Posted on 06/01/2005 4:05:37 PM PDT by Dashing Dasher
In a civilized and progressive country, buying sex from a prostitute would be no different than buying meat from a butcher. Indeed, most Western countries have reasonable laws regarding prostitution, in the U.S. we are faced with Christian fundamentalists imposing their values on the rest of us. If they can't browbeat us into joining their moral crusade, then they will enact laws to prevent us from doing what they secretly wish they could.
Buy sex from a hooker in liberal Oakland, Ca and you many lose your vehicle and see your mug shot plastered on a billboard or bus shelter.
Oakland police initiated a new "shaming campaign" to crack down on the oldest profession. The program will include surveillance cameras erected along busy streets. Videotapes of those soliciting ladies of pleasure will be handed over to Oakland police and Alameda County prosecutors. Customers convicted of soliciting prostitution could see their visages featured prominently on billboards and at bus stops. In addition to enduring 15 minutes of infamy, johns will also have their automobiles seized by the police.
The role of law enforcement should be to prevent crime, protect citizens and apprehend criminals -- it should not be to shame, ridicule or humiliate lawbreakers.
In a theocracy like Saudi Arabia, police officers acting in their capacity as moral guardians, sometimes publicly flog transgressors. But in a secular democracy, cops should enforce the law of the land and not attempt to shame citizens into being "morally pure."
When I lived and worked in Oakland , my biggest fear was not being solicited by a lady of the evening. I was more worried about having my home broken into or being hit upside the head by a crack addict.
Instead of implementing a "shaming campaign" to deal with the issue of prostitution, the city of Oakland should legalize it. There are many benefits to legalized prostitution. The benefits include (1) allowing law enforcement agencies to allocate their resources to more serious crimes, (2) freeing the criminal justice system from nuisance cases, (3) helping women who are trapped by prostitution, and (4) preventing children from being ensnared into streetwalking, and (5) enabling trysts to happen within controlled environments that bring about safety for both the customers and the working girls.
Trying to shame citizens into being morally upright should be relegated to the dustbin of history. What's next, if a husband wins his divorce case against his wife, will she be forced to sew a "Scarlet A" on all her outfits?
At least the prostitutes will know that you aren't a plain clothes cop trying to bust them.(If you appear on the billboard)
Her manners must be slipping a bit. Just a bit.
Allow me.
Bloody Sam Roberts here. <bows deeply>
Occasional pundit and raconteur. Some may call me the Dread Pirate Roberts. Others here have worse names for me, I'm sure.
I sail the shipping lanes of Free Republic and will occasionally slip into the backwaters and scuttle a ship or two late at night...and take no prisoners.
Keep yer eye on the horizon and the wind at yer back! Arrrrhh!
There is a street ( funny its called Confederate Ave or Conferderate Street) in Portsmouth Va, you have to go down it to get to the Mid-Town Tunnel. Sometimes you see the ladies walking there and they all look very sad and not attractive at all. I wonder how any man would want to pay them money to touch any part of their body. Yuck... I feel sorry for them.
I am delighted to read this story and in California no less! Shame goes a long way in stopping peoples bad behavior.
Dasher, this is my lovely Sam.
Dasher, be gentle with ol Sammy boy. He is quite a gentleman, and one of my favorite FReepers.
Happy to make your acquaintance...
You look something like Captain Morgan... are you two related...
I've seen documentaries, and I felt the same way. These are some of the saddest and used people, and after knowing that, it's beyond me how anyone with any compassion can defend it.
Aye. One and the same. Approached by a rum company many years ago, I was. Wanted t'use me picture to sell more rum. No harm says I. And the extra dubloons they pay don't hurt me pockets. Arrrhhh!
(Actually, I found the pic in a magazine and used PhotoShop to swap a sword for the bottle and tweaked it a bit more to come up with my avatar.)
(scratching head......should I be honored at being on this ping list????
8^)
sex, if paid for, is illegal?.?.?..
What if I barter???
}^)
Are you a "handy man"?
I've got some chores to do around my house.....
That's so weird, I was approached to help sell more Vodka....
You don't have anything interesting to add to the hooker thread???????
Extremely....oh I've got SKILLS, Baby, I've got SKILLS... Give me a Pocket Leatherman and I'll march out into the jungle and build you a shopping mall!
"If the women don't find you handsome, they better find you handy" Ref Green
}^)
Not all sins should be crimes and not all crimes are sins.
If one wants to enforce religious laws, why not enforce the sabbath at gunpoint, too?
I remember a quote from somewhere about MacGyver, the tv show...
All he needed was a Swiss Army Knife and a Tampon and he could get you out of anything....
Well, you are even more impressive...
Very Punny!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.