| HN Mirror

As I moved across my country (US) I stopped at a hotel for the night. As I got out of my car in the hotel parking lot, an emaciated, twitchy, and frankly quite unattractive woman approached me and explicitly offered me her mouth to "release that road trip stress". I said no, thanks for the offer but I have to get some rest, sorry, maybe next time. Certainly not my first encounter with the hallowed and empowered sex worker caste, and my response was met with apparent grace. She moved along to the next family pulling up.

Between the time it took for me to check in to my $25+tax/night room and get back to my car to park closer to my assigned room, 3 of my 4 windows were smashed and 4 of my 6 Rubbermaid bins and suitcases full of personal belongings were gone. It was full daylight and there were many other people going in and out of the area. There were cameras. It was the middle of a built up suburban area that appeared nominally safe.

All I got from the hotel was a 20% discount for the night. All I got from the experience was an increase in multiple forms of prejudicial behavior that I still struggle with daily.

I also have a lot of... experience with the sex industry, from multiple angles.

I say this just as a anecdote, but my overall take is that people in this industry are not necessarily "just trying to get by". There are at least some participants whose primary goal is to harm others in some way for their own enjoyment -- on all sides.