There is a new column up at the Salt lake Tribune by Peg Mcentee titled:‘Sister Wives’ lawsuit opens window on modern polygamy' You can read the entire column, and I hope you will, here.
Among other things, Ms. Mcentee says,
"I have to say, I debated with myself at length upon hearing that the "Sister Wives" family won’t face felony bigamy charges in Utah County," and "What I finally realized is that, as a fervent backer of gay rights, including marriage, I could not gainsay the right of one straight man and four straight women to live together as their beliefs and convictions guide them."
I could go on forever but I am simply, for the most part, going to post the reply I left on the Tribune discussion board:
Please don't assume that people you label as, "left wing liberals" automatically support polygamy. Most of "us" are intelligent enough to see it exactly for what it is: institutionalized abuse of women and children, which runs entirely contrary to "our" stereotype. Your blog pays great tribute to those unfortunate souls; please be careful of alienating those of "us" whose political beliefs otherwise differ from your own. On this issue, I think we can agree.
ReplyDeleteAnon, I hope you don't take it personally, especially since you obviously do not support the decriminalization of polygamy. If it makes you feel any better I'm an equal opportunity offender. The fact is, those who are doing the most to actively help normalize and decriminalize polygamy are in fact politically liberal. You must have already noticed that I do not pull punches with anyone just because they claim the mantle of conservative either. Because, while many of the Liberals help to support decriminalization, conservatives like Utah and Arizona politicians are actively helping to cover up the abuses.
ReplyDeleteI'm as careful as I can be while still holding people accountable for the support of this abuse. I have a few very politically liberal friends and we do have to agree to disagree on a lot of issues. But on the issue of polygamy we do, indeed, agree.
Oprah Winfrey has a lot to answer for in this regard as she has made it very clear that she supports "consenting adults" rights to engage in this illegal behavior. Never mind that empirical research shows that polygamy harms women and children even among consenting adults.
D-Janet Napolitano, a former Arizona Governor also turned a blind eye to the abuses, along with her AG D-Terry Goddard.
Jonathan Turley, who is representing the Browns is another example of a politically liberal person actively supporting and defending the abuse.
Dr. Phyllis Chesler is an Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women's Studies at City University of New York, and although she has written extensively about the abuse of polygamy, the liberal establishment still shuns her position in favor of the "consenting adult" myth.
If you don't support the decriminalization of the abuse, then this post had nothing at all to do with you, and there was no need to take offense.
But this statement, "Most of "us" are intelligent enough to see it exactly for what it is: institutionalized abuse of women and children..." is not necessarily true, since so many of those calling for decriminalization are indeed, liberal politically.
Like I said, I'm an equal opportunity offender. If you are a conservative helping to contribute to this mess I will call you out, too. As you can see, I have pages and pages of documentation calling out those who claim to be conservative.
I hope, like my friends who agree to disagree with me, you will find it possible to work with others who may not always agree with you, too.
It looks like we have the same wish. I hope you mean it when you say you do not want to be alienated from others who may have different political beliefs.