Donald Trump has not been accused of paying for sex, but several supporters protesting outside of his trial on Monday wanted to make it clear that they have. It seems the crowds that come out to protest the persecution of the former president are getting smaller, and weirder. Richard Hall writes

Donald Trump has not been accused of paying for sex, but several supporters protesting outside of his trial on Monday wanted to make it clear that they have. It seems the crowds that come out to protest the persecution of the former president are getting smaller, and weirder

…

Today, however, the crowd had thinned to a handful of true believers and true characters – those who don’t leave their house without a giant flag, a bullhorn, and an offensive T-shirt they made themselves.

It’s not only that the crowds are getting smaller, it’s that they are getting significantly weirder.

Of the people willing to step up to a microphone outside the courthouse and defend Mr Trump for allegedly paying off a porn star to hide his alleged affair from prospective voters, two offered something of a wild defence: that they opposed the charges because they too had paid for sex on more than one occasion, and assumed most men had done the same.

It didn’t matter to them that Mr Trump is not being accused of paying for sex, but rather accused of having embarked on several extra-marital affairs and falsifying business records over payments made to hide those affairs from the voting public in 2016.

  • frezik
    243·
    6 months ago

    Human trafficking is there, anyway. The victims tend to be afraid, because they’re forced to do otherwise illegal things, and therefore don’t want to come forward. So what often happens under legalization is that a whole bunch of victims suddenly come out, which is now recorded as an increase in human trafficking.

    • FiniteBanjo
      426·
      6 months ago6 months ago

      So you’re saying it’s okay to torture and rape even more women and children because there were already women and children being raped and tortured anyways? I’m not seeing the logic, mate.

      Studies show increases in the country where humans are sourced from, not explainable by “victims suddenly coming out”.

      • frezik
        193·
        6 months ago

        No, try to read more carefully.

            • FiniteBanjo
              12·
              6 months ago

              As if 20 down arrows would change how I feel about human trafficking.

              • HuntressHimbo
                21·
                6 months ago

                It might have encouraged you to notice that they are saying that the increase you are talking about is likely a statistical anomaly caused by the depressive effect sex work being illegal has on victims coming forward.

                Put simply, sex work being illegal is beneficial to human traffickers because it keeps victims from seeking help. If you are a victim of a crime you’re more likely to come forward when you are not likely to get charged yourself for the trouble of being trafficked.

                • FiniteBanjo
                  12·
                  6 months ago6 months ago

                  I’ve already explained that the victims coming forward does not account for the increase in human trafficking from countries where they’re being sourced from. Plus, it’s not just a 5% uptick, in many cases the number is several times or magnitudes higher than before legalization of prostitution.

                  What is happening is demand is being created far faster than domestic supply.