[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 15, 2006)]
[House]
[Page H979]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DEFINING DEVIANCY DOWN

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan 
described the process by which perverse behavior slowly becomes 
accepted by society over time. He called it ``defining deviancy down.''
  A recent newswire story illustrates his point. The story reports that 
Germany's sex industry is gearing up to handle a record demand for 
prostitution during the 2006 World Cup soccer tournament.
  One man involved in the criminal underworld of German prostitution 
told the reporter, ``Football and prostitution are a great match. What 
else could you hope for?''
  What else could you hope for? Mr. Speaker, I would hope that the 
evils of prostitution and human trafficking be condemned by society, 
not flaunted. I would hope for an end to sexual exploitation of women 
and children. I would hope for some sanity to prevail in the civilized 
country of Germany.
  The story also reports that there are an estimated 15,000 victims of 
sex trafficking in Germany at any given time. That, Mr. Speaker, is the 
real cost of defining deviancy down.

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