Drug Dealers, Prostitutes, Thieves, etc...

[Macfistowannabe]

Do you believe that their occupations are their only choice?
Is it all black and white?

I don't want to debate the legality, but I do however want to have a meaningful discussion on the core questions I asked you.

 

[all_i_want]

it is not black or white. it might have been the only choice they have at one time, and then this one choice took them down a wrong road.

i dont think people CHOOSE to be a drug dealer, a thief or a prostitute. some conditions lead them that way and the societies are just not forgiving and understanding enough to accept them even if they were to give up these occupations. in ZC there was this guy who complained about a girl he liked who turned out to be a prostitute, and he judged that girl so harshly and he wasnt exactly a conservative or anything either.

what is black and white for me is the situations where people who have everything steal from others. it is not out of necessity, it is out of greed. circumstances, the context, matter.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Is anyone's occupation their only choice? There are usually choices. The people I've known who are/were drug dealers and prostitutes absolutely made conscious choices for these professions. I've known two prostitutes, one male and one female, and lots of pot dealers (I guess it sounds like I run with a low life crowd and while I certainly do not, I guess I have been around ).

The two prostitutes were/are white, upper middle class, and college educated. The girl is--I swear--a physics grad working for the state and used to prostitute on the side because, she says, she enjoyed it. Like many prostitutes, she was also sexually abused as a child and this was a way for her to work through some of those issues--i.e., being empowered sexually. The guy was a dancer who died last year but he was a gay male prostitute on the side. He started out doing it because it was fun and he made a lot of money, but the darker side of it sucked him in.

One young drug dealer I know sold pot for a year to earn enough money to go to Europe for 3 months, which he did. When he returned, he stopped dealing and went back to school.

So those are 3 examples of people who had/have many options in life but chose these professions for varying reasons.

I don't think I've ever known a professional thief, though.

 

[melon]

All I know is that, in Columbia, a lot of those involved in drugs do it for the money. You can make an awful lot of money in drugs, whereas legitimate work does not yield even a fraction of that money. The same goes with FARC-controlled territory. I've read that they mostly do it to fund their de facto government and war (some FARC areas have been under their control for 30 years or more), and that many people lament that their drug cultivation is so globally destructive. Yet, they feel there is no viable and realistic alternative to what they are doing.

Melon

 

[Macfistowannabe]

The people I've known who are/were drug dealers and prostitutes absolutely made conscious choices for these professions. I've known two prostitutes, one male and one female, and lots of pot dealers (I guess it sounds like I run with a low life crowd and while I certainly do not, I guess I have been around ).

No, I don't think knowing those kinds of people makes anyone a low-life. Your incite is exactly what I'm after.

 

[deep]

 

[BVS]

Nothings black and white.

 

[earthshell]

in ZC there was this guy who complained about a girl he liked who turned out to be a prostitute, and he judged that girl so harshly and he wasnt exactly a conservative or anything either.

That would be me. i don't see the big deal in judging people, i think we all have a right to an opinion and self expression.

yet i received comments like "just because she's a prostitute doesn't mean she's a whore"

come on!


anyways...

in my case, it was in fact her choice, which was a letdown. i think it botherd me more that she moved in order to do it rather than just doing it.

yes, people choose these occupations. they don't just wake up a drug dealer or a whore (i'm sorry, A PROSTITUTE) or whatever. they're eather in it for the money or they like the sex or the drugs. i've known plenty of drug dealers in my life, and trust me, if they could give it up for a normal living, they wouldn't.

everybody is required to attend school in order to make a living in life. you don't have to be a fucking einstein to work at mcdonalds. it may make life hard, but that's life. if you want more money - at least in this society - you either have to work your ass off or you have to be a sleaze.

i honestly don't give a crap if someone is a drug dealer or whatever, it's a personal choice. it doesn't hurt anyone. a thief... i have issues with those types obviously. i've had a car stolen once, and yes the asshole chose to steal it from me.

 

[BAW]

The thieves and drug dealers I have been acquainted with in my life (and I've known a LOT of them) absolutely have a choice. They do it because they are lazy, its easy and they have a sense of entitlement....that guy has a nice car and a good stereo/I don't therefore I'm going to take it because he can always buy another one. I also know people who were taught from an early age to take what they could get..if you see an unlocked car, its fair game. They start shoplifting in grade school and by high school, they're stealing cars. Of course they have other choices but when you've never been taught right from wrong, your future doesn't look very promising.

The drug dealers deal drugs because people buy them and depending on if they have their own habit to support, they can a) make enough to stay high or b) make good money with minimal effort.

I have a relative who was a prostitute by choice. She had mainly older, wealthy clients and earned a six figure income, enough to drive a brand new Mercedes and buy a house at 22. She was always flying off to Vegas or Hawaii to meet a "date" and as far as I can tell, enjoyed her lifestyle. But, like joyfulgirl said, she was sexually abused as a child so I can't help but think her profession might have been guided by what happened to her.

I have also known a couple of girls who either did it to support a drug habit or to support their kids and/or a lazy boyfriend and they certainly didn't enjoy it or get off on the sex. They pretty much hated themselves but were convinced they had no other choice. I've never been in that desperate of a situation so I could never pass judgement on them.