72985d37   
   XPost: alt.activism.drug-war, alt.drugs.psychedelics   
   From: joelcrump@gmail.com   
      
   "His Highness the TibetanMonkey & the Spirits of the Jungle"   
    wrote:   
      
   >> >You can never say when I say things seriously, but the practical   
   >> >effects of religion is that we have illegal prostitution and drugs,   
   >> >and yet many people just do it with the added risk and aggravation.   
   >>   
   >> >You may also claim that the war in Iraq was a direct result of having   
   >> >a Christian electorate who doesn't question things.   
   >>   
   >> I consider it extremely simplistic to blame any of those things on   
   >> religion alone.  Particularly since you mention prostitution, which   
   >> while not really worth proactively enforcing laws against it *in the   
   >> case of adults who are freely (and discreetly) choosing to do it*, is   
   >> hardly something I would want to be fully legal.   
   >>   
   >> If Amsterdam or Nevada chooses to create a legal industry for it in   
   >> some way, I guess that's their choice, but I would not take away law   
   >> enforcement's ability to investigate *exploitation* of prostitutes   
   >> (especially since they include children and teenagers, obviously), nor   
   >> to defend public areas from open-air illicit sex markets.  It's not as   
   >> simple as saying it's a matter of personal choice or liberty - and   
   >> especially since you apparently are male, you should really be   
   >> careful, intellectually, in thinking that you truly understand all the   
   >> ramifications of selling sex.   
   >   
   >If you ban it, you have it; if you don't, you have it but you can   
   >somehow control it. Child prostitution has nothing to do with it. I'd   
   >castrate those SOB's who use it and then feed the balls to the cats (I   
   >don't like cats).   
      
      
   As I said, I would not enforce laws against discreet, self-regulated   
   adult prostitution.  Repealing them could cripple law enforcement's   
   ability to investigate child prostitution and exploitation of adult   
   prostitutes, however.   
      
      
   >The principle is the same whether is marijuana or prostitution. Both   
   >are criminalized and both are failed campaigns to satisfy the ego of   
   >the Christians, which has more to do with hypocrisy than prevention.   
      
      
   Drug use and prostitution have never seemed particularly comparable to   
   me, frankly.  There are *some* dimensions of both that are comparable,   
   but it's a heck of a lot more straightforward to legalize drugs   
   (especially something like pot) than prostitution.  Blaming all   
   Christians or Christianity as a general religion, for that matter, is   
   just a little silly.  Not all Christian sects/believers are   
   equivalent, and nor are these moral/ethical/societal/cultural opinions   
   limited to people who are Christian (or a comparable religion).   
      
   --   
   Joel Crump   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)