Prostitution Massage Parlors Illustrated

I get irritated with how social networking works nowadays.

You're expected to be available 24/7, either via phone or online. People want to talk to you when you want to be alone, and people never talk to you when you feel particularily social. I guess this is my own perspective, but I've lost patience with the whole game.

I put up the event for my party this summer, how exciting! I invited... seventy people. Crazy right? I've never had a plan that could potentially include 70 people! Hopefully I'll get a good turnout and it's not too painfully crowded. I just want everyone to have a good time and start off the summer on the right foot. I'm always afraid my parties will be lame. I was DEFINATELY impressed by how last year's party went, so hopefully this one will be twice as good.

In comparison to last year, this year I'm much more confident and excited for what's to come. Last year sucked because there was no end in sight to the life I was living. Now, I'm pleased that I still have three months here, but I'm also content with the fact that a lot of my relationships will potentially change. These people at home will go there own way, and I'll go my own. Katharine told me to savor the time I have left here, and use these hours the best I can, make the best choices etc... I've been trying. I do my thing; take lessons, learn Japanese, get college stuff in check. Avoid wasting too much time. Get in the best shape of my life. Grow hair out, keep it healthy. Don't stay out all night. Don't drink. Don't pop pills. Smoke herb to relax, practice a lot of guitar. Do exercises online. Listen to music. Learn how to do my damn makeup. Do chores.

Yeah, I like my life right now, so I find my blogs are getting boring. So I'll tell you what else has been going on.

At work yesterday some weird blonde guy came in, he looked strung out or coming off some drugs or something. In very bad shape. Looked like a meth head to me, of course I wouldn't say that to Tammy. He came in to buy some stuff, and I showed him the same respect that I would anyone else. I sent him on his way, and he started going on and on and wasting my time talking about all his problems and I'm like "Wow, I'm so sorry... I hope your night gets better..." blah blah blah. Same garbage that I say every day. He comes back, like 20 minutes later, saying he needs me to call an ambulance for him. Note that we're like... a freaking block away from the hospital. He's standing, he's FINE. He told us he felt weak and that he felt like he was going to pass out. We called the ambulance, they came in 2 minutes, and we went on with business as usual.

 I bet medics have to deal with these type of druggies all the time. That trip in the ambulance probably cost $4,000. You think he has insurance? Probably not. That's the type of dumb bullshit our tax dollars go to. How pathetic.

 

Today I want to talk about prostitution.

I watched a documentary about human trafficking in America, titled "Trafficked: Slavery in America." I've watched many documentaries about prositution before, but they always had your steriotypical white trash trucker prostitutes. Whenever I saw these documentaries I'd always think to myself, "Why in the Hell would anyone be that desperate to go for a women like that?" Scummy truckers on the road who have dollars to spend, probably a wife at home, but is willing to settle for pretty much anything.

But what about inner city prositution? This was the first documentary that gave me an inside look at an illegal Asian prostitution business. I'll post some pictures and talk about how inner city prostitution works.

Disguised as massage parlors, prostitution establishments seek selling sex for cash. The better the disguise, the longer the business has potential to run before being shut down by the authorities. Prositution is illegal, therefore it is a shady and dangerous business. The pictures below are taken from a business called "VIP Massage" which only appeared to last a small amount of time before it was busted.

When prostitution is suspected, authorities go to the establishment dressed as "Johns" (a codename for men buying sex. Nameless, impersonal. They pay, they have sex, and leave). They look for signs of prostitution such as....

ATM machines in the lobby.

It'd be unusual for a legitamite massage parlor have an atm right there where people can access quick and easy cash without the paper trail of using debit and credit cards. Cash is the most liquid asset that can be used practically anywhere, which is why illegal trafickers only use it.



Cramped living quarters.

This is where the girls sleep and spend most of their time when they're not selling their bodies. Their makeup bags and suicases hold all of their belongings, just in case they have to make a quick getaway.

Simple products converted into capsules to hold condoms. They buy condoms bulk instead of individually wrapped.

The clorox bottle above is filled with used condom wrappers. The investigators cut it open to illustrate this. Notice all the disgusting toilet paper all over the ground.

Lack of identification. None of the so-called "massage practitioners" have their license or I.D. This proves someone else is in control, probably holding any information the girls have and threatening them that the American government isn't going to help them without a passport. The girls then live in fear, selling their bodies and working 20 hour days, hoarding all the cash they can to bring home to whatever country they're from.  

In the documentary authorities raided the building and tried interviewing the woman that seemed to be in charge. The girls that were caught are scared and refuse to cooperate.

A few of the girls and a "Mama san." The girls let her do all the talking, as they're probably instructed to do.

Many times the foriegn people play dumb, as if they don't see the evidence right in front of them and drag out the cherade all they can. The girls appear very scared, though play along.

The problem with "playing dumb" is that the authorities had been to the salon previously disguised as Johns and the girls spoke perfect English to them. Fail. Once they get the girls away from the Mama San, they often ask to be taken home.

The demand for the sex is often fueled by men of all different backgrounds. From what I've seen, the most common customers are older middle aged men seeking sex with much younger women then their wives are likely to be. For this reason, it's often hard to shut down the bigger name "massage parlors" because they have so much money. 

Below are some pictures from the Sunflower Massage Parlor in San Fransisco, a place that blatantly went against the law but hired good enough lawyers that it took three times to shut them down.

The front. Advertised on their website as being open 7 days a week, from 9:30 am-11:30 pm. That means the girls here are having to work those rigorous hours with little break. On the website people can customize their experience down to choosing the girl's bra size.

Inside Sunflower Massage. A dimly lit room where women of various ages wait for their services to be provided.

Girl that was recorded during a raid of Sunflower. She doesn't appear particularily afraid like at VIP massage, she looks more irritated that it's happening again.

It was a "House of prosititution" right in the shadow of city hall. Could you imagine walking into this place expecting a real massage parlor? Woops!

Another view of their living quarters. Their are hidden cameras everywhere so it's very hard for a girl to escape if she wants to. The people that run it know exactly where the girls are at all hours of the day, having been convinced to get involved in their business. You wonder how many of them actually enjoy what they're doing.

Just thought that was interesting to share on this blog. The documentary was fantastically done and I give full credit to them for these pictures of course. The Sunflower massage parlor got shut down by the authorities and left San fransisco immediately. They now reside in Worthing, in the United Kingdom. 







I'm going to call Lindy and see if she'd like to take a walk.

peace.