"With our culture and kids developing a deeper sensitivity to sexual trafficking, why do we celebrate culture-makers who traffic themselves and each other on-stage?"

Oh, I know why.  It's because it's consensual.

If that's the response, it's just plain foolishness that reeks of a naive, heightened view of human nature.  You think we can just have our "sex as commodity" ethic over here and it's all fun and games, and that never poisons people's minds such that at some point in time they'd be willing to participate in other forms of sexuality that are not as fun and game-like?

Just buy a plane ticket to Thailand and see what our celebrated "sex as commodity" ethic produces.

I know, I know, the number of people who actually participate in sex-trafficking vs. the number who watch the VMAs is grossly different.  But if you think they are not related you are simply immature.

Thinking we can bifurcate our desires into nice, clean, and neat categories of "Fun for TV!" and "Sick, wrong, and abusive!" is a joke.  It doesn't work that way.  We think we are so in control until we wake up one day and see the carnage all around and naively ask ourselves, "What happened?  We were just having fun."

I know it's not a one to one connection between the VMAs and sex trafficking in Thailand.  But remember that something is feeding the sexual dysfunction that happens everyday all around our world in bedrooms, dorm rooms, and the dirty hell holes of Thailand.

If you think the VMAs are not somehow related you might want to think harder.

The quote in the title is from Walt Mueller's annual analysis of the VMAs.