Jezebel 
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New York, 5:16 PM
Sat Dec 5
34 posts in the last 24 hours
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My plan is to take my last $300 and get myself to someplace where it's cheap to live, find some sort of job, and get re-started there...and it has occurred to me that I may have to live in a marginal situation like these ladies for a little while, until I can build up enough capital to get a place.
Rocky Mount wasn't not on my list--it's right off 95.
Anyone have any other suggestions?
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You don't get shit for selling jewelry in midtown these days, btw.
08/14/09
I would try this list of cities with the lowest unemployment and pick one you have a friend in already so you can crash for a week or two.
[jobs.aol.com]
You can always sell old belongings, right?
08/14/09
I'm thinking that if society could view these lifestyles as a little more acceptable - not as something that deems a person's life worthless - there might be a little more compassion, and therefore a little more action on behalf of the police.
Just a thought.
08/14/09
I believe that the war on drugs is a powerful tool for the elites to maintain political power. It is a handy identifier: this subsection of people is undeserving of compassion or legal protection, so we can break down their doors and shoot them at will. Likewise with prostitutes: they are different, they are other, they are not fully human. Extending legal protection to them would give the lie to much of the religious right's frothing hysteria about sin and moral decay destroying this country. This would undermine their ability to lather their base into a frenzy and send them off to the voting booths to elect the likes of Bush, Palin, and other political crazies.
08/14/09
Robert Lee Yates Jr.
Aluminum plant worker and Army Reserve helicopter pilot, Spokane
Killed a string of prostitutes in Spokane and Pierce County since 1996. Admitted to 16 murders, convicted of 15. Typically would pick up prostitutes, shoot them and engage in post-mortem sex. Grew up on Whidbey Island and lived in several Washington cities.
Status: On death row in Washington.
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Armed men burst into a sauna in Dagestan (near Georgia--the Russian one) and shot and killed seven women. The BBC anchor was interviewing a local reporter. He asked what the motivation for the killing was.
"Well," the local man replied, "These women, who spent most of their time in the saunas, were commonly, and in many cases correctly, thought to be prostitutes."
He stopped. Apparently, in his mind, that was all the explanation that was needed. The BBC anchor had to press him again to get him to explain that the killers were Islamists.
Then the discussion moved on. No further explanation needed--apparently, the combination of Islamists and prostitutes automatically results in mass murder.
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ETA: Ugh, they think he fed some of the bodies to the pigs...
08/14/09
Prostitutes and other women on the fringes of society (i.e. runaways) have always and will always be the preferred victim of serial killers. It's because of accessibility and the lower chance of the crime being discovered/reported. And when the crime is finally discovered, crucial forensic evidence has already been lost (as is the case with these murders).
Also, despite what TV would have us believe, it takes a lot of time and effort to identify when a serial killer is at work.
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I feel that when we say it's due to southern racism or bible belt attitudes, it does a disservice to those working for social justice (including eradicating the racism and classism that leads to these murders being ignored). Because, as you point out, racism does exist in the north and when we label it as a southern problem we can forget that it is something we should be aware of in every state.
Of course, I agree with you that we fail as people when we don't value these women's lives because of their socioeconomic status and I would love to see the right wing give a shit, but I'm not holding my breath.
08/14/09
Raleigh's about 30 minutes from Rocky Mount, close enough to commute to, which my dad did for a long time. I SHOULD have heard about this.
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Not the first story they've done about it. Your main point about biased coverage, I agree with, but I want to give credit where credit is due, and I think the lack of coverage in this case has more to do with Rocky Mount police not giving a shit for so long than slacking by the N/O.
08/14/09
"They spent their nights jumping in and out of strange cars, trolling otherwise empty streets lined with decaying storefronts and boarded-up homes. Many sold sex to support drug habits or children left in the care of worried, hardworking grandmothers."
That's not exactly helpful, informative news (at least in my book).
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I just feel like an article about a local serial killer who's still on the loose while more women are missing shouldn't need gratuitous editorializing to sell itself to readers.
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