Why is being a self-aware whore "sad and tragic"?

[elfs]

I was listening to the local talk radio station this afternoon, and the topic was underage prostitution in Seattle. Now, like many large West Coast cities, we have weeklies that are full of escort ads that seem so obviously solicitation for prostitution that you have to wonder whether or not law enforcement does anything about it. It's clear, though, from the ads that those are adults selling their, ahem, services to other adults.

On the show, one of the guests was former city of Seattle chief prosecutor Dan Satterberg, and host Steve Scher felt compelled to him about all of those ads that appear in the back of The Seattle Weekly and The Stranger.

Satterberg responded:

It's sad and it's tragic that adults make that decision-- to be in the sex trade-- but law enforcement has scarce resources and better things to do than call all those numbers and set up sting operations. They are adults, and we're focused on the kids who are trapped, beaten, hooked on drugs.

Now, call me confused, but is that an admission that law enforcement resources are more limited than the laws they're call on to enforce? And why is it "tragic" that some people go into the sex trade? I don't see much difference between selling your body for sex and selling your body as a ditch digger. Both use up scarce resources of vitality and time. At least in one you get to meet interesting people.

Comments

[dv-girl.livejournal.com]

It's terribly sad! They're denying Wal-Mart and McDonalds some slave labor. They're likely under-reporting taxes so he's not getting his piece of any of those pies, and you know, the hypocrisy of the Republicans that have been caught with sex workers in recent years is pretty tragic.