User Comments

1. 

   3/05/09

   drjay1966

   Prostitution should be legalized and heavily regulated--not because it's a good thing, or that it ever can be a good thing, but because it's a horrible thing which can only be made less horrible, with the worst abuses--rampant slavery (yes, dudes, the prostitute you and your buddies slept with last weekend probably lives as a slave to her pimp; she's also probably been a victim of childhood incest and spent her whole life being abused in ways you can hardly imagine) (and pimps are not even close to being the hip swingers gangsta rap pretends they are) molestation and statutory rape, horrible health conditions, spread of STD's etc.--at least reined in somewhat, if it can be to some degree controlled, with the police protecting prostitutes rather than arresting them. As it is, for the most part, it is the victims who are arrested and sent to prison (yes, they are--I work with a number of women currently on parole for prostitution).

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   1. 

      3/05/09

      timethief

      I agree that prostitution should be decriminalized for all the reasons you do. What do you think about the law suit against Craigslist for advertising? We can open newspapers and see escort services, home massage and call girl ads in them. What makes advertising on the internet any different?
   2. 

      3/05/09

      drjay1966

      I don't think there should be any legal difference between print advertising and on-line advertising. I guess to me the way prostitution is dealt with is just so wrongheaded and inhumane that it hardly matters how or where it's allowed to be advertised.
   3. 

      3/05/09

      timethief

      I agree. I can't see any difference between the two other than the differences intarso posted below.
2. 

   3/05/09

   thelighthouse

   I think suing Craigslist, while amusing when I first heard about it, is a big mistake. If they're trying to stop escort services, "making an example" of Craigslist won't make a dent in the internet's relationship with prostitution or erotic services. Plus I don't see dime newspapers or magazines getting sued for featuring the same thing.
   
   Perhaps Craigslist was targeted because it's international? Small newspapers and magazines must seem like small fry targets compared to Craigslist, and the police are testing the waters as to how far their jurisdiction over the internet extends.

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   1. 

      3/05/09

      timethief

      I think it's extremely odd. I believe intarso may have a point. Perhaps there's an election in the air.
3. 

   3/05/09

   intarso

   I wouldn't be surprised if the judge throws the case out. This is just political posturing, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone was up for election soon in cook county
   
   From CL: www.craigslist.org/about/erotic_services_FAQ
   
   1. craigslist donates 100% of net revenue from "erotic services" ads to charity, while newspapers and yellow pages make a profitable business out of them.
   2. craigslist enables its users to flag inappropriate ads for removal, whereas inappropriate print ads cannot be removed.

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   1. 

      3/05/09

      timethief

      Excellent points. I always like reading your comments. Thanks for wading in.
   2. 

      3/05/09

      intarso

      Regardless of the outcome of this trial, I think that the CCSD should focus their energies on policing the streets first, and the internet second. Prostitutes soliciting on CL do not make the city more dangerous. They aren't standing on street corners and being taken to city parks to have sex. They aren't soliciting by schools and parks and churches. This is in-call/out-call, which isn't where most of the problems caused by prostitution arise. These are (for the most part) not homeless runaways, like many street prostitutes are.
      
      Las Vegas has the right idea.
      
      I see two options - CL will either settle this very quickly, or they will take it on with a big legal battle and really make a stand. Since Ebay has a significant stake in CL, I don't forsee them wanting to get involved in a very high-key legal battle over prostitution, so I think option 1 is the likeliest if it doesn't get thrown out.
      
      This will play a big part of their defense:
      
      "November 7, 2008: Craigslist announced that it will crack down on ads for prostitution by requiring people who post "erotic services" ads to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card."
      
      which came about as a result to this:
      wcco.com/topstories/prostitution.ring.teenagers.2.370262.html
4. 

   3/06/09

   libdrone

   well, I don't necessarily agree that prostitution is Always a bad thing. While the posters above who point out that many prostitutes live as slaves to their pimps and are often physically and emotionally abused is certainly true, I believe these negatives are not the result of prostitution itself but rather the results of the criminalization of prostitutes.
   
   I remember many years ago reading the book Mayflower Madame by Sidney Biddle Barrows. She was a young socialite who ran an "escort service" in NYC and by all accounts treated both her customers and her staff very well. (She even had a health insurance plan for her "girls".)
   
   Prostitution is sometimes called the world's oldest profession, and there is certainly some truth to that. And imho, suing Craigslist to "crack down" on prostitution is like pissing in the wind. feh

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5. 

   4/21/09

   mpreviews

   comment removed by the community.

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6. 

   4/21/09

   Stillthinking

   Chicago is notorious for grand political gestures such as this.
   
   Two years ago, an alderman made a big stink about banning the sale of fois gras in City limits. First of all, fois gras is imported from France. It is illegal to produce fois gras in the US because it is considered animal abuse. So, banning the sale of it was ludicrous as it isn't sparing any animal lives. Restaurants simply changed the name on the menu from fois gras to pate. It made Chicago the laughing stock of the nation. Last year, the law was quietly repealed and fois gras is once again on the menus of restaurants all over the city.
   
   Craigslist has been in the sights of the Cook County prosecutors office for the past several years. They also have investigations in the works of news media outlet "The Reader" which also has a very prominent erotic services section masquerading as personal ads. This public announcement comes after the very public arrest of the Craigslist killer, who found his victims off the erotic services section of Craigslist.
   
   Chicago loves a spotlight.

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7. 

   4/21/09

   polybore

   Talk about shooting the messenger. How can one officer clicking through forums be more expensive than a whole bunch of officers patrolling the streets in cars on the off chance they will catch a prostitute.
   
   If criminals want to advertise their contact details and information regarding the crimes they are committing on the internet you would think the police would be happy!

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