08/28/06
Response to Tim Dickey
So, Rafael Anchia
is ?the man?. Be honest; he?s
your man, Mr. Dickey.
You may accuse other politicians of being servants of special
interests, but Anchia also
represents special interests. He managed to get anti-massage parlor
legislation enacted, but objectively, what has he done that will really make
positive difference in the quality of life for Dallas residents?
If every massage parlor in Dallas were closed
today, the streets of this city would not be any safer.
Not one nickel would be added to our local economy.
Children would not be any safer in our day care centers.
There would still be just as much contention about illegal
immigration. Dallas needs leaders that will focus on solving real issues,
not making those with special interests and agendas feel good.
I don't think it has ever been shown that massage
parlor/bath houses hurt business as much as
it hurts the business model that some would like to see imposed.
Certainly, no reasonable person wants to see Harry Hines
return to the bad-old-days when it was lined with $20 crack ho's, but
I don't see any evidence that closing spas had
anything to do with either the street-girls
leaving or the redevelopment on Harry Hines that presently is
going on.
If fact, I don't believe any spas were closed along Harry Hines.
The ones I'm aware of being closed were on Emerald, Northwest Highway
and just off Stemmons Freeway. Yes, the eye-sore
building on Emerald that used to house several
spas is now being redeveloped, but that is the result in a
change of property ownership because the previous owner was involved
in some really bad stuff which went way beyond
massage parlor/bath house activities.
Human trafficking, sex slavery, forced
prostitution are neighborhood concerns,
because the most flagrant and disgusting incidents of abuse occur
in residential communities as part of underground networks - not in
the store-front massage parlor/spa/bath house
businesses.
If you look at the issue objectively, you will
find that as store-front businesses are closed
down, the girls that voluntarily work there are forced into the underground
network where abuse is more likely. Tearing down all the
massage/bathhouse signs and putting new facades on
the buildings may make the street look prettier,
but in the house or apartment next door ugly things may be
happening.
Sorry, I didn't mean to start a rant, but as you can probably tell, this is
a subject that is important to me.
Larry Keller
