3 ms·

The problem is that when you hire the services of a prostitute, you will probably have no idea about the situation of that person. Maybe this person is in charg

The problem is that when you hire the services of a prostitute, you will probably have no idea about the situation of that person. Maybe this person is in charge of his/her life and is making a well-informed choice. But maybe this person is coerced into prostitution. In that case you will be financially supporting a very wrong thing, and you have no way of knowing. I think the question whether prostitution should be legal is much less important than the conclusion that being a customer is morally indefensible.

detcader 12y ago
Exactly, johns should be penalized. We sanction entire countries because of the conditions of the workers in manufacturing industries, don't we? But we simply can't touch the sex industry because that would be restricting "free choice"...
- tormeh 12y ago
  Farming in California is built on trafficked, essentially slave, labor, but I guess the much smaller problems in prostitution are a more romantic target.
  - detcader 12y ago
    Smaller? By what metric?
    - stcredzero 12y ago
      Frequency of piecework? I bet there are a lot more instances of "picking a fruit" per year by trafficked farm worker than there are instances of sex by a trafficked sex worker.
      - detcader 12y ago
        Why are you referring to rape as "sex"? Rape is a violent crime every time it happens. I think we can recognize one issue as valuable without putting down the other.
        stcredzero 12y ago
        Rape is non-consensual sexual activity. If you want to establish a convention where "sex" only means consensual sex and "rape" only means non-consensual sexual activity, then I'll consent to that. There are far more intellectually honest ways of establishing such a convention than this sort of sideways putting words into someone's mouth.
        detcader 12y ago
        I wasn't meaning to be accusatory. It's common to talk about rape as "sex", but I think it also reflects a horrible lack of collective thought. Rape only necessarily involves one actor (for example if the victim is asleep) so I don't see why it shouldn't be categorized as masturbation.
        tsotha 12y ago
        Rape is sex. It may be violent. It may be criminal. It may be abhorrent. But it's still sex. The feminists are really out to lunch on this one.
tsotha 12y ago
By this logic prostitution is no different than any economic transaction. Goods are made by people who are virtually, if not in fact, slaves. Does that mean you refuse to buy anything you didn't make with your own hands?
- sukilot 12y ago
  And indeed, consumption of sweatshop (and polluting) labor is a huge problem, and the Buy Local movement is at attempt to combat it.
  - tsotha 12y ago
    It's not realistic, though. You can't possibly research the povenance of every garment, food item, piece of electronics, drop of oil, shelter, and building material you buy. It's impossible.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

detcader 12y ago

Exactly, johns should be penalized. We sanction entire countries because of the conditions of the workers in manufacturing industries, don't we? But we simply can't touch the sex industry because that would be restricting "free choice"...

tormeh 12y ago
Farming in California is built on trafficked, essentially slave, labor, but I guess the much smaller problems in prostitution are a more romantic target.
- detcader 12y ago
  Smaller? By what metric?
  - stcredzero 12y ago
    Frequency of piecework? I bet there are a lot more instances of "picking a fruit" per year by trafficked farm worker than there are instances of sex by a trafficked sex worker.
    - detcader 12y ago
      Why are you referring to rape as "sex"? Rape is a violent crime every time it happens. I think we can recognize one issue as valuable without putting down the other.
      - stcredzero 12y ago
        Rape is non-consensual sexual activity. If you want to establish a convention where "sex" only means consensual sex and "rape" only means non-consensual sexual activity, then I'll consent to that. There are far more intellectually honest ways of establishing such a convention than this sort of sideways putting words into someone's mouth.
        detcader 12y ago
        I wasn't meaning to be accusatory. It's common to talk about rape as "sex", but I think it also reflects a horrible lack of collective thought. Rape only necessarily involves one actor (for example if the victim is asleep) so I don't see why it shouldn't be categorized as masturbation.
      - tsotha 12y ago
        Rape is sex. It may be violent. It may be criminal. It may be abhorrent. But it's still sex. The feminists are really out to lunch on this one.

tsotha 12y ago

By this logic prostitution is no different than any economic transaction. Goods are made by people who are virtually, if not in fact, slaves. Does that mean you refuse to buy anything you didn't make with your own hands?

sukilot 12y ago
And indeed, consumption of sweatshop (and polluting) labor is a huge problem, and the Buy Local movement is at attempt to combat it.
- tsotha 12y ago
  It's not realistic, though. You can't possibly research the povenance of every garment, food item, piece of electronics, drop of oil, shelter, and building material you buy. It's impossible.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]