Tunnel of Love
Susan Finkelstein and husband.His coffee cup is very small.
The scarlet letter was her passport into regions
where other women dared not tread.
Shame, Despair, Solitude!
--Scarlett Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
You better run for your life if you can, little girl
Hide your head in the sand little girl
Catch you with another man
That's the end, little girl
--Run for Your Life, The Beatles
My dear...
The end
Comes near...
--The End, Pearl Jam
_______________
Another entry in Ranger's continuing effort to uncover misogyny in these freedom loving times.
To wit, the case of Susan Finkelstein arrested last October for solicitation after she placed an ad in Craigslist for World series tickets: "DESPERATE BLONDE NEEDS WS TIX."
Alert officer Michael Brady of Pennsylvania's Bensalem Township Police Department—"Bob"— was trolling the site for prostitution when he typed in the word "blonde" and found Mrs. Finkelstein's urgent request (What else would one type in when looking for bimbos?) After she emailed him three photos of her breasts, they met a local mall.
Bob told the court that Finkelstein was willing to trade anal sex and threesomes in exchange for his tickets. "When Finkelstein, 44, learned of another ticket that Bob's "brother' had, she said the siblings could 'DP' her, Brady said. 'DP' is short for 'double penetration,' he explained," according to the Philadelphia Daily News (Blonde in sex-for-tix case offered 3-way, cop says.)
Before the case went to trial last week, the charges had been demoted from prostitution (a second degree offense) to misdemeanors of the third degree (carrying a possible sentence of up to a year in jail.) Her attorney, William Brennan, was delighted at the reduction, reasoning, "You can be a slut." And so it goes, and charges against Mrs. Finkelstein were dropped this week.
After WW II, "DP" stood for "displaced person". In the 70's, DP stood for Diversified Products of Opelika, Alabama, a company owned by former Alabama Governor Fob James. Times have changed.
It seems that the Pittsburgh police are even more anal than Ms. Finkelstein in their pursuit of victimless crimes such as this. It is a false concern. Law enforcement should focus on hate crimes, not love crimes -- or what passes for love in Pittsburgh. The love of the game, love for a reliably mediocre team. The love that surpasseth all understanding.
(Ranger does wonder what this enterprising woman would have done for five tickets? What if they were in the end zone?)
Do the police have nothing better to do with their investigative unit than to catch a broad trying to bag some tickets? It is salacious and misogynistic to bust women for plying their side of a trade a deux. As a post on the Support Susan Finkelstein Facebook page read:
To wit, the case of Susan Finkelstein arrested last October for solicitation after she placed an ad in Craigslist for World series tickets: "DESPERATE BLONDE NEEDS WS TIX."
Alert officer Michael Brady of Pennsylvania's Bensalem Township Police Department—"Bob"— was trolling the site for prostitution when he typed in the word "blonde" and found Mrs. Finkelstein's urgent request (What else would one type in when looking for bimbos?) After she emailed him three photos of her breasts, they met a local mall.
Bob told the court that Finkelstein was willing to trade anal sex and threesomes in exchange for his tickets. "When Finkelstein, 44, learned of another ticket that Bob's "brother' had, she said the siblings could 'DP' her, Brady said. 'DP' is short for 'double penetration,' he explained," according to the Philadelphia Daily News (Blonde in sex-for-tix case offered 3-way, cop says.)
Before the case went to trial last week, the charges had been demoted from prostitution (a second degree offense) to misdemeanors of the third degree (carrying a possible sentence of up to a year in jail.) Her attorney, William Brennan, was delighted at the reduction, reasoning, "You can be a slut." And so it goes, and charges against Mrs. Finkelstein were dropped this week.
After WW II, "DP" stood for "displaced person". In the 70's, DP stood for Diversified Products of Opelika, Alabama, a company owned by former Alabama Governor Fob James. Times have changed.
It seems that the Pittsburgh police are even more anal than Ms. Finkelstein in their pursuit of victimless crimes such as this. It is a false concern. Law enforcement should focus on hate crimes, not love crimes -- or what passes for love in Pittsburgh. The love of the game, love for a reliably mediocre team. The love that surpasseth all understanding.
(Ranger does wonder what this enterprising woman would have done for five tickets? What if they were in the end zone?)
Do the police have nothing better to do with their investigative unit than to catch a broad trying to bag some tickets? It is salacious and misogynistic to bust women for plying their side of a trade a deux. As a post on the Support Susan Finkelstein Facebook page read:
"Sex is used by both, women and men, for advancement and never punishable. Sex has been used to further relationships, by those seeking new cars, engagement rings, jewelry, etc. therefore there is NO REASON this woman should be maliciously prosecuted as she is being done so now."
Why do we play these games? John Edwards' bimbo gets a gig in GC magazine this month, and was bought off during Edwards campaign by high rolling supporters, yet we damn this poor "slut" for working-for-tickets.
Charges against Finkelstein were dismissed this week.
But the case demonstrates hypocrisy of the first degree.
Labels: hypocrisy, police, susan finkelstein
posted by rangeragainstwar at 9:55 PM
7 Comments:
I wonder how prevalent misogyny would be in a matriarchal society? Along with unprovoked wars... domestic abuse...and other ills perpetuated mostly by men?
I am just asking....:)
RangerHazen,
An interesting question.
I can say that many of my sisters are, unfortunately, catty, petty and bitchy [not me, however :)]. So misogyny would exist, but I do not know if would be to a lesser, equal or greater degree in a matriarchy.
Competition and self-loathing are traits built into to some humans, and I'm sure would manifest regardless of the prevailing gender dominance.
Certainly the urge to perpetrate domestic violence is not the sole domain of men, as stats show gay and lesbian couples engage in this misery, too. Perhaps even more than gender dominance we are talking about power imbalance, which manifest in occupation, domination, subjugation and all the rest. Would women also segregate along such lines? Perhaps.
However, what I feel might be reduced in a pure matriarchy would be the impulse to war, if one goes on the studies that say women are more disposed to enter into negotiations and dialog, and tend to obey power scaffolding vs. fight to tear it down.
What do you think, RH?
I think it's a bit of a stretch to label donut-eaters enforcing prostitution laws as misogynistic. would they have ignored a man willing to trade sex for icescapade tickets (harhar) or a man advertising a willingness to "give" gift certificates for "free" toothless blowjobs. of all the misogyny going on, this is like not even on the radar screen. there are reasons why shit like this needs to be controlled in some form. it's called disease, public safety (some of these "solo" women end up getting hurt/robbed) and helping maintain some sense of social morality so we might have a chance at a future. you wonder why things have turned into what they are, and why it seems nobody cares about our young people dying/killing in a corporate PR war. Haven't you noticed how most people care about nothing except getting off and buying bullshit that makes them feel/look cool?
i'm not advocating making sure everybody sign-in with an accounting of all personal belongings when they're gonna screw, but if you're publicly advertising trading sex for goods/cash on the internet, that should at least get you a fucking ticket. har har. pun allowed to happen naturally.
Lisa,
Maybe you live in a different world, but my observations indicate that many of the most misogynistic, power/control hungry people around are women. Now, the insults and injuries manifest themselves differently but are just as cruel all the same when the power and opportunity is there. And I'm sure a lot of this has to do with the culture we live in now and the way we've been brought up, and not necessarily indicative of some genetic trait. We are seriously screwed-up in the head and are in need of some intense self-reevaluation. As much as I have hope in women being a beacon of logic in the future, today, you ladies are just as screwed up as us. generally speaking, of course. personally, i'm a perfect human being who can't be bothered with things such as grammar and sperlling.
Lisa,
Upon reflection we should have titled this entry-A TICKET TO RIDE.
jim
Anon,
I do not oppose your thinking. We are all messed up, today, and this can't be dealt with in a simple post.
But my idea is not to have contest to see which gender can be the most misogynistic, but simply to recognize that all are collusive to one degree or another in maintaining the behavior.
My hope is that men can be a beacon of logic + enter into relationships in which both aid the other in manifesting their best selves.
Too much competition and fear denies that possibility.
Anon,
This is a bit dreamy:
You says cops crack down on prostitution due to, "disease, public safety (some of these "solo" women end up getting hurt/robbed) and helping maintain some sense of social morality so we might have a chance at a future."
STDs are rampant in your non-solicitation community; "solo" solicitors may not get abused as often as those with pimps, and I'd like to know about this sense of "social morality" that will blossom when the World's Oldest profession is contained.
After all, prostitution dries up the day the market does.
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