The Massage Pundit

PA SB 1227 is a legislative action intended to thwart human trafficking, and once again, massage parlors are at the top of the hit list. According to a number of different human interest and political action websites, Pennsylvania is notorious as a center of human trafficking. PA is on the interstate corridor between New York and Ohio, and is also a popular detour on the New Jersey to Florida route, all viewed as major trafficking centers.

What SB1227 does:  Requires the posting of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline by entities where victims are most likely to see it. In “massage establishments and spas,” along with other businesses such as hotels/motels, nail salons, truck stops, taverns and strip clubs, the notice containing the hotline information must be posted on the doors of the bathroom stalls or on the inside door of the bathroom.

Human trafficking is a very serious matter. Victims are used for forced labor, subject to rape and other physical violence and physical and psychological torture. Prostitution is the most popular form of forced labor. None of us would wish it on anyone.

I certainly do not object to the intent to stop the human suffering that is behind the bill. What I find sad is that massage is associated with this blight on humanity, and that this law will not differentiate the legitimate massage establishments and spas from the brothels. Every establishment will be required to post the human trafficking signs, and failure to do so will result in a civil penalty. So not only will the therapists in PA need to post the sign, but they should also be prepared to have the inspector/police/gestapo or whomever is going to enforce that come into their place of business to be sure it’s properly displayed. It perpetuates the myth that we’re all doing something illegal. I would be mortified if a few clients were sitting in my lobby and the police walked in and announced that they were investigating human trafficking and wanted to inspect my business. Talk about making a good impression…

I don’t think there is any chance of this bill being stopped; it looks like the majority of legislators in PA are signed on as not only supporters but actual sponsors. And as federal laws have been a miserable failure at stopping human trafficking, you can expect more and more states to enact their own bills on it. So get ready, the police may be visiting your office soon.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from blogging about the massage profession, particularly when it concerns politics and/or the goings-on at the associations, it’s that there aren’t any secrets in this business. I’m pretty good at keeping secrets; I wouldn’t be able to write this blog without the help of sources who prefer to remain anonymous. This time the cat is out of the bag–concerning me.

In the next few weeks, the trade magazines will be coming out with an ad from the NCBTMB for the Advanced Certification Exam, starring none other than yours truly.  Other than myself, and of course the folks at the NCB, I had the silly idea that my mother, my husband, a couple of close friends, and my staff members were the only other ones who knew about it. I didn’t attend the FSMTA meeting last week–but I should have. Apparently I was a big topic of discussion. I’ve been congratulated, booed and hissed, and asked about the state of my mental health, all in the course of a day.

In case you haven’t been one of my readers for long, I spent a couple of years right here on this very blog ripping the NCB to shreds.  I was upset with their management, upset with their lack of service to stakeholders, upset with their interference with the MBLEx, and upset with the way some of their Board members acted when they attended a meeting in North Carolina, just to name a few issues.  I let them have it with both barrels for quite some time. I even got one disgruntled reader to comment “Okay, we get it, you hate the NCB, now move on.”

During the entire time I was slapping them upside the head, I repeatedly said that I didn’t want them to go away; I wanted them to get their act together. I’ve been Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork since 2000, and I have maintained it ever since. The director of my massage school used to say she thought I would be the first person from her school to score 100 on the exam. I did not. I don’t know that anyone ever has, but I’ll be sure to broadcast that if you let me know.

In the past year or so, I have seen some good things happen for the NCB.  Since the departure of the previous chair, there haven’t been any more Board meetings held in Hawaii. That was an issue with me. I don’t think holding meetings in exotic locales is a good use of the money certificants pay to take the exam.  People might expect me to get timely service from them, due to the fact I’ll blog it if I don’t, but I’ve heard from lots of other people that their phone calls and e-mails are getting answered and that they’re receiving their renewal notices, which was also an issue for a long time. I’m glad about that, not just for me, but for everybody.

When the NCBTMB first started working on the Advanced Certification Exam, I was concerned that it was moving too fast…and of course I voiced that opinion. And it hasn’t been without bumps in the road, either. Whitney Lowe and some other volunteers on the task force departed. I’ve had some good chats with Elizabeth Langston, the director of the project, and some of the other staff members, and I’m satisfied they are  going at a good slow and careful pace. Pearson Vue will be administering the exam, they’re involved in the process, and they have their own reputation to uphold.

I’ve blogged about this exam a number of times, and talked about it on Facebook, and when I ran into the folks from the NCB at a meeting recently, I asked them to let me be the first one to take it.  So yes, I am going to take it, and I am appearing in an ad for the NCB saying I’m first in line to take it. I’m sure some people will think I’ve gone off the deep end. My only concern is that I pass it so I won’t have to blog it that I failed.

I did not receive any payment for the ad. I’m relatively notorious as it is, and I don’t need the five minutes of fame I’ll get from it. And due to the fact that I am in my last year of service on the North Carolina Board of Massage & Bodywork Therapy,  I will be recusing myself if any votes come up regarding the NCB. That’s the right way to roll. So why did I do it?

I did it because I’d like to see the NCBTMB stay alive and thrive. There’s new blood coming into the Board. They’ve cut the wasteful spending. They’re responding to their stakeholders.  Are they perfect? No, and neither is any other organization that’s run by human beings. Yes, I have heard the criticism that it’s just another way to make money, to replace revenue that’s been lost to the MBLEx. However, the NCB exams are still accepted in 32 states. They haven’t gone away, although the MBLEx has gained wide acceptance from the states that have joined the Federation, and I’m sure they’ll get more.  The marketplace will speak on that issue. I still hold that a collaboration between the states such as the FSMTB has accomplished is a wonderful thing. And I also have high hopes that the Advanced Certification Exam is also going to be a great thing, and that it’s just the start on the road to the NCB offering specialty certifications.

I want to take the exam to see if my middle-aged brain has retained anything I’ve learned over the years. If having my face on an advertisement is enough to persuade anyone to take it, I’ll be glad for that to happen, but I don’t think I’m that influential.  And Ms. Langston and the rest of the people at the NCB know that if I take it and I think it’s not a good valid exam, representative of what an experienced therapist who has sought continuing education in the quest to expand her knowledge and improve her practice of massage should know, I’ll blog it to the masses, ad or no ad.

I don’t please all of the people all the time, and I don’t try to. I am who I am. I’m plain-spoken, and I imagine I have just as many detractors as I do supporters. One of my mentors expressed concern that people wouldn’t respect my journalistic integrity anymore because of the ad. Well, that’s too bad, and I’ll miss you if you go. But in reality, I don’t get paid to blog; it’s not responsible for my book sales, or people asking me to come and teach, and especially not responsible for the success of my clinic. My hometown folks don’t know my blog from an ear of corn. The people in my town who make my living don’t know and don’t care if I never write another word. So there it is; the swirling rumors can be put to rest, and yes, that is me in an ad for the NCB.  Now I have to go buy five copies for my mother.

Peace & Prosperity

Laura Allen

There’s been so much said about The View in the past week or two, I almost hate to add my two cents worth, but I’m going to, anyway.  I’m  almost glad this happened, because it woke a lot of massage therapists up from the state of complacency they were in and spurred thousands to take action.

For those who have been oblivious to all the hooplah, this all started when a massage therapist from Portland OR made an accusation of sexual assault against former Vice President Al Gore, which she claims happened during an outcall in 2006.  I’m not excusing Gore’s behavior in any way, but frankly if this alleged incident happened the way she says it did, she ought to have “STUPID” tattooed on  her forehead for ignoring every red flag in the book. She claims he was drunk when he opened the door and it all went downhill from there. I’m not massaging the Pope if he’s drunk, and she should have known better. That’s a whole other blog.

At any rate, following this sensational announcement, the women on The View, and Elizabeth Hasselbeck in particular, proceeded to insult the entire massage profession with a lot of ignorant comments about massage.

This has resulted in The View receiving a response from both AMTA and ABMP–and more importantly, from thousands of therapists.

I’ve been preaching this sermon for years now, that we have to get up and get involved. It’s been very disheartening for me many times when I’ve reported on some piece of legislation that’s detrimental to us, and it either gets no attention at all or attracts those few die-hards like myself who will jump up and holler. So for this reason alone, I have been glad to see so many massage therapists getting up in arms about it. There have been hundreds of postings on Facebook, and thousands signing petitions demanding an apology from The View. I don’t watch that show and if there’s been an apology forthcoming, I haven’t personally seen it, but what I have seen is therapists coming together to raise a little hell, and that’s a good thing.

Peace & Prosperity,

Laura Allen

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the World Massage Festival in Berea, KY, and I must say it was the best massage-related event I have ever been to. Held at the college in Berea, it was a long weekend full of education, entertainment, food, fun, and fellowship.

The keynote speaker for the event was Paul St. John, a well-known educator in our field; he’s had a successful career spanning decades. I’ve never personally made his acquaintance, so I certainly don’t have anything to say about his character. I’m sure he’s a perfectly nice man, or he wouldn’t have enjoyed the longevity he has as a bodyworker and educator.

What I will say is that Mr. St. John seized the moment to promote his opinions on the government, and his perceived loss of our rights and our freedoms for a solid half-hour. Other than making the statement that he used to travel to Germany twice a year to teach massage, there was nothing in the speech about massage. About ten minutes into it, I was sitting there thinking, “dang, I thought this was supposed to be about massage.”

Politics has a part in what we do–and I report on that here all the time. Legislation and association activities affect us. We expect political discussions at AMTA conventions, professional association gatherings, and state board meetings. The World Massage Festival has specifically been promoted as a different type of gathering–one with no politics. Mike Hinkle, the owner of the Festival, started the WMF because he wanted to provide an inexpensive alternative event that has nothing to do with politics. Knowing that made listening to St. John’s rant even less appealing; maybe he wasn’t informed that politics aren’t allowed at the WMF. I’ll bet he was informed right after the speech.

A day or so after the Festival, I received an e-mail from someone informing me that they had attended a class of his over twenty years ago, and that the same thing happened in the class.

Am I politically opinionated? Heck, yes. My husband and I are on opposite ends of the political spectrum and we don’t even discuss politics in our house, lest it deteriorate into an argument.

I can’t recall preaching any sermons about the government when I’m teaching a class, or giving a presentation, but if I was going to say anything about it, it would be a one-liner here or there, or two minutes relating some kind of news that’s pertinent to the subject at hand.

When someone is paying me to teach a class, they shouldn’t have to listen to me going on and on about my gripes about the government during the class time that they have paid me to attend. When I am paying to attend a massage event, I shouldn’t have to listen to it either, unless there is  advertising beforehand that the presentation is all about “Government Reform” or something along those lines that I could choose to attend–or not.

Everyone is entitled to their own politics and their own opinion, including Mr. St. John. However, I thought his hijacking the keynote speech to make a political diatribe was inappropriate, and so did many people in the crowd. He actually got booed and shouted at. It really put a damper on the atmosphere of love and light that permeated the gathering.

In all fairness, he had a couple of supporters…two of the inductees into the Massage Therapy Hall of Fame gave him kudos when they were accepting their awards.

I know that a lot of massage therapists are interested in health care in general as well as health care reform. It’s just my opinion that most of us present for the keynote speech would have liked to hear him talk about his vast experience with massage and bodywork, instead of being subjected to what sounded like a filibuster on the senate floor. There were also a lot of massage students present, and I wondered what kind of impression they were getting at what was no doubt their first big massage gathering. I think it was the wrong place and the wrong time. Just my opinion.

Laura Allen