Wednesday, April 27, 2011

School and Such

I am approaching the end of my school year.  That means that I am less than a month away from the start of my ride.  But it also means that I have a lot of final papers to write if I intend to still be a good student and graduate from seminary on time next year. 

Most people have been asking me how I have enough time to ride 20, 30, and 40 miles in a day as a full-time student.  A majority of those people have been fellow students who feel overwhelmed with work and can't imagine having time off to do anything besides watch a movie once a week or play a quick match of ping pong.  My question to them is, "How do you have time to do homework?  In fact, why do you make time to do work?"

You see, the more riding I do in preparation for the cross-country trek, the less I feel the pressure of school and homework.  I've realized two things: the goal of life is not to succeed in school or in the workplace, it is to enjoy life; and working to ensure that all people have the opportunity to enjoy life is far more important than what grade I might get on a theology paper.  Actually, working toward the liberation of those enslaved is a far more powerful theological statement than any paper or book can make.  So why work when I can ride my bike and feel the wind on my face as I speed by gardens and flowers and rivers?  Why work when I can prepare for riding being a symbol of liberation and justice as I bike across the country? 

Unfortunately I don't have an answer to that.  I say unfortunately only because I know that when deadlines for papers come even closer I will regret forcing myself into "crunch time."  I say unfortunately because I question the whole reason of being here in graduate school, and for having spent four years in undergraduate as well.  What's the point of school?  Why have I "wasted" six to seven years of my life in higher education?  I feel as though I should quit school so that I can do more important things, a.k.a. enjoy life and do my best to help others enjoy life.

I'm not going to quit school, partly because I don't want to think of myself as a failure (though, in reflecting on this, I have to say that dropping out of school at this point might be a success because I've found my peace with and in God and what God intends for me and my life, I don't need a degree for that).  I bring up these questions and reflections, though, for the few readers I have to ask themselves, "What am I doing?  Why am I spending so much time working and worrying about money?  Could I and should I be giving more time and money to the things that I enjoy and to good works so that others may enjoy life?" 

I hope that you will think long and hard about those questions.  Of course, jobs do help us pay for the things that we need and enjoy in life, and a steady paycheck can allow us to donate generously to those causes that we don't have time to personally work with.  But I think we could all use some reevaluation of what we actually need and how much money we should be spending on pampering ourselves, or how much time we actually need to spend on our job and whether we should donate a whole lot more time and money to helping others. 

If you don't know the story, check out Mark 12:41-44 in the Bible (the same story can also be found in Luke).  Jesus saw rich people putting in fairly large sums of money into the treasury and a poor widow put in two coins.  Jesus says that the widow gave more because she gave all that she had while the rich gave out of their surplus.  We all have more to give, we just need to get our priorities straight.  Can we allow ourselves to donate $50.00 to this cause, to helping the slaves in the world, but spend $500.00 on a couple of chairs for our dining room?

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Connecticut Proposition

Polaris Project sent me this article from ctpost.com from Connecticut.

"News item: Stamford police raided a so-called massage parlor masquerading as a brothel last week.
Big deal, you might say. Happens all the time.
Perhaps. And that's the problem.
Every community around here has or has had one or more of these places lurking just beneath our day-to-day notice. We usually choose to ignore them.
It's odd. You'd think slavery would get more of a rise out of people.
Hyperbole? Not even close.
Every day, all over the nation, including Fairfield County, young women are forced into having sex with strangers for money -- usually under threat to themselves and their families.
Stamford police believe the massage parlor they raided Friday was a front for a place where illegal immigrants possibly worked as sex slaves.
The methodology is roughly the same for all: Recruiters bait impoverished women in their home countries with promises of riches to be had in the United States. They get the women here, provide them with false immigration documents and then inform them that they owe a huge debt for services rendered. You can figure out the rest.
It's fashionable today to call prostitution a victimless crime, one that should be legalized. Try telling that to the women caught in these monstrous operations.
The state legislature must take this problem more seriously, and change how we address it.
The first step actually should be decriminalization -- but only for the prostitutes themselves. Too often, it's the women forced to work in the local brothels who face the harshest legal penalties. They already are living lives of desperation. We should be helping them to escape their circumstances rather than making those circumstances worse with an arrest.
Next: The johns, who create the market for prostitution, often receive lesser charges than the prostitutes. Reverse that equation. Make the penalty for perpetuating the enslavement of others fit the crime.
Perhaps the specter of a few months in prison would reduce the client base. Too harsh? It's a cakewalk compared to the destroyed lives these men are funding with their dollars.
For the people who operate these rings, who force women into these lives, they're straight evil. Throw away the key.
Finally, crack down on landlords. Owners of properties used as brothels have to be pretty dense to not know what's going on there. The law currently holds them accountable, but barely. It's a misdemeanor to know prostitution is occurring on your property and not make a "reasonable effort" to stop it. That means any penalty won't even amount to a month's rent.
The only way to stop it is to force those who are guilty of those behaviors to change them.
To do less is an affront to everything we stand for, as people, as a state, as a nation."

I say a great many "Amens" to this one.  We can't punish slaves for being enslaved.  Obviously that doesn't many any sense, and yet that's how our crime system operates because we think that prostitution is voluntary.  The very use of the word, "prostitution," rather than slavery, implies a choice.  For the great majority of prostitutes giving away their body is not a choice but pure slavery.  

And we have to stop thinking that these things don't happen.  Just like we can't let the German people of the 1930's and 1940's off the hook for "not knowing" what the Nazis were doing (actually, we can't let Americans off the hook either.  All evidence points to our government having full knowledge of what was going on, and actually turning away Jews who were trying to escape before and during the war), we can't let anyone off the hook with the issue of slavery.  The landlords know, and the clients certainly know and are more numerous than we might think, and those of us who aren't directly involved have to stop looking the other way.  This is real and serious.  

Make sure that your Congressional representatives know that this is real and very, very serious.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

My Bike's Name is Cato

When I bought my first car I adopted the habit of naming certain things that are close to me.  My car's name became the desired name for my first kid, Cale; my computer's name became Sebastian (which I've decided to name all of my computers in my life); my hockey stick's name became Lucius; and my bike's name became Alexis.  The bike, which was a BMX bike, was beautiful, smooth, powerful, and very flexible.

The more serious I became about biking, though, the more I realized that I needed to upgrade from a BMX bike.  Almost every kid starts out on a BMX bike.  They're easy to ride, good enough to off-road on, and they have a "cool" appeal because you can easily do tricks on a BMX bike.  As I got older biking was less about riding around and doing tricks and looking cool and more about enjoying nature while getting some good exercise.  Because BMX bikes only have one gear, riding long distances or at moderately high speeds can be rather difficult, so I couldn't really enjoy all that much of nature.  Believe it or not, I only bought my current road-bike about 7 months ago in September.  My love of nature has only been a recent maturation, thus I was only recently compelled to get a more suitable bike for my extensive riding.

Since I got the bike (I don't like to say that I 'bought' the bike, because I'm a little weird and like to think that it has a personality of its own) I've struggled with naming it.  Many people would say it makes sense to name the bike a girl, because I'm a guy, but then those same people think I should name my car a girl and I clearly haven't done that.  But I wanted to, because I named my previous bike Alexis, and that is just too beautiful a name to give up on.  Plus, I had used all my favorite boy's names already with Cale, Sebastian, and Lucius.  Decisions decisions.

In the end, I decided that I should stop using names that I simply think sound cool and name the bike that would help me reduce my carbon footprint something meaningful.  I started thinking about the people who have most inspired me in life.  I thought of Dorothy (for Dorothy Day); Will (for William Wilberforce); Wesley (for John Wesley); Artie, and Jess (for my best friends); Biko (for Stephen Biko); and Soren (for Soren Aabye Kierkegaard).  All these names had a certain ring to them, as well as plenty of meaning for me, and some have a ton of meaning for all the world.  Eventually, though, I landed on naming my bike, "Cato."

Now, Wilberforce, Wesley, Biko, Day, and Kierkegaard all have had major influence on the spiritual and political argument for freedom and equal rights and dignity to all, and so would have had lots to say in terms of my current mission on behalf of the 27 million slaves in the world today.  To be honest, I chose Cato partly because I thought it had the best sound to it.

But Cato carries a lot of meaning as well.  You've probably been reading this post wondering, "Why is he telling me about his bike's name?"  Well, my dear readers, the life of Cato the Younger bears a lot of weight on our current situation staring down the terrible and widespread ill of human trafficking.  Cato was a Roman statesman in the time of Julius Caesar.  Even from the early age of 4, Cato was known for his stubbornness.  Never in his life did Cato accept an argument simply because it sounded nice, and never in his life did he accept something for his own personal benefit.  Cato lived simply and righteously, always fighting for the republic of Rome, the rights of the people, against the corruption of the Roman government.  When Julius Caesar and his famous Triumvirate (you don't need to know what the Triumvirate was, I won't be quizzing you) started to gain a monopoly of power over the Roman Empire, Cato risked his political career and his well-being to argue against the influence of Caesar.  We know the end of the story.  We know that Caesar crossed the Rubicon and seized ultimate control of the Roman government.  That fact alone could help you guess what happened to Cato: not long after Caesar took control of Rome, Cato died in opposition to Caesar.  From my Christian perspective it is unfortunate that Cato committed suicide.  According to tradition, though, he took his own life not out of despair but as one final dagger thrust into Caesar's pride and power, making sure that Julius Caesar did not have the opportunity to gain more fame by killing the great Cato.

Throughout the ages, Romans looked to Cato as the model for upholding the republic.  As the Roman Senate lost more and more control and the Emperor used the empire as his own playground, some few upright senators tried to use Cato's example to return the empire to its roots.  Those of us looking back on Cato's engagement in Roman politics might still be disillusioned, because he did not consider equal rights to include women.  "Sure," we might say, "he took it upon himself to bring to trial all those who were contributing to the corruption of the government, all those who exploited others for personal gain, and all those who lived a licentious life, but he didn't fight for equal rights for women or the people that Rome conquered."  I have nothing to say to that.  To some extent all the people we look up to from the past have this crime against their name.  Hopefully we can focus on why Cato should still be a model for our lives.

At a time when everyone preferred to bribe Caesar to save their own lives, Cato railed against Caesar for destroying Rome's republican virtues.  At a time when most people viewed government positions as opportunities to exploit the people and live in obscene luxury, Cato lived only with the simple necessities and brought just about the entire government to trial.  I think Cato is a perfect example for us here and now.  Human trafficking seems to be so widespread, so established, and so profitable, that there's really no hope in eradicating it from our midst.  Yet, Cato continued to fight for what was right no matter what the costs, no matter how tall and steep the mountain he had to climb.

In his early years, as still a teenager, Cato witnessed the dictator-model for Caesar, Sulla, executing noble Romans who opposed him.  Sulla had essentially done what Caesar would later do, he had taken total control of Rome.  In order to gain total control Sulla had to kill all the powerful people that opposed him.  As Cato stood witnessing this, he wondered why no one had killed Sulla, the dictator.  Cato's tutor responded, "They all fear him more than they hate him."  Cato's response, which will stay with me all my days, was, "Give me a sword, that I might free my country from slavery."  The tutor had to remove Cato from the scene, fearing that Cato actually would take up a sword and attempt to kill Sulla.

As a teenager, Cato had no hope to single-handedly fight his way through to Sulla and kill him.  Actually, no matter what age he was, no one could think to do that alone.  Yet Cato so hated the thought of his republican country, founded on the ideal of democracy and the people's rights, could be yoked to the chains of slavery that he was willing to fight to the death, if for no other outcome than to be martyr.   I am a pacifist and do not condone such behavior, but the attitude is one that we need to regain.  We should not be afraid to stand up to the evil forces of our society that seem to be too powerful to conquer.  We should not be afraid to live differently than the people around us and instead choose a harder yet more righteous, more peaceful, more justice-filled, more loving life.  We have the opportunity to take up our metaphorical swords to free our country from slavery.  We should not back down simply because the task seems too great.

Preparing for this bike trip, I've heard a lot of people say something along the lines of, "John, this is great what you're doing, but don't you think it's too much?  Couldn't you bike across just half the country?  Or maybe just a couple of cities?  And do you really think that what you are doing will help any?  Is this really the best way to fight against human trafficking?  You shouldn't take on such a huge project, and you certainly shouldn't take on so much responsibility."  I suppose all I can say to those people is that I am honored to ride as far as I can on the back of Cato.  I'm not afraid to die, if it comes to that (and please God it doesn't!), because anything bad that may happen to me will happen with Cato as my advocate.  If people choose to look down on my efforts as not worthwhile, not meaningful, not powerful enough; if people choose to not donate much more than the casual $20 they can find in their overflowing wallet, I will not despair, I will not give up hope, I will not stop because the wheels of Cato will carry me forward, revolution by revolution.

Human trafficking too big of an issue for one person's efforts to make a difference?  Not with the memory of Cato coming with me into battle to free God's people from slavery.

Monday, April 4, 2011

D.C. Massage Parlor

Here is another piece of news sent to me from Polaris Project.  If you'd like to receive these updates, you can do so at  http://act.polarisproject.org/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=2986.

"A downtown Washington D.C. business has shut down after nearly a year of operation, Change.org reports.
Sky Spa presented itself as a massage parlor. According to a suit brought by the District government, however, the joint functioned as a locus of prostitution. Polaris Project has alleged that it was part of a national network for trafficking Asian women into prostitution, .
Most recently local activists launched a campaign on Change.org asking the business's landlord, Jerry Schaeffer, to shut down the operation and refuse to rent to other such operations in the future.
The so-called spa had the vibe of a place offering something more than just rub-downs. Windows were blacked out, customers were monitored with security cameras, it operated seven days a week until 2 a.m. and catered only to men.
Spas of this sort have a record of "reopen[ing] at the same location under a different name," said Dan Brooks, the activist who created the campaign for grassroots organization DC Stop Modern Slavery."

 When I saw that this article was about a D.C. locale, I first wondered if I had ever heard of Sky Spa.  Then upon realizing that I've never heard of Sky Spa, I thought to myself, "Of course I've never heard of it, I'm a guy.  I don't frequent spas."

Now, I know that some men do frequent spas on occasion.  There's certainly nothing 'unmanly' about receiving a massage or something or another (I really have no idea what other things someone can pay for in a spa), but I hope that I'm not alone in questioning the validity of a spa that only provides for male customers.  Please, someone correct me if there's nothing suspicious in that.  But this Sky Spa place went a number of steps further in blacking out the windows, monitoring the clients on video cameras, and staying open until 3 a.m.  I can't imagine desperately wanting a massage that early in the morning/late at night.  I struggle maintaining faith in humanity when I read that this place was allowed to operate for even a year.  Did it really take that long for people to figure out that this wasn't a normal spa?

Because I've never heard of the place I did a Google search to look it up.  The district isn't the biggest city in the country, so not much is far away from me, but being in the northwest section of D.C. on Massachusetts Avenue, Sky Spa's location on the corner of Connecticut and Rhode Island Northwest is fairly close.  Given my question above, I question whether I should start going to spas that are nearby to help out in discovering these places faster.  Even without giving it much thought I fear that I don't have the courage.  But more discomforting is whether or not I actually care enough to risk myself for the sake of others.  I think that perhaps many people, if they are honest, would come to the same uncomfortable thought.  Do we actually care enough to spend a significant amount of money or to risk ourselves or to 'waste' a few hours of our time to help other human beings who may be held in various forms of captivity?  Without doubt this is a level of selfishness that requires some serious reflection, to deal with it and hopefully conquer it, because my dignity in the image of God can only be maintained if the dignity of others is upheld.

What most strikes at my heart when I looked up the location of Sky Spa, though, are the advertisements I saw on the page that came up when I clicked on Sky Spa.  Sky Spa is listed on the website of a little organization named Spa Hunters.  I had doubts about an organization that would title itself Spa Hunters, as if spas would need to be hunted out from the depths of obscurity and create an underground network of secret spas.  The explanation at the bottom of the page is that it is often hard in metropolitan areas to know which spas are 'worthwhile.'  Taking a quick glance on the page with Sky Spa's information on it, I know exactly what these spa hunters mean by 'worthwhile.' 

A friend of mine who was working with me in the library as I'm typing up this blog entry looked over at me while I was looking disgustedly at the page, and she remarked, "John John, are you looking at porn????!!!!"  Seriously, little else could be concluded from all the advertisements on the Spa Hunter page.  Young Asian women were displayed with very little clothing on, often with the head of the woman cut-off so that you could only see her breasts and mid-section, as the picture advertisement for the other spas advertising.  And these pictures would flash back and forth with words like, "We know how to make you feel GOOD!" and assurances that the spa is open late or 24/7.  One advertisement even claims to be a Swedish spa but with a picture of an Asian woman pushing together her breasts. 

Advertisements like those must work or the spas would stop using them.  The unfortunate truth is that many Asian spas and massage parlors are known to be places of prostitution where you can get a whole lot more than a massage.  These spas aren't even bothering to try and cover that fact up, they are blatantly advertising it as the reason to choose that particular spa, as the reason why that spa is worthwhile.  And when advertising such as this is so successful and widespread, how am I, one person, supposed to change the culture that makes these places of Asian trafficking well-established?

I have no answer to that question.  And because I have no answer I am left feeling depressed at the moment.  But I choose to remain steadfast in my hope that with God I can make a difference, I will make a difference; and that you all reading this can make a difference, will make a difference.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Maryland Case


Polaris Project recently forwarded this news article about a Maryland case of human trafficking.  

'Linthicum, MD -
LINTHICUM, MD (CNN) - A Maryland was been charged with human trafficking when a teenager's mother alerted the police after reading text messages from her daughter.
"The 19 year-old wanted out from New Jersey, and wasn't being allowed to do so," said officer Justin Mulcahy.
That's when Janesha Harris began texting her mom.
"That's amazing that she had that kind of family support," said Joy Lepola
Court documents detail how Harris was warned by the other girls that leaving was not that  easy.
"They got involved in this, they're lured in, whether it's through money or lifestyle and there's also drugs and alcohol involved," Mulcahy said. "There comes a point where they do want out, and we have had cases in the past where they've been held against their will, as in this particular case."
Harris said 26 year-old Edward Perkins told her he operated an escort business and that she could make "mad" money. She also explained how he supplied her with alcohol and drugs.
"It appears that the adult male was using BackPage.com as a sort of a front for prostitution," Mulcahy said.
Harris told police that Perkins photographed her in erotic positions and then posted the photos on BackPage.com.
Court records indicate Perkins also listed the prices for certain services and a phone number for clients to call. Those clients would then be steered to a hotel where they would meet up with the girls.
"I can't say that every hotel property has this kind of problem, but certainly there are significant problems within many hotels where women and girls are being exploited on a regular basis, and their pimps are operating unchecked," Mulcahy said.'

Though I live in D.C., I've never heard of Linthicum, Maryland before.  I looked it up and found out that it's very near Baltimore.  I suppose that I'm not surprised: cities are the focal point of trafficking operations.  But reading this story about a suburb that I have never heard of, though I have lived in this area for a couple of years, only confirms for me that this terrible evil does indeed go on all around us.

I can't say that reading a lot of stories and books about human trafficking has desensitized me at all to stories like that of Janesha Harris.  All I can say is thank God she had the opportunity to contact her family, and thank God she had family to still care for her.