Pot is legal in my state. And you only focused on a third of my post.

You know that pot is peanuts compared to some of the other shit the government is worrying about. Find me a printed magazine about making crack, dirty bombs, or how to fly planes into buildings and then we are talking.

Am I on crazy pills? Wait, don't answer that. Still, are we all supposed to believe that there's no significant difference between a prostitute and a coal miner? That the strife of a wal-mart cashier is identical to the strife of street walker? That using your arms or your mind for a career is in no way different than using your genitals?

I know I have a mild case of insanity, but I still can't wrap my brain around the idea that prostitution is just like any other job. Sex makes everything different. Not always worse, certainly not always better, but different and profoundly so.

It has been mentioned repeatedly that laws could be used to protect prostitutes if it was legalized. We kind of have laws to protect people right now. Those laws say, "Prostitution is bad, don't do it". We could legalize it and then trust its practitioners to be nice to their sex workers. But looking at areas where prostitution is legal indicates that the people in this industry are all too willing to bend the rules to suit their financial gain. Again, the sexual nature of the business makes a world of difference. Comparisons do not and should not apply.

Please, please, PLEASE stop assuming that those who oppose prostitution are pleased with how illegal sex workers are being exploited. That makes as little sense to us as it does to everyone else.

Victimless profession: Yeah, drug dealers I suppose. Whether or not you agree that is victimless won't change anyone's mind about prostitution. Apples and oranges.

Why? Exactly what went wrong in your upbringing that you see sexual intercourse as some kind of magical transfigurating event? It's just nerve endings and lube, no particular witchcraft is involved. Your perception of sex as some kind of witchcraft that corrupts everything it touches is hard to rationalize on any level other than "because the Bible tells me so".

I'll have to agree with Pang and ask why?

Let's play a little game of This and That. I'm going to take two physical and mentally straining professions and put them both together. Today our choices are Professional Boxers and Legalized Prostitution.

Boxing: Rough, physical sport that, when sanctioned with laws, are still quite physically harmful and can be mentally deteriorating.

Two men enter a ring, their goal is to knock the other man out, or win by a judges decision if both fighters never go down. They must vigorously train to keep their bodies in top notch shape, only to go out and get the snot beat out of them time and time again. They chose this as their life. They were not forced into doing so.

Mentally it can be straining to have to push your body that hard, never knowing if your next fight is going to be your last, and perhaps even IF you became a famous professional boxer, there is no guarantee that you'll lead a good life, and accidents always happen...you could take a punch and end up paralyzed from the neck down, or worse. There are NO guarantees...and all the while you are doing this, some fat ass boxing organizer, mobsters, and other walks of life are actually BETTING on you to win, and some are even betting against you to lose.

Now for Legalized Prostitution: A physical job that, even with laws that were in place, can be a physical and mentally straining job.

Despite the fact that, for the majority of the nights you are on your back, you still will have to cater to customers who may not be overall appealing to you. There are some risks that there are diseases involved, but that is a risk that, if prostitution was legalized, the person involved MADE CONSENSUALLY.

Every night a woman -could- have the lingering thought in her mind that the man that is paying her could be married...but other than that, she also has to contend with the fact that a lot of people that know her would either look down on her and judge her for what she does.

But, as you can see, both jobs have the employees putting their mind and body on the line. You say Prostitution can hurt people uninvolved? Well, look at people out there who have gambling problems...BOXING can hurt those uninvolved just as much.

who's deciding what now

Yeah, and what difference does that statement make? Government has the real choice, I am just telling you what I think is best. Again, that does not mean I am comparing myself to the US Government, your original complaint.

Then let's go through this example: would you mind me fucking your mom for $10,000? And have absolutely no qualms? You are a being of pure reason, afterall, and you know that the money is more real than nut I'd bust on her face or what that would mean to you or her.

Here is what you haven't understood: I don't have any misconceptions about choice being some sort of ultimate good. In fact, I believe some choices should be kept illegal.

I do think that prostitution could be a legitimate choice that a woman has, and I even think that government might allow that. However, I'd like government to use its power to lift people out of poverty rather than create more means for them to live in it. That's it.

Let's get this straight: allowing women to become prostitutes is fine. But trying to protect them from being sexually exploited degrades them. Right.

What if prostitution gets them out/keeps them out of poverty?

I'd like a way that is less degrading. I know some people here don't think it is degrading, but I don't think that is how the vast majority of the country feels.

Also, RR, the study I quoted today says that in Nevada most women only stay in the business for 6 months, many quit within one. And that is from a place with legal, controlled prostitution.

Most people work at McDonald's for less than six months, should we shut them down? I imagine a number of people going into prostitution have some sort of glamorized version going on in their head where they just get to go WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO all day, but then find out it is really is a form of work.

Heck, one of my good friends in undergrad was a stripper. I'm sure pretty much everyone out there considers that a fairly degrading job, but she said it was a lot of fun, and earned her a lot of money in a little bit of time, so she's have plenty left over for her studies (double majoring in engineering plus a minor in technical writing while editing a textbook for one of our professors was a fairly time consuming commitment to begin with).

The problem is that you believe that you and people like yourself have the authority to tell women what they're allowed to do. What everyone keeps telling you and you still seem to fail to understand is that this makes you a miserable misogynist jackbastard, regardless of your intent. Women, or anyone for that matter, do not need your (or the government's) blessing to act. The fact that you and the government share this bizarre superiority complex is not what is being complained about, though congratulations for recognizing the similarity, if not comprehending the inherent stupidity of your position.

"How would you like if it I fucked your mom"? You're a real class act, Tamburlaine. But I tell you what, put the money in my hand and I'll escort you to the cemetery straightaway. Hell, I'll even give you the shovel.

However, if my mother weren't both three years dead and morbidly obese in the bargain, whatever acts you might like to pay her for would be entirely between the two of you. It's none of my business how anyone makes their money — even my family, provided it impacts me in no material way.

You know what, I've got a cousin who's kind of slutty, maybe we can compromise here.

You understand that the US Government doesn't disallow anyone to do anything. They allocate punishment to dissuade people from doing certain things. This is a fundamental difference compared to what you think is best, which is a deeply paternalistic and frankly unrealistic opinion.

Also I like how
I like how a white man in America is telling marginalized groups that they must use their career choices in a crusade you've defined for them, and they have to rage against the Man without taking advantage of the Man or doing anything else you feel is socially inappropriate.

For laughs, what's your job?

I've seen analogy after analogy after analogy, and frankly those don't serve to strengthen the argument for prostitution. If you'd like I'll come up with my own analogies. They might be moderately clever but do nothing to clarify the issue because prostitution bears little similarities to other professions no matter how much anyone wishes it to be otherwise.

Prostitution is like being a mortician

• Cannot discuss or let young children see people doing their work
  Can't even do your work openly in public. Closed doors are a must.
  Good advice to skip going to your child's "bring-your-parent-to-school" day
  You may have to work closely and touch unattractive people
  Children under the age of 18 should not be allowed in this field of work

Okay, that's not even remotely as clever as I had hoped. But it's an analogy much like the ones that have been thrown at me which is to say it is pretty lame support for my argument. Why? BECAUSE BEING A MORTICIAN AND A PROSTITUTE ARE COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. (Those crazy pills have not worn off yet). Just like a prostitute is different than a clerk, a boxer, a store manager, or a guy telling other people how to grow marijuana. On the other hand, now I want to outlaw morticians.

Pang, I really don't appreciate you putting words in my mouth. Especially with such an inaccurate portrayal of my views. Maybe you know people like that, but your presume way too much about me.
is a far cry from I don't have a major problem if sex is a very casual "no-big-deal" kind of thing for adults. But the idea that sex is just "nerve endings and lube" is an absurd simplification of an act that ties intense physical, mental, and emotional aspects together in a unique fashion. Perhaps I'm taking your little quip too seriously, but you are arguing that sex does NOT change things. So I'm not sure how else to react. Let's say a little girl asks her father about becoming a prostitute. The father would be a complete arse if he told her that it was just like being a boxer. Why? Because the sexual nature of being a prostitute changes the issue. Those differences need to be addressed. To explain it as just "nerve endings and lube" is inadequate and irresponsible.

"SEX MAKES EVERYTHING DIFFERENT"

"How? Explain why sex makes everything different."

"IT JUST DOES".

How is that different from "it's magic"?

I am really, really curious about your logic here and I'm trying to figure out whether you're 13 years old and helplessly naive or 65 years old and desperately bitter.

For adults that willingly choose to have sex with people with whom they have no emotional ties, yes. It is. Why is this so complicated for you? It's a service that you provide, dispassionately, with the use of your body. Like a masseuse (There's a reason these two professions tend into wink-nudge overlap). If you're doing something on a professional basis, for money, it stops being intensely emotional about an hour into your first day on the job. If you want to use morticians as an example

Riding a rollercoaster can be very exhilirating, yes. It can be a very enthralling experience that you remember for weeks, if not years. But if you were being paid to ride rollercoasters every day, you'd get jaded about it in a goddamn hurry, don't you think?

However, here are some 'spec knucks on outlawing morticians. The funeral industry is a massive scam.

Pineapple.

I would like to know.

What makes selling sex any different than anything else.

Really. I would like a nice, concise rationalization as to why selling sex is taboo for everyone - not just yourself.

And "just 'cause it's sex" doesn't count as a rationalization.

Ugh, I just deleted one of my multiparagraph rants. (...and there was much rejoicing...) I think some of you are expecting something profoundly insightful or stupid when I mentioned that "sex changes everything". I think I explained myself already within the context I established. Oh well, here's attempt #2...

Take any job other than a prostitute. Now make regular sexual activity with clients a part of that job. To me that changes everything about the job (which was the point I failed to make apparently). Boom. Simple. Nothing ground breaking or amazing. Just the obvious.

Here's a play I wrote:
"Hello boss, you wanted to see me?"
"Hey KillerPineapple, you need to start having sex with strangers as part of your job if you want to get paid."
"But that changes everything."
"How?"
"IT JUST DOES!"
"I don't get it. Explain."
"Um...It's magic?"
"How old are you KillerPineapple?"
"Sex changes the job, can't you see that?"
"Oh stop putting it up on a pedestal."
"Can't I just continue selling cheaply made household products?"
"You're selling your body for sex now. How is that any different?"
"Well, when you put it like that- I guess there really is no difference."
"Great! I thought you were one of those bible-told-me-so nuts."
"You don't understand the concept of sarcasm, do you?"
"Get the *%#$ out of my bedroom."
"This is an office."

A little nonsensical dialogue you put together doesn't qualify as a rationalization, pineapple.

Please, try to make a coherent argument. You're making no sense. Why do you feel that sex is magic?

Once again, please explain what is so frightening about intercourse to you that you think there should be no price tag on it.

I'm also really fucking curious as to why you and so many other people think you can put a price tag on OTHER peoples' genitals, but I fear that trying to discuss this with you would cause your tiny brain to implode.

Yes, adding prostitution to office work would, in fact, change everything about office work.

Adding office work to prositution would also change everything about prostitution.

Adding prostitution to prostitution, however, does not cause any great waves.

Why are people who have never had sex arguing about the legality of paying for it? Obviously, I'm not talking to Devo. Bitch is a ho.

It is not that it is magic, but that it is a very personal experience. Some of you guys have been arguing that it is just a physical encounter with no strings attached, and I fully believe it CAN be that, but it certainly isn't always. Many rape victims take a life-time to overcome what can be chalked up to a few moments of sexual intercourse. Sure, that isn't MAGICAL, but it sure is powerful, more than "just nerve endings and lube" like Pang puts it.

I am all for prostitution in which women have a legitimate choice. As it is in today's society, I feel that many of the women that would resort to it would do so because they have had no other opportunities. I take that to be coercion; Sure, these women wouldn't be RAPED in every sense of the word, but if prostitution is the only profession they can resort to in order to survive you can't really think that they are doing it out of a complete free choice. That is like saying that I give my money willingly when I have a gun pointed to my head.

If our government can spend a trillion dollars on the Iraq war, 3 trillion bailing out banks, and another trillion in medicare, then why can it not give better opportunities to these women? Now, once those opportunities are in place, the women can become prostitutes and do whatever they want. I just think that there wouldn't be as many.

I can't speak for anyone else here obviously but I am entirely capable of having a shag without experiencing some kind of profound emotional moment. Like Pang said if you do anything enough it becomes humdrum and banal.

I would have thought that taking a gun and shooting someone with it would probably be a pretty fucking emotional experience. If someone stuck a gun in my hand and forced me to shoot someone, it'd probably leave me more than a little traumatised. Despite the obvious horrors of killing other people, the government not only allows such a thing but in fact positively encourages it with their army recruitment ads.

When you join the army, you've got to accept that at some point there's a pretty good chance you're going to be expected to shoot someone. You get training to deal with it and one would imagine that after a couple of tours of the 'Ghan, killing people becomes a rather less emotionally involving act. You're in danger of getting killed every minute of every day and being asked to perform possibly the most morally reprehensible act there is on a daily basis. And you know what, the vast majority of people who join the army come from a poor background. You don't get many lawyers in the army, why is that do you think?

If it's ok for the government to ask people to join the army, put themselves in mortal danger and shoot people dead, why is it so bad for other people to be allowed to have sex for money? I'd suggest that someone working as a prostitute for a year would probably have less mental scars than someone doing the same stint in the army and be a lot more likely to be alive at the end of it.

And I believe that there are some women out there, that after having been raped, deep down enjoyed the experience. Not because they are a bad person, but because EVERY GOD DAMN PERSON IN THIS WORLD IS DIFFERENT.

Let me say that again.

Every god damn person in this world is different.

I thought I told you to grow up and get out of my forums. Do you have ANY idea how many people right now, in this country, are working jobs that they fucking HATE and would love to be doing something they love? I got lucky, after about...six years of working, I finally found a decent job that I enjoy doing. I was unable to get into college because my single mother making 25k a year apparently was TOO MUCH CASH for any financial support.

What you are proposing is that if people were laid off from their jobs, or, that their towns economy is so bad, that you would rather wait and see for the government to do something about it that didn't involve legalizing prostitution. Which in turn, leads me to believe that you would rather see people suffer with no income coming into their home instead of having a safe job where all they have to do is spread their legs.

Can you understand why some people may think you're a heartless bastard? Oh and for the record, there's a pretty decent possibility that I'd never even pay for a prostitute...hell I've only been to a strip club once in my life, and I'm 24 years old. Doesn't mean I don't like the idea of strip clubs, I just never have the urge to go.

Okay, taking this and what you said above that a prostitute would be a 'gun against the head' profession. How do you feel about strippers? In essence they take the same risks as if a legal prostitute would, perhaps even moreso because it's just one big cocktease. A stripper is just another job, same as a waitress, same as a cashier, and if you've never gotten a lap dance, well, those are pretty god damn personal experiences as well. Hell I still remember my first one, was like losing my virginity...cept when I lost my virginity the bitch was disappointing -_-.

Honestly, this conversation has been geared towards women, but men can be prostitutes just as much. This whole argument you have boils down to 'we have to keep the women safe, we have to give them better opportunities, we have to do this we have to do that'. Stop watching the god damn Lifetime channel and grow up. Women don't want YOU to tell them what to do, and as much as this is going to PAIN you to hear, they certainly don't want you deciding what is a good job, and what is a bad job.