Sympathy for the Unsympathetic

[bigmacbear]

I've only been able to catch scattered fringes of the coverage from the Yearning for Zion polygamist compound in Texas. But from what I've seen, I find I have a lot of sympathy for the folks at the center of the case, however unsympathetic they may seem at first glance -- and not so much for the well-meaning but hopelessly bureaucratic folks who represent the State of Texas in this matter.

What occurred to me, watching the footage of hundreds of children -- some of them literally pried from their mothers' arms, if the news stories are to be believed -- being bused away to meet their new foster parents, that no one seems to be able to convincingly tell the American public just what, exactly, was going on at the compound that was so evil it warrants the separation of these children from their parents, possibly permanently.

The article I cite above states that Texas is arguing that the very culture of this polygamist compound is a danger to any child born into it. I think that is going to be a very high burden for them to prove, a burden I happen to think they cannot possibly meet. And which is the worst harm to these children, their indoctrination into this admittedly strange system of belief, or this wrenching, forced separation from the only family they have ever known?

Now if in fact something truly evil was going on behind the walls of that compound, something that truly warrants that separation of child from parent on a mass scale, then I suppose the state can be justified in its actions. But I find it almost impossible to believe there was no better way to handle this. It's almost as though the Powers that Be were on a mission to destroy what they do not understand.

Polyamory and its extension polygamy in and of themselves harm no one, in my opinion. The one caveat is that the children thus produced must not then be introduced too soon to the sexual milieu which their parents inhabit. And the very thought of that makes me wince.

But in a truly loving multi-dimensional relationship, sexual exclusivity and jealousy have almost no place, and aside from the difficulties one has in explaining such relationships in terms ordinary folks educated in monogamous society can understand, it seems like a healthy mindset to me. For evidence I call on the personal experiences of some dear friends of mine, both as reflected in their journals and as I've seen in person on visits. And I'd hate to see any state in this union think it had the power to break up any of these happy homes based on its lack of understanding.

I suspect a lot of lawyers' time and these folks' money will be squandered to once again defend the principle that when it comes to our private lives, our families, and our living arrangements, we all ought to have the right to be left alone to arrange these as we see fit.

Bottom line: We need to keep the government out of the what must be dozens of bedrooms in the YFZ compound, in order to ensure they stay out of our individual bedrooms as well.

Comments

My .02

[gmjambear]

A few things that disturbs me about this case:

* It feels a lot like "Waco".

* The sad probability that many of these young women are bearing children at the age of 16 and under by men who are in their 40s and 50s, which, even with DNA evidence and the possibility that this case may have been started because of a phone call hoax, may not be easily solved by the police and state social services.

* As you may already know, the head of this sect was convicted for two counts of rape as an accomplice. He was sentenced to 10 years to live.

As with any news story, I suspect that there's a lot more going on than what's being presented to the public.

[ciddyguy.livejournal.com]

Gary said what I was going to say as NPR's All Things Considered even noted that the probability of girls as young as 16, below the age of consent were possibly bearing children.

I have no problem with polygamy, my only gripe with it is that once you get a huge group like that, there is a lot that can go wrong, from rape to incest to whatever.

And as Gary also said, I'm sure there is more than the news stories are telling is and if anything, NPR may be telling us more than the mainstream, but even there, they may be scratching the surface.

[bendawg.livejournal.com]

The Deseret News has been given surprisingly high levels of access. More than you've ever wanted to know may be found at http://www.desnews.com :-) LOL, those Mormons... ;) [this from the man that works for Bonneville]

[eggwards.livejournal.com]

I haven't followed this story too closely, but I can easily tell you that the state of Texas messed up royally. It seems that they were just waiting on a reason to go bust up the compound, and when they found the slimmest chance, they took it.

Also, who knew a Rural Texas county had an assault vehicle? I'm sure they had followed the Jeff's case and were making sure to avoid another Waco, but as we've seen, the followers fight with lawyers, not guns.

The state is in a whole mess of trouble trying to find enough foster homes for these children, and will end up doing these kids much more harm in the end. While we may think of the followers as a little strange, and the polygamist ways not really desirable (I see a difference between forced polygamy and polyamory), taking these children away from their home is doing no good to anyone, and will cost the state millions.

If you really want to help things, help deal with the fact that this sect pushes out many of the young males - excommunicated if you will - as to lessen the pool of men able to marry in the group. These boys and young men need help adjusting to society. That's something to work on.

[kevynjacobs.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you brought up the "Lost Boys." When the story first broke, I started looking to see what had been happening to the boys in the compound. That's when I came across this article from Wikipedia.

[bigmacbear]

I read that article and the New York Times article in the links section and came away with a better understanding of the issues faced by the Lost Boys.

It occurred to me that "peculiar" (Mormon code word for "gay") boys might logically find a better reception in these communities, given that they pretty much remove themselves from the pool of potential competitors for wives, and in twos or threes at that. Sadly, though, there appears to be no room for logic in this enterprise.

One other difference between this sect and mainstream Mormonism is that I'm fairly sure these isolated communities don't go sending out proselytutes (thank you bitterlawngnome and family for such an apt term), or "missionaries" if you must, to go recruiting door to door.

[kevynjacobs.livejournal.com]

>It occurred to me that "peculiar" (Mormon code word for "gay") boys might logically find a better reception in these communities, given that they pretty much remove themselves from the pool of potential competitors for wives, and in twos or threes at that. Sadly, though, there appears to be no room for logic in this enterprise.

Ironic, isn't it?