In Hostess Club Raid, Did Police Arrest the Victims?

Beyond the legality of the raid, the LAPD and ICE may have detained victims of indentured serviture and sexual trafficking. According to Angelica Salas, Executive Director of CHIRLA, “The LAPD and ICE knew or at least suspected that women working at the club were being exploited and yet no contingency plan was established to ensure all potential victims received appropriate guidance and recourse. Instead, all of the women were turned over to ICE and now face deportation while the Club remains open for business.”

Disney Ride Still Makes Light of Sex Slavery

“Human-trafficking is the fastest growing criminal activity in the world today.” According to the United Nations, as many as 4 million people are sold into slavery each year, with over 80% involving commercial sexual exploitation. So why is Disney still asking us to laugh at an overt depiction of sexual slavery in its popular Pirates of the Caribbean ride?

Percy Jackson, Minstrel Show

What makes this movie unusually offensive is the portrayal of Percy’s sidekicks, Annabeth and Grover. In the books, Annabeth is a sword wielding bad ass who gets the crew out of jams. In the movie, she is still wielding a sword, but is “conquered” by Percy and demoted to a damsel in distress (DID). Grover is an object of entertainment throughout the movie, providing steady comic relief with his styalized venacular, “crazy” physical antics, and yes, even dancing.