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Comment by nindalf | Hacker News Reader

> Desperate to make ends meet, Stiegler turned to robbing banks to pay off his debts and feed his family. In 1978, he was arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to five years in prison.

I can’t take writers like this seriously. So keen to present a positive portrait of their subject that they excuse reprehensible acts like armed robbery with “uwu he was just twying to feed his famiwy”. Nah, fuck that. He was a leech on society, be honest about that. Oh, and before he was a robber he ran an illegal brothel. Was he doing that to feed his family too?

It actually seems like he reformed himself in prison, which is laudable. That’s a better narrative than the one they’ve tried to shoehorn in.

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The law naturally, and rightly, draws a big distinction between simple theft and robbery. If he was shoplifting diapers and food, there might be a case for sympathy, but using a deadly weapon to take by force implies a willingness to murder or maim innocent victims to get what you want.

The use of, or threat with the means of, violence against the innocent in anything other than self defense should never be excused in society. I too can't find any value in the writings of someone willing to relax that standard to make a point.

Lol, yes. Specially just before he was accused of running a pleasure house, then in prison, wanted special treatment.

"illegal brothel"

Maybe some people don't think brothel's should be illegal. That the moral arguments against them are empty Christian virtue signaling?

"I can’t take writers like this seriously."

So, don't read Socrates? Because he was found guilty by the State. Breaking the law means your thoughts don't matter?

You can't read Socrates, because he did not write. You can read Plato though.

Ok.

So don't read what others wrote about Socrates.

So if Socrates committed crimes, then is it ok to read what others wrote about him, if they themselves had not committed any crimes, or can we not read anything about anybody that has committed a crime?

This is so disingenuous. Sure, the only objection against female exploitation and trafficking is Christian virtue signaling. Should men (pimps) be allowed to police women's bodies for profit? Difficult question, I know.

Socrates was convicted for "hate speech", not a robbery. Even making that comparison is stupid.

You are making just as extreme disingenuous assumptions.

I never said what form the legality would take. Making prostitution legal so that there can be adequate regulation and health care is a far cry from saying it would be done by pimps. As if there would be some "pimp congregational sub-committee on prostitute OSHA regulations".

Projecting todays standards of "hate speech" onto the ancient world. Really? You think that is what was happening?

Prostitution is the one thing where socialists believe in free enterprise and conservatives don't. Quite hilarious to be honest.

But no, prostitution won't become better just because it is legalized. The incentives are always towards abusing and trafficking women, making them legal just makes prosecution harder.

Legal sex work means sex workers have legal recourse. They can actually call law enforcement instead of staying the invisible class of victims.

This is especially true for minority sex workers.

Yes, exactly.

And, also, if worried about victims. Could stop making the laws focused on the 'prostitute' being the guilty party, and make the laws more geared towards the 'user' of the service.

Other fun fact.

There are statistics collected on the increase in prostitution around different events.

There is a much larger increase in prostitution around Republican National Conventions over the Democratic National Conventions.

But, I don't think this is really a socialist issue. More feminist isn't it, women should be free to do what they want. Socialist countries just generally have more equal rights, or should.

Prostitution and Abortion are both issues where the religious wanting 'control'. And for Republicans religion now overrides the free market.

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