Saturday, October 21, 2023

How To Get Men To "Accept The Unacceptable"

As any student of world history can tell you, the USA and its Allies were once up against an extremely formidable enemy during WWII, one who was even harder to defeat than the formidable Nazis.  That "honor" goes to none other than Imperial Japan, the country that got America into the war in the first place.  They were not only extremely skilled and disciplined fighters by far, but were also most notably extremely stubborn when it came to surrendering.  "Death before dishonor" was so integral to their code of ethics that they would routinely engage in suicide attacks against the Allied forces.  They literally saw the prospect of surrender as worse than death, and thus behaved accordingly.  That was what we were up against in the Land of the Rising Sun.

As powerful as General Hideki Tojo was, the Japanese troops ultimately answered to one and only one man:  Emperor Hirohito.  He was literally regarded as a god, and was obeyed accordingly.  He ultimately turned out to be Imperial Japan's weakest link, however.  Long story short, rightly or wrongly, when the USA had first bombed and napalmed Tokyo, and then nuked Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Emperor was scared straight into surrendering unconditionally to the Allies.  He was thus forced to address the people and admit that he wasn't really divine, and that it was time for Japan to "accept the unacceptable" and surrender to the Allies.  And they listened, for the most part.  (Some Japanese troops didn't want to believe him and continued fighting for a time, but that was a tiny number that was readily quashed.)  In return for Hirohito ordering his troops to surrender, the Allies allowed him to remain as a figurehead "Emperor" in the new constitutional monarchy imposed by the Allies, which he remained until his death and succession by his son, Akihito.

So what can we learn from this?  Will it be possible for Women to finally get men to surrender this way?  That is, would it require a very powerful and charismatic "bro", one who is practically deified, to convince men that it is in their best interest to "accept the unacceptable" and surrender?  And what would it take to get that man to do so?

In a way, one particular man, former President Donald Trump, would have perhaps fit the bill as the Hirohito of American men if he wasn't so narcissistic, unstable, demented, corrupt, and of course frankly misogynistic.  If there was a way to get him to unconditionally surrender to Women, he could have perhaps convinced about 50-60% of men to join him in surrendering, maybe even more.  But even so, that window has long since closed, as the Donald is now discredited and he is nowhere near as popular as he once was.

So who will it be now, if anyone at all?  That is an open question that only Mother God really knows the answer to.

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Why Full Decriminalization Of Sex Work Is The Only Just And Rational Policy

A few years ago, I wrote an article titled "Prostitution: The Oldest Profession or The Oldest Oppression?" that looked at the issue of sex work from various angles, and ultimately came to the conclusion that full decriminalization was the only just and rational policy in that regard.  That is the same conclusion that such diverse voices as Amnesty International, the ACLU, the WHO, UNAIDS, Human Rights Campaign, and so many others have come to in recent years.  And the legendary Guru Rasa Von Werder has also long supported decriminalization as well.

New Zealand is probably the best example of full decriminalization, which has prevailed for the past two decades.  A few other places in the world have or have had some flavor of this policy as well, including some parts of Australia, and formerly in the US state of  Rhode Island from 2003-2009.  Ditto for Denmark, the only Nordic country where the so-called "Nordic Model" never really caught on.  And while not a panacea, it is clearly the least-worst policy.

This is to be clearly distinguished from "legalization", where sex work is confined to a narrow and tightly regulated framework but otherwise criminalized outside that framework.  Basically, the state becomes the pimp in practice, if not also in theory.  And it is a half-assed solution at best.  Nevada, the Netherlands, and Germany are classic examples of such.

As for the so-called "Nordic Model" or "Equality Model", which should really be called the "Entrapment Model", we see that after over two decades of it in Sweden, and several years in several other countries that tried it, it fails miserably.  (As of 2023, the only US state to adopt it is Maine, and they did so earlier this year.)  While it is arguably a step up from full criminalization, that's a pitifully low bar to clear.

And of course, not even Mao Zedong and all of his brutality was ever able to truly eradicate prostitution, and it wasn't for lack of trying.  Sex work has existed in practically every culture in history, except for a tiny few outliers here and there.  Matriarchal societies would mostly likely have significantly less of it for reasons of both supply and demand, but it would likely still exist regardless (e.g. Sacred Harlots).

Ideally, the adult trade should be controlled entirely by Women, as when men control it they inevitably ruin it horribly.  Thus, banning men from acting as pimps and brothel owners would likely be a good idea.  Otherwise, putting restrictions on the adult trade generally does more harm than good.

Thus, we still ought to endorse full decriminalization.  The case in favor has only gotten stronger over time.

QED