A society that's fixated on sex is playing with fire
Jay Evensen
Not only do comedians in this fictional world constantly joke about fire, companies use it, both overtly and in clever, veiled references, in advertisements. The most popular television networks, during family hour, show an average of one fire-related joke or situation every 3.5 minutes.
Should the people who live in such a world be surprised when people are burned? Would they react in shock to find that a high-profile politician — say the governor of a major state — was an arsonist?
I am aware that this analogy isn't perfect for putting the Eliot Spitzer fiasco in context. Unlike the setting of fires, the sex drive is an important human urge.
I'm also aware that Spitzer is not the first politician to sully himself because of an inability to control this urge. High-profile politicians and sex scandals run in a line from Thomas Jefferson to Grover Cleveland to Bill Clinton, with lots more in between.
But in one sense, the analogy is perfect. In a fire-crazed society, there may be those who look at the antics of pyromaniacs with a wry smile and a shrug of the shoulders. There may even be moral relativists who laugh scornfully at people who want the flames contained, arguing that, after all, it's just fire, a victimless vice. They would, of course, conveniently ignore the charred remains of victims everywhere.
Of all the people Spitzer saw fit to offer an apology, the prostitute he hired, "Kristen," was not on the list. That discrepancy probably didn't occur to many people. We've grown accustomed to viewing streetwalkers as less than human. But as an op-ed by Melissa Farley and Victor Malarek, published in Wednesday's New York Times, asked, "What is she going through now? Is she in danger from organized crime because of what she knows?"
No one seems to know or to care much.
Here are some facts about prostitution, as provided by the Prostitution Research and Education Web site (www.prostitutionresearch.com) and taken from numerous studies:
The average prostitute begins at age 13. A vast majority, up to 90 percent, have been victims of incest. Some are older women looking to escape abusive relationships with men. One study found that 85 percent suffered some sort of sexual abuse as a child. In other words, they enter the job already feeling worthless and abused. Once they start working, things only get worse.
One report found that 90 percent are controlled by a pimp, as was Spitzer's prostitute. The pimps take much of the money earned and control the lives of their working girls. It is a degrading life. Customers often demand girls with a specific feature or race.
Recent comments
I agree with everything Jay Evensen wrote. At the same time, I don...
Anonymous | March 16, 2008 at 11:00 p.m.
First of all nobody is afraid of sex, and second of all would it...
MetricWrench | March 16, 2008 at 11:55 a.m.
Perhaps we force it to be even worse than it would be, if we, as...
Just a thought | March 16, 2008 at 11:24 a.m.
