Rawlings and Hunts Bzzzzz-kill Exxxotica; It’s a Win-Win-Win … for Exxxotica UPDATED

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The Scarlet Letter is a go-to resource for Dallas now

1850’s classic The Scarlet Letter is now a go-to resource for Dallas policy

Oh good lord, what year is it? 1816? 1916? No, it’s 2016 and Mayor Rawlins, the octogenarian Hunts, and assorted prim ladies all have their collective knickers in a twist about the Exxxotica convention’s planned return to Dallas (I’m sure someone at the convention could fix that problem BTW). Speaking of which, is it me or does the Hunt supported New Friends New Life organization (so in a huff about Exxxotica) sound like it might need booth space at the convention?

Of course being Texas and politics, the legality of their ban had no bearing on their pandering indignation to an electorate wistful for the days of The Scarlet Letter. Mayor Rawlings and his supporters on this issue seem to want us in chastity belts but then attempt to bar the one convention that would surely offer the best selection.

Why is it a win-win-win for Exxxotica?

  1. The location may be TBD but the convention will happen.
  2. The city will lose the lawsuit to be filed by convention organizers.
  3. All this pearl-clutching pique has given Exxxotica gobs of free publicity which will boost attendance.

What did the city of Dallas gain besides a chance to show off its crinolines and hoop skirts? Nationwide embarrassment. As Dallas tries to become an international city, boasting sophisticated real estate product and ever higher prices per square foot, this type of time-wasting lip service, masked as civic responsibility, is counter-productive. In sex and civics what you don’t want are spectators pointing and laughing. Believe me Mr. Mayor, they laugh with fingers fully pointed.

How many of these relocating corporations are thinking, “Dorothy, I don’t think we’re in California anymore.” I can’t imagine they’re moving to Plano because of Dallas’ loose morals, but I do imagine daily eye-rolls as newspapers are read and this drivel takes center stage.

Exxxotica Logo SM

Appellation isn’t Oversight

Kay Bailey Hutchison herself was at the council meeting sitting cozy with the Hunts. Ms. Hutchison, I’m sorry to inform you that when a public building is named for you, you do not get to approve of who uses it. If it was a library you would not control the books either. I’m sorry you appear to believe your personal opinions override the law and the Constitution. If you want the building renamed, that’s another issue entirely.

The job of government-owned properties is to ensure equal access regardless of the views being promoted. That’s the open society you’re supposed to be a representative of. Instead, on this issue Dallas government is a petulant child using censorship to cherry-pick the morality of the city.

Government is also not in the business of enacting laws or bans for the betterment or detriment of a single person or entity. It’s tenuous legal footing. Heck, the city attorney doesn’t support the mayor and he did it anyway. Perhaps when (not if) the city loses Exxxotica’s lawsuit, the city attorney should turn around and arrest the mayor and councilors who voted for the ban. That’s the consequence of paying for sex, isn’t it?

Roman statues boxed up for Iranian President (Jon Williams - @WilliamsJon)

Roman statues boxed up for Iranian President (Jon Williams – @WilliamsJon)

It’s all very Victorian Iranian.

Yes, Iranian. In January, Rome boxed in nude statues to spare Iran’s president from seeing ancient naughty bits. Talk about negating the phrase, “when in Rome…” Let’s not forget in 2002, our own US Attorney General John Ashcroft spent $8,000 to cover the breasts of the “Spirit of Justice” and the loins of the “Majesty of Law” statues at the Justice Department.

Of course in no short supply during today’s council session were the specious arguments that a convention containing porn and French ticklers is somehow connected to sex-trafficking and the degradation of women. Chauvinistically, no one ever seems to make the argument that sex degrades the male performers at all. Funny that.

Besides, Texas doesn’t need any help from Exxxotica to promote the enslavement or degradation of women. The state’s defunding of Planned Parenthood and the resulting the uptick in children born to poor, now trapped, women without access to medical care (whose long-term support will now disproportionately rest on taxpayers) – did just fine.  A fur bra? Not so much.

Exxxotica’s Danger? Empty Pockets

Maybe there’s some danger or violence this particular convention brings to town we’re not aware of? Nope. Last year’s Exxxotica resulted in no slaves traded or recruited, no increased violence towards women, nor likely even an increase in parking tickets surrounding the convention center. Vice cops who actually attended last year’s convention were “bored” with the goings-on.

What Exxxotica IS about are porn starlet autographs and all things battery-operated that’ll empty wallets and likely wind up in the attic or the trash in a month. And honestly, in 2016 it’s about people without a reliable internet connection.

A Moral War on Plastic?

Is the problem these prudes have with Exxxotica tied to environmental concerns about all the non-recyclable plastic phallic symbols on display? I mean it can’t be about phallic symbols generally, because in the first six months of 2016 there will be 19 gun shows in the Metroplex … nearly one every weekend. While none are at the Dallas convention center, innumerable Texas officials are A-OK with that.

Rawlings was quoted as saying he wasn’t going to hide behind the Constitution concerning Exxxotica’s first amendment rights, and yet that’s just where you’d likely find the city council on gun control.

In The End …

When a hospital patient leaves without a doctor’s approval, it’s called AMA (Against Medical Advice). When the mayor and council act ALA (Against Legal Advice) they should be personally, financially liable for the consequences. They should also be forced to issue a public apology to the city for violating the laws they were elected to uphold. Unfortunately as always, it will be the people of the city of Dallas who will pay for their elected officials’ political hubris in both money and in burnishing our reputation as a priggish backwater.

UPDATE:  Adultcon, Exxxotica’s main competitor reached out to the convention center one day after the city council voted to ban Exxxotica. How much free publicity will our city council be giving them?  Moths to a flame … and our city council is on FIRE! 🙂

Rawlings was also quoted today as saying, “You can’t have freedoms without boundaries.” To refresh the mayor’s memory, here’s the dictionary definition of “freedom”

  1. The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint: e.g. He won his freedom after a retrial.
  2. Exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
  3. The power to determine action without restraint.

I think the mayor mixed up “freedom” with “free range.”  You know, where chickens can run around to their heart’s content … in a fenced-in field.  Only after it jumps the fence does it have its “freedom.”

 

Remember: Do you have an HOA story to tell? A little high-rise history? Realtors, want to feature a listing in need of renovation or one that’s complete with flying colors? How about hosting a Candy’s Dirt Staff Meeting? Shoot Jon an email. Marriage proposals accepted (they’re legal)! [email protected]

Jon Anderson is CandysDirt.com's condo/HOA and developer columnist, but also covers second home trends on SecondShelters.com. An award-winning columnist, Jon has earned silver and bronze awards for his columns from the National Association of Real Estate Editors in both 2016, 2017 and 2018. When he isn't in Hawaii, Jon enjoys life in the sky in Dallas.

9 Comments

  1. Candy Evans on February 10, 2016 at 11:57 pm

    Well I’m sort of torn on this one, though I would have voted with the minority and let it happen because of First Amendment Rights, which seem to be in the bull’s eye these days. But I understand how women who have suffered abusive personal relationships look at some aspects of this conference and find painful memory jars. And I appreciate and laud our Mayor’s sensitivities. Because while for most mentally healthy, well-emotionally-nourished people, sex is one of the innate pleasures of life and some adult experimentation is fun. (Yes, it is, and don’t get me started on keeping the flame alive in long term marriages… ) But others have endured and escaped abusive situations where sex was used as a control tool — or worse — I think of a former judge on McKinney Ave. and what he did to a girlfriend on his balcony and oh my yes, I think of our own Dallas Cowboy Greg Hardy. So the heart of this decision is in the right place, I think, and Mr. Hunt and Senator Hutchison are coming from a place of protection for women. Problem is, can we afford to make a statement? I look at decisions like this, well-meaning all, and wonder if the council-city manager structure is really the best for us.

  2. Jon Anderson on February 11, 2016 at 1:08 am

    But should we bar the dental convention that was held coincidentally alongside last year’s Exxxotica (without issue) because a number of people have bad dental experiences and phobias? If we’re talking about abuse triggers, then should we ban alcohol sales because alcoholics abuse their family? Cigarettes kill but all we do is put a warning on the pack. If you hate Exxxotica, dentists or drunks, it’s your right to stay away.
    Porn is not a “how-to” manual on how to abuse people. If it was, it wouldn’t have the exceptionally long history it does.
    At the end of the day, this publicity has all but guaranteed Exxxotica Dallas 2017, something that, had the city council just shut-up, is unlikely to have happened (given the event’s city-jumping history).

  3. CRITIC on February 11, 2016 at 9:36 am

    Hee Hee Hee
    We will still see numerous billboards around the city promoting the EXXXOTICA convention wherever it is to be held.
    I wonder if one can place EXXXOTICA campaign signs in their yards like politicians do?
    It would hilarious to place EXXXOTICA signs in the street were Hunt, Rawlins, and Hutchison live.

    Better yet, just outlaw billboards in Dallas !!! I don’t have to go to the EXXXOTICA convention but I do have to view ugly billboards in Dallas.

    What a world class city we have ??

    You don’t see billboards in Highland Park, Beverly Hills, Santa Barbara or other nice places.

    • Jon Anderson on February 11, 2016 at 9:46 am

      True, but you see plenty of billboards all over the greater Los Angeles metro area. I think that Alaska and Hawaii are the only two places that statewide ban outdoor advertising.

      It’s funny all this reminds me of Charlie Hebdo and the resulting “Je suis Charlie” cries. Once people’s sympathy wore off, so did their support when the magazine published some very controversial works. Freedom of speech and expression are not a continuum, it either is or it’s not.

  4. aurie lambert on February 11, 2016 at 8:28 pm

    wow. excellent. New Friends in most recent 990 available shows income of $1,500,000 and salaries totaling $700,000. no explanation required. and right on about the former Senator. really excellent essay.

  5. Jay on February 13, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    Sorry – there’s a flaw in the author’s logic. The Exxxotica is a Convention – a trade show – where people come to buy and sell things, and promote their products. This is not art – it’s a commercial venture. The KKK is protected by free speech when they want to march and communicate their opinions. They are not protected by free speech if they want to set up a booth at the State Fair and sell Nazi memorabilia. The Westboro Church is protected by free speech in spewing their vitriol, but not if they want to sell bumper stickers at a craft show.

    Thanks to the author for his tired attacks on the morals of the good people of Dallas. How about you move to San Francisco? Google “Folsom Street Fair” or “Castro Parade” or “Naked Bike Ride.” Or maybe Berkeley – google “Breasts Not Bombs” – you’ll probably find something that suits your opinions, as they consider just about anything “free speech.”

    Candy – Love your blog, but I’m amazed you would let someone use it for a political Bully Pulpit. Can we please stick to Real Estate?

    • Jon Anderson on February 13, 2016 at 2:50 pm

      I remain on the side of the city attorney and convention center management. FYI, your argument is faulty. The State Fair and craft fairs are private operations that have their own rules on what they will allow. The convention center is a public venue. In other words a banquet hall rents to anyone, but the renter can invite whomever they like to dinner. The city of Dallas owns the convention center (and Fair Park) and can not bar any group from renting the venue because of their views or content. That group/renter can set rules on what is in keeping with their purpose. Medical conventions don’t have to welcome witch doctors anti-vaxxer quackery. But they’d be free to have their own event.

    • Candy Evans on February 14, 2016 at 1:14 am

      Jay, I appreciate your comment and vital addition to the conversation. I thought carefully about this Convention as a topic, and decided that it affects quality of life in Dallas no matter which side you are on. We cover quality of life in Dallas because that’s how we enjoy the real estate we buy. Further, if a lawsuit over this should raise our property taxes, I think we as readers deserve to know why.
      I started this blog as one solo voice — mine. I tend to the conservative. But as we have grown (and we are really growing!) we have brought on other voices to definitely challenge me and our reader’s. (But mostly me!)
      In fact, I would welcome a guest post from you on this very topic!

  6. Jon Anderson on February 18, 2016 at 1:19 pm

    UPDATE: City hires ultra-conservative (one tied to Focus on the Family) lawyers to defend itself on upcoming Exxxotica suit. Spends $100K of taxpayers money on retainers and plays a little three-card Monty with accounting. Councilors NOT in Rawlings’ corner peeved. Robert Wilonsky has all the news. http://cityhallblog.dallasnews.com/2016/02/council-members-demand-say-in-who-represents-dallas-in-possible-exxxotica-sex-expo-suit.html/#more-53394

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