Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the Words @ War article that was published in your November 9th issues of the Torch regarding the proposed topless bar to be placed in Canadian lakes.
I totally disagree with the placement of this bar and with the argument proposed by your writer Jax Anger. First off, who is judging? I agree that we should not judge based on Romans 2:1-3. But don’t take one verse and try to throw it in to fit your argument. If you want to use scripture, be careful; quote it for what it is. Look at it in its entirety. What about verses such as John 7:24 “Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.” So apparently there is a correct way to judge according to the Bible. And what about Matthew 5:27-28 that says “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Is not that the purpose of a topless bar so people can look?
But I did not write to compare scripture with you. A real concern of mine is the danger that we are choosing to place women it by allowing this establishment into our locale. This type of establishment only adds to the constant objectification of women. I am all for men and women having the same rights and being able to do as they please within the law, but there comes a line where their choices begin to affect others and it is no longer just their own personal decision and life there are dealing with. And secondly, women can be put at risk, not just locally, but also on a much larger basis.
Human trafficking.org writes that, “Victims of sex trafficking are often found in the streets or working in establishments that offer commercial sex acts, i.e. brothels, strip clubs, pornography production houses. Such establishments may operate under the guise of: Massage parlors, Escort services, adult bookstores, modeling studios, bars/strip clubs.” CNN writes that “An estimated two million women and children are sold into the sex trade every year, the U.S. research group Protection Project states.”
-At least one out of every three women in the world has been raped, beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise violently abused in her lifetime. (U.N. Development Fund for Women)
-An estimated one in five women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime. (U.N. Millennium Project) (taken from ijm.org – the International Justice Mission).
Why are these things to specific to females? As a college student in the same vicinity as this proposed establishment is looking to be placed, I am hoping it is rejected. I don’t want to live in an area that supports this by objectifying my gender even more than it already is.
I personally feel that there is a very slim chance that Gentlemen 131 would ever be involved in anything illegal because there are people in the surrounding counties that will make sure of it. However, I’m not going to support something that even LOOKS like it could be.
I’m voting ‘NO’ for the May 7 decision.
On the other side, I agree with you Jax Anger, God does love porn stars just as much as He loves pastors. God loves everyone equally, that doesn’t mean He agrees with their choices.
Emily Estes
FSU student
Alright then, seeing as how you hold the bible dearly:
“Moreover, I do not allow a woman to teach or to usurp authority over a man. Instead, she is to be quiet.” Timothy 2:12What is more objectifying to women: allowing your gender freedom of choice to make money how they choose, or restricting where a woman can work under the guise of “safety”? If you feel that it is unsafe, then simple, don’t work there. I would much rather see a woman working in a controlled environment that is a topless bar, than be forced to go into prostitution to pay the bills. There is, by the way, a difference between a topless bar and a strip club.This is where modern feminism falls apart. A man who is a bodybuilder is putting himself in as much risk and objectifying himself just as much as a topless waitress. We don’t argue that bodybuilding should be illegal.
Did you not read any of the articles last week or did you just pick up the Torch and look at the headlines? It said Stanwood, not Canadian Lakes!!!!!Who the hell would put a topless bar in Canadian Lakes? Those people have their head so far up their a$$s they can see their teeth. And even then, as a local, I can tell you its not even going into stanwood. Its going just off of the expressway on exit 131.
On a side note, I’ve been finding more and more that the people against this are the last people you’d want to see in a topless bar- old farts and ugly chicks. As a woman I say that. Ugly women are jealous of the pretty women, and pretty women get hired at Topless bars, Hooters and the like.
Your facts are also pulled from sources not relavent at all to the area. We’re in the middle of no where. Short of a drug bust here and there I have yet to hear of any prostitution in the area. A nudy joint won’t change that. We have good cops. We have good people… and you can earn more money on stage than you can in a back alley.
Get your facts straight or keep your mouth shut. You can have an opinion, jus tmake sure it makes sense!
“Who is judging?”
DUH!!!! You are!!!! You and your ASSuming that this ‘gentlemen’s club’ is soliciting prostitution, that it’s going to bring crime into the metropolis of Canadian Lakes….ERRRR….Stanwood, and that this profession is degrading to women. Need I go on?
First of all, all you so called religious buffs, you need to know what ‘judge’ means. Allow me to explain with the help of dictionary.com:
8. to form a judgment or opinion of; decide upon critically
9. to decide or settle authoritatively; adjudge
10. to infer, think, or hold as an opinion;conclude about or assess
This is an actual definition, not an interpretation like a verse from the bible. Yes the bible is up for interpretation. What do you think you pastor does every Sunday? He quotes it and then interprets it for you.
So, in accordance with said definitions, your opinion – which you so whole-heartedly wrote – is judging. According to the Bible, you are a sinner.
And what about this Matthew character? Did he not give his opinion? If he did not, it would not be written, “But I say…” That was Matthew’s opinion and his own inclusion to the 7th Commandment.
I’ve been in one strip club in my lifetime and I will say that I felt safer in and around that place than I do in a Big Rapids parking lot, than in any street or bar in Detroit, and it is more secure than a concert at a small or large venue where the aroma of marijuana wafts effortlessly throughout. All these delusions of sex trafficking, prostitution, and crime are baseless. All these stiffs in sweater vests and all the Amish folk in the meetings and expressing their disgust in other public or private settings have NO clue what they are talking about.
How much did Big Rapids change when Fantasies opened its door? You don’t know BECAUSE NOTHING CHANGED. Strip clubs are professional establishments unlike in days of old. How old is that Bible, anyway? If big J splashed down in the muddy waters of Stanwood surrounding the old Ruddy Ducks, the rules would change because times have changed, people have changed, and the laws – written and unwritten – have changed. It’s time for the sweater vests to s.t.f.u. and let this place open to stimulate the dead economy of Stanwood and Michigan. The Amish will still be the Amish and we still love ’em.