I know that a lot, and I mean a lot of people watch porn - yet I don’t know anyone who would describe themselves as “cherishing” the industry for being good to them. Heck, most “performers” say… it’s absolutely merciless to them; because the moment they aren’t in the perfect prime of their lives, they’re done.
And/or: this could simply be the kind of quasi-Stockholm-Syndrome often seen of those in exploitative relationships, be they labor or otherwise.
But while I believe the many disgusting stories we’ve heard about that industry, I’d be hesitant to make assumptions about the motives and experiences of any one individual, in either direction.
At the end of the day, there's a lot of money in that profession, and I can certainly see how someone would cherish the money it produced for them. It's far from the only industry which participants will age out of quickly.
While I’m certainly sympathetic to the “sex work is work” perspective, it’s worth considering the full implications: for instance, that there would be nothing stopping sexual services being included in job descriptions for other lines of work (“administrative assistant with benefits”). It’s the thin end of the wedge, to ask how truly “consensual” employment relationships can be, sexual or otherwise, in contexts of power asymmetry.
Sounds like work in general, really. Most people wills say that their work is merciless, yet the "top 1%" will tell you a completely different story. I expect Reid can be considered a "top 1%"-er.
Why is it that your knee-jerk reaction here is just to discount their opinion entirely in place of your own (likely entirely un-informed) opinion about it?