There seems to be a lot of outcry in the
United States over this ‘Secret Service Prostitute Scandal’, as it’s being
dubbed.
On the face of it, you can – kind of – understand why for many this
story is so shocking. Undercover agents working to ensure President Barack
Obama’s safety during his recent visit to Cartagena, on Colombia’s Caribbean
coast, hiring ‘escort girls’ and then not having the decency to pay them the, allegedly, agreed fee. Not the kind of publicity the White House is looking for,
is it?
 |
| 'Looking for something, pretty boy?' 'Eh, no thanks.' |
We don’t know yet – and we probably never will – what exactly happened on the night/early morning in question. Yes,
the 24-year-old mother at the centre of all this has given her account of
things. That’s just one side of the story, though, of course – and a Colombian
woman’s one at that.
Most of the flak in the media and general public is aimed,
rightfully so you might say, at the US agents for a number of reasons.
These
are, namely, that they procured the services of prostitutes (albeit in a country
where such practices are legal), they were drunk and they showed a complete
lack of professional judgement with their actions, thus embarrassing their president and their country. On that last point, don’t worry USA, we think as
much as you now as we ever did in the past – perhaps even a bit more.
OK, criticism one, the guys hired hookers.
Well, we’re not up on the staffing of the men in question, but if they happened
to be on ‘free time’ when all this happened, are they not entitled to do what
they want, especially legal activities?
Here’s another point to consider, though.
Maybe they didn’t know the girls were ‘escorts’, as they describe themselves –
distinct from prostitutes that now, these girls are much classier operators.
Colombia is famous – Cartagena and Medellín in particular (see previous posts ‘Bienvenidos a Medellin – Bangkok Light’
http://bit.ly/IhlErq & ‘The Wages of Love’ http://bit.ly/IeUXji for related stories) – for
such ‘gringo hunters’. These are women who come across as normal (is there
such a thing?), just out for a night out trying to ‘score’ a man or two, as
happens in every place in the world.
However, what these ladies usually won’t tell you is that they want to get directly paid for their services – by whatever means they can get it. They don’t tend to introduce themselves as prostitutes or escorts, giving you their business cards in the process. No, that wouldn’t be the smartest move for picking up now, would it?
However, what these ladies usually won’t tell you is that they want to get directly paid for their services – by whatever means they can get it. They don’t tend to introduce themselves as prostitutes or escorts, giving you their business cards in the process. No, that wouldn’t be the smartest move for picking up now, would it?
They’re much
sneakier than that. They’ve perfected the art of being ‘genuine’ so skillfully that
we’ve witnessed people who are fully sober as well as street-wise Colombian
natives getting duped by them.
Yes, you can say secret service personnel should be
a bit savvier, but we have to remember that there were at least two bottles of
vodka thrown into the equation.
 |
| A Caribbean beach rub - far less hassle & cheaper than troublesome 'escorts'. |
So regardless of the fact that the guys may have been on a night off, it doesn’t seem very prudent as an undercover agent, whose job it is to look after the President of the USA in what many think is a volatile country (we don’t), to be out knocking down copious amounts of alcohol.
James Bond
might have had the odd vodka and Martini – shaken, not stirred – but we can’t
recall him ever getting too inebriated, while Jason Bourne always kept his wits
about him. Alas, these real-life professional agents let such standards (and their
trousers) slip for a few hours – a faux pas which has already cost a number of
them their careers.
In the grand scheme of things, however, do
their actions really warrant sacking? It’s safe to say that there are far worse
activities being carried out by US secret agents and military personnel across
the globe.
Heck, the ladies involved in this ‘scandal’ still got paid decent loot
for their services – US$225 for a few hours' work is more than they would make
in a normal week or month even.
Perhaps we should direct our anger at the greed
of the woman who looked for US$800. Bet she didn’t even buy a drink all
night. Disgraceful.
Mmmmm... escorts...
ReplyDeleteNow Pieter, remember the beach message is just as satisfying...
ReplyDeleteIm not so sure about the sneakiness of the women in question. when I was in Cartagena and tried chatting up a few girls they were quick enough to point out that they were working and that dancing with them would be wasting my time and theirs. Maybe it was my less than wealthy appearance at the time, and in fact once I had made it clear that I wasnt going to pay but would still like a dance since there were no there girls in the club, we actually had a good time. Anyway, you make a good point that what they did was hardly a smear on their reputation considering what they generally do.
ReplyDeleteWell I did have an incident in Medellín which I refer to in the piece where the women we (me & a local lad) were chatting up waited until they were back in the apartment before they told us their 'game'. Beer goggles where in place in our case too, so we weren't the sharpest in fairness. Plus they were 'Paisas' of course!
ReplyDeleteCheers as always for reading & leaving a comment. Much appreciated!