Translate

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Slavery in Macon!

Last night I attended an ecumenical meeting organized by Sister Elizabeth and Family Advancement Ministries. It was about slavery in Macon, sex slavery!

Most Maconites and those who pass through on Interstate 75/475 have seen the numerous billboards advertising massage parlors. Most people with even a small bit of common sense know that these places are brothels. They're scattered all over Macon, about 25 of them! What most people don't know is that the women that work in these establishments aren't just enterprising business women in the world's oldest profession, they are immigrants, most from Asian countries, who are deceived into coming to this country and then once here are forced into this lifestyle and are manipulated and controlled by pimps. They are slaves.

It's big business. What is more shocking is how Macon officials both in government and law enforcement seem to turn a blind eye to the plight of these women.These businesses operate right out in the open. One wonders if cash isn't being passed under the table somewhere that has made Macon's government impotent to do anything to shut down these businesses. Other communities in Georgia and in other states along the I-75 corridor have found ways to "evict" these establishments, but not Macon.

Worse yet, apart from the tourists who like the service they receive in these parlors, one wonders who the locals are that are frequenting them here. It makes one wonder if the play and movie, "The Best Little Whore House in Texas" is playing out right hereunder our noses. The movie and play glamorized the women who fit the bill as entrepreneurs who were in control of their lives and activities. They catered to the needs of the customers, men who were prominent citizens of the fictional community of the establishment's location. Not so with the women in the "whore houses" of Macon. Do the local and national johns know who they are frequenting? The prostitutes in our massage parlors are victims for the most part, of sex trafficking and sex slavery on an international level. Often they have been manipulated and threatened into this lifestyle at ages as young as 12 and 13.

What can Maconites do?

Recognize Human Trafficking Awareness Day: January 11, 2009

Call elected/city officials to do all they can to address the issue by:
--writing letters
--making phone calls
--writing letters to the editor

Co-sign a Declaration for a Slave Free Macon

Last night's meeting was meant to help our local churches, synagogue and temple to unite to find ways to encourage the citizens of Macon to be less indifferent to this scourge in our city, to sympathize with the victims who work in these sex slave parlors and to assist them in finding ways out of it.

Last night was yet another attempt at a call to action and for Macon to get its head out of the sand and out of the sex trafficking business.

3 comments:

Templar said...

"If you want to stop people from becoming like me, don't burn Catcher in the Rye…burn Hustler." - Ted Bundy

So much of what is wrong today with sexuality starts with Pornography. I will bet my life that the men who visit a massage parlor used to "just look at mens magazines". I have these conversations with my non-Catholic friends all the time and almost all of the other faiths have such a disordered view of human sexuality. The casual acceptance of contraception, premarital relations, and divorce are not viewed as abnormal because our society can not even manage to muster moral outrage at pornography and prostitution.

Come to think of it, I have many Catholic friends who can't make the link either.

sewinggranny said...

Today Oprah was about pornography and Jenna Jameson was on the show. She is a millionaire who made all her money by becoming the world's biggest porn star. Now that she has "retired" from the business and has twin 7 month old sons, she is trying to decide how she will tell them about their mother's past "job". They showed her home and all her earthly possessions and I hope that she is enjoying her "heaven on earth". It is not for me to judge her or anyone in the pornography business, but they cannot make me believe that the good Lord would approve of this job.

Gene said...

You are right, Templar. They have it backwards. The police say,"We have too many other more serious crimes to deal with to worry about hookers and pimps." Maybe if they took care of the hookers and pimps they wouldn't have the other crimes. It all starts small.Gene