Reaction to "DC Madam" suicide.
Thursday, 1. May 2008, 21:15:46
How unfortunate.
The so-called "DC Madam" has met her end by her own hand today.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/01/dc-madam-dead-in-apparent_n_99653.html
Deborah Palfrey, who ran a prostitution ring in Washington D.C. has died of an apparent suicide. She was a mother of two high school/college age children, and before was working at a respectable, profitable job. Only she simply wasn't making enough money.
Now, I am no fan of prostitution. I think pimps are disgusting creatures. With that being said, I think that prostitution should be decriminalized. This woman died of humiliation, according to the article. After being ostracized from her society, because of a career path that happens to involve sex, the woman took her own life. I consider this, in a sense, a twisted and needless tragedy.
The tragedy is that this woman died because society shunned her for selling sex. She wasn't forcing anyone to do something against their will, at least there is no evidence of that, and she wasn't killing anyone. She was selling sex, consensual sex, agreed upon by two adults for an exchange of money. The fact that society's mores drove her to suicide is tragic, and it could have been prevented.
I know what people will say, that by defending this woman, and by defending her profession, that I'm contributing to the decay of society. But prostitution has existed for years, and it will continue to exist, legal or illegal. We might as well make it easier on these women who are just trying to make a living, and honestly, who may very well enjoy what they do, and who make a lot more money than I know I ever will with the career path I've chosen (that is, a career path in academia).
It's easy to judge these people, based on our idea of what is right and wrong. The real challenge is trying to understand why they do it, and then refusing to judge women who go into prostitution, based on groundless fears and hidden insecurities. Hopefully, with these things in mind, we can make life easier for everyone, live our lives, and let others live theirs, and avoid this kind of senseless tragedy.
I don't need to repeat the cliche used against the religious right, which I want to attack in other ways. It's implied in the blog.
