Hating Evil

"Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy
on the remnant of Joseph" (Amos 5:15, NIV).

Four weeks ago, I forwarded an e-mail from Shared Hope International about the need to fight human trafficking in the United States. I asked a few friends to e-mail Mr. Craig Newmark (craig@craigslist.org), the founder of Craigslist, asking him to stop aiding the practice by facilitating prostitution on his web site.

I e-mailed him myself with this simple message:

"I ask that you remove the 'erotic services' page from Craigslist, because it aids in the sale and exploitation of women and children. This must stop."

Mr. Newmark responded, "Terry, how does it do that?"

In today's edition of The Oklahoman, I found the answer (which I believe Mr. Newmark already knew, because of the long history of arrests connected with people using his web site). These are a few quotes from the story:

"A man accused of pimping a 16-year-old girl in a handful of states will remain in jail until his trial, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

"Irish Levon Woods, 22, is facing two felony counts in federal court in Oklahoma City that could land him in prison for life.

"A federal magistrate opted not to allow Woods to be released from jail Thursday after hearing testimony he had threatened to kill the girl he allegedly forced to become a prostitute if she talked to authorities...

"(FBI Agent Mitchell) Thompson said Woods used Internet-based exchange site Craigslist to attract customers for the teen, whom he had met through a mutual friend in December 2006.

"Oklahoma City vice officers have arrested more than 100 people over the past two years using ads posted on the site, Thompson's affidavit stated."

Over 100 people in Oklahoma City alone? How many others across the nation and around the world? How many other girls have been enslaved and sold for sex using Craigslist?

I hate the evil behind the abuse and exploitation of those young girls! And I am disgusted by the people who are making money from the exploitation of those children! As I told Mr. Newmark, "This must stop."

(The entire story may be read at http://newsok.com/article/3204852/1203081164. )