The shocking murders of the prostitutes in England by a serial murderer hit the headlines all over the world.....the good news is that they appear to have caught the killer.....the bad news is that, just like my opening sentence, the victims are still being referred to as 'prostitutes'. They should be refered to as women. The way the media constantly called them by their 'profession' is an insult to them and to let it pass is to be a part of the offence. It is too easy to brand people by what they do, their ethnicity, their sexuality, their income, their vocation etc. This can lead to a number of things which in this case include;
- the value we place on them (I am sure that some felt the prostitutes almost deserved it or at least were in some part to blame due to their profession),
- the severity we place on what happens to them (I am sure that some would see it as a lot worse if the victims were 'nice' middle class women),
- who we blame ( I am sure there are those who think this type wouldn't happen if we banned prostitutes).
- and many more that I do not have the time here to explain.
I am convicted by the fact that Jesus, whose birth we celebrated a couple of days ago, hung with prostitutes, loved them, esteemed them as people and wants to be a part of their life...including their life on the streets. He is the one who we should look to for a way of viewing the victims of the murderer.
This entry was posted by Angry and Shallow, on
Friday, December 29, 2006.
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11:28 pm
What is our true nature?
2:35 am
Good point. Adds a bit of saga to the news stories though, no doubt.
9:35 pm
Hey Daz, your point is taken. But I was actually quite impressed at how the media, and the police response, actually humanized the girls, or should I say prostitutes. The fact that most reports made them out to be real human beings with stories and relationships would be a good thing for many who followed the story.
Anyhow, have an angry and shallow new year! :-)
6:24 am
I think the point is, that Jesus saw THEM, and He sees US who we really are. He took the time to look. I want to model that, and take the time to really look and know who God brings in my life.
5:20 pm
"Jesus ... hung with prostitutes".
Now men who "hang" with prostitutes usually do so to fuck them. Or fuck them and kill them (not necessarily in that order), as you have pointed out. Or maybe just kill them. Does that cover all the possibilities?
Do you know of any church ministries set up in brothels, modelled on Jesus' example? All the publicly reported associations of Christian ministers and prostitutes I hear of are scandalous.
So go on angry, get around your local brothels and fuck them for Jesus' sake.
4:15 pm
David you are right that most (men in particular) that hang around brothels and prostitutes are doing so out of their own erotic desires....often disguised as care or concern. There are some people however who do hang like Jesus did genuinely developing healthy relationships with those in this area. They usually don't want any public voice or recognition which means we don't hear about them......they are there however just as Jesus was and still is!
7:46 pm
Yes David, In our community there are many women who have been or continue to make money through prostitution, they are some of the holiest women I have ever met too.
They are very courageuos and gutsy. Jesus totally hung out with them and so should we if we want to be more like Jesus.
BTW why don't your comments contain an address to communicate with you?