Whoopi basically played devil's advocate by saying that it would be hard for jurors to draw a line in this case because it's all about religious rights. Her words were something like "...well maybe then we would wonder should Scientologists not be allowed to do what they do as part of their religious rights?..." (not a direct quote) I wanted to slap her.
Religious rights take a backseat to the obvious endangerment of a minor. I can hear some people already. Yes, some Christians think Paganism endangers minors - but in the case of these child brides I think there is no room for debate. These girls are barely pubescent and being made to have sex with men almost triple their age. It's sick and perverted and any religion that advocates something like that is completely immoral and the creation of men with a distinct brand of sexual deviance.
I am the mother of a little girl who will be 9 next Thursday. She is a LITTLE GIRL - not a woman who would be ready for marriage and children in 3 years. Any mother who could allow her child to be taken into a situation such as this should have their children removed for being a weak willed woman who has forgotten to fight for the well being of their children. I'm not movable on this one. I don't care how you rationalize it, justify it, make sense of it... etc. It's wrong.
Do you think these people even realize the kind of damage giving birth so young can cause on the bodies of these girls? Some young women in Africa are plagued with broken bodies; bladders and bowels that leak, prolapsed wombs, and more. Those serious medical conditions were caused by giving birth too young because they were raped and impregnated as children.
Speaking of rape - why doesn't the statutory law apply in the polygamy case? I believe it's a state issue, but I can't imagine any state says it's okay for a 40 year old man to have sex with a 12 year old girl. She's barely able to make her own decisions with a 7th grade education - let alone decide who to give her body to and why.
I'm not claiming to be the most educated on the polygamy case or the practices of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What I know is that it's wrong to have sex with children. I don't care what religion you are - or how it's justified. 12 year olds are children plain and simple. And if keeping these children away from their mothers allows them the peace to grow into healthy women who can make choices for sex, marriage, and children when they are ready... I'm all for it.
As Athana has said many times... what would a healthy mother do? Not give her daughters away as child brides. Not allow them to be sexual abused minors. Not believe in a god who says any of this is okay. EVER. It's not okay. It's criminal.
Goddess, Mother, wake up these women and empower them to take control of their lives and the lives of their children. Let them see the sacredness of motherhood and all that comes with it. Make them fight for their daughters. Make them fight for their sons also so they might not be raised to abuse young girls the way that their fathers have. And awaken these men to you and to the respect of the female body. Allow them to embrace the fathers within them and shun the war god who advocates any form of child abuse in the name of religion. So mote it be.
8 comments:
Yaaay!
Good rant, Lee.
I totally agree with you.
A pox on these depraved monotheistic patriarchs, men and women alike.
Love,
Terri in Joburg
Wow. I completely agree that having sex with minors is wrong, especially as young as 12 years old! This whole case disgusts me on at a very deep level. I do not, however, believe that it is the mothers of these girls who are to blame for allowing this to happen. Remember, the mothers of these twelve year old girls may only be 24 years old (having had children themselves at 12) and were brainwashed/raised with the belief that this was not only acceptable but the will of their God. It's not as though these mothers were taken from the outside and then convinced. Generations of women have been raised in remote areas where they have no contact with the outside. They are raised to be female sex slaves thinking they are doing their duty to their God, when in fact they are only raised to satisfy the perverted sexual pleasures of some disgusting men. The fruits of their union being indoctrinated and continuing the entire disgusting cycle; These women are nothing more than slaves. According to their church, their children do not even belong to them. The children belong to the father. These women do not deserve our ire. They deserve our compassion. They deserve to be introduced to the greater society where they can live with the freedom to make choices about their bodies and their children. It's not the mothers. It's the men.
Thanks Terri. Rock on Lady!
Diana - I think they all deserve our compassion. Remember that the men who have been raised in this cult have also been taught to believe that this sort of behavior is okay. It's the society they are living in - not necessarily the people themselves - that are the problem. And it seems the people are not willing to change their ways. So the only way to stop the cycle is to remove the children and create a generation of liberated people. If that means they must be taken from their mothers - if their mothers are not willing to leave the society of abuse - then so be it.
This planet just keeps getting more crazy, I'm going to spend more time at the beaches and camping. And staying close to home more.
My grandmother got married at 12, my mother was 14. I'm not sure why they married so young though.
I think Demeter is speaking through you. Of course, you're right. And I think most people would agree with you -- why else would this story be such big news? People are grossed out, with justification. There's no easy solution to the problem, but I think some legal action against these men must occur.
Donna - thanks very much. I checked out your article. Fascinating read.
Luna - yes indeed. It's frustrating and I pray there is some way to find a solution before it is too late for those kids.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting everyone!
The depravity of this situation makes shivers crawl up my spine. I have a thirteen year old sister and after reading this, I realize that if she and I where immersed in this situation, she would probably be having her first child and I, my sixth. A moral code or bar is set in this world and those who decide to just jump right over it with total ignorance and just plain disgusting actions are just plain wrong. I guess the best we can do is prevent this from happening/influencing/infecting our children, because the young are innocent and need to be protected, but not ignorant. I wish those poor girls didn't need to be put in those situations. A girl getting her menstrual cycle is a passage into womanhood, not a 'GO' sign for marriage, especially not to a decrepit old man. Its disturbing and immoral, but I pray that the Mother Goddess protects them. Though with the situation they are in, all they can do is "Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst."
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