IN THE NEWS

[flo]

Okay, so why has no one mentioned what is going on in ElDorado Texas? And just what do you think about what is going on in ElDorado Texas?  Know it is probably a sore subject, but seems a good one for a debate.

[pam]

Don't even get me started

[flo]

O, OK 

[Wilma]

I would be glad to comment if I could find the words to fully express my feelings about these men.  As I have said before, I was raised to be a lady and ladies don't use that kind of language.

[flo]

awwwwwwwww, go ahead Wilma.  I'll cover my eyes 

[pam]

Think it's a messed up deal that needs to be stopped, they treat women like property and brood mares. Always say if it's ok for them to have 4 or 5 wives it oughta be ok for a woman to have 4 or 5 husbands LOL Not that any chick in her right mind would want that

[sixdogsmom]

Hmmmm-- freedom of religion versus child abuse.   My mom was a bride at 14 years of age. Certainly not unheard of in the early part of the 1900s. I don't think this was child abuse., but it would be by todays' standard. A woman can marry in Kansas at the age of 16 with parental consent. Is this child abuse?

Cults are not unheard of in this country, and there are probably many more than we can imagine. Many live on the fringe of our society, and sometimes just outside the law, sometimes just on the inside. I know that polygamy is illegal, and this is the real basis of the problem. I think there is just one legal wife, and the others, wives in the site of the community. Is that wrong? Depends upon who you are and where you are looking from. I doubt the young woman in question would have said anything should she have been the 'legal' wife, and not just in the 'sisterhood' of the family. Girls of sixteen having sex isn't unheard of, look at the out of wedlock childbirth rate, abortion rate, and std rate in this country. Most of the statistcs involve underage girls. I know I'm gonna get flack for this next statement, but maybe out of wedlock sex with a 50 year old man who treats you as a wife might be better than having sex around the corner any old time with an irresponsible partner. Most of the folks I saw being evacuated from El Dorado looked well, and well fed.

Ideally, every girl in this country will wait for sex until she is out of college, and independent. But that ain't gonna happen. Of course, I don't agree forcing anyone to have sex with anyone! And I really doubt that that happened. There has been a witch hunt going on for many years against the polygamist cults, and I think this just may be the latest move on them. Enough said, if this don't stir things up, nothin' will. And I didn't cuss even once!! LOL!!

[Wilma]

That is one of the things I don't understand.  Why would a woman want to live under these conditions?  The ones I saw on the news did look well fed and dressed.  Dressed like women from 2 centuries ago and their hair bundled up, just as the old movies portrayed the Mormon villages of illegal wives.  I would think that any woman with any pride would want her own and not just be part of a group of nonentities.

[sixdogsmom]

You see women here dressed like that too. There are some very unusual versions of worship that came to light in the late 1800s, not just Mormonism but Unitarians, Calvanists, Spiritualists, and on and on and on. Women the world over hide from the general society behind bulky garments that mark them as members of certain sects or societys. Doesn't mean they are right and it doesn't mean they are wrong. It does mean that they like the security of the group, a primitive but effective means of seperatist society.

I used to be neighbors with a very nice family that had moved here from Arkansas. The fundamentalist church they belonged to did not believe in doctors of any kind. As a result, the woman died of complications of diabetes at a young age. She literally laid in her bed and rotted to death. I think that is a sin and a crime, but it was their way. Thier niece tried to give birth at home but could not. She and the baby both died after three days of labor. I think that is also a sin and a crime. Talk about child abuse! But the law does not see it that way.

I do have to wonder about the legitamacy of the Texas child abuse claim. There have been many instances of persecution of these sects that believe in polygamy. After all, the United States government required mass divorces of the polygamys Mormons before Utah would be admitted into the union. I think it is very possible that some sherriff is seeking re-election. Just a thought.

[frawin]

We lived in West Texas when they started that colony, the local people were very upset about it and tried to stop it. The local Sheriff had to stop people from trying to go on to the land that this group had purchased. ElDorado is a very conservative and Chritian community and they have been wanting to get this colony shut down for a long time. The leader had to leave after the Federal Government brought charges against him. Hopefully he will not be able to regain control after he finishes his prison term. I have always felt that the leaders of many of this type of groups were nothing but conmen using religion as a coverup to gain power, make money and have sex with numerous partners and unfortunately young girls that are forced to have sex with these slime balls.
Frank