Re: Texas Polygamists--sf in real life?

David Friedman <ddfr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> I've been following the Texas polygamy case with interest and
> commenting on it on my blog.  The first comparison that occurred to
> me was with the 19th century Oneida community, which practiced an
> much more bizarre marriage system--everyone married to everyone.
> The FLDS is accused of matching up young women with older men;
> Oneida not only did it (and young men with older women) but openly
> described and advocated their system. ...

> One possibility is that the 21st century is less tolerant, at least
> in some dimensions, than the 19th.

My understanding is that numerous young women in FLDS are saying their
marriages are not consensual -- in other words, that FLDS is basically
a criminal gang specializing in rape.  If these accusations are borne
out, people are right to be intolerant of FLDS.

> On the other hand, the original LDS were also a 19th century odd
> group and got chased out of town, I think repeatedly, until they
> finally created their own society in Utah.

Correct.  Note that at the time Utah was outside the United States.
And that the Mormons' problems didn't end after they arrived in
Utah.  They were basically given an ultimatum:  Give up polygamy or be
destroyed.  Fortunately, God changed His mind about polygamy and gave
their leader a revelation that polygamy had suddenly become a bad
thing.  (Many years later, God also changed His mind about racism,
and gave the Mormon leader a revelation that racism had also suddenly
become a bad thing.)

As the existence of FLDS shows, some Mormons believed that the leader
was fibbing about the new revelations.
-- 
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
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