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Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

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191–200 of 308 posts

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#191
post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Matt Levine just shows that Wells Fargo wanted a paper trail showing that they told employees not to do this. The interesting question is, what happened when whistleblowers told them it was happening anyway? Apparently, the answer is that they fired the whistleblowers. That says everything about what Wells Fargo really wanted, as opposed to what they said to cover their asses. Remember, he's an industry insider with…

Explain what exactly Wells Fargo upper management had to gain from the fake cards? They wouldn't generate real money for the company. The people who stand to benefit most are the individual employees. I don't know the banking industry well so maybe there is some way for the company to make money off fake cards but I can't think of one. And because of that, I tend to believe that upper management really did not intend…

> The people who stand to benefit most are the individual employees.

And their managers, and their managers' managers, whose income depends on showing good numbers to the nth-managers.

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#192

I don't understand what that CEO did? He just runs classified ads website how is he a pimp? Why is he responsible for other people actions on his website? Is this just a show or he is really in a trouble? This doesn't sound like a free country.

Only on HN would somebody look at a site that gets 99% of their revenue from escort ads and claim it's something other than an escort ad site.

Y'all are fucking dumb af.

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Again you are misrepresenting my position; it's not that "sex work" is somehow more immoral than other work, it's that the purchase of sex is immoral, shameful, and frankly, pathetic. It has nothing to do with capitalism vs. anarchism or anything else. Even under capitalism, purchasing e.g. food for your family that was somehow acquired under coercive circumstances is still less shameful than purchasing e.g. diamonds…

Assuming you own a TV - the purchase of your television was immoral, shameful, and pathetic - you bought into the incredibly poor working conditions of various mines in developing countries, coercive labour in China, and more. And yet you bought it for entertainment. If you don't own a TV, I'm reasonably sure I could pick out something else you've done that involved coerced labour that you didn't need to. The solutio…

No, the purchase of a television is less immoral, shameful, and pathetic than the purchase of sex. It is qualitatively different. There is nothing inherent in my possession of a television that demeans or degrades another human being; it's simple circumstance that makes working conditions more or less morally acceptable.

The purchase of sex inherently demeans and degrades another human being because it places one's own sexual gratification over another person's bodily autonomy.

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's an okay opinion, but I'd like to see CEOs criminally charged and go to jail if it's proven that they knew or should have known what was going on.

He is the CEO. He should have known 5000 employees were engaging in fraudulent operations.

Wells Fargo has 265.000 employees. A CEO certainly has to make sure that there's internal oversight according to regulations and industry standards but it's not his job to personally go spying on people (try doing that on 265.000 employees) or implement the Wells Fargo Gestapo.

If it cannot be proven that he knew about it or encouraged this behaviour then he cannot be held legally accountable. It's like demanding the US president should go to prison because some CIA team somewhere does some really shady stuff that he doesn't know about.

Shareholders might still choose to fire that guy, but it's a choice they have, they do not have to if they are satisfied with his performance.

How come that people today lose their ability to reason as soon as bankers are involved? It's similar to the National Socialists reasoning when they blamed the Jews for everything bad "because they had the all money and controlled the world"

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#195
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most sex workers agree that their safety is improved dramatically by having the business side of it out in the open. And, there have been studies on sex worker safety that indicate strongly that legal prostitution is safer for everyone; it also reduces coercion when it is not underground (women don't need a pimp, if law enforcement is on their side). Since I started paying attention a few years ago, I've noticed that…

There's idealism on both sides of the argument. On one hand, there are those who believe that conducting these arrangements in the open is safer for all involved parties. On the other hand, there are those who believe that sex work can never truly be consensual, because even if consent is given, a sex worker may have felt pressured to seek this life because all other choices available to them to make a living and att…

By that logic, me going to work is slavery. Also, there are people who sincerely believe that women can't consent to sex with men, full stop, for basically similar reasons to what you wrote. You're probably playing devil's advocate, but I really think these bizarre ideas about consent are rooted in a damaged psychology that has a very unhealthy view of both women's agency, and the relationship between the sexes.

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#196
post #140
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure...? I didn't intend to imply otherwise.

The term "child prostitution" is associated is a few countries with some severe failings of law enforcement to protect children from harm. Notably, in the UK some police forces were saying that children could chose to become prostitutes, and these children were promiscuous.

Only in America you would think that a 16 or 17 year old would never choose to have sex for benefits unless forced into it.

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming you own a TV - the purchase of your television was immoral, shameful, and pathetic - you bought into the incredibly poor working conditions of various mines in developing countries, coercive labour in China, and more. And yet you bought it for entertainment. If you don't own a TV, I'm reasonably sure I could pick out something else you've done that involved coerced labour that you didn't need to. The solutio…

No, the purchase of a television is less immoral, shameful, and pathetic than the purchase of sex. It is qualitatively different. There is nothing inherent in my possession of a television that demeans or degrades another human being; it's simple circumstance that makes working conditions more or less morally acceptable. The purchase of sex inherently demeans and degrades another human being because it places one's o…

> The purchase of sex inherently demeans and degrades another human being because it places one's own sexual gratification over another person's bodily autonomy.

I'm a contractor, and I get to choose my clients. If I don't want to work with someone, I don't. Why would it be "inherently" demeaning in sex work, if they got to choose their clients and there were better protection and regulation?

Why is it an implementation issue with your TV purchase, and an inherent issue with sex work? I don't follow the logic.

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#198
post #140
post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure...? I didn't intend to imply otherwise.

The term "child prostitution" is associated is a few countries with some severe failings of law enforcement to protect children from harm. Notably, in the UK some police forces were saying that children could chose to become prostitutes, and these children were promiscuous.

[deleted]

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sex workers don't care about your morals. They have different morals than you and care about different things. Stop telling them and other people what morals they should have. Regulated prostitution may be bad in your eyes but unregulated prostitution is even worse for those who are already in this industry. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

The heart of the matter is simple: if you buy the services of a prostitute, you have little means of knowing his/her backstory. She may be doing this willingly, or she may have been coerced. So you are willingly taking the risk that you're raping somebody. The conclusion is that it is an immoral act to visit a prostitute. And that's all you need to know really. Oh and here's another dirty little secret for you: a goo…

Only because it's all illegal. If prostitution was legal, you could go to a well-reputed bordello where the managers are known, and know that everyone in there is doing it consensually.

I'm sure the owners would be happy to provide background checks for all employees, if it gets the police out of their business.

Re: Backpage Raided, CEO Arrested on Sex-Trafficking Charges

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The sex workers don't care about your morals. They have different morals than you and care about different things. Stop telling them and other people what morals they should have. Regulated prostitution may be bad in your eyes but unregulated prostitution is even worse for those who are already in this industry. Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

The heart of the matter is simple: if you buy the services of a prostitute, you have little means of knowing his/her backstory. She may be doing this willingly, or she may have been coerced. So you are willingly taking the risk that you're raping somebody. The conclusion is that it is an immoral act to visit a prostitute. And that's all you need to know really. Oh and here's another dirty little secret for you: a goo…

I don't think so. I have 2 close friends who used to be prostitutes, and I'm pretty sure both of them would eye-roll hard at this. All you're doing is willfully choosing the focus on the dark instances, regardless of their actual prevalence, and try to claim that the whole picture is like that across the board.
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