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Sure, but apart from a rebuttal, it's also a valid critique to simply point out that this is a structurally bad article which insults the intelligence of the re

Sure, but apart from a rebuttal, it's also a valid critique to simply point out that this is a structurally bad article which insults the intelligence of the reader, without responding to the content. The entire field could be occupied by historians who only believe that class dynamics explain every phenomenon -- such that there's no contrary sources to provide -- and it still wouldn't make it an accurate or acceptable historical essay. Here's merely one (of many) better articles that explains why people of San Francisco, than as now, might not favor having an openly lawless neighborhood in their city: https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/california/articles/a-brief-and-bloody-history-of-sfs-barbary-coast/ https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/california/arti...

benreesman 4y ago
So I thank you for the reference and it was also an interesting read. But… as a relatively disinterested observer I feel compelled to point out that the link you provided is at least as loosely footnoted and uses at least as much (if not probably more) charged language. It has the word “Bloody” in the title. TFA is clearly written by someone who believes that prostitution is not inherently bad, bordering on a tacit endorsement of the practice. To its credit it doesn’t use language like “unfortunate men seduced by the temptations of…” If I missed it please correct me, but I didn’t find anything like: “Having been seduced by prostitutes affiliated with the Sydney Ducks, the unfortunate men who entered these brothels…” or “den of violence and vice” or “Gone were the scheming criminals and overarching sense of moral decay”. It’s a bit much with the purple prose about scheming this and degenerate that. It’s only my opinion, but I don’t really see any controversy over which of these things is a relatively sober précis with a subtle but detectable slant, and which is a breathless tale of sin and lawlessness.
- shzusnwxbwj 4y ago

benreesman 4y ago

So I thank you for the reference and it was also an interesting read. But… as a relatively disinterested observer I feel compelled to point out that the link you provided is at least as loosely footnoted and uses at least as much (if not probably more) charged language. It has the word “Bloody” in the title. TFA is clearly written by someone who believes that prostitution is not inherently bad, bordering on a tacit endorsement of the practice. To its credit it doesn’t use language like “unfortunate men seduced by the temptations of…” If I missed it please correct me, but I didn’t find anything like: “Having been seduced by prostitutes affiliated with the Sydney Ducks, the unfortunate men who entered these brothels…” or “den of violence and vice” or “Gone were the scheming criminals and overarching sense of moral decay”. It’s a bit much with the purple prose about scheming this and degenerate that. It’s only my opinion, but I don’t really see any controversy over which of these things is a relatively sober précis with a subtle but detectable slant, and which is a breathless tale of sin and lawlessness.

shzusnwxbwj 4y ago