I recently watched the movie Night Shift, with Henry Winkler. He played a former Wall Street advisor who currently works in a city morgue. He's been working there for six or seven years when his boss tells him he has news. Mistakenly assuming he's finally earned a raise for his excellent work and diligence, he finds out he's been placed back on the dreaded night shift, so his boss's incompetent nephew can have the day shift. As if this wasn't bad enough, his new colleague (Michael Keaton) is a loud and absentminded man who never stops talking about his "brilliant" ideas.
He also finds out his neighbour is a prostitute who recently lost her pimp. While most would simply avoid such a person (involved in immoral activities, naturally), Chuck (Winkler) finds himself drawn to his colleague Bill's idea of becoming a "love-broker", or a pimp. He wants to protect his friend Belinda (Shelly Long) and the rest of the girls from the dead pimps former stable. He finally becomes their pimp, Bill offering physical protection from abusive costumers and Chuck offering financial advice including a pension and health care plan. The situation goes sour but is very enjoyable to watch, but it draws my mind to a moral area no doubt intentionally highlighted: If you're acting immorally, but improving lives, does it still count as a sin?
Prostitution is condemned by most circles of life, but by becoming a pimp, Chuck no doubt saved these girls from abusive costumers, abusive pimps, or pimps who would force themselves or drugs on them. Chuck felt he was committing a sin by trafficking actual sentient humans, but it's not as tho he was hurting them. He kept them safe.
Do you think it balanced out?
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