Ya, Mick Eight, I mentioned Halifax because I couldn't think of East Preston off the top of my head.
Sure the Scotians may have liked you but you're right, they're not nice. They're not even people...PERIOD...even if you don't cross them.
It takes a special kind of person to lure a 14 year-old girl, pretend you're her boyfriend for awhile (read paternal surogate), teach her to have anal sex, then put her out to work in some of the most dangerous and harshest conditions all across Canada, command her to bring home a quota, and if she doesn't or complains about the way you treat her, she gets beaten with coat hangers till her legs are black and blue and can't walk, all because you didn't get enough to gamble and drink and snort coke with the boys...these people have something wrong in their heads. Either that or the competition for these guys to remain in "the game" is harsh, and they must rule their girls with an iron fist or risk loosing any respect from the other members and making their position in the game obsolete in the process.
More than likely it's a little of both because as the investigation into the Halifax/Toronto pimping ring drew to a close around 1993, one by one they were arrested along with the Big Man. Most broke down and cried and melted like so much butter as they were put in the squad car that would take them to jail. They aint so big now!
It's for cowards like these that a special law should be passed in the Criminal Code allowing the parents of these girls to have one hour alone in a room with these Big Men. Unfortunately, it would be deemed cruel and unusual punishment and also unfortunately, I seriously doubt a majority of these girls' parents would give a rat's ass for any retaliatory actions, hence the reason the girls got caught up in the game in the first place.
And in answer to Blue_Dog's post, I don't think the stereotypical pimp is big and black and mean, not any more anyway. They're not even men, some of them. The Scotians were predominantly black because they came from a neighbourhood that was predominantly black. But with LE being more sophisticated and sharing more and more information throughout the various police agencies in Canada and the US and abroad (with INTERPOL), it's made the game quite different and difficult indeed. Today's pimp needs to hide under the radar by getting away from the stereotypical to elude capture, so what once was a big black pimp is now a scawny little middle-aged Asian woman, or a respectable businessman, or a working professional complete with a glitter in his eye and kindness in his heart. No one would ever think HE, or even more so, SHE would be a pimp, recruiting young girls with a network of good looking young men to be their temporary boyfriends until it's time to turn tricks on the street or out of a secret pad...someone will always pay for the sexual services of a tender young girl and don't forget boys too. This is the lucrative domain of pimping, in Canada at least. It's too easy. Street level pimping, like that on Seymour is a little more complex and involves the bikers and other gangs I don't know or care to know about, let's call it organized crime. And yes they probably do have a hand in child prostitution but are very careful not to get caught.
What's real devastating is the permanent effects these low-lifes who pimp underage girls and boys have on their lives and how much of a conscious effort it takes to get away from prostitution, because let's face it, it's very addictive...easy tax-free money, guys lusting after you all the time, sexy clothes, a relatively easy lifestyle that doesn't require you to punch in at 9am every Monday to Friday and lots of travelling possibilities. But in the process, their childhood and adolescence is stolen from them and it's a tough and shocking transition to adulthood. It's no surprise most develop harsh over-the-top personalities, personalities not suitable to the normal working world and yet they wonder why they can't hold down jobs once they've made the transition into the normal world. Some may go back and by now the game as a task, rather than one which would be, should be enjoyable, seen as a profession, a business with firm client relationships, while others will experience just this and live their lives fulfilled with the profession they've chosen and still others will go on to do things that would have surprised even themselves. Not as likely but still a possibility.
I had a discussion with another pooner who will remain anonymous in another thread after he commented that "you should treat them just as they are...a prostitute." What does that mean? Garbage? I think if most pooners took the time to do a little research into these women's lives you will discover a world that many times is intimidating at first, so most put up their guard and treat them as garbage because they don't want to delve deeper. But if they do, there is a fascinating world full of people, sometimes harsh, sometimes contradictory, often times experienced and knowledgeable, other times down-right scary, but always complex and intriguing.
But don't take my word for it...I'm not a pimp.
PD
