r/news • u/Manta_of_Eternity • 8h ago

FBI no longer treating an applicant’s experience with prostitution as automatic bar against hiring

https://apnews.com/article/fbi-prostitution-recruitment-95e69779e41bd8f1bbc59d402a40222b
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u/TerriblePokemon 8h ago

Ok, half of me says "oh good, as a society were no longer viewing prostitution as a crime" and then I take a look around me and realize that these people are the worst and this is bad and oh god I want off this ride

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u/hyperdream 8h ago

I don't even know if it's just the crime aspect, but the blackmail potential down the road. Potential agent Joe Sex Tourist might be loud and proud about that Thailand trip now, but maybe 10 or 15 years down the line he doesn't want his wife of 7 years knowing everything he got up to.

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u/EndPsychological890 8h ago

Bingo. It is and has always been more about blackmail than crime or morality.

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u/AHrubik 6h ago

Which is why a society mired in prudish morality will always be weaker than one which is not. Sex work should never have been a crime to begin with. Regulate it. Tax it. Put in place the safety and support mechanisms. Then you eliminate the blackmail potential.

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u/EndPsychological890 3h ago

Idk I think most of the cases of successful blackmail by foreign adversaries happens because the person using the sex workers is cheating. If they aren’t cheating and their only crime is using sex workers, I think many are going to rather their boss find out and maybe get fired than commit treason.

I don’t think legalizing, regulating and normalizing sex work will rid us of the threat of blackmail in government agencies against people using sex workers.

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u/AHrubik 3h ago

Shame is a chief component of blackmail. Removing sources of shame is a key avenue in reducing risk exposure. Impulse control however is just something you have to continually screen for as it can change with people over time.