can see clearly that you are putting words in my mouth. > The law, precedent, and public opinion all disagree with you. Except for all the places where law, precedent, and public opinion agree with an age of consent of 17? The whole point is that there is not one single hard and fast rule that defines the boundaries of ethics in prostitution. So many of the comments here (including yours) portray a complicated situation as clearly black and white. Of course it doesn't help that in this particular case many folks are talking past each other because we're all intermingling various interrelated topics: * Stallman's remarks and forced resignation * The age of consent * The specific case of Epstein's island * Prostitution I suspect that if we were to explicitly comment specifically on one point or the other that we'd all find we agree much more that we appear to.
- DanBC 7y ago
  Anytime sex with children comes up there are dozens of HN accounts who'll post mind-boggling shit. "But is abuse really that harmful?", "consensual paedophilia isn't so bad", "prostitution is the same as a burger flipping job but better paid", "well, okay, this child was kidnapped, drugged, and raped and then sold via small ads for further rape, and everyone involved knew that, but do we really want to stop those ads? Isn't that the start of a slippery slope?". It's really fucking creepy.

chungus_khan 7y ago

There certainly do exist situations where that could happen. Epstein's island really isn't one though...

coryfklein 7y ago
I'm sorry, maybe you have more knowledge about the situation on Epstein's island than I do? But I imagine that is exactly the kind of place that young women seeking sugar daddies would be attracted to. That's not to preclude the possibility (or likelihood) that non-consensual sex happens there. I'm just trying to understand why you would expect the sugar-daddy-seeking-young-women demographic to be completely absent.
- widowlark 7y ago
  >young women children* >sugar daddies abusers

widowlark 7y ago

The law has been set to prevent children from being taken advantage of by adults. Being capable of making the decision and being able to make the decision properly are two different things - the law is there to protect you even when you don't think you need it. At 17 I didn't think a lot of things were good for me. It would have been easy for someone to trick me into doing something I shouldn't - that benefits them way more than it does me. What you are suggesting is that we should be okay with this. The law, precedent, and public opinion all disagree with you.

coryfklein 7y ago
> What you are suggesting is that we should be okay with this. Anyone who can read my comment above can see clearly that you are putting words in my mouth. > The law, precedent, and public opinion all disagree with you. Except for all the places where law, precedent, and public opinion agree with an age of consent of 17? The whole point is that there is not one single hard and fast rule that defines the boundaries of ethics in prostitution. So many of the comments here (including yours) portray a complicated situation as clearly black and white. Of course it doesn't help that in this particular case many folks are talking past each other because we're all intermingling various interrelated topics: * Stallman's remarks and forced resignation * The age of consent * The specific case of Epstein's island * Prostitution I suspect that if we were to explicitly comment specifically on one point or the other that we'd all find we agree much more that we appear to.
DanBC 7y ago
Anytime sex with children comes up there are dozens of HN accounts who'll post mind-boggling shit. "But is abuse really that harmful?", "consensual paedophilia isn't so bad", "prostitution is the same as a burger flipping job but better paid", "well, okay, this child was kidnapped, drugged, and raped and then sold via small ads for further rape, and everyone involved knew that, but do we really want to stop those ads? Isn't that the start of a slippery slope?". It's really fucking creepy.