Really, How Hard is it for a Pimp?

The award for best original song during the 78th annual Academy Awards went to Three Six Mafia's "Hard Out Here for a Pimp."  While the song may enlighten some to the personal difficulties presented to a proprietor in the prostitution industry, the lyrics were of poor quality, the structure laid waste the grammatic rules of the English language and the rhythm was unoriginal, if not uninspired. 

 

Three Six Mafia, like Randy Newman, won their Oscar far from the apex of their respective careers.  Triple Six's Oscar winning song lacked the intensity and originality of any songs from their acclaimed "World Domination" album.  And although the Oscar winning song failed to match the disrespect toward women as did "Neighborhood Hoe" it suceeded in depicting women as objects to be exploited.

 

The justification for pimping and the subsequent call for sympathy were not thoroughly thought out.  It is obvious that the writers were not pimps but rather try to represent the profession in a mythical fashion that was given to gunslingers in the old west.  There was little referencing of the true nature of maintaining a workforce of prostitutes.  One must question the deliberate ommission of a pimp beating his "bitches" and the addiction of most prostitutes to drugs.  The pimp supplies drugs to the prostitutes and they must turn tricks to pay back a never ending debt, in essence making them a slave and the pimp an abusive slave driver.  The writers and performers failed to see the similarities between a modern urban pimp and the stereotype of the white southern slave owner.  The lack of recognition of this similarity and acceptence among the black and white communities leads one to the assumption that there are no more hard feelings over the pre-civil war slave trade.

 

To a pimp, a prostitute (male or female) is a resource and requires management and control.  Pimps are often gang members and pay dues much like union members.  These dues allow them the access to resources of addictive narcotics and opiates as well as weapony.  If a potential prostitute approaches the pimp for drugs their demand is met for the price of selling their body.  The prostitute begins to rely upon the pimp to supply their addiction.  This is a lucrative business, for with only a $10 investment in crack, meth or H they can potentialy serve a dozen "john's" at $25 to $100 a piece.  Certainly a little revenue is directed toward the prostitute (just enough for food and drink for a couple days).  But even if there is an average profit of $50 per trick, the pimp stands to earn near $500 for each prostitute per visit. The great reliability of an addiction maintains a steady resource of prostitutes and therefore revenue. 

 

Ideally a pimp would prefer to house the prostitutes and exploit their addiction on a daily basis.  If these addicts ever try to better their lot, the pimp need only threaten or inflict violence to return the addict to complete submission.  And with the pimps access to weaponry, he (or she) could exploit the power of fear coupled with addiction to create a guaranteed resource that could be exploited on a full-time basis.  With only five full-time prostitutes the pimp stands to earn upwards of $12,500 per week, that is $650,000 per year.

 

Certainly the pimp would have to severe themselves from their conscience, but that supposes that they have a moral compass at all.  Many urban gangs have a reputation of donating to local spiritual leaders and they temper the outcry of the neighborhood.  They donate to elected local officials who blame economic conditions for the trends of vice.  Even with the required payouts to counter community revulsion to their presence, the pimp still manages to purchase luxury, gas guzzling SUV's, expensive jewelry, diamond, platinum or gold replacement teeth, and high-end clothing and foot wear. 

 

With a potential annual income over half a million dollars, the pimp could afford to keep a team of lawyers on retainer so that in the event of legal entanglements, the pimp could escape or at least limit prosecution.  At such a high income bracket, the money itself could be used to aleviate any and all stress that one's occupation may present.  So with that in mind I'd like to answer how hard it is to be a pimp?  Not very hard.