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Waiting on Uber at the Atlanta Airport, I was approached by a taxi. The driver quoted $15 higher than the Uber fee, then said he could match Uber's price, and ultimately agreed that the final price would match, including tip. When Uber charged $7.25 for cancellation, he instructed me to dispute the charge by claiming the driver didn't find me (which I didn't do).
Noting his Jamaican accent, I moved the conversation in a more personal direction and learned he was 54 years old, married, and had driven a cab for 35 years. He arrived in Florida through an agriculture program, and worked for Delta for many years, began his cab driving on his off days. He claimed to have met Jimmy Carter years ago. His wife's family includes many in law enforcement, police and FBI. When I mentioned the crime in Buckhead, he told a story of police he knew who were attacked in their vehicle and ended up breaking the assailant's arm and throwing him in a ditch, emphasizing the snapping and asking if I know the sound of bone breaking. He told how FBI agents he knew would drive around with a bottle of Hennessy in the car, drinking.
I don't recall exactly how the conversation changed, but he had been continually explaining how he would make as much as his wife makes all day in 3 hours. I was trying to charge my phone and in the next moment he began showing a photo of a Filipino woman with her legs spread, saying how he wanted to connect with these women, and the trajectory of the conversation continued in kind.
He then told how he knew the madame who ran the massage parlor that was shot up recently, that she was a long time friend and customer, how Joe Biden showed up on site after the shooting, speculating that it was important because the parlor generated so much revenue. When I suggested that the story of that situation was being spun as an Asian hate crime for political reasons, and that the shooter was a disturbed religious zealot with a sex addiction, he didn't want to continue because he said he would become emotional. He bemoaned how that spa had been one of his best customers and that he'd make $50 per customer, totaling $250 for a carload of five on a regular basis.
He explained how easy it was set up an LLC and bring women from DR and that it was easy to pimp them and have them do whatever you want under the guise of a cleaning service, stating that it wasn't really human trafficking because everyone was happy with the arrangement as long as they women had regular meals, a comfortable bed to sleep in, nice clothes and lingerie.
I asked about his experience as a driver, when he liked to drive and if he had any problems with passengers. He said the most common problem was with females, that they'd ride in the front passenger seat and if they were drunk, they'd push him for sex, grab his hand and have him playing with them as he drove. He said they were often undercover female cops and that they wanted to satisfy a quota. It makes sense that he would be getting checked on his behavior and apparently it was a regular encounter. He also told how guys drive jacked up trucks so they can see down into the cars of women drivers. That's common knowledge amongst semi truck drivers, but this was also part of his story of what he sees and thinks about on the road.
When I asked if he owned the cab, he said he drove for the Atlanta Airport, or at least a taxi service that was a dedicated account with the airport, and I noticed his employee badge. I'm sure they'd be proud to know he was representing them with such charm and colorful stories.
The take away from this trip is that the taxi drivers from the Atlanta Airport know and facilitate, without a doubt, the inner workings of the human trafficking flowing from this known hub and busiest airport in the world direct to the dealers. More importantly, they are probably a good source for an investigation, and this guy was giddy to tell all.
Contextualize the highly publicized and politicized tragedy at the Asian spa. A police friend of mine who is married with children to a Filipina, made a good point. If someone wants to target the Asian community, there are far more heavily populated Asian venues than a massage parlor. The shooter-sex addict didn't go to H Mart because no one goes to hell for eating too much kimchi.
Further consider the recent proliferation of sexualized Asian profiles appearing on dating apps in conjunction with Bumble's 'stop Asian fetishization' campaign aimed to educate men. Wait a minute, who is doing the fetishization?
Upon arrival home, I wasn't surprised when the driver tried to squeeze out a tip, and I agreed to an extra $5. So, I still effectively paid a total of $12.25 more than what I would have paid Uber, minus the tip. He talked a little more, asked me to check my email for the receipt from his transportation service, then told me "don't worry, everything's gonna be alright".
