Not top billing..

I guess when you write a story titled “RI in Eye of the Storm in Sex Trafficking, Prostitution” you get the front page.  That article can get front page on the Sunday paper, probably the widest read paper of the week.

Today, there was another article “Suspected Warwick brothel linked to businesses in Central Falls, Providence”. That article didn’t get the front page.  It didn’t even get front page on the website.  RI officials working to to stop invasion of the Asian Longhorn Beetle made the front page.   Not that I think the title of the article was all that great.  I guess that is just the way the newspapers work.

If I was to give the article a title, I would say that what they should have picked something from this:

Meanwhile, the police have found no evidence that three Korean women questioned at the scene of the April 9 raid were victims of human trafficking, Babula said. Two of the women are U.S. residents. The third has an outstanding deportation order but was released along with the other two since she “is not a danger to anyone,” he said, and has attended hearings on her case with immigration authorities.

After all the media keeps linking Asian massage parlors to human trafficking, It would have been nice to give the fact that there is no human trafficking, more prominence in the story.  It doesn’t really matter though.  I usually read the stories on the website for the comments from the users.

The comments are great, most detesting the fact the state is wasting money.

Thisisthecity wrote “the real victim is me and you the ones who pay for this crap to go to court”ing

Lets Think About it wrote “This was a waste of tax payer money to investigate. So they give out happy endings, where’s the crime? That’s right it is legal in RI. There are many other things that could be looked into like the mini mart on Main Ave, where they sell pipes for dope and there is a guy that hangs out all day making arrangements for other to get their supply.”

Island said “Stop wasting tax dollars busting these people. Tax them!”

Mr xyx said “Hey General Assembly…. new license fees? PLUS… 7% sales tax !!!!!”

Other people pointed out the women were in the 40s and 50s, and they knew what they were doing.  The rest of them were hot on the immigration angle.  Everyone has their angle!! But one that was missing was people who believe this is human trafficking, or that the prostitution loophole needs to be closed.  I wonder how the comments represent the general public?

I really wish I could get comments like that!!!

Craigslist Killer hits in RI

After all the debate about prostitution being legal in Rhode Island, the Craigslist Killer has struck in our state.  I think this shows that we need to keep prostitution safe, and regulate it.  If you notice, there has never been any violence, murder, or robbery in any of the Asian massage parlors.  That is because there are usually 4-6 women working together, and there is safety in numbers.  A man wouldn’t be able to rob or kill a worker there because she is protected.  If we change the law, the women will be forced to work independently, and we will probably have more news about people like the Craigslist Killer and Jeffery Mailhot who killed a bunch of women working in the streets of Woonsocket back in 2004.

More Raids…

In the words of George Bush, you fool me once shame on you.  Fool me again, I won’t be fooled again.  Well, I feel as bright as that statement.  Yesterday I went to the State House to testify against the prostitution bill.  As I made “Happy Endings?” I realised that if you change the prostitution law, all you will do is arrest women.  I felt that it was my duty to speak on the behalf of the women who are working in spas, some of them in my film.  These women are the ones who “work behind closed doors”  .I thought that my insight on the spas would help some legislators see through the propaganda.

I should have known that there would probably be raids the day after or the day before the testimony.  That happened in 2006 with one of the women in my film.  At that time Providence Police raided 3 spas the day before a “Human Trafficking” forum.  I should have seen it coming, but like George Bush says fool me once…

Here is what I don’t understand, actually I don’t understand a bunch of things, but here is one thing.  If you believe the women working in the spas are victims, trafficked from a foreign country, would you send a bunch of police in to question three women, take their cell phones, laptops, licenses (yes drivers licenses, they are citizens), and cash and keep it all as evidence and tell those three women “we are saving you”.  (Also there were no translators)

I consider myself a regular functioning American woman, but if you want to take away most of my ability to function, separate me from my cell phone, lap top and cash, and I don’t know what I would do.  I don’t know anyone’s number, they are all in speed dial.  I don’t even know my sister’s number and I talk to her everyday, she is just programed to speed dial.  If you took away my phone, money, and even my license, I would be messed up.  I am lucky that I have enough family in RI so I could just jump on a bus, but from what I hear, the women in the spa today were left with nothing.

Now put that into the perspective that these women were running a legal business.  It would seem to me that if you wanted to “save” these women from  human trafficking, you could do that in a more humane way.  Since these business have licenses, why not send in health or business inspectors to find out if any of the women are hear against their will?