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Updated: Craigslist Declassified

Besieged by politicians and media, the founder of the popular online classifieds site finds an unlikely ally: a victim’s family

A A A Comments (2) By Bradley Campbell and Matt Snyders Wednesday, May 6 2009

...continued from page 6

“I am really, really humbled and really honored to have been invited here today to speak at this tribute to Katherine, extended by the whole Olson family,” Newmark told the crowd. “I was personally sickened and horrified when I heard about this tragedy. I started Craigslist around 14 years ago as a way to give back to the community.”

Rolf stood behind Newmark, gazing thoughtfully at the crowd.

Courtesy of the Olson Family

Katherine Olson

Gene X. Hwang (of Orange Photography)

Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster

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“Despite the billions of times well-meaning people have helped each other through Craigslist, it’s been devastating to see that it can also be used by bad people to take cruel advantage of others and bring a senseless end to a beautiful young life,” Newmark continued. “The most recent crime in Boston has been a grim reminder of that.”

It became clear he wasn’t speaking just on behalf of Katherine, but also on behalf of reason and personal responsibility in the age of the Internet. “I’m saddened that we met under these circumstances, but I am truly inspired by the Olson family and I extend my love and friendship to them,” Newmark concluded. “And I applaud everyone’s effort to let Katherine’s light continue to shine.”

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ivan 06/19/2009 12:59:00 AM

The scuzzy CT D.A. clearly knows a good career opportunity when he sees one, and so does scuzzy lawyer Gloria Allred, always ready to come up with inflammatory remarks to advance her practice. Both should thank the media, including the L.A. Weekly, for printing their absurd remarks -- along the lines of "she'd be alive if it weren't for craigslist" or "prostitution isn't a victimless crime" -- unchallenged. And for giving them loads of media attention, which is exactly what those jerks thrive on. If craigslist didn't exist, people would find other ways to meet other people, a handful of whom might turn out to be psychos. Prostitution -- wherever it's illegal -- *is* a victimless crime. Murder isn't. And one doesn't necessarily lead to the other. In truth, much, *much* more often than not, the two aren't connected. Now, it'd be interesting to find out how many people have died because of, say, inept or ruthless law enforcement personnel -- such as ambitious D.A.'s or trigger-happy cops. I'm more than willing to bet the number of victims is much higher than that of people who have died because of prostitution. Perhaps D.A.'s and cops should be criminalized? Oh, and let's not get started on the dangers of religion, which by demonizing sex has helped to created the sort of murderous 'sexopaths' that both the media and the legal system love so much. Where would any of you guys be without sensational sex crimes to propel careers forward and engender ad sales?

Sequoia 06/09/2009 8:45:00 PM

LA Weekly probably has more ads that could be construed as solicitation or prostitution-related; but being a physical newspaper, seems to have a little more 1st amendment protection than does C/L.