What Would Nietzsche Say About Sex Traffickers Targeting Vulnerable Minors in Manhattan?

On Thursday August 4th, six men were arrested for their involvement in a New York City sex trafficking ring. Each defendant was charged with four sex trafficking related crimes according to the Southern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney’s Office. This particular ring kidnapped and trafficked young girls to other states, they carefully searched for victims that were vulnerable and were unable to fend for themselves. Sex traffickers commonly set rules for their victims — they control their actions, and take their earnings. If a victim violates one of these rules set by the person trafficking them, they often face punishment in the form of physical violence. In the minds of the traffickers, these girls are somehow in debt to them and like Nietzsche says in On the Genealogy of Morals, are being forced to “pledge to the creditor in the case of non-payment something else that [they] ‘possess,’ over which he still has power, for example his body.” In this case the kidnapped girls are in debt to their traffickers — the “creditors”. These girls did not do this for fun as some people believe, they and others who get tangled up in the sex trade are abused and constantly belittled by their traffickers. In this particular case, the girl’s pimps knew exactly how to manipulate them and use their vulnerabilities against them.

Sex traffickers usually recruit minors who lack education, a stable home life, family support, and people who have suffered physical and emotional traumas in the past as they are likely to receive less media attention once they end up missing. Over a dozen teen girls have been reported missing in the Bronx area, with one being reported missing as long as two years ago. A white, non-intercity female minor would not go under the police radar and remain missing for that amount of time. Police and city councilmen believe that the effects and influence of this prostitution ring on the community may have been bigger than they first imagined and many members of the community are taking to social media sites to post warnings about possible threats and giving tips on how to stay away from this dangerous operation telling teenage girls to keep their phones charged at all times, carry pepper spray, to not meet up with strangers and to most importantly always be aware of their surroundings. Each defendant in this case could face a maximum of life in prison for their crimes, but the charges stated are merely accusations at this point and the defendants are innocent until proven guilty.