Madame Sherri’s In Vermont
Friends, I’d like to welcome you to Madame Sherri’s House of Good Repute in a quiet section of Vermont. It’s off the road a bit, but easy to find, and whether you’re a man, woman, gay or lesbian, cross dresser or some such variation there is a place for you. It reflects the best values of Vermont: it’s worker owner and managed, all employees have full health care, excellent pay, and a 40l k retirement plan. Plus, the tips are terrific.
Madame Sherri’s came about several years when I was talking with some friends in the commercial sex industry. We were going to set up a House in San Jose Costa Rica, but decided to open one in our home state. The Dutch solution to the grand old profession works well as it carefully regulates the industry and ensures the workers and customers are safe. In order to combat the horrific problems of international sexual slavery the only solution is to take it out of the closet and make it a legitimate business. After all capitalism is a legal form of prostitution, why should the real thing be illegal?
In Madam Sherri’s we brought in people who had worked in the industry, from the streets to high class houses and everything in between. We had an organizational consultant come in and developed a business plan, and then we filed for an LLC. We designed and built a beautiful establishment, so safe and comfortable you might even think about bringing your mother or dad in for a drink.
Let’s take a tour of our comfortable modern den of happiness. At Madame Sherri’s you make an appointment in advance, screened by the greeters at the door and the rules of the House explained, and the fees discussed. Alcohol and drugs are not served and if you’re intoxicated you’re turned away. We have several section of the house. If you’re gay there is Shangri-La; if you’re a woman and want to meet our young men there is Bali; if you’re a cross dresser or transvestite we have the Club; and if you’re a hetero guy we have the Oasis. We also have three Sex Therapists who work with individuals and couples. There is a host of massage therapists who only do massage, several Nurse Practitioners who specialize in gynecology and men’s health, and a café with live music 5 nights of the week. For five nights of the week this is one happy, fun, and playful place to be. If you want to hang out in the café listen to music, drink a virgin colada, and watch all the folks come and go, that’s fine. The main thing at Madam Sherri is to leave your hat and worries on the coat stand and enjoy yourself.
Madame Sherri’s is a worker’s owned cooperative and it is in their best interest to ensure everyone is healthy. The hosts, as they’re called, know more about STD and HIV prevention than the department of health, and all are screened independently for STDS. In the individual rooms, it’s a safe and comfortable environment. If the hosted aren’t following the rules, she/he is escorted out, but that rarely happens and we have a return business that would make Disneyland jealous.
It’s a shame that New York governor didn’t visit, he would have had a grand time for a fraction of the price and not a bit of hassle. So the next time you drive up to Vermont want a little pleasant detour come visit us at Madam Sherri’s, just stop by at the General store and they’ll point you in the right direction.
T.Namaya is the poet-in-residence at Madam Sherri’s.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
As A white guy does racism fuck with my life
I’m a White middle class middle-aged man with more than a few dollars in the bank. I see the police and can wave at them and drive safely on by. If I reach into my coat pocket for my wallet and identification I will probably not get shot with forty bullets. I can shout out my magic protective words, “Don’t shoot me, I’m White. Put on some James Brown, see I can’t dance!” Oops, did I just fall into a stereotype? So, as a White guy does racism affect my life?
Being White and of European descent I don’t worry that I’ll be mistaken for a brown Muslim named Mohammed, strip searched, and undergo a rectal probe at the airport. However, given Timothy McVeigh’s role in blowing up the Federal buildings in Oklahoma it would seem reasonable that White guys should equally be suspect and the US should have launched an invasion on Scotland. (Though it is still puzzling to me why fifteen Saudis attacked the World Trade Center Towers and the US invaded Iraq and not Saudi Arabia: A case of the US being geographically challenged?)
When I apply for work and they look at my credentials or college education employers will not wonder if I was successful because of affirmative action. The employer may assume I did it on my own merit or at the least perhaps if I did attend an Ivy League school, it was because I was smart or in the case of GW from a wealthy and well connected family. If I was from that well connected family a gentleman’s C grades will do.
When I go into a grocery store and decide not to use a shopping cart and stuff a few things in my pockets; generally, it is assumed that I was in a rush and the management doesn’t call the police. Because I am a White middle aged man who is not walking around in raggedy clothes mumbling to myself (most times) it’s assumed that I’m harmless, a little careless in not using a cart, but not a significant problem. If I was Black or Hispanic, how long would it take before the police are called?
I can walk into a local bank and cash a check without an ID. They will not ask me for four pieces of ID, even though I might have had a bank account there for years. I will not have the bank guard calling for back up because I get in an argument with a teller over an error in my bank account. As a White middle aged middle class professional, I know she will defer to her manager, and we will resolve this.
If I move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live. I don’t need to ask my friend to find an apartment. I can let the grass grow on my front lawn, have the hedges a bit shabby and the neighbors will think “He’s still a bit of a hippy.” But if my name was Gonzales would the neighbors think, “Those damn Hispanics – one moves into the neighborhood and look what happens.” It is the hundreds of small clues during the course of day that says, “You’re different. You’re not quite like us.” If there is a fistfight at the school do they assume the Black or Hispanic youngster is the aggressor?
When an African American friend of mine comes to town, do I need to give them a heads up about our local police department’s history of racial profiling or bias. If he is stopped does he need to do his Black thing?
“Yes, sir officer. I know it looks suspicious being a six foot tall black man wearing a suit and tie waiting on the street corner for my wife. No, I wasn’t casing the store for a robber. Yes, officer I have identification. Yes officer, observe my hands as they are going into my pocket. No, I don’t have a gun or a shiv.”
Do people of color and various ethnicities feel safe and welcome coming into town? Will they spend their money for shopping? Will they buy second homes here? Will they invest their talents as lawyer, carpenter, artist or poet? Will the richness of many diverse cultures that have strengthened our collective national cultures be welcomed and become an asset to our community?
Does racism affect me in my life? On the surface it doesn’t. As a White middle-aged man, living in a predominantly White community, racism can be a ghosted shadow drifting invisibly by. However, racism/ bias/ discrimination, is the sure and slow corrosive acid that that eats away at the fabric of a community. It says there is an “us and them.” It is another wall in the community that divides neighbors, differenced solely based on ethnicity or color.
Being White and of European descent I don’t worry that I’ll be mistaken for a brown Muslim named Mohammed, strip searched, and undergo a rectal probe at the airport. However, given Timothy McVeigh’s role in blowing up the Federal buildings in Oklahoma it would seem reasonable that White guys should equally be suspect and the US should have launched an invasion on Scotland. (Though it is still puzzling to me why fifteen Saudis attacked the World Trade Center Towers and the US invaded Iraq and not Saudi Arabia: A case of the US being geographically challenged?)
When I apply for work and they look at my credentials or college education employers will not wonder if I was successful because of affirmative action. The employer may assume I did it on my own merit or at the least perhaps if I did attend an Ivy League school, it was because I was smart or in the case of GW from a wealthy and well connected family. If I was from that well connected family a gentleman’s C grades will do.
When I go into a grocery store and decide not to use a shopping cart and stuff a few things in my pockets; generally, it is assumed that I was in a rush and the management doesn’t call the police. Because I am a White middle aged man who is not walking around in raggedy clothes mumbling to myself (most times) it’s assumed that I’m harmless, a little careless in not using a cart, but not a significant problem. If I was Black or Hispanic, how long would it take before the police are called?
I can walk into a local bank and cash a check without an ID. They will not ask me for four pieces of ID, even though I might have had a bank account there for years. I will not have the bank guard calling for back up because I get in an argument with a teller over an error in my bank account. As a White middle aged middle class professional, I know she will defer to her manager, and we will resolve this.
If I move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live. I don’t need to ask my friend to find an apartment. I can let the grass grow on my front lawn, have the hedges a bit shabby and the neighbors will think “He’s still a bit of a hippy.” But if my name was Gonzales would the neighbors think, “Those damn Hispanics – one moves into the neighborhood and look what happens.” It is the hundreds of small clues during the course of day that says, “You’re different. You’re not quite like us.” If there is a fistfight at the school do they assume the Black or Hispanic youngster is the aggressor?
When an African American friend of mine comes to town, do I need to give them a heads up about our local police department’s history of racial profiling or bias. If he is stopped does he need to do his Black thing?
“Yes, sir officer. I know it looks suspicious being a six foot tall black man wearing a suit and tie waiting on the street corner for my wife. No, I wasn’t casing the store for a robber. Yes, officer I have identification. Yes officer, observe my hands as they are going into my pocket. No, I don’t have a gun or a shiv.”
Do people of color and various ethnicities feel safe and welcome coming into town? Will they spend their money for shopping? Will they buy second homes here? Will they invest their talents as lawyer, carpenter, artist or poet? Will the richness of many diverse cultures that have strengthened our collective national cultures be welcomed and become an asset to our community?
Does racism affect me in my life? On the surface it doesn’t. As a White middle-aged man, living in a predominantly White community, racism can be a ghosted shadow drifting invisibly by. However, racism/ bias/ discrimination, is the sure and slow corrosive acid that that eats away at the fabric of a community. It says there is an “us and them.” It is another wall in the community that divides neighbors, differenced solely based on ethnicity or color.
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