Ipswich killer caught

Originally Posted by Peter Henry

Opens up a whole bag of worms like who else would it be acceptable to slay.

Whether you like it or not, you have a built in "acceptability factor"

How many murders are commited each year?

How many do you give a monkies chuff about?

Take 2 recent cases, both of which involved 2 young girls

The Soham murders=national outcry and mourning
The drive by shooting in Birmingham new years eve=lots of talk about gun crime.

Was it more acceptable that the girls were shot Birmingham ?

Then why did society care less?.

2 young white girls are killed and the world stops
2 young black girls get shot and it doesn't

Ask yourself why?

We all sub conciously rank or compartmentlise different people on gender, age, race, occupation, wealth.
We then give 'values' to those different groups.

That's why an old, poor, male, black, street cleaner doesn't get much attention if he's murdered
and why a young, middle class, white schoolgirl does.

We shouldn't be more or less outraged on the basis of age, gender, race or occupation when someone is mudered, but we are.

Blues' original post was an extreme of this, but illustrates it perfectly

It's called human nature

You can only possibly speak in terms of the media there, because the only way we can calculate it is by how much media coverage anything gets. Therefore, it's not 'we' it's the media.

'We' may have acceptability levels but it's the media that blows things up or buries them.

Originally Posted by Jools'SV Now

How many murders are commited each year?

How many do you give a monkies chuff about?

In all honesty, I can say non this year certainly. I can't remember when a murder was last committed that I really gave a "monkey's chuff" about. That's just the way I am. If it doesn't directly affect me personally (by being someone that I actually know AND care about, or by being local to me and a serial killer on the loose) then I couldn't give a "monkey's chuff."

Deaths bother me yes, but I haven't been that close to a murder that it's bothered me.

That's just how I deal with day to day life. Human nature as you say. Race/colour/gender/occupation/motive just doesn't come into it.

Other than that, totally accurate post

Originally Posted by PsychoCannon

Often killers who target "undesirables" do so out of the impression that the response to the murders will be slower and half hearted compaired to if they were say, killing bankers or lawyers, not out of some misplaced sense of community good.

...and indeed are inclined towards working girls in particular as they are, by the nature of their job generally discreet and easily lured somewhere remote. Some, but not all killers of prostitutes are specifically killing prostitutes because they are prostitutes (IE they believe the voice in their head telling them to kill prostitues is God); however many just do it because they are an easy target and are a real threat to everyone.

As to all prostitues being drug users; not so. The government stats and popular opinion are really miles off the mark on this one. Many prostitutes are completely free of substance abuse, but of course, they're not desperate for the odd £10 to fuel their crack/heroin addiction and hence don't come forward (and risking possible arrest) to answer the paid polls regarding substance abuse in the profession. Likewise, the ones who are clean tend not to get in trouble for other offences so much and hence remain unknown to the police. This is why the figures show such a skew towards substance abuse.

For the record, if anything I'm slightly against prostitution, but to suggest that offing hookers left, right and centre is acceptable, is rather callous to say the least.

[Biker Biggles]

Jools SV Now -------Whilst your basic argument is correct I don't think it's quite as simple as that.I seem to recall a big press when those black girls were shot in Birmingham,and the murder of a young black man in London(Steven Lawrence)still makes news today.The Soham girls were different because they were missing for some time before it became a murder hunt.How the media reacts depends on many things,such as video footage/photos all helping to make a "good"human interest story as much as any racial bias.Anything unusual makes the news in a bigger way,so a serial killer who kills five,whoever they are,will get headlines.A British soldier killed in action is big news,but several each month becomes less so.

Where you are right I think is at an individual level.Who do we each care most about?Family,and close friends maybe come first,followed by workmates,neighbours(maybe )going down in importance the more distant from us these groups get.Who would you drag into the lifeboat on a sinking ship,your brother or someone from somewhere you had never heard of who you didn't know?Be honest,and there you have human nature.

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

For the record, if anything I'm slightly against prostitution.

If it is available to those who feel they need it and it could help stop even just 1 rape then...... Its fine by me, but just not my choice.

Originally Posted by Viper

If it is available to those who feel they need it and it could help stop even just 1 rape then...... Its fine by me, but just not my choice.

Indeed!

I think it is a service, not really that distant from lapdancing, strippers etc, certainly not far at all from being a porn star. I think if women choose any of the above professions because that is what they choose to do is good because it is not harming anybody and their body, their choice and it is providing a legitimate service that might reduce other problems..

I too would like to think that if it was legalised that it would reduce the number of rapes (indeed just 1 would be a result and worth it!!). But also to 'clean up' the profession making it safer for the girls and the punters. Not just from physical harm, but the STD rate in Amsterdam is pretty low I should imagine as all the girls working are 'safe'. These are professionals and I doubt drugs are involved in many cases?

I never said ALL prostitutes were drug users ... but (according to what I have heard in the media) the ones in question were prostitutes to feed their habit. Either way street prostitution can bring all sorts of other problems with it to these areas, that is bad for the local community. Would you want your 12yr old daughter walking home down the same street as ladies of the night work and punters drive through??? I think not!

I have retracted my initial comment as I admitted it was too 'blanket' but I am please that the thread has now opened up to proper intelligent and informed debate on the subject rather than just immature name calling!!

i havent read through the whole thred yet but can some clear this up

1. prosititution is illegal in the uk correct?

2. police have been speaking to prosititutes in the area?- excuse me, if there speaking to them should they be like putting them in a cell, or whatever the punishment is,

i think it should be done like in amsterdam, regulated, safe, etc, but if its illegal in this county why are they just talking to them,

example (befor cannibas was down classed) Could you this in the news

police have been speaking to cannibis uses about cannibis, while they are holding a joint, no, then why and how does the above correspond with the justice system?

Prostitution is not illegal.
Arresting somebody for a joint corresponds with justice how? If you had said "police were talking to child abusers, while they abuse children, how is this justice?" then I'd agree with you, but I think you've somehow got the idea that illegality always equals wrong.

I don't usually dip my toe in slightly contentious threads, but I though I'd have a go seeing as it's Xmas and all that

The problem here is not prostitution, it is addiction to drugs. The craving is so strong that these girls (and their pimps) will stop at nothing to get their next hit. Prostitution is where they end up having been thrown out of whatever employment they had before they became addicted. As society in general frowns upon drug use, there are never the resources or indeed the right treatment for these people (methadone ). We legalise soft drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, so why not the harder stuff under controlled conditions - better they get their heroin on the NHS than from some dealer. You'd probably remove 90% of the prostitutes from the streets, and the associated crime that goes with drug addiction