What's so bad about polygamy?
With the recent arrest of Warren Jeffs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_Jeffs), the "Prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FCJCLDS) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamentalist_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter_Day_Saints) , one of America's 10 most wanted has been taken off of the list. It's incredibly big news, or at least the media is treating it that way, especially because he wasn't apprehended because of his standing as a wanted man, but from an asshole cop who pulled him over because he had temporary plates in his windshield. Funny how a man could elude the authorities for years only to be caught because he didn't put his temporary plate on the outside of his car...I can (somewhat) relate: after driving at an average speed of about 120 MPH from New Orleans to Redwood City, I got pulled over and given a ($1000, if my sister didn't work for the MVPD) ticket for having Louisiana plates (and a license, and registration, and insurance...wonder why I hate cops?) when I was just 10 miles from my destination. You'd think I'd get pulled over for doing 135 on the I-10, but instead I get a ticket because I live in another state. So back to the polygamist...Jeffs had up to 75 wives, which is something I really do not envy. Most men complain about having 1 wife, let alone 75!
So the main reason why this man was originally targeted by the government was not for the child brides that his church is famous for, but simply becuase he's a polygamist. What is so wrong about having multiple wives if they consent to the marriage? It would be one thing if he had been kidnapping girls from their homes and forcing them into marriage, but that simply wasn't the case. In fact, many of his wives had once been his father's wives...Oedipus, eat your heart out. Most of the members of the FCJCLDS follow his doctrines fanatically. If his wives were victims, wouldn't they have helped in his capture? So why is polygamy such a horrible crime to us? Is it because it favors the strong? If every man was allowed to have multiple wives, do you think that there'd suddenly be a shortage of women? And even if there was, wouldn't the men who were able to get a woman be more deserving of them? What if it went both ways and women could have a harem of men too? Why would people have a problem with that?
Just like with drugs, I believe that sex should NEVER be regulated when taking place between consenting adults, yet this country has laws against many sexual acts, including some pretty pedestrian ones. Homosexuality is seen as a huge evil, when men should actually ENCOURAGE homosexuality to decrease competition. If there are 100 men and 50 are homosexual, that leaves the remaining 50 men to make their choice of all the available women. The same goes for polygamy, if men and women can have multiple spouses that would let the weak latch onto a large harem while the strong would have their own. We look at Jeffs as this huge pervert and evil man, while Hugh Hefner is one of the most respected men in America. How is he different? He lives in a house of hedonism with multiple (right now he has 3, but he had 7 a couple years ago) girlfriends that are 50-60 years younger than him and is celebrated for it.
Is it because Jeffs did it in the name of religion? Maybe it's just me, but this nation was founded on the principal that people should be able to worship as they choose and his people chose to be members of a fundamentalist polygamist church. Why can't we let him and his followers live in their little community with their giant church? I'd rather we let those people live in peace and we attack the real problems facing us. Focus on the cities and not the rural areas. Focus on problems of morality (like stealing from someone, or assaulting them or killing them) instead of these moral problems. I may not agree with how they do things in their little polygamist community, but I don't see why this man would be on our 10 most wanted list.
Okay, so he's not an angel, probably more of a devil. But this man was born into this society and so were most of his wives. The girl he "raped" was a girl who had been arranged to marry someone else and he facilitated it. Their society is not one that would fly in the city, so they have their own little isolated community as to keep from encroaching on anyone else. If they don't attack cities, why bother with them? I personally don't believe that monogamy is a natural state for the human mind. Men by their nature desire to spread their seed as much as possible and polygamy is a much safer way to do it than the way we go about it in the cities. Why not track down the one-night-stand bandits? They spread disease, cause emotional problems with their many partners and have as little morality as the members of the FCJCLDS, possibly even less. If Jeffs lived in the Middle East, there wouldn't be any problems with what he did, but here in the US he's one of America's most wanted. I'm not saying that he's a good man or that I agree with him, but aren't there a lot more dangerous and evil people still out there?
So the main reason why this man was originally targeted by the government was not for the child brides that his church is famous for, but simply becuase he's a polygamist. What is so wrong about having multiple wives if they consent to the marriage? It would be one thing if he had been kidnapping girls from their homes and forcing them into marriage, but that simply wasn't the case. In fact, many of his wives had once been his father's wives...Oedipus, eat your heart out. Most of the members of the FCJCLDS follow his doctrines fanatically. If his wives were victims, wouldn't they have helped in his capture? So why is polygamy such a horrible crime to us? Is it because it favors the strong? If every man was allowed to have multiple wives, do you think that there'd suddenly be a shortage of women? And even if there was, wouldn't the men who were able to get a woman be more deserving of them? What if it went both ways and women could have a harem of men too? Why would people have a problem with that?
Just like with drugs, I believe that sex should NEVER be regulated when taking place between consenting adults, yet this country has laws against many sexual acts, including some pretty pedestrian ones. Homosexuality is seen as a huge evil, when men should actually ENCOURAGE homosexuality to decrease competition. If there are 100 men and 50 are homosexual, that leaves the remaining 50 men to make their choice of all the available women. The same goes for polygamy, if men and women can have multiple spouses that would let the weak latch onto a large harem while the strong would have their own. We look at Jeffs as this huge pervert and evil man, while Hugh Hefner is one of the most respected men in America. How is he different? He lives in a house of hedonism with multiple (right now he has 3, but he had 7 a couple years ago) girlfriends that are 50-60 years younger than him and is celebrated for it.
Is it because Jeffs did it in the name of religion? Maybe it's just me, but this nation was founded on the principal that people should be able to worship as they choose and his people chose to be members of a fundamentalist polygamist church. Why can't we let him and his followers live in their little community with their giant church? I'd rather we let those people live in peace and we attack the real problems facing us. Focus on the cities and not the rural areas. Focus on problems of morality (like stealing from someone, or assaulting them or killing them) instead of these moral problems. I may not agree with how they do things in their little polygamist community, but I don't see why this man would be on our 10 most wanted list.
Okay, so he's not an angel, probably more of a devil. But this man was born into this society and so were most of his wives. The girl he "raped" was a girl who had been arranged to marry someone else and he facilitated it. Their society is not one that would fly in the city, so they have their own little isolated community as to keep from encroaching on anyone else. If they don't attack cities, why bother with them? I personally don't believe that monogamy is a natural state for the human mind. Men by their nature desire to spread their seed as much as possible and polygamy is a much safer way to do it than the way we go about it in the cities. Why not track down the one-night-stand bandits? They spread disease, cause emotional problems with their many partners and have as little morality as the members of the FCJCLDS, possibly even less. If Jeffs lived in the Middle East, there wouldn't be any problems with what he did, but here in the US he's one of America's most wanted. I'm not saying that he's a good man or that I agree with him, but aren't there a lot more dangerous and evil people still out there?
posted by Dan Pasternack at 4:09 PM
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