So, reading my paper in bed last night and Oprah appears on the TV. It’s a show about prostitution and how awful it is etc. etc. Typical Oprah stuff with battered women, arsehole men and “investigative reporting”. The show a bust of a number of women at an Oklahoma truck stop (what circle of hell this would be equivalent to I do not know). So far so Oprah. Then Oprah begins to moralize about how evil prostitution is, how prostitutes are always getting beaten up and killed, how they never get to keep their money etc etc.
So, after decrying the evils of prostitution does Oprah offer any alternatives? Does she even discuss the potential advantages of legalizing it? Of course not. That would be intellectually and morally courageous. Instead, she says how awful it is and then informs us that he next show will be on beauty tips etc.
You’re expecting balanced reporting from a daytime talk show? Dynamic solutions for complex and layed problems from shows that have topics like “Help! My daughter is a teenage slut!”
I was actually really surprised that the “undercover” team was busting the prostitutes as opposed to the Johns.
Shit, throw a trucker in jail for an evening, I bet he’ll be less likely to frequent those spots in the future.
No customers, no trade, no prostitutes.
That’s how those things are handled in this neck of the woods - I was surprised it was so different there.
I was also surprised at what a Pollyanna Oprah was acting about the whole foot-fetish thing. Geezo-pete - talk about vanilla - if she was getting het up about that, I can’t imagine what would have happened if chicky had started talking about hardcore BDSM or some shit.
It was the Lisa Ling “investigative reporting” that cracked me up. I respect her for going to the Congo and investigating something like that, but the “world of lot lizards” doesn’t really need much undercover detective work to figure out. Sheesh. They need to leave those poor skanks alone.
Why not at least make an effort to see how prostitution is handled in the Netherlands or even in Nevada? She actually could have done some good but she didn’t. Lisa Ling makes Katie Couric look like she has some depth.
Were they at least beauty tips for truck stop prostitutes?
You obviously haven’t read Oprah’s army physical records.
This being Oprah, the lady who brought you memoirist/survivor James Frey and theologian/philosopher Deepass Ch. Oprah, I’m surprised she didn’t have JT Leroy come on as a celebrity guests to talk about the dangers of truckstop prostitution (and promote her new line of raccoon penis bone accessories).
The logic is, arresting a prostitute is unlikely to stop her from being a prostitute because she has no other options in life. Being a street prostitute means you’ve already pretty much fallen off the last rung of the social ladder. Getting arrested is just one more hassle, and not the biggest one they’re going to face. The johns, on the other hand, are often much more prosperous, have more to lose from being caught, and less to lose from simply avoiding prostitution entirely. Focusing enforcement on them is going to be much more effective in quashing prostitution in a particular area than arresting the women, who are likely going to be right back out there in a day or two.