Apologize for headline | Letter

Published 2:45 pm Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Regarding last week’s above-the-fold headline – “Sex traffic on the island?” – there is no sex traffic on the island, or, indeed, in the county, according to a local detective. The headline was pure sensationalist bull puckey. Does the Sounder aspire to become a National Enquirer clone?

Someone who was once a victim of sex trafficking does live here. That’s true. But it happened a long, long time ago and far, far away. Not recently, and not here.

Sex trafficking is a serious problem in many places, as a recent presentation showed. It’s something we all need to know about, be vigilant for and refuse to abide. But nobody will be won over and nothing will be changed by a dishonest, misleading, sensationalist headline and scare tactics. And, no, adding a question mark to the lie did not make it any more palatable or less offensive.

The Sounder editor owes us, and the trafficking victim, an apology for that ridiculous headline.

Steve Henigson

Eastsound