The main reason I think adult services should be allowed to advertise on Craigslist and everywhere else is because sex does not lead to crime. Not on the Internet, not in print, and not in real life. It is a puritan mentality that believes sex -- whether free or transactional -- is the slippery slope to criminal activity. That is a socio-religious belief. It isn't a scientific fact.
Censoring escort and contact ads has zip to do with saving lives and everything to do with a deep-seated hostility towards sexual freedom. It's all about people wanting to control the kind of sex that other people have, and wanting to strong-arm them into doing only the kind of sex they deem appropriate. Again, these attitudes have no relation to the facts about sex, such as the fact that studies show transactional sex is a natural behavior in primates; or that bisexuality, homosexuality, multiple relationships, kinky stuff, and more are normal (i.e., always known, always acted on) human behaviors.
If anything, repressive attitudes MAKE sex sleazier and potentially more criminal by scaring off healthy, normal people looking for fun, and leaving the field wide open to bottom-feeders you can't pry off with a floor-scraper.
So my temper flared when I read about the sheriff who announced he's suing Craigslist.
Dart has sued Craigslist ... saying that the site's Adult Services category reflects little change from its previous Erotic Services label. In fact, it may have made the advertisers more brazen. Although the photos still feature "scantily clad women" who wear far more than the average July sunbather, the ads themselves have become more direct.
Big whoop. Craigslist caved to pressure but they're not to blame for murderous idiots using their service. Does anyone sane actually think the ads were the problem? Would they prefer that this psychotic fellow break into girls' homes or pick them up at local bars to rob and rape them? Sex ads don't enable homicidal maniacs: they don't even make it more convenient for them. They are simply one of a thousand different methods that criminals and predators exploit.
If the sheriff really cared about protecting people from criminals, he'd open a dialog with Craigslist about improving safety guidelines and making the ads a friendlier environment for all. But he doesn't want dialog. He wants to shut down the sex industry and get some photo ops.
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