Seattle mayor, police target Village Voice classifieds:

I occasionally chide Seattle for being overly liberal and overrun with filthy hippies. Sometimes, as in this case, it’s not a bad thing. Seattle and King County have been two jurisdictions that have been at the forefront of taking an active role in the fight against human trafficking.

So it comes as no surprise that in the wake of the Ashton Kutcher/Village Voice fight Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has issued a letter to Village Voice Media (PDF Format) asking them to a sit down with Seattle police in order to help better fight human trafficking.

Also not surprising is that the Seattle Weekly (Village Voice Media’s Seattle propaganda arm) is acting like they’re actually combating human trafficking…

Seattle Weekly’s Editor-In-Chief, Mike Seely, said he’s pleased Mayor Mike McGinn is concerned about sex trafficking and underage prostitution, but noted Village Voice Media has been working to combat it longer than Kutcher has.

Seely said the “majority of Backpage.com’s employees are charged with making sure inappropriate or illegal adult or personal content either doesn’t make it onto the site or is reported to the proper authorities or advocacy organizations, such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.”

If this is true, which I doubt it is, I hate to see the ads that don’t make it on to Backpage. That’s the thing though, I doubt every single claim made by Mr. Seely.

This is a black and white and issue for most of the world. You’re either against human trafficking or you’re not. By leaving the adult and escort ads on their site Backpage and Village Voice Media is showing that they’re not. There is no spin to sexual slavery.

(I apologize for the delay in posting this story)