Wizard asks what the social cost of "promoting prostitution" is. I'd call that a real straw man. Who exactly are the parties who are "promoting prostitution". Nobody here that I can see. We are promoting the use of tax dollars to end something where there is a reasonable chance it will happen. The official efforts to end prostitution have, by Wizard's own admission, failed. She wants to spend my money so that it won't be in her vicinity. Sorry, but I don't have that many dollars and never will. Plus, she refuses to give even a desultory thought to ideas that might effectively move it AND increase social control over it. No, she for some reason is a devotee of the prison system. That's a skewed sense of values. I don't think anyone that values human life and feelings could ever look at the prison system as more than a zoo where we put DANGEROUS animals. And, sorry, but I don't see prostitutes as sufficiently DANGEROUS to cage in such a place. In fact, if we want to SENTENCE prostitutes, let's sentence them to useful work for a living wage. I'm sure few of them have ever had the experience.
She tries to raise the heat with the word "genocide". I think discussion would be greatly elevated if people could consult a dictionary before misusing a word. Cambodia is genocide. The Native American is genocide. The Armenians are genocide. Prostitution is NOT and NEVER HAS BEEN genocide. Too much heat usually accompanies a deficiency of light. Energy is finite, and it can't produce both at once. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> As to co-ops being luxuries for yuppies, the majority of the clientele when I'm there is students and immigrants. The two categories do NOT seem to qualify for "yuppy" status. One of the prime reasons for shopping at a co-op is to get food that is least processed and most pure, most untouched by corporate modification. That appeals to people trying to live in more traditional ways. And that hardly EVER means they are upwardly mobile professionals. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> More straw men on the prostitution topic: The options are NOT "harass it" or "let it run free". But those are the options considered by those who don't really wish to think seriously about it. Those who think the status quo culture is somehow sacred. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Treating prostitutes as befits their actual offense is NOT evidence of wishing to treat them worse than the daughters of the rich. That is another bogus charge. People try to emotionally manipulate the audience rather than attempt creative thought. That is a sure way never to have progress. But I think in critical circles, it just isn't going to work. People know when they are the targets of manipulation and demagoguery. There are places for it, but this is probably NOT one of those places. And one example of this is the tendency to retreat to scapegoating those nasty politicians. Face it, politicians didn't create ANY of this. They've made inadequate responses for the simple reason that so MANY voters revert to this emotional approach. "Give the public what it wants and keep your job". But there really is no excuse on a discussion forum where people DON'T want that to emulate politics. Those who do can hardly be believed when they start waving a bloody shirt. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.) ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
