social contribution ...

Yesterday, just as I was about to walk into my office's building, I was accosted by an African guy who asked me whether we were in Gzira, and where he could find "business women" (yes you have guessed right, he was looking for sexual pleasure, and no, I am not jumping the gun, he later specified what kind of women he was looking for). I gave him the directions and continued on my way to the office.

While I was waiting for my incredibly slow laptop to fire up, I started going over the events in my brain. After reeling from the initial shock that this guy might have thought that I was a "business woman" too, after seeing me stepping out from my father's car (!!!!!!), I moved on to more serious reflections (yes, I know that being potentially confused with a hooker is not a nice thing and that maybe I should reflect on that, but 1. I honestly don't believe I look like a hooker as I'm always in trousers and non-revealing (not that there is much to reveal) tops, 2. he might have approached me because I was in a quiet street with no one around, and didn't want to ask where he could find what he was looking for amidst people enjoying a coffee on the sidewalk).

The first thing that cropped to mind was that judging from his clothes and looks, this guy probably didn't have a job and if he did, I don't think he earns much more than the minimum wage. Most probably this guy received a monthly social contribution and this time round he wanted to use those finds to find some relief.

I want to make myself clear a priori, I'm not trying to be prude or anything, and I'm not saying this because he's black or because he wants the company of a prostitute. He triggered my mind and made me think about other persons who might be receiving some form of social contribution and rather than using it for their wife, kids, food for themselves, etc, they would use it for alcohol, gambling, etc. I'm not against social contribution, but do you think it's fair that this kind of money which is given out to help the economic situation of the needy is used in such a manner? Why should someone receive this money and use it to buy alcohol, instead of that money being given out to the poor widow next door who has minimum levels of education and still needs to raise a couple of kids?

There is also another thing which cropped to mind - illness. This particular guy is risking of catching some kind of disease, and there is also the possibility that the reverse happens - he has some disease which will be transmitted to the woman he sleeps with, which in turn transmits it to the rest of the guys who want to enjoy her company, who in turn transmit it to all the other ladies they sleep with and to any potential kid they might have. In my opinion this is unfair and even selfish. It brings to mind alcohol and cigarette abuse, and yes, why not, even unhealthy eating. Why should the general public pay for the health care of a person who has never taken care of one's care and that of others, when those funds could be channeled towards those persons with genuine needs?

As I said earlier, my intention is not to be racist, I'm just quoting this event as it has triggered some (what I believe to be valid) points. It's not my intention to be prude either and I'm not going to go into the matter of whether sexual relief should be considered vital to a person's well-being or not.

My whole point is that maybe the structure isn't as good as it should be, or hasn't been refined enough to curb down abuses / waste of such funds. Maybe we should really take into consideration the idea of legalising prostitutes so that they could be regularised through a licensee, regular check up and tests for diseases and assurance of better, cleaner premises. Maybe we should do something in health care where persons who induce certain diseases on themselves are asked to pay. These are just a couple of ideas, and I'm sure that there are persons out there who might be able to come up with better ideas and solutions.

I know that I have touched some really hot points here, but I felt that I should share them with you. And I would love to hear your reflections about this too :)