tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post2391438749207257483..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: I Guess It Skips A GenerationAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-87323549232690481562013-05-18T03:46:48.441-04:002013-05-18T03:46:48.441-04:00Fiona! I'm always so glad when you pop in. &qu...Fiona! I'm always so glad when you pop in. "Someone soaked his shoes then put out a cigarette in it..." !!<br /><br />Of course, it's not really any laughing matter. But I really appreciate your point of view as well as your mode of expression.Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-1838106919196160632013-05-17T17:19:48.817-04:002013-05-17T17:19:48.817-04:00Your comments are always better than my posts here...Your comments are always better than my posts here. I LOVE that. :-)Giselle Renardehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15955755448116234634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-73497903389790297832013-05-17T12:32:38.663-04:002013-05-17T12:32:38.663-04:00Ghaaah! I meant the 'latter' in my post ra...Ghaaah! I meant the 'latter' in my post rather than 'former'.<br /><br />Getting; old.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-53908924629130412242013-05-17T12:22:47.014-04:002013-05-17T12:22:47.014-04:00What contradictory vessels human beings are. We ho...What contradictory vessels human beings are. We hold views that can span a 360 degree spectrum of what is right and what proves wrong. I've tended bar in North Beach, SF and in a tough place in another part of the SF Bay area where illegal prostitution was something that happened on the street every day, every night. Often the women were quite intelligent, (and of course, others not so much) but by circumstances had chosen (or not) to support themselves by the "oldest profession". Their customers were largely Latino day workers, mostly lonely, decent guys, just out for the cheapest behind-the-dumpster quickie they could afford. Others were Johns from the well-to do areas of Marin. The women were usually decent people when they first arrived on the street, and often quite attractive and catered to the former. The problems rose to epic proportions during the eighties as the crack scene unfolded with a vengeance. Soon, sixteen year-old girls would be out there, hooking and looking forty within six months. Usually, there was a pimp, either male or female taking advantage of the situation, manipulating the young women with hard drugs and fear. In a perfect world, which would facilitated greatly by legalization, I don't think this kind of scene would be as prevalent. Certainly not so easily, not so callously. I once saw a girl I knew to be underage, pregnant, standing on the corner. When I expressed my concern to a cop, he as much as said "Fuck her, the slut. We can't protect her. Let her kill herself; she'll do it anyway."<br /><br />I will say that the women who managed to keep themselves independent fared much better than the rest. They tended to stay off hard drugs and were happier with their lives.Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-58089774261882610082013-05-16T22:28:35.018-04:002013-05-16T22:28:35.018-04:00And then there's the mayor of a town in Japan ...And then there's the mayor of a town in Japan who has said recently that the enslaved Korean and Chinese women forced to be sex workers during WWII were "necessary" for the Japanese war campaign. Nothing to apologize or be punished for; just necessary tools.<br /><br />But then he said that the US troops stationed in Japan should take more advantage of the legal prostitutes available near their army bases, in order to reduce the problem of sexual assaults within the troops. He may have had a point. Maybe it's time to bring back the ancient tradition of "camp followers." Or maybe not. Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-6876913195343764072013-05-16T21:26:24.842-04:002013-05-16T21:26:24.842-04:00Humans are still WAY too weird about sex as oppose...Humans are still WAY too weird about sex as opposed to, say, eating food, which is an appetite which we celebrate satisfying, by going out to pricy dinners and writing reviews about the purveyors that gave us pleasure! And drinking? Try reading a wine review sometime with a straight face..."hints of leather and tobacco"...in a drink? Someone soaked his shoes then put out a cigarette in it? EW!<br /><br />So yes, the sex trade is debased because we still try to pretend that we don't do it/think about it/obsess about it. Because we are "better" than that. Ri-ight. Tell that to the 3 women kept hostage by a man and his brothers for 10 years! I'll bet he thought he was better than a "john" because he wasn't paying for it...sigh.<br /><br />We will know that we, as a race, have evolved to true civilization when sex is just another appetite to be ignore/satisfied/satiated, as the personality desires. Fiona McGierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13495707848048468428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-86319497563913694912013-05-16T17:20:12.985-04:002013-05-16T17:20:12.985-04:00I did. I LOVED it.I did. I LOVED it.Amanda Earlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09059621442042833693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-79727660271289662592013-05-16T16:34:41.310-04:002013-05-16T16:34:41.310-04:00Interesting post, Giselle. And oh yes, the forces ...Interesting post, Giselle. And oh yes, the forces of anti-prostitution believe that Old Testament-style punishment would be appropriate for everyone involved in the trade. We could have a whole thread here about the archaic Canadian laws against "soliciting," "living off the avails" and "keeping a common bawdy house" that were struck down in November 2010 as unconstitutional, and none too soon. As far as I know, no serious federal laws have replaced the old ones, so this would be the time to push for decriminalization of the sex trade in Canada. (I've posted here on OGG about this.) Amanda (& everyone else here), did you read Amber Dawn's fantasy novel Sub Rosa? It's brilliant.Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-56990472593643797322013-05-16T07:01:09.563-04:002013-05-16T07:01:09.563-04:00i enjoyed reading your post, Giselle. i've see...i enjoyed reading your post, Giselle. i've seen these kind of paradoxes with my family too. a writer i know, Amber Dawn, has just written a great book about her time as a sex worker in Vancouver called "How Poetry Saved My Life." she's an advocate for sex workers. we need more of those. thanks for your post. Amanda Earlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09059621442042833693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-13188969035109961412013-05-16T06:49:04.156-04:002013-05-16T06:49:04.156-04:00Great finale, Giselle! Funny how one's parents...Great finale, Giselle! Funny how one's parents, whom you think you know so well, can still surprise.<br /><br />As for sex workers, well, it's clearly a hard life for most, but attitudes make it much more difficult. What's criminal is to punish the poor women (and men) who are just trying to make a living - and then let their customers get off scot free.Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.com