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Blame Paris
In a recent review of A.K. Sandoval-Strausz' Hotels: A History, I discussed the moral panic hotels provoked in the 19th century, catering as they did to rootless transients and licentious women. I thought we were kind of over it, but the Falls Church New-Press informs me otherwise:
Parents and supporters of the St. James Catholic middle school packed the Falls Church City Council chambers at City Hall Monday night to plead to the F.C. Planning Commission that it not approve a proposed Hilton Garden Inn hotel adjacent the school in the block of W. Broad St.
Strident speakers Monday warned the Planning Commission of “the likelihood of inappropriate conduct between adults and children” due to the “transient nature” of hotel patrons. They also cited traffic congestion issues, noting that “car crashes are the number one killer of children under 14.” One said that N. Oak St. would become “a mini-mixing bowl.”
Concerns were expressed of “hotel rooms being used in crimes against children,” and laws cited in some jurisdictions across the U.S. prohibiting registered sex offenders from living near a school.
Judy Meehan, a victim’s rights advocate, said it was “disgraceful” that the City did not begin consideration of the project “with a concept of risk.” The City has been “negligent,” she said.
“The connection between crime and hotels is well known,” Meehan said, suggesting the heightened instances of prostitution and rape “in and around hotels.”
[Many thanks to reader Brian Nichols for the link.]
Elemenope|4.28.08 @ 10:32AM|#
First a hotel, next thing ya know they'll be putt'n in a
pool table.
*GASP*
But, then...the children might play!!!!
|4.28.08 @ 11:23AM|#
The connection between crime and men is well known.Put us all in jail and everything will be fine.
Episiarch|4.28.08 @ 11:24AM|#
I think we need Elliot Spitzer's opinion on this. After all, wuz the hotel done made him do it, right?
|4.28.08 @ 11:31AM|#
It's obvious; our children will never be safe until we send them
to government-run boarding schools on the
moon.
And if I catch any of them cutting across the yard of my secret
moonbase fortress, I'll set the goddam dogs on 'em.
|4.28.08 @ 11:34AM|#
The connection between crime and hotels is well
known
I generally say something similar to this when I get my final bill
at checkout.
Fluffy|4.28.08 @ 11:34AM|#
I would have to say that I think it's obvious that there is
probably some other reason some people in the community don't want
this hotel built, but they're perfectly willing to lie and pretend
that they're afraid of crime if that's the approach that will
actually kill the project.
Kerry thinks this is an example of a throwback to archaic
anti-hotel hysteria, but I think it's probably just run of the mill
lying and deceit and disingenuousness by anti-development
advocates.
Episiarch|4.28.08 @ 11:40AM|#
Fluffy, I think you discount what goes on in many frumpy
middle-aged hausfraus' heads regarding hotels/motels. They just
have a nightmare of their husband taking some hot young hooker or
the babysitter there for some of the sodomy they dislike to do for
their husband.
It's absurd, but it is more widespread than you think.
|4.28.08 @ 11:44AM|#
I suspect Fluffy's right. The last thing you want after you remake your small town into a 24/7 colonial reenactment, is a bunch of tourists in shorts and I'm With Stupid T-shirts running around ruining the picturesque.
|4.28.08 @ 11:49AM|#
I'm gonna agree with Fluffy. Episiarch has a point, but Falls Church ain't the south and the Hilton ain't the Blue Light Motel.
First Little Pig|4.28.08 @ 11:53AM|#
Do these people really envision men taking school kids through the lobby and up to their rooms for a little sodomy? I feel terrible for these parents and their constant worrying. They must sit up all night listening for prowlers outside their kid's windows.
Naga Sadow|4.28.08 @ 11:55AM|#
Personally, I would fear for my children(that I know of) with a drunk driving Paris Hilton on the loose.
T|4.28.08 @ 11:57AM|#
Fluffy called it. They can't think of a good reason to oppose it, so they're playing the "for the children" card to kill the project. It sounds much better than just standing up and shouting "NIMBY!NIMBY!".
Abdul|4.28.08 @ 12:00PM|#
Falls church is very anti-development, and that's the real reason to kill the hotel. Interesting fun fact: some years ago there was an abortion clinic near the very same catholic school. You'd think they'd see a nuclear reactor as an improvement over that.
Elemenope|4.28.08 @ 12:01PM|#
Fluffy, I think you discount what goes on in many frumpy
middle-aged hausfraus' heads regarding hotels/motels. They just
have a nightmare of their husband taking some hot young hooker or
the babysitter there for some of the sodomy they dislike to do for
their husband.
I work full-time as a receptionist in a local inn, and while it is
absurd to argue that cheating on one's spouse would not occur
absent hotels, I can tell you there is never a lack of people who
want a room for only a few hours, only pay cash, live locally, and
come back regularly.
The stupidity is the "hausfrau" mentality that the hotel is to
*blame* for the infidelity. But it certainly is an
enabler/facilitator.
|4.28.08 @ 12:01PM|#
"First a hotel, next thing ya know they'll be putt'n in a
pool table."
(1) Hotel is built
(2) Pool table is installed
(3) ...
(4) Man on dog
Jennifer|4.28.08 @ 12:03PM|#
Here's something gorgeous from the comment thread on the
story:
What amazes me is the lack of forethought by our local Falls
Church City Council, by allowing the building of a hotel which is
surrounded by a school with children from 5 to 14 years old, which
has been in existance [sic] for decades. If you have ever thought
about the dangers, just go to the Starbucks on Broad St next to the
Stratford Hotel and watch the number of people sitting in their
cars, drinking alcohol and loitering around that block.
Starbucks! My God, the kids are being exposed to Starbucks!
Anybody who says I'll change my mind about this after Kerry or I
whelp out some young'uns will have the honor of being the first
person ever to be kicked in the balls with my stylish new black
suede boots. The toes are kind of pointy, for extra kickin'
impact.
thoreau|4.28.08 @ 12:06PM|#
It's obvious; our children will never be safe until we send them to government-run boarding schools on the moon.
What about alien abduction?
|4.28.08 @ 12:09PM|#
Speaking of popular culture and the degradation of America's
youths, I just this morning learned Miley Cyrus, beloved Disney
teen cyborg "star" is a waste byproduct of washed up
hillbilly squawker Billy Ray.
Some people would travel back in time to strangle A. Hilter in his
crib. I think that Disney guy would be a better target.
|4.28.08 @ 12:11PM|#
What about alien abduction?
Well, obviously, I meant our gover....
Ooh, wait- same thing. Never mind
Episiarch|4.28.08 @ 12:14PM|#
The stupidity is the "hausfrau" mentality that the hotel is
to *blame* for the infidelity.
Please note my 11:24 post.
Anybody who says I'll change my mind about this after Kerry or
I whelp out some young'uns will have the honor of being the first
person ever to be kicked in the balls with my stylish new black
suede boots.
You'll change your mind after you fall in love with a dashing
radical communist. Women are weak that way and can't hold on to
their principles.
|4.28.08 @ 12:14PM|#
P Brooks,
washed up hillbilly squawker Billy Ray
It is a damn shame. That's two strikes, Flatwoods, KY. I suggest
you don't try for a third!
stuartl|4.28.08 @ 12:19PM|#
Anybody who says I'll change my mind about this after Kerry
or I whelp out some young'uns...
Well, Falls Church IS the kind of DC suburban town where yuppies go
to spawn. They keep trying to make the town center nicer, but
somehow the Stratford Motor Lodge survives.
Jennifer|4.28.08 @ 12:21PM|#
The boots have now been retrofitted with sharp pointy things sticking out of the front, Episiarch. Watch thyself.
Episiarch|4.28.08 @ 12:25PM|#
Jennifer, I'd be worried, but I have superior hand-eye coordination. Because I'm male.
|4.28.08 @ 12:27PM|#
sharp pointy things sticking out of the front
Did you go to "Q"s subterranean gadget lab to get them?
D.A. Ridgely|4.28.08 @ 12:29PM|#
I take it no "strident speakers Monday warned the Planning Commission of 'the likelihood of inappropriate conduct between adults and children'" resulting from the presence there of a Catholic church and parochial school?
|4.28.08 @ 12:30PM|#
Its not the hotels that cause rape and prostitution, but rather the availability of a mattress. Throw in a TV and a DVD player and you have set up conditions for antisocial masterbatory activity.
robc|4.28.08 @ 12:38PM|#
SugarFree,
During the 1992 Dem National Convention, as each state was voting
they, of course, mention great things about their state. The KY
vote-announcer-person (have no idea what the title is) saw fit to
announce that we were the home state of Billy Ray Cyrus/Achy Breaky
Heart (it was a hit at the time). Sigh.
Jennifer|4.28.08 @ 12:40PM|#
Jennifer, I'd be worried, but I have superior hand-eye
coordination. Because I'm male.
Which in turn would worry me, but I have superior
cleavage. Because I'm female and in possession of a push-up bra
which is a veritable marvel of modern engineering. And it is also a
scientifically proven fact that the "hand-eye coordination" part of
the male brain is also the part containing the "Holy shit getta
loada them puppies" cleavage-appreciation gland, which
evolved to ensure the continuation of the species by converting
intelligence into testosterone.
You don't have a chance.
robc|4.28.08 @ 12:42PM|#
That's two strikes, Flatwoods, KY.
Destiny Hope (aka Miley) was born in L.A.
However, their notable people section on wikipedia mentions:
Lynndie England, participant in the Abu Graib prison torture
scandal
D.A. Ridgely|4.28.08 @ 12:44PM|#
I have superior cleavage.
Suddenly, the earlier "sharp pointy things sticking out of the
front" comment takes on an entirely new meaning.
Jennifer|4.28.08 @ 12:46PM|#
I've been supplementing my income these days by engraving diamonds for money.
Episiarch|4.28.08 @ 12:48PM|#
And it is also a scientifically proven fact that the
"hand-eye coordination" part of the male brain is also the part
containing the "Holy shit getta loada them puppies"
cleavage-appreciation gland
Hmm. This could be a problem. I will have to bring my superior male
intelligence and logic to bear on this issue. It will require much
study of breasts of course.
|4.28.08 @ 12:51PM|#
It will require much study of breasts of course.
In this case, I believe the hands-on experimental approach will be
more reveling than the theoretical model.
|4.28.08 @ 12:55PM|#
I believe the hands-on experimental approach will be more
reveling than the theoretical model.
A good example of R.C.'z Law, by which the typo is superior to the
intended, um, usage.
D.A. Ridgely|4.28.08 @ 1:00PM|#
Well, Falls Church IS the kind of DC suburban town where
yuppies go to spawn. They keep trying to make the town center
nicer, but somehow the Stratford Motor Lodge survives.
Worse yet, it's run by Middle Eastern types who speak in
suspiciously Non-English languages at the little cafe there. And
that's not even to mention Bedo's Leather store, or Anthony's
Restaurant right across the street where addicts and alcoholics
from the nearby 12-Step Unity Club congregate after meetings, or
the CD Cellar and nearby used book store where Falls Church youth
loiter perusing Heavy Metal and other Satan-inspired music and
soft-porn Asian comix you gotta read from right to left.
Come to think of it, Falls Church is a hotbed of degradation, sin
and corruption. Best bet is simply to raze the entire town and salt
the smoking ashes with radioactive waste.
|4.28.08 @ 1:04PM|#
robc,
I hadn't heard that about the convention. [shudder]
anyway...
Any woman who goes... "I don't see what the big deal about breasts
are." is always invited by me to whip 'em out.
|4.28.08 @ 1:09PM|#
First a hotel, next thing ya know they'll be putt'n in a
pool table.
I was in the army for 6 years. To call me unpatriotic is a
sham!
|4.28.08 @ 1:11PM|#
The city fathers of Falls Church have also managed to avert the
horrors that arise from left-turn lanes and adequately paved main
streets.
The only reason I go there is CD Cellar.
Naga Sadow|4.28.08 @ 1:22PM|#
I'm gone for an hour and I come back to threading about breasts? Hmmmmm . . . I'm seeing a pattern . . . for the good of all I'll leave this post for another hour.
I AM|4.28.08 @ 1:25PM|#
Is it legal to have a town named "Church"? That must alienate any non-Christians living there. President Obama will change the name to "Falls Mosque". White Children will be sodomized in the hotel as planned.
|4.28.08 @ 1:42PM|#
Fluffy is correct. NIMBY. For cryin' out loud it's a proposed Hilton Garden Inn. I'm certain that if the church/school had bid more for the property, they'd own it. If the city council shoots this down they're fools.
Bronwyn|4.28.08 @ 1:55PM|#
Jennifer, the whelping of my young 'un didn't turn me into a
hotel-hating harpie, and I doubt anyone need worry about you or
Kerry.
Still, those boots are handy. Keep 'em on and well-filed.
Sadly, in spite of my endowment, I can't think of a good booby
comment. I am waiting for someone with a death wish to make an
off-color comment about creating those diamonds prior to engraving
them. It's bound to happen, right?
*sits back and waits*
Jennifer|4.28.08 @ 2:04PM|#
I'm gone for an hour and I come back to threading about
breasts?
Lessee--opposition to a respectable hotel based on community
paranoia that exposure to Teh Hotels will result in Teh Children
being pplunged into Teh Degradation, same way they currently are in
the Starbucks parking lot? Obviously, any thread discussing such a
story will have to focus on some form of boob; which would
you prefer?
Episiarch|4.28.08 @ 2:13PM|#
I am waiting for someone with a death wish to make an
off-color comment about creating those diamonds prior to engraving
them.
Create diamonds? Don't you women just con a guy into buying them
for you instead? Two months salary?!?!? Two
months?!?!?
Bronwyn|4.28.08 @ 2:20PM|#
Epi, yes, that's the route I prefer - contrary to the
prognostications of my middle school adversaries.
I don't know what this two months crap is all about,
though. If all you pay is two months' salary, you obviously aren't
very serious.
*tosses hair*
|4.28.08 @ 2:22PM|#
Fluffy called it. They can't think of a good reason to
oppose it, so they're playing the "for the children" card to kill
the project. It sounds much better than just standing up and
shouting "NIMBY!NIMBY!".
Or shouting NAMBLA! NAMBLA!
|4.28.08 @ 2:24PM|#
Epi, I think Bronwyn's trying to use her "endowments" on
you.
She'll change her mind after she has another kid. (First one didn't
take, apparently.)
|4.28.08 @ 2:24PM|#
They just have a nightmare of their husband taking some hot
young hooker or the babysitter there for some of the sodomy they
dislike to do for their husband.
It's absurd, but it is more widespread than you think.
What's more widespread -- the hausfraus imagining the hooker /
babysitter sodomy, or the hooker / babysitter sodomy actually
occuring?
Oh, and link?
Bronwyn|4.28.08 @ 2:28PM|#
NutraSweet, the bun's already in the oven, so we won't have to
wait long to see if you're right.
I anticipate, however, that the problem won't so much be changing
my mind as outright losing it!
|4.28.08 @ 2:32PM|#
My work wife just had a kid and I'm anxiously watching her for signs of "The Change." I have a video she made to herself when she found out she was pregnant that I'm supposed to show her if anything goes wrong. Other than some babytalk around the office, she's doing OK.
T|4.28.08 @ 2:33PM|#
Best bet is simply to raze the entire town and salt the
smoking ashes with radioactive waste.
Having grown up in the area, I can honestly say the idea fills me a
morbid glee.
Roger Clemens|4.28.08 @ 2:37PM|#
Speaking of popular culture and the degradation of America's
youths, I just this morning learned Miley Cyrus, beloved Disney
teen cyborg "star" is a waste byproduct of washed up hillbilly
squawker Billy Ray.
Mmmm, I don't need no performance enhancing drugs to love me some
Miley Cyrus! I've got a little youth degradation for her right
here, baby!
Episiarch|4.28.08 @ 2:41PM|#
If all you pay is two months' salary, you obviously aren't
very serious.
Wouldn't you rather have something with better resale value, like a
Honda, for when you hawk it for your liposuction after the
divorce?
Bronwyn|4.28.08 @ 2:51PM|#
You have a point. Gold, then. Let's go with gold.
I won't need liposuction, although after nursing all my spawn, I'll
probably need a boob lift.
And there we have it! My contribution to the boobies line of the
thread. Hm. Wish it'd been better than that.
Dirty Frank|4.28.08 @ 2:59PM|#
after nursing all my spawn, I'll probably need a boob
lift.
And there we have it! My contribution to the boobies line of the
thread. Hm. Wish it'd been better than that.
Me too... talk about killing the mood! I just hope Jennifer can
rescue this thread from the wrong turn it has taken...
Jennifer|4.28.08 @ 3:04PM|#
Uh--"The rubes and noobs post boobage on teh tubez?"
Stupid failed My Fair Lady reference attempts. Sorry,
guys, I got nothin'.
Episiarch|4.28.08 @ 3:12PM|#
Man, I must be losing my touch. No humor-impaired readers have gotten pissed at me for sexism. I'll have to be more vicious next time.
BakedPenguin|4.28.08 @ 3:17PM|#
My morbid glee is already full.
That's good, because if you were wanting to get your morbid glee
hole filled, I'd have to tell you to get a room.
But not in Falls Church.
Bronwyn|4.28.08 @ 3:17PM|#
Epi, it seems as though they're just not here today. Take heart, they'll come back. They always come back.
|4.28.08 @ 3:25PM|#
The proffered reasons for opposing the hotel don't make sense. This is a Hilton Garden Inn, fairly popular with business travelers. Hardly a demographic one should be afraid of. The traffic argument is BS, hotels aren't Wal-Marts, they don't have huge vehicle traffic in and out all day.
Henry Bigguns|4.28.08 @ 3:29PM|#
The rubes and noobs post boobage on teh tubez?
I think she's got tits!
|4.28.08 @ 3:33PM|#
That's good, because if you were wanting to get your morbid
glee hole filled, I'd have to tell you to get a room.
But not in Falls Church.
I'm pretty sure that even Falls Church has places where you could
get your morbid glee hole filled, if the m4m section of
Craigslist for Northern Virginia is any indication.
Caution: link is NSFW.
Jennifer|4.28.08 @ 3:33PM|#
And there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.
I'm sorry. This has never happened to me before. I don't know what
went wrong. It's definitely not you. Must've been the pressure ...
(light dawns) my God, now I know what guys mean
when they're talking about performance anxiety!
Awesome. In addition to cleavage, I now possess insight into the
workings of the male psyche.
Soon the world will be mine.
|4.28.08 @ 3:43PM|#
Jennifer: I've been supplementing my income these days by
engraving diamonds for money.
Que?
Jennifer|4.28.08 @ 3:53PM|#
It's good that you don't get it, Clueless. It shows your parents raised you right, so you don't have the sort of degenerate knowledge possessed by people who live in towns with Starbucks and Hilton hotels and other horrible, horrible businesses.
Jennifer|4.28.08 @ 3:54PM|#
There may be an error in my last post. What is the plural of "Starbucks": Starbuckses? Starbii?
Elemenope|4.28.08 @ 4:00PM|#
What is the plural of "Starbucks": Starbuckses?
Starbii?
Dirk Benedict, and hot psycho blonde chick.
|4.28.08 @ 4:02PM|#
R C Dean,
Work
spouse
It all started when I realized that on some fundamental level I
would never make her happy, but I would pathetically continue to
try to. Just like most marriages.
still clueless|4.28.08 @ 5:44PM|#
ok, fine...but I really wish you would explain the diamond
reference anyhow.
Is it the Spitzer Emperor's Club hooker rating thing? Why
engraving? Who the heck engraves diamonds anyhow?
|4.28.08 @ 5:55PM|#
From where do these very weird people come?
According to the news article, if the building was 10 feet shorter,
no permit would have been required nor would any hearings have been
held.
So all these folks worrying about the "evils" of hotels in general
(presumably except for when they themselves stay in one) are
supposed to be talking about whether to permit the building to be
that tall. The developer will just build it a bit shorter if they
do not get the waiver.
|4.28.08 @ 6:19PM|#
I served six years in the military, Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?
|4.28.08 @ 6:50PM|#
1000$ an hour hooker | April 28, 2008, 6:19pm | #
I served six years in the military, Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?
Six years in the military at 1000$ an hour... wow! Must have been a
Pentagon contractor huh?
No that doesn't make you patriotic, just makes you rich. You can be
both.
Cheney, heck, he's still serving.. the country I mean - and at more
than a grand an hour too I bet.
*note* anybody else notice thread leakage re six
years/patriotic/Cheney quote...?
Wonder what that means..?
And how is meaning even defined these days, with faith or
reason?
And... oh never mind.
BakedPenguin|4.28.08 @ 6:59PM|#
Clueless - I believe the idea comes from "nipples hard enough to cut diamonds"
Mad Max|4.28.08 @ 8:33PM|#
"Starbucks! My God, the kids are being exposed to
Starbucks!"
The quote was from someone expressing concern in these terms:
"If you have ever thought about the dangers, just go to the
Starbucks on Broad St next to the Stratford Hotel and watch the
number of people sitting in their cars, drinking alcohol and
loitering around that block."
So, it's not the Starbucks, it's people sitting in their cars,
drinking alcohol and loitering.
I don't live in Falls Church, so I have no idea how valid the
parents' concerns are. I appreciate the helpfulness of the linked
article in telling me that the parents were "strident."
Journalistic objectivity is vastly overrated, anyway.
Perhaps the parental concerns in Falls Church are misconceived, as
many people who don't have children going to school across the
street from the proposed location will be happy to inform them - in
the proper condescending tone, of course, and not without the usual
cracks about "hausfraus," and "teh children." People who don't have
a direct personal stake in the controversy are gifted with lofty
impartiality and superior wisdom, so they can say with certitude
what the parents should or should not worry about. And I, for one,
welcome our cosmotarian overlords.
Mad Max|4.28.08 @ 8:44PM|#
I must say, though, that only one commenter made any jokes about the parents coming from a *Catholic* school, even though the entire story, from the standpoint of your average H&R commenter, was one giant set-up to a Catholic child-abuse joke. Maybe that particular meme is getting played out>
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