Comments on: Sex worker says Craigslist changes won't stop prostitution

Attempts to repress sexuality have failed for centuries, says Catherine, a San Francisco sex worker. If Craigslist bars sex workers then she says people will just move elsewhere.

[myles taylor]

Prostitution has and always will exist and making it illegal only makes it unsafe and drives it underground. Prostitution needs to be legalized, regulated, and taxed.

[Dleon84]

I AGREE! Thank you! Somebody with common sense.

[indeliblelve]

Despite the perennial problem of prostitution, it does not justify the decriminalization of it. To decriminalize the act is to sanction promiscuous behavior. What value does society place on human life to permit the commodification of women as sexual objects, something which is already fed to us by the outlets of mass media.

To argue that if prostitution is not legalized it will drive the problem underground, holds no water. I could say the same for legalizing meth, and cocaine.

What happened to virtuosity like in the days of Socrates? Can we not discern any longer what is good for the human condition?

Peace out...

[myles taylor]

Prostitution has and always will exist and making it illegal only makes it unsafe and drives it underground. Prostitution needs to be legalized, regulated, and taxed.

Did you mean a message with a happy ending or a massage?

[GuardBoy98]

First, why doesn't anything get proofread anymore? She "new?" She offered a "message" with a happy ending? C'mon.

Second, I just have to laugh at the bank official who was "devastated" when he heard the news. Either an exaggeration, or he needs to take a deep breath.

I agree with the woman's opinion that repressing sexuality only causes problems, but Craig's list is a service, not a political group. When 80% of the country has never heard of the site, it's not good that they are getting publicity for being a tool for prostitution. And some groups want to hold Craig's list responsible for the actions of its users. If they are taken to court, even if they win, the cost of defending themselves wouldn't be worth standing up for people's right to use their site to break the law.

This isn't an issue of whether prostitution is moral or not. It's an issue of liability.

[torontocitylife]

"doesn't anything get proofread" -- no kidding. It's not exactly a major proofreading job either. I also chuckled when I read about the devastated official. I mean, didn't he get this news from the prostitute herself? Is he losing her number all the time and Craig's List was his only way to get it back? Maybe he could've asked for it when he was talking to her.

But I have to disagree about liability. If it was Craig's List that made this decision, then yes. But this was the government forcing them to do this. This is a simple example of a knee-jerk reaction to public opinion and nothing else.

[sandonet]

Sandoval here. This is my fault. I'm trying to get stories up fast and posting without doing a good enough job reading it over. Our copydesk is excellent and they aren't getting a chance to read before posting. They can only sigh and correct my mistakes. I'll take more time before hitting the publish key. My sincerest apologies to all.
GS

[Chapmaniac]

Proof-reading is what your editor is there for - not your readers. Being in a hurry is no excuse for side-stepping QA. I'm glad you don't produce vehicles or computer equipment.

[veritat2009]

To Torontocitylife and chapmaniac: I hope that you put as much effort in protecting the environment (e.g. recycling, not driving a car...) than you do in correcting others grammar.

[myles taylor]

Come on you guys. I noticed it (and mentioned it in my comment as well) but you try writing for a living without ever making a mistake. Even after proofreading something several times you can miss something. Often all it needs is a fresh set of eyes. Get over it and move on.

[hutwarmer]

"sex worker" sounds cool. definately better than "hooker" or "prostitute".

[Chapmaniac]

How about "relaxation therapist?"

[jmans1212]

The so called providers will find other sites to post on. I never understand how someone could think a website is responsible for anything a user does. People in the US and this era always want someone else to blame for misfortune. It isn't enough to go after the person that has done the crime but also complain about the tool that was used. If it was a printed newspaper add that the person would go after the newspaper or yellow page ad? Grow up people. Websites, Newspapers, Yellow page ads, are there to list various services for people to provide.
If people were harmed or attacked because they put an ad on the site offering to sell some of their furniture before a move would they ask craigslist to remove the furniture section?

Ass long ass i half "spellcheck", who kneads two proof reed?

[justme2405]

Your client is a bank official. hmmm is the bank checking his emails? Are they monitoring what the hell he is doing on the bank's time? Howabout you councel him to be with his wife or find a real woman instead of a *****.

[hutwarmer]

its 'sex worker', not *****.

[Toulinwoek]

I have to agree with GuardBoy. No one expects what Craigslist is doing to stamp out prostitution. As long as there are idiots idiotic enough to actually pay for sex there will be skanks galore willing to turn that buck.
The opinion of the "Sex Worker" is laughable. Listen, I don't allow illegal drugs to be sold from my home (or legal ones for that matter), but I have no illusion that that's going to stop the illegal drug trade! That chick obviously has more air in her head than the tires on a trucker's rig! It's not sexuality she's worried about repressing (sexuality is alive and well in bedrooms across the country); it's her money she doesn't want repressed.

[veritat2009]

To Toulinwoek: Sexualiity is alive and well in bedrooms across the country?? Please read below.

American scientists, specially Thomas G. Travison, Ph.D., of the New England Research Institutes, reveal, in a Massachusetts Male Aging Study dated October 23, 2006 --which has been tracking behavioral and physiological traits for 1,709 men born between 1916 and 1945?that men born more recently had Testosterone levels that were surprisingly low. The 60-year-old in 2003 had about 15 percent less testosterone than the 60-year-old in 1988, according to Thomas G. Travison, Ph.D.

IWhy Would Testosterone Levels in the United States today be Substantially Lower than They Were 15 years Ago?

Relating to the study, Richard Conniff, in his article ?Testosterone under Attack? published in Men?s Health Magazine dated October 13, 2008, concludes that ?We're not likely to have good answers anytime soon. The reproductive problems of human males will remain understudied, says Dr. Michel Harman, M.D., Ph.D., an endocrinologist at the University of Arizona college of medicine and the director of the Kronos Longevity Research Institute, in part because federal research dollars are being diverted to issues like biological warfare and terrorism. "We might just wind up disappearing from the planet quietly?, he says, "because we were too busy fighting wars to figure out that our reproductive systems were going south. So which are you? And what should you do? A good doctor is the place to start, but even doctors have no certain answers, and your government has guaranteed doctors won't get answers for decades to come?.

[veritat2009]

To Toulinwoek: Prostitution equals money??? I don't think so. I thought to look for money, I had to check the Forbes annual Billionaires List???

[givemeabreak44]

In San Francisco the ads are already being placed on another site http://classifieds.enterto.com/
Make it legal and tax it!

[Lumiseon]

See, this is why I'm hating the USA so much right now. Our stupidass Christian-infested government seems to think that making prostitution illegal is going to help. All making it illegal does is make people do it more dangerously, and increase the amount of rape. I swear, as soon as these stupidass old fogeys die, this country can MAYBE get back on track. And if not, I'm oving to Europe.

[Lerianis3]

Hey, that true whether you are talking about heterosexuality, pedosexuality or homosexuality. Making these sexualities illegal, no matter how 'little' of it you make illegal unless you are talking about forcible rape is WRONG and IDIOTIC!

We would do better to allow ALL sexualities and butt out of people's choices of sexual partners (even if they are 'young') unless they are forcing those people into sex with threats of force or physical force.
Even for pedosexuals, this is NOT usually the case. Most pedosexuals (coming from my experiences as a child) ASK the child whether they can touch them sexually and get their permission, then the child goes whining to the parents when the person does something they don't like, without EVER EVEN TRYING to tell the person to stop.