It really IS time to divide California in two; or probably, three. The swath from Santa Cruz way north up the coast to Arcata - and the patch jutting across the San Francisco Bay to Berkeley - should be joined together in the new state of Nutopia.

I say this for many reasons. Such as: The Sex Workers Outreach Project has placed an advisory initiative on the November ballot in Berkeley urging the city "repeal" local laws against prostitution and "support efforts toward the statewide repeal of prostitution laws."

Measure 10, also known as Angel's Initiative, stems from concerns about crimes committed against prostititutes. SWOP argues that because hookers fear prosecution for their illegal work, they are scared to come forward to police if they are victims of a crime themselves.

The Measure also asserts that ".....the State of California, and the City of Berkeley face a severe financial crisis, and should not allocate precious resources for the senseless enforcement of victimless crimes."

Some Berkeley residents - although unfortunately perhaps a minority - are more concerned with the social costs of prostitution in their neighborhoods, and want to see more enforcement, rather than less or none. Here's columnist Chip Johnson in today's San Francisco Chronicle.

As noble an undertaking as it sounds, the prospect of unpoliced street prostitution along the San Pablo Avenue corridor...scares the socks right off West Berkeley residents already dealing with a steady wave of libido-driven street activities.

...And while it may come as no surprise to most people, except perhaps... (Berkeley Commission On The Status of Women) members, the neighborhood residents who already navigate past rocking cars and working girls think it's a really bad idea.

Even when activity is light, there is...the residuals of prostitution activity: Syringes and condoms litter the sidewalk, and the remnants of smashed liquor bottles are strewn across the neighborhood -- not a good environment for a neighborhood that hosts a school for deaf children.

...(One resident says) "if the city becomes known as prostitute-friendly, Berkeley is going to have a big problem on its hands, and it's going to be right in the middle of our neighborhood.''

Tax-paying homeowners increasingly come last in urban Blue America. This attempt to enshrine - at their expense - the streetwalker "victims" of Berkeley, is only one example.

Prostitution is a stupid personal choice, undoubtedly made after a series of other stupid personal choices. Anyone who enters the trade understands the trade-offs: potentially high earnings, and uh, "flexible" working conditions; versus the possible consequences of criminal activity, plus exposure to assorted thiefs, batterers and serial killers.

The Sex Workers Outreach Project is treating the symptoms of poor choices by the parents of women who got into the sex trade, and by the women themselves. If SWOP really cares about prostitutes, it should dissolve and redirect its resources toward grassroots advocacy stressing the importance of birth control, education and parenting.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at August 16, 2004 08:37 AM

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