Good Christian Men, Rejoice....with heart, and hands, and garrotte

On Skeleton Stories or something like that, one of those now-discontinued forensic science shows that I like so much, there was mention of one Danny Hobart, from Missouri or Kansas or somewhere like that. He was a good Christian man who was a lay leader in his church. And, he killed prostitutes. Note to self: research this a bit. I'm pretty sure, from what I heard, that he blamed the evils of the world on prostitution, so instead of doing something about the men who seek out women for sex, the men who LEAVE THEIR HOMES and go trolling for sex, or, worse yet, those who BRING WOMEN BACK TO THEIR MARITAL BED when their wives are away, he hunts down prostitutes and kills them.

I've lived in some dicey neighborhoods---in fact, I lived right next door to some crack ho's and their benefactor---but I can unequivocally state that a prostitute has never knocked on my door, asking if I or anyone therein wanted to pay for sex. In fact, while I have indeed seen streetwalkers, and I've seen them ask men if they were interested, I've never seen them accost johns. And most places where men are lured by prostitutes, are places that men have to go to in order to be lured by prostitutes.

You know, I really detest pawn shops and pay day loan places and other businesses which prey on poor people, especially when they advertise heavily and go out of their way to seduce people in. They're not offering a helping hand in time of distress, they're encouraging poor people to pay, in some cases, 100% interest. I think that businesses like this, and even banks (credit card companies, mortgage companies) that operate in like ways, luring people who can't afford it, instead of offering a service for those who can, are nigh criminal. I believe they cause great distress and misery. However, I'm pretty sure that the legal system would not take it kindly if I were to walk into such a place of business, offer to engage in a transaction, and then strangle the clerk, or even the owner. I'm also pretty sure that the legal system would not take it kindly if I pre-emptively killed misogynistic, asshole men who do everything just short of (and oftentimes including) rape----like plying a woman with drinks, assuring her that he'll respect her and won't do anything, then, when she's too drunk to resist, he has his way----and he plots this all along. I've known lots of men like this, but their actions are shrugged off, and the rape is blamed on the woman. If I hunted these men down and killed them, why, I'd probably be dealt with as Aileen Wournos (the victim of a great deal of domestic violence who became a prostitute and killed men) was----in the electric chair (or was it death by injection?)

But apparently, Christian men, once again blaming women for men's sins and vices, lay the blame of prostitution at the feet of women, and if we could just get rid of all the prostitutes, we could....what? force women to do our will, because they wouldn't even be able to prostitute themselves to escape our cruelty? (Yes, many women have prostituted themselves in order to provide for their children, or to keep a roof over their heads, especially when they left an abusive partner. And many more women live with a man who beats them and treats them badly, because they cannot afford to leave him. When they do leave him, a significant number of these women have, at one time, prostituted themselves.)

So not only are they usurping the role of law enforcement for a non-violent crime, they are also playing god. Because doesn't the Bible say things like, "Judge not lest ye be judged"? and it talks about God being the final arbiter, the one to dole out punishment and reward? Yet religious men like Danny Hobart are taking it upon themselves to mete out punishment.

And lest Christians cry out in anguish, as they often do when it's pointed out just how anti-Christian they're actually being, yeah, Muslims do it, too. And you call them on it repeatedly, saying it's wrong (which it absolutely is). So why is it right for you to do it? Women are people, with all the rights and privileges thereto, regardless of whether they are Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Shinto, Atheist, or whathaveyou.