Fair Exchange

on 2 seperate occassions, with 2 different people, i had conversations about the same thing. completely unarranged.

and the topic of the conversations was whether or not they would open brothels and why.

both of them would. one, J, feels that it is a viable alternative, the other, B, was coming from a more interesting position. but both felt that there is nothing wrong with that.

B. shared something that someone he knew said: "ee ai loui, wah ai song" (Hokkien for: she wants the money, i want the comfort), implying that it is a fair and aboveboard exchange.

now of course it would be a problem if the girls were forced into it against their will and not given commensurate renumeration (i.e. exploited). however, if the girls are able to earn a decent living, raise their standard of living to a level which they otherwise wouldn't have, and through their trade, have an opportunity to break out of poverty (and perhaps even help their families break out of poverty), then should we not help them do so by providing a safe(r) and (more) conducive environment where the girls could do so?

now B. situation was slightly different. see, he was coming from the view of comfort houses. he basically felt that if he were commanding troops into battle, he would, without hesitation, find women (of negotiable affection) and set up comfort houses for his troops. (again, here he meant that the girls must be in it out of their own volition and adequately compensated).

his reasoning was this:
human beings have some basic cravings. while some can curb this cravings, it is only human that once in a while, we give in to these cravings. now for a soldier in the battlefield, fighting the cravings are all the more difficult. if there are no venues where the soldiers can legitimately satisfy their cravings, they will only do so via more violent means, i.e. rape the women of the places they conqueor. however, with a comfort house designated for the troops to satisfy these more base of their cravings, the commander can then legitimately punish those who resort to violence to satisfy their needs. furthermore, this would boost troop morale.

my own view is that so long as human beings remain human beings (i.e. not evolved such that we are completely free of our animal instincts), we prostitution will exist. and it is better to legalise it and thus be able to regulate it to some extent. however, we must be careful that legalising it does not mean glamourising and that girls don't think of it as easy money.