I Live in the Worst City in California, or: A Story About El Cajon
Let me tell you a story about the city where I live: El Cajon, California.
El Cajon is situated in east San Diego County, and comprises about 14.6 square miles of land. To the north of El Cajon you can find Santee, recognized by many as one of the real hubs of racism (including the KKK) in the United States. According to the most recent census (which is of course not recent at all), the city has a population of just under 100 thousand. MLB players Brian and Marcus Giles are both from El Cajon. There are 2 libraries, 17 parks and 65 churches located in El Cajon.
Now, courtesy the El Cajon Police Department, the city is also home to a website which displays the full names, photos and “crimes” of prostitutes arrested in the city. And how!
I assume I don’t need to go into depth on how seriously fucked up this is. Beyond the fact that sex work is criminalized, there’s the incredibly real issue that posting these women’s pictures could a) ruin their futures, if any prospective employer were to search for them online, b) cause them immense emotional and psychological damage, and c) oh yeah, let any men interested in raping a woman know that, since they are, were or were presumed to have been prostitutes, they can probably be taken advantage of because it’s not really rape, it’s just “theft of services.” What a happy fucking precedent that court set.
If you live in El Cajon (or, hell, on planet earth), consider getting in touch with the El Cajon Police Department to let them know how misogynist and disgusting this latest stunt is.
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The criticisms of my students would serve as a good warning to visitors of Seeworthy: she talks too fast, she's too hard on us, she assigns too much work, and you have to be a dyke to get a good grade.
In other words, I'm a big, fat, queer, feminist meanie, and I am totally out to get you. Graaagh!
I object to this greatly, much as I object to anything that labels people who have served their debt to society and doesn’t allow them to clear their name after their time is served.
If they are posting these names and photos simply because of arrests, then this is EXTREMELY terrible, because an arrest is NOT guilt. It is suspicion. INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. It’s the foundation of our entire system. An arrested person should be considered innocent until conviction or confession.
Meiran, the only (sort of ) good thing I can say is that, at the very least, they are only posting pictures/details of people who ahve actually been convicted and not just accused.
For me, its not much better but at least its something.
Next step: Big Scarlett letters to pin to their clothing!