Starbucks

Are you a regular patron of Starbucks? I have to say it is a very convenient place to have a meeting. When looking for a place to meet for business or pleasure, there always seems to be a Starbucks close by.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with a physician who read my book, Rescuing Hope, and wanted to meet with me to learn more about the issue of sex trafficking. She was familiar with it internationally, but knew very little about it domestically and wanted to learn more.

I talked with her for over two hours answering her questions and talking through possible avenues for her to plug into the fight. She had great interest in the rescue and restorative care side of the fight, as a physician, and was searching for a way to use her skill set. She also asked many questions about the demand side of the issue.

Just as I began to explain the role of pornography in the demand side of the issue, I noticed a woman sitting at the table behind the physician. She was on her computer, like almost every other person in the place; however, she was looking at pornographic photos. I nearly spit my chai latte across the table. Porn? At Starbucks?

I didn’t want to stare at the screen for multiple reasons:

  1. I didn’t want to ignore my guest.
  2. I didn’t want to create an altercation in the middle of Starbucks.
  3. I didn’t want to open the door for Satan to draw me into pornography.

I was dumbfounded. I am in a Starbucks at least once a week meeting someone. My children meet friends there all the time to study or do group projects. My husband has meetings there frequently for work. And here across from me sat a woman who boldly clicked from one photograph to another where anyone close by could see. What if my child was sitting where I sat? What if my husband was?

To further my shock, two women came in and joined her at her table. She proceeded to share the photos with them. I don’t know if this woman is a photographer and was showing the ladies who joined her their photos or if she was just sharing something she found online. Either way, it was disturbing.

There is a clear link between pornography and sex trafficking. A study done at the Witherspoon Institute in 2010 and stated,

The Department of Justice and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children both recognize that pornography is an element that adds to the serious problem of sex trafficking. Many traffickers are found with filming equipment and cameras to create and sell pornography.”

To learn more about the connection between pornography and sex trafficking, you can go here.

As I sat there watching three women gather around a computer to look at pornographic images in a very public place, I kept hearing Job 31:1 repeated in my mind,

I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.”

No one is immune to pornography. In my research I’ve read some studies that indicate 25% of the viewers of pornography are women. We can all get sucked in if we don’t take specific steps to prevent it.

We need to have very open conversations about pornography and how addictive it is with our husbands and our children. If we learn they’ve crossed those boundary lines, we need to love them instead of judging them. Get them the help they need to break the addiction and have a healthy, thriving life.

According to the Center for Disease Control, pornography is as addictive as cocaine and more difficult to break. People don’t just walk away from something that addictive without help.

A great source for you to seek information is Porn Harms or Morality Media. Porn isn’t just contained to pornographic websites. Someone can be doing an innocent search on Youtube for something and before they know it, pornographic images pop up. I’ve talked to men who have become addicted this way.

Be aware! Be prepared! You just never know when you’ll find porn in front of you. It can pop up where you least expect it… even at Starbucks.