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Oklahoma Video Vigilante Uses Drone To Wage War Against Prostitutes and Johns (bbc.com)
HughPickens.com writes: Chris Baraniuk writes at BBC that Brian Bates, known in Oklahoma as the "Video Vigilante," is taking credit for Amanda Zolicoffer's conviction on a lewdness charge after being caught on Bates' drone mounted camera in a sex act in a parked vehicle last year. Zolicoffer was sentenced to a year in state prison for the misdemeanor while the case against her alleged client, who was released following arrest in December, is still pending. "I'm sort of known in the Oklahoma City area," says Bates . "For the last 20 years I've used a video camera to document street-level and forced prostitution, and human trafficking." Bates runs a website where he publishes videos of alleged sex workers and their clients. "I am openly referred to as a video vigilante, I don't really shy away from that," says Bates adding that the two individuals were inside a vehicle and the incident occurred away from other members of the public. The drone dropped to within a few feet of the vehicle where it filmed a 75 year old in the front seat of the white pickup truck. The duo separated after Zolicoffer, who was identified by her tattoo saying "Baby Gangster," saw the drone hovering overhead.
... to force your morality unto everyone else. Of course he's proud of his "successes."
used a video camera to document street-level and forced prostitution, and human trafficking.
One of these is not like the others.
I doubt he caught a lot of human trafficking or forced prostitution on camera. The article certainly doesn't mention any.
Most prostitutes these days are virtually, or literally, slaves. They are often kidnapped or trafficked into the US. They are then beaten into submission by their pimps until they no longer resist, and then sold to men on the streets.
You can provide some references beyond hysterical news stories? My guess that there is some of this, but far more is drug addiction related. As well, if you read Dan Savage, you probably know that there are willing "sex workers" as well.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
And attention seeking self righteous moralizers trying to put people in jail solves what, exactly?
Let's assume for a minute that everyone who works as a prostitute does so unwillingly (which is bullshit). The people committing the crimes of slavery, violence, etc. are not the ones caught up in this vigilante's stupid campaign.
Most prostitutes these days are virtually, or literally, slaves. They are often kidnapped or trafficked into the US. They are then beaten into submission by their pimps until they no longer resist, and then sold to men on the streets. Regardless of your views on the morality of prostitution, I would hope we can agree that sex-slavery is evil.
I find real sex slavery to be as morally objectionable as other kinds of real slavery. That's why I don't like the laws against prostitution or the wretched pricks like Brian Bates that help to enforce them. Note that there are basically no slaves in the sex industry of The Netherlands, even if you throw in bullshit qualifiers like "virtually".
Tony, that's just not true.
http://www.alternet.org/story/...
You are welcome on my lawn.
I suppose if you keep telling yourself that then you think there is no reason to check to see what reality is doing. While what you mentioned is a problem a bit of a conversation with a charity dealing with such things would reveal that it is not as universal and simple as you suggest. Are those girls paid by lobbyists to service your elected representatives in Vegas and other places slaves?
"The quality of life is determined by its activites."--Aristotle
Most prostitutes these days are virtually, or literally, slaves.
Not true. Most prostitutes work because they need the money, and are not otherwise coerced.
They are often kidnapped or trafficked into the US.
False. Only a near-zero number of sex workers are "trafficked" into the US. "Sex trafficking" is mostly hysteria used by law enforcement to justify bloated budgets. It is nearly non-existent in America.
They are then beaten into submission by their pimps
Wrong again. Prostitutes with pimps are less likely to be victims of violence. They also make more money, even after paying their pimp, than women working solo. Some groups of prostitutes will team up and hire a pimp, boosting both their safety and income. Source: SuperFreakonomics.
Coercion, violence, trafficking, etc. are not reasons to make prostitution illegal. They are the result of making it illegal.
Zolicoffer was sentenced to a year in state prison for the misdemeanor
For those reading the BCC in native UK, its hard to comprehend this being more than a sensible chuckle. However, in the united states, a conviction resulting in a prison term can prohibit you from ever getting a job. ex convicts are barred from social services in Oklahoma in many cases, cannot vote in elections, and are frequently required to pay restitution for their incarceration.
what Bates did was to issue biblical retribution for a victimless crime.
Bates runs a website where he publishes videos of alleged sex workers and their clients.
You'd better be very, very certain of what youre doing. impoverished sex workers and 9-5 johns dont fight back too hard. Trying this stunt with a C level for a major multinational however will earn you cancelled credit cards, ruined credit, and foreclosed homes.
the two individuals were inside a vehicle and the incident occurred away from other members of the public.
So you went out of your way to play Batman for the day. Its worth remembering though, that batman has an alter ego. People you have publicly destroyed now know your full first and last name. For many of them, there may be very little standing between them you.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Give a man a porno, and he can pleasure himself for a day, teach a man to fly a drone and he can pleasure himself for a lifetime.
At some point, some John's going to get pissed enough about this because he's getting divorced and loses everything that he rids the world of the asshole and everything's back to normal.
Remember kids: If the law fails to solve problems, people will.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
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Which would be why the prostitute in this case was immediately charged and sent to prison while the client is out on bail waiting for the DA to decide whether to prosecute, and the pimp is nowhere to be seen.
You can provide some references beyond hysterical news stories? My guess that there is some of this, but far more is drug addiction related. As well, if you read Dan Savage, you probably know that there are willing "sex workers" as well.
No, likely they can't. It's because the core point of their statement is false. Most prostitutes are women from within the country they live in, and have lived there all their lives. Not saying that it doesn't happen, it does, but in those instances where the women and men are in those circumstances they usually operate out of a bawdy house or something along those lines.
Something that a lot of people don't understand either is that you'll find prostitutes very law abiding at least here in Canada. If they're picked up, they'll have their surety posted as soon as they know what it'll be and they'll show up for their court cases. They'll also snitch on other prostitutes and pimps who are selling drugs or engaged in other things in those lines.
Om, nomnomnom...
It is incorrect to conflate prostitution and human trafficking. Even if every street-prostitute could be shown to be willingly engaged, that does not mean that there isn't a separate market for people kidnapped against their will. I doubt I could back this up with statistics because of the nature of the crime. People get estranged from their families and disappear into cults like scientology and EST/landmark-education never to be heard from again. I lived in a house where the owners were involved in EST and one of them went missing, abandoning her dog and belongings in Texas. She was spotted in NM and the only evidence afterward was cryptic blog post about "finding her new home". Case unsolved.
http://www.inquisitr.com/50063...
There are reports about attempted kidnappings of children every couple days in LA. What do you think the purpose of those kidnappings is?
I have run into 'traveling magazine sales vans' since I was a teenager hanging out in places that I probably shouldn't have. I once told them I would join up and had them give a ride across town. I just jumped out and bolted into the woods instead of going to pick up my stuff like I had told them. I knew it was some scammy shit but I thought I was invincible at the time, so I was just trying to get a free taxi ride. These people learn to spot victims that have fallen through the cracks of society.
http://america.aljazeera.com/a...
http://lizditz.typepad.com/i_s...
The most valuable thing for a good portion of humanity is sex, especially for people who already have plenty of money. I have heard stories from Mexican girls in East LA about being sold back and forth between gang members for thousands of dollars. They don't even try and report it to the police because they think no one will believe them. Gangs or cults have made it into a profession to control every aspect of a person's life. The street term for someone marked for sale is a "barbie doll". There is a lot more to the criminal underworld than what makes it to the police blotter.
They are conflated--trafficking is a source of women who are prostituted against their will and don't see a way out. It is common for men to purchase sex with trafficking victims and never have a clue the person is coerced.
...than sex. Or porn. Or to swear.
http://statelaws.findlaw.com/o...
A. Every person who willfully either: ...
3. Writes, composes, stereotypes, prints, photographs, designs, copies, draws, engraves, paints, molds, cuts, or otherwise prepares, publishes, sells, distributes, keeps for sale, or exhibits any obscene or indecent writing, paper, book, picture, photograph, motion picture, figure, form of any description or any type of obscene material; or
4. Makes, prepares, cuts, sells, gives, loans, distributes, keeps for sale, or exhibits any disc record, metal, plastic, or wax, wire or tape recording, or any type of obscene material or any other kind of sound recording of any obscene or indecent language, poetry, or songs, or who speaks any words by means of a telephone to any person which are offensive to decency or are calculated to excite vicious or lewd thoughts or acts, or who speaks any other communicable words which are offensive to decency or are adapted to excite vicious or lewd thoughts or acts,
shall be guilty, upon conviction, of a felony and shall be punished by the imposition of a fine of not less than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) nor more than Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00) or by imprisonment for not less than thirty (30) days nor more than ten (10) years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Persons convicted under paragraphs 3 and 4 of subsection A of this section shall not be eligible for a deferred sentence.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person knowing that he or she has Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) or is a carrier of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and with intent to infect another, to engage in conduct reasonably likely to result in the transfer of the person's own blood, bodily fluids containing visible blood, semen, or vaginal secretions into the bloodstream of another, or through the skin or other membranes of another person, except during in utero transmission of blood or bodily fluids, and:
1. The other person did not consent to the transfer of blood, bodily fluids containing blood, semen, or vaginal secretions; or
2. The other person consented to the transfer but at the time of giving consent had not been informed by the person that the person transferring such blood or fluids had AIDS or was a carrier of HIV.
B. Any person convicted of violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections for not more than five (5) years.
So basically, someone could get 10 years for describing a dream in which he/she gives AIDS to someone through sexual intercourse - but only 5 years if it was not a dream.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
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Here are some references. The US State Department estimates about 21 million human trafficking victims, of which about 20% are forced into the sex trade.
https://blogs.state.gov/storie...
http://www.unicef.org/protecti...
https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campa...
"Here are some references. The US State Department estimates about 21 million human trafficking victims, of which about 20% are forced into the sex trade."
So 80% enter it willingly? I think you need to look up the definition of "most".
That's worldwide, Tony. We're talking about the United States here.
You are welcome on my lawn.
If I were him I'd be a lot more worried he videotaped the wrong meth dealer/cook, it being Oklahoma and all.
You are right that Batman keeps his identity shrouded for a reason...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Bankers broke US' economy throwing into misery hundreds of thousands, but he thought he'll make justice by putting in jail people who actually work for their money, people who actually provide a useful service to the community?
Americans' moral compass is just whack.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
His full first and last name has been plastered all over the place for years now. He's been very visible and public in his campaign. Nobody has taken any action against him.
I think you need to reread that. Of the 21 million human trafficking victims, 20% are forced into the sex trade. What happens to the other 80% - whether they're forced into domestic service, as labor elsewhere, or turned into soylent green, is not specified.
a conviction resulting in a prison term can prohibit you from ever getting a job...
Close, but not exactly. This is where the distinction between misdemeanor vs. felony comes into play. Misdemeanors (jail time up to 1 year) typically do not result in forfeiture of civil rights (you still get to vote) but may result in loss of privileges (as in losing your taxi license from a misdemeanor recless driving conviction). Felonies (any jail time over 1 year), on the other hand, you are absolutely right, these result in significant penalties (loss of job opportunities, can't vote, ...) long after the sentence has been served.
This explains old TV shows where I didn't understand why the judged sentenced someone to `a year plus a day'. That extra day turned the punishment into a felony.
Don Dugger
"Censeo Toto nos in Kansa esse decisse." - D. Gale
Coercion, violence, trafficking, etc. are not reasons to make prostitution illegal. They are the result of making it illegal.
+1, wishing I had mod points.
As Ed McMahon would say, 'You, sir, are correct!' Most people make the logical fallacy of flipping causality. They forget the lesson of Prohibition in the US. Alcohol was forced underground, making much of it poisonous swill that made imbibers go blind or suffer other maladies, as well as causing a vast increase in organised crime. Making prostitution legal would deny criminal syndicates of a bunch of money, and its regulation would cause an increase in welfare both for the prostitutes and their customers (in the form of compulsory prophylactic use and regular STD tests, for example).
'He who has to break a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom.' -- Gandalf to Saruman
Interestingly, evidence from western countries where prostitution is legal, says exactly the opposite: Almost all prostitutes are free agents working for themselves. Ones that are forced into the trade by others are so exceptionally rare as to be virtually non-existent.
Please keep your deranged fantasies to yourself.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
"Estimate", my ass. "Guesstimate informed by religious" fanaticism is more like it.
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
That's because prostitution is illegal in too many places. This is no different than the violent crime spawned by the War on Drugs. You seem to have cause and effect confused; just as the morality police want you to.
When the demand is illegal, the supply will be illegal. This is something so obvious that even you should be able to comprehend it.
You can provide some references beyond hysterical news stories? My guess that there is some of this, but far more is drug addiction related. As well, if you read Dan Savage, you probably know that there are willing "sex workers" as well.
I live in a place where prostitution is legal. I'm a regular customer (it's quite normal here) and you'd be surprised how normal a lot of these women are. Uni students paying their way through school, Divorcees paying the mortgage, young girls earning extra money for a big holiday overseas etc.
Here are some references. The US State Department estimates about 21 million human trafficking victims, of which about 20% are forced into the sex trade.
That is globally, most of which is in the poor countries, not the US. I'm a regular customer because where I live it is legal and regulated. Because of this, the shops are mostly well run, safety and health is paramount, and the girls can easily go to the police if there are problems. In fact, because of the regulations, each business is registered, and police can turn up at any time for visa checks and questioning, making it extremely difficult to run any sort of slavery business (although there is the odd case from time to time). You don't get those checks and balances when prohibition pushes it all underground.
Simple politeness. I learned it before there was an internet and it's a hard habit to break.
You are welcome on my lawn.