I’m definitely one of McGinn’s biggest supporters. But I don’t cover all or even most of the McGinn stories, and I was all set to pass on the story about how the city pulled ads from The Seattle Weekly. I mean maybe he should have waited until after the meeting, but it’s pretty clear that backpage.com’s policies are a problem. And the city doesn’t have an obligation to spend money advertising with them.
It seems like such an obvious thing that of course you can get behind it. But then I went on Facebook and Twitter where I saw that some people I usually like, despite disagreeing about McGinn in general, had a lot of nonsense to say. So, I just want to address a few things:
This isn’t about silencing an opponent in the media. The Seattle Times still gets advertising money from the city, as it should. If VVM and backpage.com can do a better job of making sure its ads are from people 18 and older, they’ll probably get advertising money back. If not, then we can demonize McGinn.
The mayor isn’t picking and choosing what weekly papers he’s supporting. The Stranger has policies in place to ensure people in its adult service ads are over 18. Even if they didn’t, 2 wrongs don’t make a right.
This isn’t about sex negativity. Good lord.
This may be a part of McGinn’s brash style. As I said, I understand the argument that he should have waited until the meeting with them. If you’re not a fan of that style in general (although I am), I can see why you wouldn’t like the way he made this decision. Still, it’s the right call and not even close.
Finally, nobody thinks this move will solve child prostitution, in general or in Seattle. But the cynical bullshit machine always makes similar arguments for inaction on every issue. Instead of evaluating this on if it’s good policy smart people, who I generally like, are evaluating it on if it’s perfect policy. No, it isn’t. Nobody expects a single move to solve everything. It’s part of a larger strategy that also includes adding cops to troubled areas and updating the SOAP (not the mayor’s office, but a city policy).
The city of Seattle, or any city, has an obligation to keep it’s citizens informed of it’s going-ons, it doesn’t have an obligation to provide ad revenue to media. Cities also do not have an obligation to sit down with companies and hold their hands while explaining why they can not do business with them. The laws are clear cut and if businesses wish to do business with cities they should make themselves informed of the laws and operate within them.
Good for mayor McGinn. No need to waste the city’s time and the people’s money on this.
Carl
Other than McGinn’s very impressive weight loss, I fail to see why you are impressed.
I know you do not like the tunnel. Other than that, it is hard to see much reason why you or anyone would be his fan.
He ran on the idea that the city could provide leadership in the SPS. Not so much.
He has allowed Vulcan to run wild in SLU, with NO pressure on them they have built and continue to build a sterile neighborhood. I asked an architect the other day about the cheap looking materials down there. The architect (who must be anon) told me these4 buildings are specked for only about 30 yrs. They will be here then but not nice to look at.
His complicity with the Wright=-Chihuly boondoggle is a bad sign for Seattle’s future .. only rivaled by his new proposal to allow street level residential housing in new high rises.
So tell me .. what is to like?
Stop your nonsense, Carl. Nobody “hates” him. The overwhelming majority of Seattle voters I talk to think he’s a shitty mayor, and will hasten to replace him at the first opportunity.
If you find comfort in an ever-dwindling minority, and if you feel that you must rationalize it in some way, hey, knock yourself out.
Where the rubber hits the road here is that coercion needs to be differentiate from consensual. It should be illegal for adults or children to be coerced into doing anything, from working in coal mines to sex work. And any harmless consensual work adults decide to do should not be criminalized, including sex work.
Where what McGinn did stinks is the idea that eliminating all sex work ads from venues like Back Page is the way to end child exploitation. The real way to stop this is to provide abused and troubled children some place to go other than the streets. This is an age old problem that no one has ever wanted to face. It seems easier to punt it to the criminal “justice” system than come up with an effective, humane solution.
@3 – Apparently you don’t read the comments in the Seattle Times. I’m not a fan of McGinn; but it’s nonsense to claim that there aren’t plenty of people who have a hatred of the guy that at least borders on the irrational, (to put it kindly).
@4 – You wrote, “Where what McGinn did stinks is the idea that eliminating all sex work ads from venues like Back Page is the way to end child exploitation.”
What stinks is your logic. McGinn never claimed to be attempting to do what you’re criticizing him for attempting to do.
@5 – I read the comments in the Seattle Times plenty. Most of those people are just dumb-ass peckerwoods who don’t even live in King County. So I don’t give a shit what they think. They hate everybody who isn’t a mouth-breathing gomer like they are, so I don’t worry that it’s necessarily directed against McGinn. That lot has hated every single mayor of Seattle since the Times started a comment thread.
Mr. Jew: In neighborhoods, sterile is good. that way there won’t be any new little neighborhoods running around needing a place to settle down. New neighborhoods always attract undesirable neighbors. You should know about that.
As for Dr. McGinn: He will face the voters in due time, and barring a miracle, will be sent back to the Long Island stump ranch of his birth.
I’ve never seen backpage.com, and I don’t plan to. But I’ve always been a bit puzzled about shutting this down (or others like it, such as the Google brouhaha a few years ago) as being a smart law-enforcement strategy.
Normally, police have to spend lots of man-hours and money cultivating sources, working the streets, interrogating suspects or others who might have knowledge, to ferret out any ongoing illegal activity. Here, for the price of one paper, they can get the same info, and set up stings and make arrests, as well as rescue the victims.
Am I missing something?