'Lap dances for Haiti' -- fair or foul?
To be sure, charity often comes from the least likely sources.
After Cincinnati Bengals wideout Chad Ochocinco gets a showboating fine from the NFL, for example, he donates that same amount to those in need. Irascible Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban does the same. Heck, even perennial curmudgeon Ebenezer Scrooge bought the town’s biggest bird for Bob Cratchit and family on Christmas morning.
But rarely do we hear about the stripper with a heart of gold, and it appears it took one of the most devastating earthquakes of all time for her to bare all for a good cause.
According to the Associated Press, a gentleman’s club in Ohio has taken relief efforts to a new level, jumpstarting a campaign dubbed simply, “Lap dances for Haiti.”
Marilyn’s on Monroe, the Toledo bar, donated its $10 cover charge last Saturday to ISOH/IMPACT, a local organization that provides food and clothing for victims of the Haiti ‘quake. The club raised $1,000.
Why get involved? The strip joint’s general manager told the AP he’d been looking for a way to improve his club’s image, and “you don’t hear much about strip clubs giving back to the community.”
Indeed, while the GM later told the Toledo Blade newspaper “it was pretty hard to find a (charitable) organization that wants to deal with an adult entertainment establishment,” it appears ISOH/IMPACT was quite at peace with the money raised.
Linda Greene, the group’s CEO, says she appreciates any donations to help Haiti. She told the AP she didn’t have any problem with where the money came from.
The question is: do you? With more strip clubs – like the Landing Strip in nearby Romulus, Michigan – planning to adopt similar “Lap dances for Haiti” initiatives, more so-called money of the flesh will be coming in to aid earthquake victims.
Is this fair, or foul?
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: monica serin | Feb 10, 2022 1:58:10 PM
really does it matter that these funds were raised from the $10 cover charge which apparently 100 men willingly paid to gain admittance into a bar where nearly naked women would dance and possibly sit on their lap. i have never been to such a bar, but i know men who have...nice, decent men who are just acting like boys... and as far as i know, it is not an illegal activity to give or receive a lap dance... that $1000 will be put to good use in haiti. it seems to me that people should be thanking the bars who see fit to donate their cover charges to help haiti. it was four weeks and two days ago that the earth shook in haiti and victims are still dying and suffering... the need for volunteers and funds will continue for a long time to come.
Posted by: monica serin | Feb 10, 2022 2:12:17 PM
FOUR WEEKS AND TWO DAYS AGO THE EARTH SHOOK IN HAITI AND VICTIMS ARE STILL DYING AND THE SURVIVORS ARE STILL SUFFERING... TUBERCULOSIS IS NOW HEADING UP THE LIST OF SCARY DISEASES THE VICTIMS ARE CONTRACTING...I AM SURE NO ONE IN HAITI, NEITHER THE VICTIMS NOR THE MANY VOLUNTEERS HELPING THERE, WILL MIND THAT COVER CHARGES FROM A BAR (WHERE GROWN MEN MAYBE ENJOY A LAP DANCE) ARE THE SOURCE OF DONATIONS. THOSE DONATIONS WILL GO TO HELP THE VICTIMS AND I DO NOT BELIEVE THE SOURCE TAINTS THEM.
Posted by: monica serin | Feb 10, 2022 2:15:03 PM
I WAS SPEAKING TO SOMEONE AT THE RED CROSS IN HAMILTON, ONTARIO YESTERDAY... THE NEED IN HAITI WILL CONTINUE FOR PERHAPS UP TO FIVE YEARS... CLEARLY THERE IS NOT A SOON TO END NEED FOR DONATIONS... AND SO IF THE MANY BARS WHERE LAP DANCES ARE WILLING TO HELP, I THINK THAT IS A VERY GOOD THING, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED FOUL BY ANYONE.
Posted by: Graham Worthington | Feb 11, 2022 10:25:12 AM
Needed money is needed money, so where it comes from, and legal clubs are legal, despite what prudes may say. Tiem for a little moral commentary: the money could be coming from an even less reputable source, for example, Wall Street or Bay Street.
Posted by: king of outer space | Feb 12, 2022 11:38:28 AM
fair, of course. lap dances don't hurt, financially ruin, or kill anyone (something i'd like to see to be honest), after all. like a commenter said, the source doesn't taint the money; on the contrary, this generosity might make the place look better in some peoples' eyes.
Posted by: easyrider | Feb 17, 2022 8:08:42 AM
I wouldn't give them an effin penny.