By hooker by crook

The discussion has arisen on the net, lately (thanks to a member of the current administration resigning amid concerns over the release of phone records of a notorious D.C. madam) as to whether or not prostitution should be made legal.

I'm of two minds, on this.

Deep down inside, I resent most government intrusion into our personal and professional lives. I don't like it when the legislators try to tell me to stay away from smokers, I don't like it when they tell me I have to wear my seat belt (I do both anyway, because it's stupid to do otherwise) I don't like it when they take tax dollars to teach children to become morons. I think there's a trace of libertarian in me, here.

If they can pay Elisha Cuthbert a buncha bucks for what she did (or, rather, what she didn't do -- act) in "24", why punish somebody with greater talent, for a follow-through performance? It seems to me, Hollywood and Washington, D.C. have been getting big bucks for decades, now, for shtupping this nation. Maybe individual, non-union private citizens should have a piece of that action.

And, once made legal, it can be licensed, health- and quality-controlled, have proper training and safety protocols (including minimum age limits), and have the pimp-fat trimmed from the industry to the benefit of the labor pool. A pro who gets beaten up by a or a boss is not going to be afraid to press charges, because her career won't get her in jail -- she is an ordinary working citizen.

There are potential benefits to this legalization thing.

On the other hand, legalizing prostitution is one of those things where "slippery slope" actually comes immediately to mind. What is to stop us from winding up where Germany got to a couple of years ago? With unemployment and food assistance programs becoming more often tied to job search efforts, how will a non-disabled unemployed person be able to refuse a job as an "intimate masseuse and escort"? On moral grounds? How, then to make the exception just and fair? I discover a moral objection to working with a company which sells filthy, polluting automobiles, and, yet, for some freaky reason they are willing to hire me. If I refuse, will they make the same allowances for me with the car industry that they make for the poor soul accepted for work in the pleasure industry? What if I have a moral objection to serving non-halal food (true, I'm not Muslim, but I'm still heavily into dietary restrictions) and the job opening is at the McDonalds?

I also have concerns about this, because we have such a corrupt government in Illinois, already. I can imagine much worse horrors for the young and attractive as they come out from our public schools unprepared for actual work... they could end up as government interns and congressional pages!


It isn't such a stretch.

Personally, I don't see this as much of a threat to myself. I can amuse myself all the livelong day, but I'd probably fetch less than a nickle per day plying the horizontal trade. It's just not a career I think of as even remotely enjoyable, for myself, and, as such, I'd consistently fail to provide customer satisfaction. Not that I'm opposed to sex, but I've found I rather enjoy this celibacy thing I've been exploring lo, these past fifteen years. I always was a selfish person, physically (it's all about me!!!), and further, it's much easier to be content with myself if I don't hang my needs on somebody else's (or several somebodies') appendage(s). Therefore, no employment agent would think twice about giving me an exemption from such a job. After all, they do have to think about the future of the business to which they're referring this client.