Hello all,
Economics trumps politics.
This is hardly true as a general presumption of how governments act. Historically the reverse can be true just as often. Too see it just look at China and the Soviet Union since World War II. The Soviets bankrupted themselves and political ideology was a key force in that. The Chinese had been doing much them same to where there was mass starvation and economic impoverishment. Some important Islamic nations and their leaders still do it as do some governments in the Americas and Africa. It goes on depending on leadership right down to the local town level.
But if you are referring to these two forces in the context of the contest and effect between them, then yes, economics trumps politics.
Europe is a monger's paradise. No one there gives a shit about the opinions of a radical few, or the positions of Scandanavian countries with a minor percentage of the population. No one went there to monger or even for tourism. They are getting 15 minutes of fame because the mainstream media decided to glorify prostitution and there was a backlash. The Nordic models will fail and that 15 minutes will end soon. Not a single meaningful European country for mongering, business & tourism will adopt this nonsense, not Germany, not Spain, not The Czechs, not the Dutch (who truly despise the Nordic model for intellectual reasons), not the Portuguese, not even the British whose flagship Economist magazine pushes for decriminalization.
You're over-generalizing badly, maybe because we're all so familiar with boards like this and seeing it, and seeing the attitudes here so often, makes one have a distorted perception of what everyone else may be thinking.
It would be better not to be dismissive of a few Scandinavian countries. First of all, huge social changes have started infinitely smaller, one person refusing to give up a seat on a bus for instance. Scandinavian countries are NOT lone bastions of stunted hyper-conservatism out there on the far flung fringes of social conscience and consciousness. Depicting them like some aberrant breed of people or generally alien society to sooth our fears is not helping anything. It's also deceiving ourselves. These people are as much a mix of conservatives and liberals with very open modern ideas as anywhere else. The differences would be slight, and though I am not sure how their Nordic Model law was achieved, the current results might be largely a result of better campaigning.
To color the two sides like a checker board with them red and us black is poor stereotyping. Prostitution or sexual services, whatever you call it, has always been seen with a lot of ambivalence by very large percentages of people. True, there are significant percentages of populations that have made up their minds on each side, but many see a lot of arguments that say legalize it in one perspective, but don't legalize it from the other.
It's a huge mistake to cite one magazine or those of a certain view or get opinions from like minded associates and believe that's what all the rest of the world thinks. Seeking out like minds to understand the world and how people behave is designed to fail to understand. There are many political, social, and religious philosophies that have failed by thinking that way.
As someone pointed out, full service escorting is still alive and well in Stockholm Sweden. The arrests have involved street prostitution and even then I found one documentary that said none of those arrested had served even a day in jail. But most importantly, private escorting was not really affected, which is what Merb is all about.
Let's say the law is enacted and someone here gets an escort to come to his hotel room after responding to an ad for time and companionship. Let's say after he pays her for time and companionship that they have sex for a full hour. Let's say he even writes a review afterword on a thread that had previous reviews detailing her sexual services.
Yes, there are laws then there is practicality, especially in a free internet world. No matter how this issue goes it's impractical economically to be effective by going after everyone or just clients. It's feel good politics.
Radical man-hating feminists, moralists, the politicians who cater to them, poor men and women who conduct private activities on the street (and in cars) that belong behind the closed doors of hotels homes & apartments, and idealists like Ms. Bedford and her naive attorneys who believe that laws can solve problems are irritating.
Once again it's a huge mistake to treat the anti-sex industry believers like some sort of nonsense mutant aberration. If that was so they could never get the support they have achieved to pass or even get a foothold in the legislatures with the laws so many seem to be getting a little crazy about here. These people are only those who are just more determined to act upon serious ambivalences that go on about this industry in the consciences of a great segment of the population. Conjuring them like
"radical man-hating feminists, moralists, idealists" who are out of touch with everyone else is going against the firm, perfectly obvious evidence that there has been enough support abundantly proven by the fact there is a piece of legislation in the process of possible passing with a decent chance to do so that is causing all of us great concern. The existence of this thread and others proves there's more to worry about than just some feminist boogey-women and moralist demons.. Otherwise you're saying we are so sacred of a few kooks.
BTW - somewhere in another thread someone referred to our friends the agencies owners as something like insignificant low end elements within the whole engine of the sex industry. :lol: Freaking REALLY??? Is that why we thank them and praise them all the time for our fun. :noidea:
C'mon boys,
Merlot
