Sex tourism thriving in Bible Belt

[deadparrot]

ATLANTA (Reuters) - In a sleazy hotel room, "Brittany," then aged 16 and drugged into oblivion, waited for the men to arrive. Her pimps sent as many as 17 clients an evening through the door.

A "john" could even pre-book the pretty young blonde for $1,000 a night, sometimes flying in and then flying out from a nearby airport.

None of this happened in Bangkok or Costa Rica, places that have become synonymous with sex tourism and underage sex.

It took place in Atlanta, the buckle of the U.S. Bible Belt, where the world's busiest passenger airport provides a cheaper, more convenient and safer underage sex destination for men seeking girls as young as 10.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/crime_sextourism_dc

[brentspeak]

1. Well, Atlanta is hardly the "buckle" of the Bible Belt

Nevertheless, this is a horrible thing that's happening down there.

[yellowcanine]

3. Someone whould tell Ralph Reed so that he can look into this right

away.:sarcasm:

[hwmnbn]

4. Methinks Ralph Reed and all the other ....

Christian faker asshole demagogues already know about this location. I wouldn't be surprised if some haven't availed themselves of said "services."

The uptight, sexually hung-up holy repugs are notorious for kinkiness.

[LiberalFighter]

44. boys or girls?

[brentspeak]

5. s/d

[Blue_Tires]

6. agreed

having lived there for a few years in the 90s, I can attest to Atlanta's immense sex scene for people of all tastes, turn-ons, and tax brackets (gay, straight, and anything in between)...I would rank it up there with almost any U.S. city (naturally, Atlanta likes to maintain an air of semi-respectibility, and tries to keep the scene under wraps as compared to the LA, Vegas, and Miamis of the world.

[toopers]

28. I think you meant to say . . .

"gay, straight, and anything outside of these dimensions".

[Blue_Tires]

36. lol...that works, too

[Up2Late]

54. Yes, I heard we have the most Strippers per-capita in Atlanta, and...

...the Hookers (sorry, Escorts) advertise in the Yellow Pages, the AJC Classifieds and the Free Weekly "Creative Loafing" here.

Last time I looked, I think there were well over 20 pages of "Escorts" listed, and almost as many "Full Body Massage" ads too.:evilgrin:

BTW, Hookers are O.K. in Buddhism, as long as you pay with your own money (though I still haven't tested that little "loop hole" since becomming a Buddhist).

[Iris]

9. I agree.

Calling Atlanta the buckle of the Bible Belt is just plain silly. It's a major metropolitan area - and sadly, has a lot of the ugliness of any other major city in the US and elsewhere.

[CottonBear]

11. Whoever wrote that article has never been to Georgia or Atlanta.

Buckle of the Bible belt my ass. :rofl:
Atlanta is known far and wide for its strip clubs and its bar and club scene.

edit: The story of the young women is heartbreaking. I would guess that Atlanta is only one of 1,000s of US cities where this happens. :(

[Roland99]

13. Quite the juxtaposition in the Atlanta area, though.

There are many of those pseudo-Christians running about down there.

[CottonBear]

15. I know. I live in Georgia.

I don't have to deal with fundies in my day to day life but they are around. Mostly, they seem to have the ear of our idiotic GOP state legislators. :(

[Roland99]

16. evolution stickers anyone?

;)

[CottonBear]

17. I live in a blue city! We've got lots of Darwain fish here! n/t

[Roland99]

19. I was visiting my daughter's friend's family in Norcross last summer.

Lots of Jesus gear around.

[CottonBear]

20. Norcross is in red Gwinnett Colunty, OTP (outside the perimeter.) n/t

[Roland99]

25. Well, it's still metro Atlanta and it's certainly Georgia. ;-)

[toopers]

29. Yeah, but "metro-Atlanta" . . .

includes about 20 counties and almost stretches to Athens in the east, the Alabama state line in the west, Kennesaw to the north, and Macon to the south. It is a ridiculously large area.

[Up2Late]

55. "...Kennesaw to the north...???" When was you last visit? I goes way past

...Kennesaw these days. Metro Atlanta is up close to Cartersville now in the North-west, and Cumming in the North.

Here's my favorite Atlanta Sprawl joke:

Did you hear? They are thinking of re-naming the city if Alpharetta to Quivering...

Why?
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.....punch-line below.....
.
.
.
.
.
.
Why?

Because it's so close to Cumming. :evilgrin:

[toopers]

58. Great joke . .

BTW, I live hear. I was being approximate.

[liberal N proud]

2. When ever my girls don't understand why they can't run around

I show them stories like this to make them understand.
They are old enough to drug into these things, they are old enough to know this happens to girls.

[donsu]

8. way back in the late 30s , 40s my mom warned me of 'white slavers'

she said they liked to steal blonde girls.

thank you mom

I warned my boys of pedophiles.

[catmandu57]

7. I've always had the suspicion that this whole reptilian thing

was about sex, not only sex, but cheap lurid kinky sex. What better way to get cheap lurid sex than to have a country full of broken desperate people willing to sell themselves.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

12. the reptilians rule---at least for now---

but at the rate their going it won't be long until
they destroy themselves and everything they've built.--

[TrogL]

38. Did I just drop into an alternative universe - again?

Please explain the "reptilian" reference. :scared:

[RandomKoolzip]

47. Oh, icke. That's nonsense.

[Fenris]

48. Can I sell you some monatomic gold?

[RandomKoolzip]

49. New! New! New! Beat the Flu!

[Fenris]

51. Alkalize your body with the natural power of fruit and vegetables!

[donsu]

10. Jesse Helms helped create the sex industry in asia

nt

[QuettaKid]

39. do tell ! ! !

what's this about Jesse Helms and the sex trade in Asia?

[rodeodance]

14. so why isn't Gonzalas onto this?

[saigon68]

18. He's actually "ONTO and "INTO" some of these children

[DS1]

21. Georgia is the ONLY state where I've ever seen strip club signs on I-95

oh yeah
truckers welcome

wonder how truckers feel about being considered second-class citizens

[BulletproofLandshark]

22. I've seen them on I-95 in the Carolinas.

24-hour clubs no less!

[DS1]

24. ahh, I stand corrected

Still, it's tacky

[smirkymonkey]

53. What does your sig picture mean?

Maybe I'm a little obtuse, but I am going crazy trying to figure it out. :banghead:

[jsamuel]

26. Florida on I-75

on your way to Disney World

[Critters2]

32. Wisconsin

near the Illinois line on a bunch of roads. Near the "Bong Recreation Area". I love that.

[EOTE]

41. I used to live in Wisconsin....

Whenever I'd drive to Illinois or on my way back to Wisconsin, I'd see that sign and laugh. One time I decided to stop there to get my picture taken next to it. My girlfriend and I stopped there and tried to get to the sign, but I would have had to cross over some major traffic to get to it. So we went in search of the Bong Recreation Area and it turns out it's named after James Bong or something similar. I got my picture taken next to the welcome sign of the actual park. It was a fun little excursion :).

[LiberalFighter]

45. Didn't know about the place.. had to look it up

It is in Kenosha County... why I never heard of it. Never went to Wisconsin that way.

[brentspeak]

57. Is that near the Ho-Chunk?

I once drove back to NJ from the Twin Cities and somehow found myself driving through an out-of-the way Wisconsin town with an Indian casino called the "Ho-Chunk". Having lost $40 in just five minutes of blackjack at an Indian casino in Minn., I made sure to keep on driving. (That Minnesota experience is also why I don't gamble when I go to AC).

[durtee librul]

65. Ho chunk is by the Wisconsin Dells

and is quite a bit further north than Bong. LAugh if you want, but there have been many attempts to sub divide that piece of land and make it into commercial strip malls (something Kenosha REALLY needs more of!). It is a pretty little piece of wilderness and I hope it stays that way for many years.

[CornField]

30. When we drove from Iowa to Washington state...

There were several such signs, some for "Adult Supercenters" (always truckers welcome or semi parking). :eyes:

[noonwitch]

59. We have a few in Michigan

Also there are billboards for Japanese massage parlors and adult bookstores/movie theaters.

[VaYallaDawg]

23. Fruther proof that if you built a fence around the south ...

you'd have one big madhouse.

[toopers]

31. Yeah, your right . . .

this doesn't happen in any other American city.

[VaYallaDawg]

34. Oh, I'm convinced it happens everywhere.

It's just that here in the south we have such unique talent to put up a ridiculous and totally fake Bible-thumpin' front while carrying on the same lewd and lascivious conduct that happens everywhere else.

[EllieGreen]

64. As a Georgia Peach myself....

....I have to disagree with this.

I grew up in Atlanta, and live in Kennesaw. The people that you speak of either come from south-Georgia or are northern transplants. The *media* may portray us as that, but that is not the case. (Side note: I must be one of the few people living in metro-Atlanta who is from Atlanta! *g*)

Atlanta and Kennesaw (yes, KENNESAW!) are good places to live. Sure we have our SUV Dubya loving folk running around here, but we also have a very Liberal, Pagan (!), hippy-like community running around too. Something for everyone.

As for the article itself, it is more a problem of authorities who (as usual) like to turn a blind eye to this sort of thing. You find this all over the country (not just in the South)....if crimes are committed against women and children, then it doesn't take priority, period.

P.S. Hi DU!

[Le Taz Hot]

27. True story

the Promise Keepers had a major convention here (Fresno) and at the time I was teaching parolees. Most of the females were addicted to variuos substances and the way many of them supported their habit was by turning tricks. They said the week the Promise Keepers were in town was the best week they'd seen in a long time. I also talked to a dancer in one of our local strip bars and she said the place was packed with all those fine Christian, promise-keeping men.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

40. But at least it wasn't their wives lap dancing, so it was okay, right?

:sarcasm:

[LiberalFighter]

46. Too bad pics weren't taken of them

[AwakeAtLast]

50. I live in Church of God headquarters

Every summer during the annual convention, sales of alcohol and tobacco go way up,
so I'm sure all the illicit stuff does, too.

[Iris]

52. Used to have some neighbors who would drive to Atlanta

from a town in the southern part of the state, so they could smoke and drink without any of their church friends seeing them.

[CornField]

33. There is a larger problem here (sex considered dirty)

Having been raised as a protestant Christian (evangelical), I think I'm somewhat qualified to launch this discussion. In the Christian churches (perhaps others as well), young people are taught that their very bodies are somehow dirty and unworthy of God. This is especially true for young women who are taught menstration is "the curse." As you get older, it goes further: informing you that God only wants people of "pure" spirit.

In short, there is no healthy dialogue about bodies and sexual intimacy. To be honest, there is very little dialogue about sex at all -- most considering it to be a subject unmentionable (dirty). Young women who expose too much skin are labeled as brazen and their mothers and fathers are called forth by the church for reprimand and 'counseling.' Interestingly enough, boys are not nearly as subjected to such labels and constraints of character.

Due to this, many religious people -- at least of this type -- cannot enjoy a healthy attitude about their own sexuality, others sexuality or sex in general. It is difficult for such individuals to separate healthy sexual conduct from unhealthy sexual conduct. That is, if you believe in your heart that masterbation is a dirty and horrible act, ranking right up there with other sexual acts, why wouldn't you go for the "sin" which provides you the most pleasure?

This is what happens when people are not allowed to explore, understand and come to a peace with their own body and sexuality. This is what happens when people attempt to repress the very drive which was provided by God/Nature.

[fshrink]

35. Yes. Religions breed perversions.

Directly or indirectly through generations. Not to mention that the increase in unwanted, accidental, unplanned etc.. births creates a large pool of exploitable children., which partly accounts for the location of this traffic.

[Megahurtz]

37. Don'tcha Just Love It......

"Men fly in, are met by pimps, have sex with a 14-year-old for lunch, and get home in time for dinner with the family," said Sanford Jones, the chief juvenile judge of Fulton County, Georgia."

Just sweet. :sarcasm:

:puke:

[0007]

61. 'Tis hard to believe how popular these prostitutes are and the

many men they attrach. Something I'll never understand about humans.

[progressivebydesign]

63. Sadly, pop culture keeps sexuallizing girls as young as 10...

and this is what we reap. Child prostitutes because men are becoming addicted to the image of a sexually active pre-teen. Wierd to think that something so seemingly benign as a clothing manufacturer, or makeup company, and their ad agencies, could begin the destruction of childhood for little girls. Thong underwear at 8? Make up for 10 year olds? underwear for preteens decorated with cherries?

[pstans]

42. Some should email this to Mike Malloy

I'd love to hear him talk about this on his show tonight.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

43. About 10 years ago, I was asked to review a company's files.

it was an Atlanta-based service organization and my client did not trust what they did. So, I got sent to review everything. What I found was churning, bad practices, lazy asses and a system of CYA that would have made Enron proud.

Just as I was finishing three days of review, the president came into the conference room, made a show of taking off his ring, and said, "OK let me show you Atlanta the way it was meant to be seen." Poor naive me didn't have a clue.

Stopped at a nice bar, had a drink, and then the strippers came in. very attractive, to be honest.
We headed to a second bar, the bar was skankier, and the strippers were even more so. These did things on your table I did not think was physically possible.
The last bar was past the city borders. Extremely rude looking on the outside, and worse on the inside. Except, the girls were very pretty again.

the president then said, "any age, any style, any color. You want it, you got it. There's a 12 yr old redhead that I really like. nothing like fresh, young meat."

but for the fact that he was driving, and I had no clue where the heck I was, I would have been out of there in seconds, instead of minutes, after slugging that smirk off of his mug.

So, does that stuff happen in Atlanta, not speaking from personal experience, other than what was offered, yes it does.

What a scum. My report reflected the attempted bribe.

[file83]

56. $50 bucks says Abramoff is somehow tied to this bullshit....

...do that, and we'll bring the whole house of cards down!

[derby378]

60. Here's the weird thing about the sex trade...

I wish I had a link for you, but I remember reading about some 10-year-old girl in either Thailand or Malaysia who became a child prostitute by choice. She's not a runaway, she's not being coerced by a pimp or drug runner, or anything of the sort. So why does she do it? A rough paraphrase: "My family works the fields, but they're always ill. Even when times are good, we never make enough to get by. So I walk the streets to help my mother and father. If I don't do this, they will starve."

I'm fairly certain that you won't find this anywhere in the States. But I could be wrong...

[flvegan]

62. Well, time to start calling my local media.

My city (Tampa) is on that FBI list, and I've not heard peep one about it in the almost 17 years I've lived here.

Absolutely shameful. May Brittany's pimp get caught and spend the next 20 years in prison with "as many as 17 'clients' an evening" come through his cell door...