Observations From the Spectrum

A lot happens behind the scenes. Those with power wield their power so that we, those without, continue to see them with reverance and awe. Neither should be given unconditionally and those with power should be held to the same standard as the rest of us.

When we look for the truth, sometimes we don’t like what we find. That is the case and has always been the case for those who seek it. A life lived is not clean. It is dirty and has secrets and scars.

Over the past few years, a headline and story that we have been following is that of Jerry Epstein and Ghisalaine Maxwell. The pimps for the rich, wealthy and famous who groomed the young, beautiful and powerless to sexually service to those mentioned above. In this drama, it is not a question of when but of who partook.

The rich, wealthy and famous have one common denominator. They thrive on power. It turns them on. Not beauty or sensuality but power. And power and sex comes in two forms: rape and virgins. Those who want power and are turned on by taking virginity, the ultimate prize.

Epstein and Maxwell groomed virgins for the taking and supplied them to the highest bidder. You may think that this is a stretch. I assure you it is not.

I was out for a run with a friend in Bago, Myanmar. Not a place on the tourist loop but the closest place to Yangon, where I lived, in which I could run in the country and on dirt instead of pavement. In other words, off the beaten track.

On one such run, my friend and I got lost and needed to ask for directions. We knew a bit of Burmese and were sent by a tea shop in the right direction.

En route, we asked a man walking if we were still headed the right way.

He laughed and beckoned us to follow him.

Myanmar and a lot of Asia is confusing. You can sometimes be a block away from where you are going and it seems like you are in a different land. Then, you walk through an alley and voila, the location you have been searching for is there.

We thought that this would be the case as were ushered across the threshold of a compound. We thought it was a private gated home with a back alley exit.

The man proceeded to lead us through another gate finally stopping at a door. When he opened it, seven children immediately stood. Two boys and five girls. Ages nine to fourteen maybe. It was a brothel of children. The man gave us a hearty laugh and then walked us back out and pointed us in the right direction. He had great fun at our expense.

Now, if I can stumble on this accidentally in nothing more than a t-shirt and running shorts, I assume that this is accessible and offered to anyone with any tangible wealth or interest in power in abundance.

Which brings me to the film Black Licorice. The Epstein/Maxwell scandal is bound to catch in its web those who thrive on power. How else does a pimp own a jet and an island? His wares were not cheap. They came at a high cost and for that cost was the highest level of discretion. But his secrets are now about to be opened up to the public for scrutiny.

So what would you do if you knew it would come out in the public eye that you were someone who enjoyed the spoils of youth? Taking the virginity or innocence of children?  You would do your best to get ahead of it by any means possible.

Black Licorice can be viewed as a commissioned film designed to sway public opinion to be more open and accepting of underage conscent since that is the main thruline. A 28 year old who is being pursued by a 15 year old and in the end, succumbs.

The majority of the population will not see this film but the majority of those living among the names in Epstein’s little black book will. Why? To sway the mind of potential jurors so that they see sex with minors as normative as opposed to illegal and taboo.

Normal, isn’t that. Normal people want either sex with a partner they love or someone who can satisfy them. If given the choice between a virgin or a std free adult with some experience, the latter will always be more fun. It’s why only those who want power find post-love post-marriage attraction to virgins. It’s not about sex but of taking something that no one else will ever be able to again. Power to the ninth degree.