Polygamist women aren't brain-washed...

You can't be brain-washed if you never knew any better. At least that's what I hope Lisa Ling meant when she said that she wouldn't call the women in Texas brainwashed.

From the day they are born these poor young women only know what they see in their daily lives. There are no televisions, no movies --even their textbooks have been censored. To them, total submission and oppression is normal. They can't even conceive of the notion of choosing a life path, choosing a husband, or choosing full-time motherhood.

Elissa Wall, the young woman who ran away and testified against Warren Jeffs leading to his conviction, told how she assisted the Texas authorities in the raid on the FLDS compound. She explained how one of the ways she helped was by acting as a "translator," since the sect has its own way of expressing themselves.

The good news was that Elissa felt that the authorities were very caring and cautious in how they handled the removal of the children. The bad news of course is that mothers and children had to separated -- for their own good of course, but tragic nonetheless.

The biggest shame was that it took a 911 call claiming abuse for anything to happen. Elissa described what was happening in the sect community during the trial, and yet nothing was done. Girls as young as 13 were being forced into arranged marriages, sometimes to first cousins. They were told it had been prophesied and it was their duty to obey.

They enter a marriage knowing absolutely nothing about their own anatomy, let alone sex. They are not forewarned by their mothers, other than being told that their husband will guide them through their "marital relations." (How do the young men find out? Missed-opportunity-to-ask-a-question #101 on this show!)

And so Elissa explained that when her marriage was finally consummated, she was shaking and sobbing and begging and pleading for her husband to stop. I can't help but think that every older woman at that compound had a similar experience. And they think it is normal. They allow their daughters to go through the horrific incident as if that is what a merciful God would expect.

And O sat there, sucking her lozenge, saying mm-hmm, repeating what the guests had said, reading from the prompter – oh, and making a joke about the escapees going to a hair salon,

Where is the outrage?

It's bad enough when O had the three grown women who insisted they were happy sharing one husband, and O did not say a word of protest. Not judgmental -- no, not she! But this was children we were talking about. Young women being forced into repeated acquaintance rape, basically. Why was O not demanding that more raids take place across the country?

To be fair, I think O did display a level of tacit disapproval. But when all you're doing is presenting fact after appalling fact, it begins to seem like all we're doing is being voyeurs.

I want to know -- what can we do about his?! Yes, people are entitled to religious beliefs -- sadly even misogynistic, unGodly beliefs. But when children are being harmed, how can we just sit back and act as if it's all just a personal preference?

Good reporting, Lisa. Now finish the job. Help bring about justice.

Comments

[The Sainted Mother]

Opps! I goofed. This is the commentary that I meant to label as your best, not the OZ post. This comes straight from your heart and speaks to your concern for women's issues & respect for motherhood.