Tag Archives: Social breakdown

by James A. Bacon

Prostitution, it is commonly said, is the world’s oldest profession. If that’s true, then sex trafficking may be the second oldest. The enslavement and sexual exploitation of women has been a feature of most recorded history. But sex trafficking has taken on novel forms, as the story of Sage “Draco” Blair makes clear. As another old saying goes, “Only in America.”

What follows is a synopsis of a story of a teenage girl from an unnamed Virginia community who experienced abuse in early childhood, declared herself a boy as a teenager, ran away, was raped, was sucked into the Baltimore sex trade, and was rescued. It is also the story of how her grandparents (who were also her adopted parents) tried to recover custody of her, only to have the judge accuse them of abuse for failing to fully embrace her transgenderism.

The article upon which this post is based was written by Lisa Selin Davis, the author of “Tomboy: The surprising history and future of girls who dare to be different.” From what I can tell from online materials, Davis comes from a left-of-center perspective. But she acknowledges the “complexity, mess, and murk” of sex and gender today. Davis bases her story primarily upon input from the grandmother, identified as “Michele.” She has verified “aspects” of the story and viewed court documents that support it.

This story is like a Rohrschach test: Everyone will extract different meaning from it. I see it as another sign of social disintegration stemming from the relentless erosion of roles and rules that once held society together. Hell on earth used to come from grinding material poverty. Now, in our affluent society, hell is something we create ourselves. Continue reading →

Winsome Sears

From Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears’ speech yesterday to the NRA Women’s Leadership Forum, alluding to the slaughter of innocents at Uvalde, Texas:

America is in a battle for her children. We weep for the breakdown of the family. We weep for fatherless homes. We weep for the lack of respect for fellow men. We weep over the countless Black men murdering each other. We weep at the onslaught against the liberty of thought and expression.

Indeed we have left goodness, gentleness, and kindness behind, only to be left loathing, crudeness, greed, and sloth. Every man for himself, we are easily offended. cruelty abounds. Forgiveness is a dirty word.

Yes, guns are part of the problem, and I’m open to the idea that tighter control over guns may be part of the solution. But the problem is so much bigger. Our society is disintegrating before our eyes, but many are blind to it — indeed, many are cheering it on. Sears speaks to the broader malaise. I cannot find a link to the full text of her speech online, so I replicate it below:

Update: The speech text has been posted here. Continue reading →