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The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

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Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#11

Post by dleslie »

close04 wrote: post #5
sktrdie wrote: post #2

I have been living in Amsterdam for about half a year. Met lots of locals. The red light district is not liked. It’s full of trashy people wanting to do drugs and have sex. Sure if you find those to be pleasures of life then be my guest, but the locals hate it: imagine having an entire neighborhood ruined by these kind of people, who let me tell you are not the most respectful kind. But the real issue is that none of…

> Not once I heard of a local Dutch girl doing this. How is this relevant? I mean in what manner would nationality change your opinion on this topic?

I believe the implication is that many of the women employed were coerced or trafficked; it not being an industry that employs locals makes that a reasonable suspicion.

It's not just a concern for sex work; manufacturing, seasonal trades and agriculture attract human trafficking, for instance.

Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#12

Post by FakeComments »

sktrdie wrote: post #2

I have been living in Amsterdam for about half a year. Met lots of locals. The red light district is not liked. It’s full of trashy people wanting to do drugs and have sex. Sure if you find those to be pleasures of life then be my guest, but the locals hate it: imagine having an entire neighborhood ruined by these kind of people, who let me tell you are not the most respectful kind. But the real issue is that none of…

> And in a way it exploits these people even if it’s their choice.

How, exactly?

Your position is that they’d be better off with a different job, but presumably we’re talking about adults there by choice.

How is voluntary prostitution more exploitative than, say, a construction worker? ...or even third shift at a grocery store?

I mean, if your point is Marxist all labor for pay is “exploitation”, okay — but otherwise, I don’t see how adults choosing a profession exploits them.

Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#13

Post by dleslie »

teej wrote: post #7
close04 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not once I heard of a local Dutch girl doing this. How is this relevant? I mean in what manner would nationality change your opinion on this topic?

Places with legal sex work have higher rates of human trafficking > Criminalization of prostitution in Sweden resulted in the shrinking of the prostitution market and the decline of human trafficking inflows. Cross-country comparisons of Sweden with Denmark (where prostitution is decriminalized) and Germany (expanded legalization of prostitution) are consistent with the quantitative analysis, showing that trafficking…

Human trafficking exists in many industries where employing local labour is the exception; it could be that the tolerance of sex work and its unlikelihood of hiring locally sourced labour makes it attractive to human trafficking.

Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#14

Post by ldng »

sktrdie wrote: post #2

I have been living in Amsterdam for about half a year. Met lots of locals. The red light district is not liked. It’s full of trashy people wanting to do drugs and have sex. Sure if you find those to be pleasures of life then be my guest, but the locals hate it: imagine having an entire neighborhood ruined by these kind of people, who let me tell you are not the most respectful kind. But the real issue is that none of…

So basically, maybe it's better than make it illegal, as long as it's Not In My Back Yard ?

Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#15

Post by wDcBKgt66V8WDs »

sktrdie wrote: post #2

I have been living in Amsterdam for about half a year. Met lots of locals. The red light district is not liked. It’s full of trashy people wanting to do drugs and have sex. Sure if you find those to be pleasures of life then be my guest, but the locals hate it: imagine having an entire neighborhood ruined by these kind of people, who let me tell you are not the most respectful kind. But the real issue is that none of…

Its location in effectively the city center is unfortunate. I absolutely love Amsterdam and recently spent 10 lazy days there but tried hard to avoid getting within a kilometer of Amsterdam Centraal. Reminds me of Times Square but with a lot more bros.

Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#16

Post by kilo_bravo_3 »

Everyone is cool from afar with sexwork until a meth head is jerking it on their doorstep. "Like, wouldn't you rather have it be regulated and legal?"

Everyone is cool from afar with homeless until they're sleeping in their own doorway. "Like, why are you trying to get rid of all of these poor homeless people?"

"What's the big deal, maaaaan?" they ask, "Why do you have a problem with it?"

But the second the problem comes to their own doorstep they call the cops.

It's one of the most delicious hypocrisies of the internet. People get to bitch about people dealing with all of the negative aspects of any problem while self-righteously pretending to be open and accepting from thousands of miles away.

Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#17

Post by thrower123 »

sktrdie wrote: post #2

I have been living in Amsterdam for about half a year. Met lots of locals. The red light district is not liked. It’s full of trashy people wanting to do drugs and have sex. Sure if you find those to be pleasures of life then be my guest, but the locals hate it: imagine having an entire neighborhood ruined by these kind of people, who let me tell you are not the most respectful kind. But the real issue is that none of…

The thing that struck me about the red light district when I visited Amsterdam and walked through it one night was just how sad and small and tawdry it was. It has this almost mythic reputation, but there's not a whole lot to it.

Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#18

Post by dijit »

The red-light district is for sure a tourist attraction, for people who are dumbfounded and awestruck to people going on drug fuelled benders.

I am the former, I've been through the red light district at night and there are a few bro's but generally it was decent.

The tourism culture seems to actively promote seedy/druggy stuff though.. Maybe if it wasn't being pushed it would be better?

Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#19

Post by goobynight »

sktrdie wrote: post #2

I have been living in Amsterdam for about half a year. Met lots of locals. The red light district is not liked. It’s full of trashy people wanting to do drugs and have sex. Sure if you find those to be pleasures of life then be my guest, but the locals hate it: imagine having an entire neighborhood ruined by these kind of people, who let me tell you are not the most respectful kind. But the real issue is that none of…

I don't see why being "trashy" and into drugs+sex has to be relegated to a journey outside the city center. Pearl clutching moralists (not necessarily you) always have a strong voice at this table though. Being interested in these things is no better than raising useless generations of children who, on average, will eventually have MULTIPLE degenerates in the family line.

Some jobs are just simply for poor people. I'd rather solve that problem than isolate the effort to sex work.

The work involving sex doesn't make it significantly more exploitative than being so poor that you're willing to take short term gains and long term losses driving for Uber or something. At least you can come out profitable in sex work.

Let's also think of the service being provided here. Low economic status, ugly men can have their biological urges satisfied. What happens to incels if that goes away? This question is only going to become more important, given the trajectory of hypergamy.

As someone that lives in the US, neighborhoods, in my opinion, are ruined by moralists, even if they appear respectful. e.g. I can't legally walk around sipping a beer.

Re: The Uncertain Fate of Amsterdam’s Red-Light District

#20

Post by bogus_323423 »

sktrdie wrote: post #2

I have been living in Amsterdam for about half a year. Met lots of locals. The red light district is not liked. It’s full of trashy people wanting to do drugs and have sex. Sure if you find those to be pleasures of life then be my guest, but the locals hate it: imagine having an entire neighborhood ruined by these kind of people, who let me tell you are not the most respectful kind. But the real issue is that none of…

How dare people try to get ahead in ways I find repellent. They clearly must be coerced into doing it, so let's coerce them into not doing it.

It attracts trashy people and tweakers! They should abuse prescription drugs and wear the respectable fashion and be mannerly like upper class people such as myself.

Mote, meet beam. I'm sure we can whip the sinners into virtue and establish the true city on the hill.

We may not like the criminal underworld, but the cure is worse than the disease.

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