Persecution is persecution, while my German kin were arguing over whether the problem was the Semites or Sanhedrin..."but a problem it was and we had our reasonable arguments about the nature of the problem..."
Of course we had a right to our opinions didn't we?
ent from my MetroPCS 4G LTE Android device-------- Original message --------From: "mitch-h@sbcglobal.net [lpsf-discuss]" <lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com> Date: 12/10/2015 6:43 PM (GMT-08:00) To: lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com Subject: [lpsf-discuss] Re: My op-ed in defense of sex work (Bay Area Reporter)
John Bechdol writes: Why don't we discuss what's wrong with the practice of Judaism instead? The Jews volunteered to be Jews...right? We'll
be sure the SS understands we support the right to practice Judaism and
the blood of the holocaust is not on our hands...right?
It happens that many pro-Palestinians argue that Jewish claims to a heritage in the region are fraudulent -- either by the "Khazer conversion" theory, or for religio-historical or philosophical reasons (either Isaac vs. Ishmael, or the dismissal of all religious claims as superstitious). Such discussion is entirely legitimate -- though in such a discussion, I vehemently dispute the allegation that Judaism is a fraudulent identity, and I start by asking the clarifying question, "Are you claiming that Judaism, or Jewish identity, is a fraud?" Unlike some right-wing Zionists, however, I wouldn't preemptively squelch any such discussion by invoking the Holocaust. I'd pursue the argument on the merits -- just as I'm willing to debate the merits of prostitution.
As for the analogy to the Holocaust, taken by itself? How dare you! The Nazis didn't persecute and exterminate Jews for their chosen beliefs! The atrocities were committed, unapologetically, on the basis of ethnicity or "race." Thousands of people carted off to the ovens might as well have been quacking away, "Wait, I'm an atheist!," or even, "I fought for Germany in World War I." It didn't matter; there was no room for debate.
I lost family in the Holocaust, and my father got out of Lodz, Poland, in 1934, at the age of 14, so I take this very personally. How dare you compare the Holocaust to some hooker who gets taken to 840 Bryant and given a ticket, or a $300/hour rentboy waiting for an Uber car to take him to a client's penthouse? (By the way, who ultimately got in more trouble -- Elliot Spitzer or the call-girls he was caught "dating"?) How dare you equate prostitutes and their fate with that of the Jews?
Bechdol writes: In the witch hunts, bad things
were done to people, justified in same rational language and terms, as
in the arguments against prostitution.
And predictably, bad things are being done to people now, justified with the arguments against prostitution.
For starters, my arguments aren't even those customarily invoked by witch-hunters (many of whom are even more corrupt than prostitutes, along with their motives: do you know how the Tenderloin got its name?).
More crucially: I've had disappointments and personal disagreements with prostitutes -- some of them quite heated (though for the most part, we've gotten along well, even finding each other interesting company -- much to the hookers' profit) -- but I've never called the cops, even though I've been baited to do so. Doing so simply goes against my principles -- no matter how angry or vindictive I might otherwise feel at any given moment. Period! Again, how dare you!
I'm proud of the fact that no prostitutes (or drug users, for that matter) have been busted on my watch. I've even offered to put such people up (with no sex expected) in order to protect them from the risks involved in being out on the street -- though they've seemingly declined all such offers, citing "professional boundaries" (lol).
Bechdol writes: I just think there needs to be
a f'n wake-up to what the f'k yer doing with your time, your
arguments, and your opportunity to make a better world.
That's my business. However, I'd maintain that we live in a world ruled by corruption, where most people are forced to dissemble, prostituting themselves every day in order to get by (with luck, at least able to return to the sanctity of a loving home). It's a world where people are killed, and wars fought, ultimately to protect "proessional boundries." I owe you no apologies for misplaced priorities, let alone personal ethics. I, too, have my own vision of a better world.