Is anybody else out there introverted, like me? Does anybody else out there like their own company, like me? Does anybody else out there occasionally enjoy a meal on their own, like me? Does anybody else out there identify as female, like me? Does anybody else out there have long hair, like me?
Did you answer 'yes' to those questions? Then, look out if you're staying at the Marriott, because you might be targeted by staff as a - shock! horror! - <whisper it> - escort. Yes, they're cracking down on escorts because, in their flawed logic, they want to staunch the flow of sex trafficking.
Listen, nobody is in favour of trafficking except for the traffickers themselves, along with the warped clientele who'd abuse somebody not providing the service of his or her own accord; but for fuck's sake, Marriott: why do you CARE if someone is an escort? By the way, you'll notice I used both binary gender pronouns, ie, 'his or her own accord'. Does the Marriott have any training for the staff to recognise if a MAN might be an escort, or does that no matter because, you know, they're men and all that?
Apropos of the first paragraph of this post, apparently staff are to be aware of women who are alone there, or who call for extra towels, or who have sex toys and condoms in their rooms. Oh, and long hair. This is some of the criteria I have read on social media. Of course social media is not necessarily the Oracle of Truth, so maybe the long hair bit is an apocryphal point added by the outraged. I have been following some very good arguments and threads challenging Marriott's policy and the Marriott Robot has duly replied with stock pro-forma answers.
How do staff know if women are travelling with sex toys and condoms? Are they checking through guests' luggage? If I caught a member of hotel staff rifling through my luggage, he or she would want to duck (although if they did duck, I'd be more likely to hit them with whatever missile I had flung, because I'm a really lousy shot - nobody ever wanted me to bowl when playing softball)!
This policy sucks balls. If a woman is travelling alone, why do those dopes think she might be being trafficked? I imagine a trafficked person would be likely to have his or her captor nearby to ensure flight is not forthcoming.
Whether or not the person is an escort, what does it matter; provided the bill is paid, and other guests are not being disturbed? Does the management at Marriott honestly think nobody else is having sex in their hotel rooms? What difference does an exchange of currency between the parties make?
If I was staying at an establishment, and was asked these questions by the staff, I would soon be taking my business elsewhere. I don't care if people mistake me for an escort; what I take umbrage to is the paternalistic stickybeaking and busybody behaviour.
While I'm on this subject, I read that Uber drivers were being given similar training to identify an escort (who just MIGHT be a trafficking victim) during the Superbowl. Things to look out for include certain styles of dress and a reluctance to engage in conversation with the driver. News just in: it's 2019 and women are allowed to wear what they like, and perhaps they don't want to engage in conversation with the driver because he or she is just talking bullshit.
Hell, there's also a bar in NYC that's training staff this way, and discouraging women from drinking alone at the bar because they might be mistaken for a hooker, which could be bad for business (the restaurant's business, that is). When I checked my calendar, it said 2019, not 1954! Women are allowed to drink in bars now, folks - just in case nobody told you. This was happening in New York, but you'd think it was Saudi Arabia!
Women should be allowed to travel alone without suspicion and paternalistic condescension in the guise of caring for the womenfolk. This is creepily reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale, and it's giving me the 'ughs'.
In case you're wondering what's the funniest thing I've been called this week, it's 'child of Lucifer'. I was arguing on a thread about this very topic, and this dude said I was a child of Lucifer (well, you got the initial right, but my father's name was Les; nice try anyway, cocksmoker). I have been called different things over the years, not all complimentary (like 'you little turd', which was often thrown at my by my older siblings), but 'child of Lucifer' is a new one. And I must say, a rather amusing one.
Anyway, I must be off. Check out the links to the first chapters of my novels on this blog page. Also, I've just joined Patreon, and am therefore seeking patrons. Some would call this begging, some could call it scabbing; it matters not. I do need patrons, and writers in Australia often don't earn much. You don't have to pledge much, or even for every long. However, there is incentive for people to join the $10.00 tier - an autographed copy of my upcoming novel Howling on a Concrete Moon (limited copies to be given away). Just go to Patreon and do a search for Simone Bailey.
Ciao for now.
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