From my point of view, AMEN to what Reese stated. And Fawn, we love you too.
SAS
Wondering if I will ever be able to be morally honest as well. Originally Posted by FatManHobbyist
This job is different because it is illegal and from a societal perspective unacceptable. Sacking groceries, working at a bank, or repairing cars is not........I would have assumed that was obvious.
While I agree with the "wrongness" of the hobby from a societal perspective, it is obvious that I have mastered hypocrisy in my participation in it. I do not believe it should be against the law as regulating morality is impossible and the attempts to control it have never worked well. Undeniably however are the negative aspects of the hobby such as broken families, drugs that seems to always be close by, the physical abuse of BF and pimps, the low "societal" self-esteem that is common to both hobbyists and provider etc. It is from those items that laws have been created.
I would argue that aside from the "Judeo-Christain morals" that seem to always be in play, that a larger more direct influence is at play too. The fear of destroying the nuclear family unit due to a man's (or women's) lust for the carnal pleasures many are deprived of. The sanctity of marriage (family) is in many eyes more the reason than religious beliefs and participation in the hobby is seen as an attack on the family values.
American culture just seems to have a thing for a Sodom and Gomorrah community where everyone is running rampant with legalized and uncontrolled sexual urges. From that perspective I have to agree. I would not want a red light district with legalized prostitutes in Dallas. Nevada is bad enough.
Nevada is expensive and the quality is much worse that Dallas. Originally Posted by Introuble
We are getting to the point of discussing good parenting and bad parenting which is maybe a tad off target. The statement of the industry being wrong is wrought with examples of exceptions to the rules where some good is being accomplished as a result of breaking the law.Here you say that you can't think of a scenario where the hobby is "right", and go on to equate it with "robbing banks, Stealing from Rich people who don't need it, Cheating on my IRS returns, or numerous other illegal activities that are considered "soft" crimes and basically victimless". Those are ridiculous examples, as they are FAR from "victimless" crimes. If you steal money, that money has to come from someone that did not CONSENT to you taking it from them, if you cheat on your IRS returns, you are refusing to pay for services that we all enjoy and are for the greater good (poice, fire, roads, military, social security, just to name a few).
I do not believe however that one can make a case with any scenario and justify the hobby to the extent of it being "right".
Example:
1) I provide for my kids by being a HOOKER therefore the hobby is OK because it provides the income to buy my kids clothes, send them to college, etc. I love my kids enough to do that therefore I am a good parent.
2) Substitute HOOKER with Robbing Banks, Stealing from Rich people who don't need it, Cheating on my IRS returns, or numerous other illegal activities that are considered "soft" crimes and basically victimless.
The fact of the matter is regardless of how you try to justify it, it is still engaging in an illegal activity no matter what the justification for doing so. If we as a society are to the point of saying it is OK to break the laws in order to be fruitful parents then we have a new topic for a new thread.
My observations are simply mine and that of 90% of society. You can always use examples of good intentions as a result of bad actions to justify one persons actions.
And yes, even if they made prostitution legal, it would still have at a minimum morality problems. Even if it were legal, I would love my kids no less than I already do, but I would not approve of it and it would be known very forcefully.
If you are wondering, I am trying to schedule my weekly session right after this post. Hypocrisy is a wonderful thing isn't it?
Great philosophical thread BTW Originally Posted by Introuble
Fawn, I am sorry you are getting emotional about this. I have said from day one that I am a hypocrite's hypocrite on the topic and have readily admitted a few times that I am talking out of both sides of my mouth in so many words. As a parent I am no better than anyone else here and have made it a point to admit my faults in this issue too. My only position in this whole argument is that the hobby from a legal, moral, and somewhat parental standpoint is wrong. My participation in the hobby is kind of like the alcoholic knowing it is wrong to drink and drive but yet still drinking and driving. I AM NOT IN DENIAL ABOUT WHAT THE HOBBY IS AND ISN'T nor am I pretending it to be right to justify my participation in it.......as some are. I know it is wrong EVEN THOUGH I still participate in it. My hope is that others would be just as intellectually honest about it as I am trying to be. If not that is OK too, but I do not buy the argument that this is what I do in order to provide for my kids. That may be a choice, but it is not the only choice either. I have the utmost respect for any person doing "what they have to do" in order to provide as a parent, but there are OTHER choices too that are brought on many times by our EARLIER and CURRENT decisions in life. Need I expand?The highlighted portion above is one of your more ridiculous points. The reason it is WRONG to drink and drive is because you can very easily kill yourself, and/or a family of 6 on vaction in their station wagon. If a drunk passes out behind the wheel, and kills himself/herself, then the family of that person is devastated, and has to deal with all the issues that come along with that spouse's death. If they kill the family of 6 in their station wagon, those problems are just compounded.
I am sorry I hit a nerve as I felt everyone was keeping civil in a very interesting and thought provoking discussion. My apologies if I stepped on your toes in some way. Originally Posted by Introuble
no matter how much a mother can justify this, we know it is morally wrong, we aren't saying it isn't..... we just want you to see another side to the coin.. and Reese youre right, who said it is wrong all the bible thumpers that are scared of sexuality, or the government that wants a cut of our money...and if they could figure out how to do that it would be legal......you can bet that...... Originally Posted by fawn
It was suggested by my fellow hobbyist Nebekenezer that there are no laws against adultery. I submit the following link for review. It is certainly enough of a "lawless" act that divorces are built on it and granted in many states. Of course Texas being the exception as your wife can divorce you for picking your nose here. Adultery in Florida is a 2 year prison sentence and certainly punishable by death in some countries.Well, I do stand corrected on there not being laws of man against adultery as that site listed by you does show that to be the case. I do not know if that site is accurate since I have not spent the time to research those points of law however I do know that the UCMJ, for those that are not of a military background that stands for the Uniform Code of Military Justice, does prohibit fornication and adultery as an aritcle 134 will attest. As a matter of fact, those violations of the UCMJ will result in a dishonorable discharge as well as time in Leavenworth if one is convicted of them.
http://christianparty.net/adulterylaws.htm
Lonesome Dove - I was beginning to believe I was the only one with a sinful conscience. Originally Posted by Introuble
...Truth is absolute, not relative such as you implied, and applies to everyone as is. What you described is an opinion which is relative and only applies if one has a specific point of view or set of similar experiences. It's easy to fall into the current thought of the street which confuses opinion with truth or using the terms as semantically equivalent which they are not.
Just because many think this is a bad choice…..doesn’t make that a truth for everyone.
.... Originally Posted by SummerBella
....again I will say that this profession is not the cause of any moral breakdown in our society. If anything in some cases it might be a product of a few things. Originally Posted by SummerBellaPartially right you are. I wrote paritially because in all cases participation in prostitution is the result of personal choices and a moral judgement for ones self. By making the jump to being either a supplier or a consumer of prositution, one has a ripple effect on society. Simple cause and effect.