Whores.

[Raesvelg]

There's an anecdotal bit of dialogue, most often attributed to George Bernard Shaw (though often attributed to Churchill or Twain) that goes something like this:

* GBS: Madam, would you sleep with me for a million pounds?
* Actress: My goodness! Well, I'd certainly think about it...
* GBS: Would you sleep with me for one pound?
* Actress: Certainly not! What kind of woman do you think I am?!
* GBS: Madam, we've already established that. Now we're just haggling over price.

Ultimately, most people are whores... for the right price. A lot of people like to fool themselves otherwise, of course. They like to imagine that they'd stand fast in the face of temptation, but really?

I expect that they're just trying to convince themselves to hold out for a higher price.

And you know what?

That's okay.

I have nothing against whores.

Honest whores at least.

See, ultimately most social interaction takes place in the form of transactions anyway. It may not be money that's changing hands, but there is usually some form of quid pro quo.

And again, that's okay.

Nothing wrong with an honest whore.

It's the dishonest whores that you have to watch out for. The people who will pretend to not be a whore, while quietly calculating what they can get out of you, and moving on once they've accomplished that goal. The irony, ultimately, is that the person they're trying to fool isn't you.

It's themselves.

They don't want to view themselves as whores. They'd prefer to be grifters, hustlers, whatever euphemism makes them feel less like a whore.

I often think that the only thing greater than the human capacity for depravity is our capacity for self-deception.

And ironically, what brought this post on was watching a terrible movie. "Walking Tall', starring Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock). Don't ask me why, or how, but for some reason the two are related. Probably the scene where the crooked casino owner attempts to bribe our would-be hero, and gets turned down.

 

[Morcheeba]

Toronto based model, 27 years old is now bedding Hue Hefner. I read it and felt sickened. Whore yes, gold digger, most certainly. I'm 2 years her senior and still struggle with 40 year old men hitting on me. /shrugs

My price is $500k + in case anyone was wondering. Could do a lot with that amount made for 1 night of romping.

 

[Ecks]

Psh, you'd settle for less... no offense of course.

Good blog there Raes, I usually always enjoy reading them.

 

[Morcheeba]

No no, no no no... uh uh nope, you're wrong.

 

[Raesvelg]

It's not just a matter of renting your genitalia to strangers though. Hell, I count prostitution of that nature to be something that scarcely qualifies as a crime under the best of times, and in Raestopia, it would be an accepted, regulated, and taxed industry.

And it is a matter of rent, in the case of prostitution. The person you're sleeping with doesn't own your genitalia, and once they're done, you have control of that particular asset again, none the worse for wear in most instances.

Selling your principles, your integrity... that's a different matter altogether.

You can't rent out your integrity. You either have it, or you don't. There is no middle ground.

One of the reasons I can't abide politicians is that the vast, vast majority of them sold their integrity to get elected a long time ago.

I can't trust them. Ever.

And if they were honest whores, they'd just come out and admit "Yes, I am for sale to whomsoever can provide me with the necessary monies to ensure my reelection", and I wouldn't dislike them. I'd never trust them, obviously, because there's always someone out there who's willing to outbid you, but I'd at least know where I stood, and know what to expect.

Betrayal.

But politicians don't do that. Technically, they can't; it's called bribery, and they go to great lengths to convince us that they don't do things like that. That is, of course, where part of the money that they take in bribes goes; to convince us that they're trustworthy.

The mind boggles.

 

[Raesvelg]

And you know what really bothers me? What really grinds my gears, as Peter Griffin would put it?

Every time we vote for one of these assholes, we sell a little bit of our integrity too.

We pretend that it's just the way the system works; that we can't expect politicians to deliver on their promises, that we can't expect them to actually have integrity.

Why the fuck not?

We buy into the lie. We accept the status quo, and we just keep getting fucked over by politicians who are not beholden to the people, but rather to the money, no matter where it comes from. We take their handouts, and we accept their bribes, and we let them brainwash us every time an election comes around, and then we pretend to act shocked when the government does something stupid and shortsighted, or when a politician gets caught with his hand in the till.

 

[Morcheeba]

o i c =p

 

[Ecks]

This almost makes it sound good that I haven't voted for anyone yet. *scratches head* But I'll vote for someone when I truly think they are the person I would want most to run the country, not when they just appear to be the best of what's available.

 

[Raesvelg]

Protest non-voting only works if you can get the entire country to do it, all at once.

God, I can dream.

Imagine how awesome that would be. A giant "fuck you!" the broken system, and effectively a no-confidence vote for every politician up for reelection.

Ah....

But sadly, we live in the real world, where people will gleefully vote for whoever promises to give them jobs/benefits/fulfill their religious beliefs/etc, and not give a single thought about the consequences.

Bridges to nowhere, for example.