Union County sex-trafficking survivor Danielle Douglas on a mission to set dictionary straight

[redqueen]

EDISON - A Union County woman who survived the horrors of the sex-trafficking world is out to change the definition of the word "pimp," and her efforts have triggered an overwhelming response.

Danielle Douglas' ordeal started with what she thought was an invite to a party back when she was a "starving student." Instead, her IDs were taken from her and she says she wound up in a world where she was constantly beaten and any profits she made ripped from her hands.

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"'Pimped out,' 'my car is pimped,' or 'I look like a pimp,' it doesn't really explain what a pimp is," Douglas says. "And you don't understand or realize, you're using that word, and what it really means."

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"It doesn't incorporate any kind of characteristics of that person's character, it doesn't state what they're forcing upon other people and what they're brainwashing into men, women, and many times, children," Douglas explains.

In just three weeks, her petition has more than 21,000 signatures. Merriam-Webster took note of Douglas' efforts, and the dictionary company told her that it will be changing the definition of the word "pimp" in its next edition.

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http://longisland.news12.com/news/union-county-sex-trafficking-survivor-danielle-douglas-on-a-mission-to-set-dictionary-straight-1.5344533?firstfree=yes

I have had a problem with people throwing this word around casually for years. I hope this effort results in more people being aware of what it actually means.

Link to petition:
http://www.change.org/petitions/merriam-webster-change-the-definition-of-pimp-to-a-realistic-definition-2

[Sekhmets Daughter]

1. When I was 19, I worked in Manhattan over the summer...

I used to see the "working girls" with their pimps every morning on my way into the coffee shop where I worked. In full view of anyone on the street, the pimps would brutalize them. Punch, kick, slap, pull hair, choke...there seemed to be nothing they wouldn't do if they suspected she was holding back some cash, or they weren't satisfied with her earnings. When I think of pimp I think of one of the lowest life forms on the face of the earth. I'm glad Douglas is doing this.

[pansypoo53219]

2. need a new word for the pimps then.