I dont see how you can relate consumerism, or economics 101 with the Rich taking advantage of the poor. With the exception of a few, most are not born "Rich". The majority of people in this world acquired or built their wealth through determination, hard work, and taking risks when everyone else says "Thats a stupid idea".
For example, the creator of the pet rock in the 70's, he sold a box that had a rock inside that was your pet. When he first presented that idea to Mattel, they told him it was stupid and they were not interested. He went on to fund and market it himself and within a few months, the guy was a millionaire.
By your rational, this guy has taken advantage of the poor because he is now rich.
No one forced these kids to prostitute themselves, and to make matters worse, they are not doing it for survival, they do it so they can have the latest and greatest Iphones, Ipods, gadgets and things.
In regards to prostitution and even drugs, if the government were to legalize drugs and prostitution, there would be less chances of Human Trafficking, and forced sexual servitude. In countried and areas where prostitution is legal, the sex workers are licensed, practice safe sex as mandated by their license, have regular weekly checkups, and work by choice. Forced to work against one's will is never heard of in those parts, and the women "do it" for a living. If you legalize something and get it out into the open and not make something so taboo, chances are there will be less men visiting these establishments since its no longer doing something bad.
In China there is a single system for Romanization of Chinese characters, names, etc. There is a standard and everyone follows it, if you do not correct people, they will never know right from wrong.
Peace Out!
Originally Posted by gilleshk:
Buying and selling have of course always been in existence in one for or another and the rich have always taken advantage of the poor. it doesn't mean we have to condone it as the supreme value above anything else. When a society makes you feel inadequate if you dont have the latest gadget and accessories then perhaps it's time to reexamine what is most important. Do we really need to have giant lit billboards flashing 24/7 and air con running at 20C all year round to attract customers?
As to sitting and lying on your back being the only difference, that's either incredibly naive or you're some kind of apologist. It may be true in some circumstances but prostitution is in many case very demeaning to women and often leads to huge problems later on. The potential for violence, drugs, slavery etc... is obvious not to mention the health risks. Not too many bankers have to face men trying to force themselves on them without condoms and risking HIV infection. Bottom line, would you want your daughter doing it?
As to spelling of chinese names, I think it's inappropriate to correct someone since the western spelling is only a phonetic approximation of the chinese characters making up the name. Granted that there often is an agreed version of the name but it's very easy to see many spelling variation of the same character in China.