This has got to be one of the more ridiculous stories I've heard in quite a while. Really absurd.
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, better known as ACORN, is as it's website states, "the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, working together for social justice and stronger communities."
This article makes me wonder what some of the members have in mind when they think of social justice and strong community.
ACORN officials in Baltimore were secretly filmed giving advice to a couple posing as a prostitute and her pimp about how to lie to the IRS and set up a bogus business front for what would really be a brothel full of child prostitutes.
The video was made by 25-year old independant film maker James O'Keefe and a girl identified as "Kenya." They posed as a couple wanting to get a loan to help them secure a facility where they could continue to run a prostitution business.
They were also encouraged to lie to the IRS on tax forms and given advice on how to claim underage girls from South America as dependants to recieve government benefits. The ACORN staffer admits that the activities being discussed are illegal, specifically bringing in 13 underage girls from El Salvador, but encourages the couple to claim them as dependants anyway.
I can't possibly describe everything well enough for you to really get the gist of what was going on so here's an excerpt from the conversation between the ACORN member and the 'pimp.'
Here they are talking about the problem with claiming the girls when they are working illegaly.
"What if they are going to be making money because they are performing tricks too?" the pimp says.
"If they making money and they are underage, then you shouldn't be letting anybody know anyway," the ACORN staffer says, and laughs. "It's illegal. So I am not hearing this, I am not hearing this. You talk too much. Don't give up no information you're not asked."
The "pimp" then asks ACORN staffers to "promise" not to discriminate against his sex worker because of "who she is and what she does," according to the audiotape.
"If we don't have the information, then how are we going to discriminate?" the ACORN staffer replies. "You see what I am saying?"
If the girls are under age 16, the ACORN staffer says on the tape, then they are not legally allowed to work in the state, regardless of what they do.
"So it's like they don't even exist?" "Kenya" asks.
"Exactly," the ACORN staffer replies. "It's like they don't even exist."
You really should read the entire article. It's unbelievable.
There's a second article too, you can read it here. It's even better.
What really caught my attention in the first place was just the title of the article, "ACORN Fires More Officials For Helping 'Pimp','Prostitute' In Washington Office." It sounded like it might be a good read.
After reading the first sentence, which states that ACORN members tried to help this couple set up a brothel for underage girls, I was shocked! I find it very disturbing that this kind of thing is going on. How many more people are there that have really committed these crimes, and gotten away scot-free?
The more I read of the dialogue between ACORN and the 'pimp' the more outraged I was. How can someone be so callous when speaking of selling young girls into what amounts to slavery? That aspect bothered me more than anything, more than cheating the IRS or lying about 'Kenya's' job.
I'm a sponsor for the youth group at my church and our high school age girls have gotten really involved with something called Rapha House here in Joplin. Some of you may have heard of it, but if not you should definitely check out this website. Rapha house is an organization with 4 facilities in Asia and a home office in Joplin. They work to rescue girls are victims of the sex trafficking industry.
Working with the girls in the youth group, I've learned so much about the sex trafficking epidemic. It breaks my heart to hear the stories some of these girls tell.
So when I read this article, the part about those girls is what stood out to me. While the couple knew that this was a lie and there were no girls from El Salvador, the ACORN employee did not. I think it's absolutely outrageous that the only thing I've heard so far is that a couple a people got fired! Whoopee, they lost their jobs. They should lose more than that for what they were preparing to take part in.
I will say that I also feel for ACORN. I know that there is probably an honest person or two working for the organization and that someone still holds to the values that ACORN was founded on and this just makes them look bad with the rest of the bunch.
I hope that this inspires whoever has the power to take a closer look at what's going on at ACORN and maybe they can weed out any more members who would take part in something so heinous.
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I too was surprised at the audacity of ACORN workers to do this. I read however that they will probably not face any jail time or charges since it was a fictitious scenario and no federal forms were ever filed...But what if?? Then we all will hear another government screw up where thousands of dollar were erroneously used.
ReplyDeleteIt's so frustrating that nothing will happen to these people! It makes me want to ship them over to Cambodia so they can see first hand what these girls go through. It makes me sick to realize that people have become so jaded as to think nothing of causing another human that kind of pain and suffering.
ReplyDeleteDid you hear that the U.S. Census Bureau fired ACORN over this? To be honest, that's a relief.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, did you hear that the ACORN workers won't be prosecuted because "nothing illegal actually happened"? With that reasoning, all drug ring stings, prostitution stings, and all pedophile stings are invalid, because it was all based on a fictional activity set up to catch the creeps, and "nothing illegal actually happened."
This story blew my mind. It just goes to show that business ethics is an oxy moron for most now days. It's very sad.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. I can't believe that people would hear someone planning something such as this and instead of being alarmed and trying to prevent such an awful thing from happening they are trying to help them cheat the system. They did not even give those girls a second thought. I don't understand how people operate and it is really hard for me to fathom that people would try to help someone conduct such an awful act and it obviously was not going to weigh on their conscience at all. I think that the judicial system is extremely flawed and this just confirms it in my mind. Just because they did not get to follow through with the plan does not mean they should not be punished; they were fully prepared to execute it.It is sad people like this get a slap on the wrist and get to continue like nothing ever happened.
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