Do you "frequently" put the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door to your hotel room? Do you dispose of condoms by placing them in the trash in your hotel room instead of throwing them out the window? Do you sometimes travel with "excessive sex paraphernalia" because you like to get all excessive on your partner's ass? Do you sometimes drink out of the minibar? Then Department of Homeland Security wants your hotel maid to report you. Reason:
Despite federal fearmongering, there's no concrete evidence to suggest that sex trafficking is even prevalent in America, let alone on the rise. But you would never know that from listening to lawmakers, federal officials, and their local-media mouthpieces talk. And while some of this propaganda stems from good intentions, it also provides good fodder for all manner of civil-liberties abuses, from seizing sex-business assets to expanding police wiretapping power. Now it's providing law enforcement with cover to convince citizens to spy on each other and report one another to police for perfectly normal activity.
"We would rather have you call anybody and report it to somebody," a DHS spokeswoman told 9News Colorado, "even if it turns out to be nothing, than miss one of those victims that’s suffering." That's why, as part of the "Safe Action Project," DHS staff will train hotel and hospitality workers on how to spot the so-called signs of sex trafficking.
Among those warning signs of sex trafficking: all sorts of things that all sorts of people do when they go to hotels, from raiding the minibar to sleeping in to using condoms and sex toys. Other things hotels are being advised to watch out for: "suspicious tattoos," "personal hygiene products," bottles of lube, and "individuals with lower quality clothing than [their] companions." Hm. I dress like a pizza delivery guy—ratty t-shirts, old jeans, stained hoodies—while my husband prefers natty suits, flashy ties, and expensive shoes. So... how long until we're on a terror watch list? Says Reason:
Take heed, lovers on romantic getaways, photographers on assignment, beauty-product junkies, tech workers, cash carriers, alcoholics, late sleepers, slobs, immodest dressers, people on the autism spectrum, people with body-odor problems, single patrons seeking hotel-bar hookups, light packers, and those with a youthful appearance: DHS is onto you!
I'm old enough to remember when the Department of Homeland Security was created. The idea was to protect the "homeland" from terrorist attacks—not to protect gay men from rentboys and hotels from their guests.
