On Children, Parenting, and Polygamy Ranches
There is a lovely article over at Reuters.com with the headline Over 400 children taken from Texas polygamist ranch. It’s a bold headline sure to draw readers. The article is about 401 children being
…removed from a remote ranch in west Texas belonging to a breakaway Mormon sect linked to jailed polygamist leader Warren Jeffs…
They’re very, very clear on the number of children, and that the authorities were called
…in response to a complaint of abuse by a young woman there.
I’m not saying anything about the potential abuse of the young woman. That is for the investigators to determine. What drives me nuts is how they are so sure to mention exactly how many heart-tugging children were in the polygamy ranch (makes them sound like cattle, right?) but then when it comes to the mothers and caregivers with the children they’re only mentioned as
Scores of women have also reportedly been removed from or left the compound owned by the secretive sect.
How many women adds up to “scores?” I know how long four score is, but score isn’t used to mean a definite number anymore (as far as I know) – so how many women were there? 100? 75? 50? Even if there were only 50 women there, that is still less children per adult than a normal public school teacher deals with every day.
Were the children malnourished? Clothed inappropriately for the weather? Beaten?
While you and I may not agree with multiple wives and the scores of other things this breakaway-sect of the Mormons does, are they really hurting the children? Because having a wacky religion and multiple wives may make you ill equipped to be a normal human being with friends and a decent relationship later in life. It may make you see the world in a kooky “get me to a therapist” kind of way, but it isn’t wrong. Not if you believe in the constitutional right to freedom of religion.
Sure this opens the can of worms about snake-handlers and those who believe it’s part of the religion to physically or sexually abuse others. But don’t let the atrocities of abuse that some religions deem appropriate make multiple wives somehow seem like an abomination. I mean, maybe you think multiple wives is an abomination, but seriously, with all the evil out there in the big, bad world…there are worse things to be worrying about than big families that are extremely non-traditional.
Depending on the allegations of abuse that were made by the one unidentified girl perhaps all the children should have been taken into custody. Or maybe just one of the women (of the scores) that allegedly abused her should have been removed from the ranch. When you’re dealing with that many women and that many children, I don’t think normal child protective services rules should apply.
Especially since those kids probably are going to somewhere far more crowded with less supplies than home. What child abuse agency has the beds, food, and supplies necessary for bringing in 401 kids…all at once?
Comments
6 Responses to “On Children, Parenting, and Polygamy Ranches”
Got something to say?
-
Yep – I’m a Joiner!
I couldn’t agree more. I also find it interested that the original “complaintant” has not been found yet. The Texas authorities have been looking for a reason to raid this place for awhile now and took advantage of it in spades when the opportunity presented itself. As someone who has travelled through Hindale, UT and Colorado City, AZ it is like being in a VERY strange land where you feel quite alien. But as you mentioned if you believe in the Constitution of this great country of ours respecting religious diversity is part of that. If everyone were more tolerant we wouldn’t be draining our country fighting two wars right now.
If nothing else, this Texas story is a reminder that we as a society need to be more vigilant about noticing signs of child abuse and taking action immediately. One detection network that really needs strengthening is our schoolteachers. Many teachers may notice signs of abuse — which are not necessarily physical — but then they don’t know how to talk to the student about it. So the abuse goes unreported. There’s a new online role-playing course that lets teachers practice a conversation with a possible child abuse victim, getting expert feedback after every choice. (It was co-written by a former Minnesota police detective.) There’s a free version and a CEU-credit version for teachers. Hopefully it’ll help teachers to detect child abuse — such as in this Texas sect — much more effectively.
Couldn’t agree more. Who exactly is going to take care of these children and love them better than their parents?
Marina Feygelman’s last blog post..Advertising yourself: how to use Google AdWords
Well, there were numerous 14 year old girls who have been impregnated by their 50 year old uncles. I’d say that falls outside the bounds of “religious freedom.”
Staci Carsten’s last blog post..Lake Oswego Real Estate News
But your other comment says the boys are closely watched and sent away?
See how the facts never seem to line up…and people never seem to have real backup that doesn’t sound like conjecture.
Thanks for making my point for me!
Numerous…after I had such an issue with the use of “scores” in the post. I wonder if you read or just skimmed what I wrote *grin*
[...] been here while I thought out loud about polygamy. [...]