I posted this on an ongoing thread in another city, but too late to elicit any responses. I'm repeating here not because I like to see myself in print but because there seem to be a lot of misconceptions on these subjects, even among hobbyists. Any thoughts?
I've done some serious research on the above topics, talked to many people more knowledgeable than I, including providers and hobbyists, and these are some generalizations that I think hold up:
Of course there is trafficking and slavery of various kinds in the US, including women, children, and forced labor. The US is a BIG market for such activities. BUT, most foreign women in the hobby who are here illegally are not trafficked, esp in the higher ends of the hobby. They come willingly, often on valid tourist or even business visas, and are usually well aware of the risks. They work in the hobby for the same reasons American women do -- because they need to support their familiies, pay debts, further their studies, start a legit business, or just want financial independence, and nothing they do can earn good money as quickly as hobbying. Of course, some of them like it, but many are ambivalent.
There is no difference in quality in a given price range between foreign and American providers -- they all charge what the traffic will bear.
IMHO, trafficking and various forms of slavery should be penalized heavily; escorting, providing, etc should be legalized as consensual behavior between adults, whether or not money is exchanged. However, it's very difficult for even astute LE to differentiate betwen the two. Instead they go after low hanging fruit like AMPS and street walkers. Consider the absurd amount of money spent on a recent bust in a large city was absurd: a raid on two terrified young women in an apartment by 20 LE, one here legally and the other a visa overstayer, with follow-on detention for more than 30 days and deportation for the overstayer, and a weak charge (inconclusive evidence) of operating an illegal business for the other one, ending in a plea bargain. Meanwhile, many really bad guys are out there on our streets killing people and committing other serious crimes. LE forces are stretched thin -- why don't they spend more time on things that are genuine menaces to society?
Where's the outrage?
I would hope this would be considered preaching to the choir, except for your point about foreign women.
It does amaze me that even here on TER there are many who still believe that most if not all foreign women, especially asian women, are working as providers against their will.
I've said it before and I'll keep saying it... VERY few AMPs are actually guilty of the forced labor/child prostitute activities they are accused of... However I've experenced ALOT of likely "undocumented-worker" types in these places... they are mainly young women trying to make a fuck-buck like everyone else...
LE just uses the media-hype to gain public support for their tactics of bending search-n-siezure, and entrapment law...
I started hobbying at AMP's, and I got the distinct impression that the ladies were moved from one city to another. That, combined with my impression that they were just off the boat, made me believe that they could be trafficked.
I think that there is a higher likelihood of trafficking (or coercion) in the lower end of hobbying where the overall experience is less of an issue (quantity vs. quality).
Given that, why not have LE spend their time on the low hanging fruit where there is more likely to be a secondary benefit of rescuing a lady?
Why don't you suggest that LE go after ladies of color, because they are more likely to be working for a pimp?
I don't normally accuse people af racism, but yours is one of the most racist comments I've heard on this board.
Did it ever occur to you that the asian ladies might live in one town and work in others, just like the "white" women do?
I can't believe how many members of TER of all people actually buy into this bullshit.
"Given that, why not have LE spend their time on the low hanging fruit where there is more likely to be a secondary benefit of rescuing a lady?"
I have a better idea, why not have LE focus on real crime, and leave "all" of us alone.
My point was that it is an obvious place where there might be a problem. If there are Hispanic MP, Russian mp, [any group you want] mp, that had similar characteristics and easy for LE to find, then if it has a high chance of rescuing ladies from slavery, then I could understand.
It wasn't a matter of the lady living out of town. The lady did not live anywhere except in the MP. And she toured from city to city. + other reasons I saw.
My point was that there is a problem out there. Not everywhere (lady works at the same AMP for years). I saw what I saw. I talked with the ladies, and I thought their responses were funny (odd). I accepted it as "they are just different than I am". This was before I saw the "investigative reports", and their responses all of a sudden made sense. It has been a while since I went to an AMP. It could be with LE, they have cleaned up their act. Or maybe they don't operate in your area.
-- Modified on 11/18/2007 6:16:56 AM
…. when you ask why LE doesn’t spend more time on serious crime instead of going after prostitutes. The fact is: LE is governed by state law which mandates law enforcement agencies enforce the law. Anti prostitution enforcement is a pain in the ass for most large LE agencies but they would be recalcitrant if they didn’t take appropriate action. There is a pending law suit against the LAPD for not aggressively going after prostitutes who operate in private. Their policy is to enforce vice violations that are either commercial, conspicuous or complained of. The lawsuit was brought on by The Traditional Values Coalition.
Hearings were held before the Los Angeles Police Commission regarding the enforcement of anti prostitution laws. Representatives from the police department testified that prostitution is a problem when it occurs in public, like street walkers or involves exploitation or minors. Acts between adults in private does not pose a threat to the safety of the community. It is more of a moral issue than a law enforcement problem.
Andrea Lafferty testified for the Coalition stating that the police could not legally decide which laws they wanted to enforce and which laws they didn’t want to enforce. Andrea Lafferty told the police commission that prostitution is as serious as any other crime. It ruins the lives of everyone who is involved. Most of the women are uneducated, have no marketable skills and suffer from low esteem. It is the responsibility of society to protect, not exploit, the weak. It destroys the lives of the men who patronize prostitutes because they lose all sense of moral value.
At the time John Miller, former foreign correspondent for ABC, was an official with the LAPD and testified at the hearing. Miller testified that it would be a major undertaking to attempt to arrest all the prostitutes who operate in private. It would require reassigning highly skilled detectives from homicide, robbery and other serious crimes to staff the project. If they were able to arrest every prostitute in the City of Los Angeles, the City wouldn’t be one bit safer. As a matter fact the City would be in a state of chaos because the police personnel used staff the task force would not be protecting the city. He went on to say that reassigning detectives from serious crimes to enforce anti prostitution laws would be like sending the SWAT team out to write parking tickets.
The police commission rendered a decision at a later date agreeing with the police department in the way they enforce anti prostitution laws. The Traditional Values Coalition filed a lawsuit when the police commission failed to order the police department to enforce anti prostitution laws against all forms of prostitution. It will be interesting to see how this law suit plays out. If the Coalition wins it could mean a major change in the enforcement of anti prostitution laws.
We don't have enough $ to enforce all the laws out there, and neither would be put up with the police enforcing all the laws. The law suit is bogus on its face.
Laws are primarily designed to be enforced after the fact (deterance vs. prevention). I don't think we want LE enforcing all theft laws. How about the pen you "borrow" from the office for personal use. Catch all speeders. etc.
The question is: Which laws do we devote $ to enforce on a prevention basis (murder, rape), and which do we enforce on a deterance basis. Some laws, you do selective enforcement (speeding) just to keep most people honest.
They don't necessarily just go after amp's n streetwalkers.
I've heard from girls I know who work for agencies that LE has been calling all the ads on big escort malls when they set up stings in order to catch whoever they can. The difference is, those agencies' bookers don't usually go to such great lengths to verify clients. While we TER girls may screen or in some cases over screen, it's not the case for the agency bookers, so they end up getting their girls caught up very easily.
Katie