ABC's 20/20: Must be its very IQ

ABC’s 20/20 you will be watching this evening includes a 15 minute segment about alleged prostitution in the NMI and other negative issues of these isles. It’s a piece riddled with irony which definitely depicts, as my colleague Ed Stephens, Jr. wrote last Friday, the intelligence quotient (IQ) of the producer of the NMI segment. Here are reasons why I believe in his assertion about ABC’s 20/20 IQ:

• Prostitution: If Brian Ross really cares about righting all the wrongs in the “world’s oldest profession”, then he will not have skipped strip joints and brothels between New York, Atlantic City, Las Vegas and California. I need not remind Mr. Ross that the “flesh trade industry” is humming and thriving between the Eastern Seaboard and the West Coast.

For instance, there are brothels (prostitution joints) in Las Vegas where you can pick-up women of your fancy. If you will, when Viagra first came out in the market even guys 70-plus years old took their share (some in wheel chairs) and headed for brothels in Vegas to test the strength of their new found savior of active sex. It would have been the greatest film clip if Mr. Ross and his film crew were there to catch the old guys wheelin` into prostitution joints. He would have won a far more meaningful award and the company that produces Viagra may even use him, instead of former Senator Bob Dole, in the promotion of its product.

Too, Mr. Ross ought to visit US military bases in Asia and the Pacific whose presence definitely triggers the proliferation of prostitution. If you have any doubts, check out Olangapo in the Philippines and elsewhere. Do we turn our heads the other way when Uncle Sam’s boys are in town and needed some form of fleshy relief? Where’s your principle, Mr. Ross?

Now, Congressman George Miller asserted rather irresponsibly that the NMI government and the private sector are jointly promoting the flesh industry (prostitution). Excuse me, sir, but isn’t it true that a lot of young girls from your district end up in Long Street in San Francisco trading their flesh for money? These young runaways, sir, deserve greater attention from your nimble mind and for starters, I strongly recommend that you read former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s book on the “Culture of Decay” in America. It should give you some insight into buckling down to helping the young prostitutes from your district make amends in their lives, sir? Wow! The glass house syndrome must be in full bloom even as we head towards the Fall season.

• Out of Sync: If Mr. Ross uses his nimble mind perceptively, the focus of his witch hunt ramblings would have zeroed-in on the discordancy of the Clinton unequal application of an economic policy that effectively excludes this group of US Citizens. He would have probed and try to make sense why the effective exclusion of the NMI in the successful wealth and jobs creation of the Clinton administration who apparently has honed its skill in telling lies, lies, lies, and more lies! He would have concentrated on the genesis of this mindless controversy being bankrolled by the US textile labor unions. As a television journalist, he would sought to defend the fragile economy of resource-poor island governments. Unfortunately, he was far more interested in his career completely compromising fairness in his warped portrayal of these isles. Is Mr. Ross also in the deep pockets of the US textile labor unions?

Finally, it seems quite clear now that ABC’s 20/20 has established itself as the lead US television tabloid in every sense of the word. It lacks the depth of real journalism where fairmess is paramount. How sad that its 15 minute segment demonstrates trashy and yellowish journalism of the highest order and further illustrates the dark side of White America who always look down on Americans of color. Welcome to the real world, Mr. Ross.

Strictly a personal view. John S. DelRosario Jr. is publisher of Saipan Tribune