Hi Aurora. Some responses to your points:
In my comment about me considering it morally wrong to pick up streetwalkers, I was not attempting to pass judgement on others for doing so, or trying to get others to follow my moral rules. I was saying that streetwalkers are unavailable to ME, and no doubt to many other people, for this and other reasons.
And I said that streetwalkers are no more available to me than free HDTV's, and you said,
"How can you possibly compare an inanimate article that is not a living creature and susceptible to harm, danger, disease, feelings and emotions to a living, breathing human being with the unalienable right to life? You cannot!"
You are missing my point here entirely. My point was certainly not that street prostitutes are like televisions. I was saying that I would consider seeing a street prostitute to be morally wrong, just as I would consider it to be morally wrong to break into someone's house and steal their television. So street prostitutes and "free" (stolen) televisions are alike to me, in that they are both equally unavailable.
(for anyone who might have missed my earlier messages, the reason I would find it morally wrong to visit street prostitutes is that I would be supporting them working in a highly dangerous environment to themselves)
You also said, "You have again failed to recognize or acknowledge the various & serious risks associated with working in this industry. You are forgetting that every time the SP walks into a strange room with a strange man, she’s putting her life on the line! One never knows for sure what will happen! SPs are constantly at risk for robbery, rape, beatings, and even murder!
So how can you possibly suggest or attempt to justify, comparing any other job out there to this one? You can’t, and it’s that simple. "
I have not failed to recognize this, but perhaps I have failed to acknowledge it here. I do indeed know that SP's are taking risks and taking on a number of negative consequences which people working in the average job do not. Therefore, I definitely believe that SP's should be making considerably more per hour than the average person. Obviously nobody would be willing to be an escort for $15 an hour!
On the other hand, I certainly can compare being an SP to other jobs, as most jobs have their positive and negative aspects. Taxi drivers have one of the most dangerous jobs around, they get attacked or robbed all the time, and they make about $15 an hour. Firefighters have a dangerous job, and don't make all that much money.
There are plenty of jobs which are dangerous, which require people to put up with possible abuse or hostility, with unpleasant circumstances, which are physically demanding and perhaps injurious over time. Coal miners, prison guards, people changing bedpans. There are plenty of professions which require people to be away from home for long periods of time, which can mess up personal relationships. Truck drivers, people in the navy, etc.
There are millions of people (ok, hundreds of millions worldwide) who work jobs which totally suck, AND who make low pay. But still, I am certainly not arguing that escorting should be a low paying job. The reason I bring up the median hourly wage is not to suggest this is what SP's should be making, but to attempt to inject some reality into the situation. I would be doing the same thing if this were a discussion about any other highly paid profession.
