The Plight of Women in 2012 America

Much has been waged on the war on women recently and I wanted to highlight some more of it and try and bring it full circle. The first story, and as a father of a daughter is the hardest to read, comes from comes from the great NY Time Columnist Nicholas Kristof. Kristof writes of one specific aspect of the American sex trade/human trafficing that is such a problem in America. That of companies that enable this to happen specifically backpage.com.

“You can’t buy a child at Wal-Mart, can you?” she asked me. “No, but you can go to Backpage and buy me on Backpage.”

Backpage accounts for about 70 percent of prostitution advertising among five Web sites that carry such ads in the United States, earning more than $22 million annually from prostitution ads, according to AIM Group, a media research and consulting company. It is now the premier Web site for human trafficking in the United States, according to the National Association of Attorneys General. And it’s not a fly-by-night operation. Backpage is owned by Village Voice Media, which also owns the estimable Village Voice newspaper.

Attorneys general from 48 states have written a joint letter to Village Voice Media, pleading with it to get out of the flesh trade. An online petition at Change.org has gathered 94,000 signatures asking Village Voice Media to stop taking prostitution advertising. Instead, the company has used The Village Voice to mock its critics

In 2012 America profits trump people especially when the profits are $22,000,000 and the people are faceless women. Kristoff writes and I agree, that this is a major problem that goes beyond the websites but everything helps in this fight.

There are no simple solutions to end sex trafficking, but it would help to have public pressure on Village Voice Media to stop carrying prostitution advertising. The Film Forum has already announced that it will stop buying ads in The Village Voice. About 100 advertisers have dropped Rush Limbaugh’s radio show because of his demeaning remarks about women. Isn’t it infinitely more insulting to provide a forum for the sale of women and girls?

Let’s be honest: Backpage’s exit from prostitution advertising wouldn’t solve the problem, for smaller Web sites would take on some of the ads. But it would be a setback for pimps to lose a major online marketplace. When Craigslist stopped taking such ads in 2010, many did not migrate to new sites: online prostitution advertising plummeted by more than 50 percent, according to AIM Group.

This is a problem that everyone needs to take seriously and address. In 2012 America we should make being a successful pimp next to impossible. Maybe the NYPD could focus their energy on this the way that they have worked on keeping OWS out of Zucotti park. While this story was based in New York, it is a problem for all of America. More information here. Now we can head down to Texas(again in a problem that effects everyone). Let’s go back to Nickolas Kristof, where he talks about the recent law passed in Texas(and attempted elsewhere).

HERE’S what a woman in Texas now faces if she seeks an abortion.

Under a new law that took effect three weeks ago with the strong backing of Gov. Rick Perry, she first must typically endure an ultrasound probe inserted into her vagina. Then she listens to the audio thumping of the fetal heartbeat and watches the fetus on an ultrasound screen.

She must listen to a doctor explain the body parts and internal organs of the fetus as they’re shown on the monitor. She signs a document saying that she understands all this, and it is placed in her medical files. Finally, she goes home and must wait 24 hours before returning to get the abortion.

The Texas Governor who desperately tried to be president but was deemed to crazy and unintelligent by the republican base is now interfering in the lives of women! Again while all of these stories effect women everywhere, lets bring up our final one that is uniquely Wisconsin.

This latest from West Bend's own Glenn Grothman. The big government unmarried, childless republican senator has actually proposed legislation that would require Wisconsin’s Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board “to emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect.”

Grothman thinks that parents(he does not distinguish between mother/father(although its implied) who are divorced, widowed, together but not married, couples where one spouse is serving a long deployment, travels for business, etc… all these people (do you happen to know anyone that fits that description?) are contributing factors to child abuse and neglect. Fortunately, they are losing the messaging race big time. Unfortunately they are well funded.

Well funded enough for the Bradley/Koch machine to send two of their lapdogs out to defend the Senator. The first comes from the discredited law professor Sh & Sh: to tell us how right Glenn Grothman is (here is he telling us of the war on the white male in today's society).

Grothman may well be right.

I’ve done a of reading on this in connection with the marriage issue. There is an awful lot of support for Grothman’s position. Children raised in single parent and step families are more likely to be the victims of abuse and neglect.This is not to say that all – or, thank God, even most – single or step parents will be abusers. It simply reflects the fact that raising children alone or with someone who is not that child’s biological parent (and, therefore, likely to be less invested in that child) is difficult.

Wow where to begin here.

this is not to say that all – or, thank God, even most – single or step parents will be abusers
well then should we continue on with this ridiculousness now that we have confirmed what Grothman (and you) were saying is bullshit?? If you bozo’s ever did any research whatsoever, you would know that Most children are abused by someone they know and trust, although boys are more likely than girls to be abused outside of the family. Will Grothmans next bill be one that doesnt allow kids to be around anyone they know? The Strangers aren’t danger act?

Next they also sent out unmarried, childless far right blogger Kevin Binversie. who first takes it upon himself to defend Grothmans blatantly racist past(maybe there was a bonus for that):

State Sen. Glenn Grothman loves controversy.

In 2003, the West Bend Republican questioned whether Kwanza was a real holiday. In 2009, he speculated that University of Wisconsin-Madison’s diversity-based admissions policies were evidence of the university’s hatred of white men.

Then went to work defending Grothman:

When pressed by the left-leaning Huffington Post, Grothman made the fairly bland observation that, yes, it would be better if women married the men who father their children.

“Society would be better off with two-parent families,” Grothman told Wisconsin Reporter. “My critics are trying to misrepresent the findings behind this bill.”

Those findings are pretty powerful. Single-parent households, it turns out, are increasingly common in some places. Last month, the New York Times cited 2009 government data showing that 59 percent of mothers under 30 when they gave birth were single.

Yes it is quite obvious that kids children raised in a two parent household are much more stable. Unless of course The father is on the road so much no one knows where he is!

Now we know why Don Pridemore said: women in abusive relationships should not seek divorces. If they did it would be the end of the republican party as we know it!

Remind me again how republicans win elections, please!

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3 thoughts on “The Plight of Women in 2012 America

  1. I spent three years of my youth in an abusive household, back in the good-old-days that nutjob Republicans yearn for, when a man’s business was his business and no one intervened until there was a body to clean up. Everyone in that family was damaged in some way for the rest of their lives; depression, alcoholism, drug abuse, jail, teen pregnancy, suicide attempts and numerous divorces — yes those are terrific “family values”.

    Pridemore and Grothman don’t just anger me, they make me physically ill. These sadistic sociopaths don’t belong in public office and I don’t think their personal lives could withstand close scrutiny.

  2. It has now become reality that women will become the primary family provider in the near future (Time Mag. March 2012). “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” In this case we’re talking about the male ego. Male egos, frantic over loosing power, exacerbate the situation by idolizing sports and money or dumbing down religion and politics…as in patriotic war mongering, crime and homophobia. Woman use this idiocy to promote their legal power with advantages, ironically for being “weaker” physically, in education, sex and business. Lately, Republicanism favors such idiocy.

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