Saturday, February 21, 2009

Pimps, hoes, and sugardaddie.com

Last night as I loaded the dishwasher and cleaned up after a fun and delish Friday Night Dinner with my girls I took a break and did some channel surfing. Seriously, I should have just turned on my iPod and never turned the television on--I lost some of my faith in humanity in the short time I channel surfed.

First, I found an MSNBC special about the sex trade. It profiled the police department in Oakland, CA and what the task force does to cut down not only on prostitution, but also on helping the underaged prostitutes get away from their pimps. My stomach churned as I heard a story about a ten year old they had arrested with her thirteen year old mentor. I started to lose my dinner after they showed a seventeen year old with a giant contusion on her head she had received from "falling" i.e. her pimp kicked her ass. I couldn't stomach it after that and so I turned the channel determined to find something a little happier...

Then it happened. In the middle of looking for another channel to watch I ran across a commercial for a website entitled sugardaddie.com. It is a website that allows women and men (one of whom is allegedly "affluent") to find each other and "have adult fun". EW. It was like what I had just been watching about pimps and hoes only these men and women were not prostituting themselves for drugs or rent they were doing it for material possessions--the kind they sell at Bloomies and the Chanel boutique. I quickly turned off the television and turned my iPod on and resumed my clean up--disgusted with some of the people in the human race.

Now, don't get me wrong I love Bloomies and Chanel just as much as the next girl. It hurts that unlike most springs I am not the proud owner of a new pair of designer sunglasses or the Chanel spring line because I have a mortgage payment now, but I don't love those things more than myself or my pride and self-respect. What happened to earning what you have in life? The more I thought about it the more irritated I got.

I don't make a huge amount of money in my chosen profession, but it is enough to give myself a home and simple luxuries. I'll admit that I wince whenever I see all the stuff I can't afford anymore (Chanel makeup, Coach shoes, Coach purses, jewelry, expensive clothing, etc.), but then I get back to my house and I'm okay with it. The society that we live in is unfortunately not about being happy with what you have. It is about wanting more and getting it at all costs. I used to be like that and I still battle with that part of myself, but I am learning that it really is about being happy with what you've got and not what you don't have. I bet if some of the people (myself included) who live for material possessions would stop and take stock for a minute or two they would find that everything they truly need and truly want they very likely already have.

No, I don't have a Vuitton. I will probably never shop for clothes at Neiman Marcus. I will very likely never own a pair of Chanel shoes. But, I have my house, my family, my friends, and enough material crap from before that I don't really need anything. Everything I need is right here. That is a good thing.

2 comments:

  1. This probably isn't the best time to tell you that I just got a new Coach purse. But I did.

    It had been like five years, though, so it's not like I'm up high on the hog either :)

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  2. I know I saw the pic!! So jealous! But in a good way :) You deserve it because you know you did carry a child in your womb and go through all the labor and stuff so ya know some things deserve a fab reward (besides James) like a Coach purse!

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