Just a Gigolo

Mediawatch is fascinating listening this morning, as they dissect the Sky Contra Prostitution Ring and other sleb pimping. The link should be up in an hour or two (time is all screwy today anyway).

This is important stuff. The biggest crime in this country isn't drugs, violence or sex crimes. The greatest crime is the abuse of trust by shysters, scammers, snake oil sales people and con artists on a largely naive and gullible population.

It's the common MO of the recent Auckland ATM scam, the finance companies propped up by comedians, former news readers and rugbyheads (Et tu, Great Uncle Colin?), the mobile loan sharks, Nigerian spammers, zombie computers riddled with virii and backdoors. And so on.

Which is all part of the bigger problem; we all have to bring home the bacon. Even the vegetarians. We all have to feed the monkey. But surely there's a better way to make a living than screwing with your audience's better natures and not being honest with your patter.

After the reform

Kathryn Ryan has a long talk with Prostitutes Collective National Co-ordinator Catherine Healy. Subjects include the many benefits that have followed the legalisation of prostitution (safety, honesty, human rights) as well as the state of prostitution in NZ (pimps are rare, self-employment growing steadily).

Apart from the occasional brothel opening near a school, which upsets the censorious Soccer Mums for some reason, the Tim Barnett sponsored law has greatly improved the hard life that is the women's lot in the oldest profession.

There's some lessons to be learned by the social conservatives in there. The sky did not fall and the streets aren't ankle deep in hookers. It's the same lesson they should have learned after the Homosexual Reform Act in the 1980s. Working with reality is a more honest and effective approach than the moral tub thumpers who prefer to demonise and endanger the vulnerable.

Just like the gays and hookers, I hope one day NZ will come to its senses on the stupid, dangerous and futile drugs laws. But I'm not holding my breath. Too many holier than thous, too many well-funded vested interests protecting their budgets from competition (breweries) or obsolescence (police), too much inertia in parliament. But one day this country will be honest with itself, and we will all be the better for it.