When it comes to sex, men’s ‘stupid’ gene is old and enduring
Imagine you’re a 77-year-old billionaire who owns one of the most successful NFL franchises of all time.
And imagine your team is playing in the AFC Championship, and you’re flying to Kansas City aboard one of your private jets on game day.
But, before leaving your home in Palm Beach, imagine getting in your blue Bentley and telling your driver: “Say, Jeeves? My neck is sore again this morning. Can you take me to that same strip-mall massage parlor where I went yesterday? I won’t stay long, maybe half an hour.”
Some version of this fateful conversation occurred between New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and his driver on the morning of Jan. 20, and the rest is infamy.
Police last week accused Kraft and hundreds of other men with soliciting prostitution at Asian “day spas” believed to be part of human-trafficking sex ring. Also among those charged are a Wall Street financier, a former CFO of Citigroup, the boyfriend of an LPGA star golfer, ex-cops and a Catholic deacon.
Kraft and many of the others say they’re innocent. Investigators say there are graphic videotapes, which all of America should be trying not to imagine.
After the story broke, the most oft-heard question was, “How could those guys be so stupid?”
It’s beyond rhetorical, of course. As human history illustrates, there’s no limit to the stupid, tawdry, pathetic things that men will do for a few minutes of sex. The stupid gene is stubborn and fed by the myth that prostitution is always a harmless transaction between consenting adults.
In the massage-parlor investigation, a far more important question is, “How could those guys be so blind?”
Imagine entering a small, dimly lit storefront spa where the women speak little or no English. There’s clue No. 1 that you’re not in a Nevada-style brothel with professional sex workers.
Clue No. 2 would be the presence of suitcases, refrigerators, bedding, hot plates and other items that would lead anybody with half a brain to conclude that the women were living on the premises, and probably not by choice.
It’s inconceivable that the johns didn’t notice the suspicious conditions, but apparently none were bothered enough to report it, even anonymously. Many were repeat customers. Authorities say it was a health inspector who provided the critical tip that led to the multi-county sweep.
“Cockroaches,” is how Martin County Sheriff William Snyder describes those who patronized the storefront parlors, but cockroaches actually are more discreet. Cockroaches don’t drive Bentleys.
Based on the arrest photos, the predominant demographic of the day-spa defendants is older white men in their 50s and 60s. How they all found their way to these particular establishments is unclear. Either they shared the addresses online, or perhaps at their Enlarged Prostate Support Group.
Millions of words have been written about why men misbehave in reckless and harmful ways, but this story isn’t about foolish acts of loneliness or lust. It’s about financing a criminal enterprise that enslaves and exploits people who have no escape, no plane ticket home.
Don’t be surprised when the defendants — and not just the wealthy ones — claim that they had no idea what was really going on at the day spas, that they didn’t know the women had been brought from China with a false promise of legitimate work in the United States.
Human trafficking is a heavy crime, while soliciting prostitution in Florida is a misdemeanor that often results in a fine or probation for first offenders. Legislation has been introduced that would impose mandatory jail time of 10 to 30 days for convicted johns, since the current laws clearly aren’t a sufficient deterrent.
The problem is that some men aren’t easily deterred, or even spooked. Vice cops have been raiding shady massage parlors for decades and making lurid headlines of the customers.
Usually authorities are quick to release names and mug shots, on the theory that the public shame and embarrassment will discourage others from taking such a risk. Some municipalities even plaster enlarged photos of johns on highway billboards.
Still, the strip-mall sex trade continues to thrive throughout the country. Men arrive with cash in their pockets at all hours, nonchalant and undisguised. They plainly aren’t too worried about being caught on videotape — busted, booked and sent home to face their wives, girlfriends or mothers.
Maybe 30 days in the slammer would make them think twice, but maybe not. We’re dealing with a defectively primitive gene.
This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 5:26 PM.