polygamist ranch in TX -- children taken -- your thoughts?

[Grumpy's Gal]

Are there any updates? And what are your thoughts about all of this.

 

[Pop Daddy]

the mothers defiantly seem spaced out, but you should tread real lightly when taking away children

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I know those kids must be scared to death but I am hoping the court proceedings go quickly and that in the end, everyone does what's right for the kids.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

the mothers defiantly seem spaced out, but you should tread real lightly when taking away children

I agree. I saw the mothers on Larry King last night and none of them would answer the question "where's your children's father?" That kind of creeped me out.

I have questions -- do any of you know -- if the state takes the children away and places them in foster homes, and there are currently some mothers pregnant on the ranch, when the new babies are born, will they be taken also?

 

[Chuck S]

If these people are entering into illegal marriages with underage girls, they should be prosecuted. I do feel bad for the mothers, but on the interviews they look like and act like Stepford Wives.

 

[tiggersmom2]

the mothers defiantly seem spaced out, but you should tread real lightly when taking away children

I agree. Of course, I don't want to see a child sexually abused.... but I don't know if they went about it the right way.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

I heard on the news today, they think some of these young girls are lying about their age so they won't get in trouble for having had a child. (Like saying they are 18 instead of 15)

Also, how do they even know who are siblings with which other children?

 

[LadyZolt]

From watching the news tonight, it looks like all the kids have lawyers now, and I imagine that the state has to pay for them. I think Texas made a big mistake rushing into this and taking all the kids they way they did. It certainly doesn't seem like any of the younger children was being abused and that the concern is for the girls 12 and older, so it probably would have been wiser to send social workers out to interview or do something along those lines rather than swoop in and take all the kids. I haven't yet heard that the girl who supposedly called in saying she was abused has been found, either. I wonder if someone who didn't like this group (maybe someone who left it or someone who was concerned, but wanted to remain anonymous) made the call and it wasn't really a teenage girl living there. I agree that the state should be treading lightly when taking kids from their mothers. I guess we'll have to see what happens, but at least this time, they didn't kill off a bunch of people as has happened in the past.

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[maddhatir]

Polygamist= religious group= child abuse

Catholic Priests= religious group= child abuse

Just something to ponder................

 

[cabanafrau]

Generally when children are removed from a home, the ruling is, as to one, as to all. I have heard some talk that this situation involves issues w/ the boys, as well. If any of the media coverage is correct, how can it be healthy for young children to remain in a situation, just because they aren't old enough to be directly abused yet?

This situation is going to need the wisdom of Solomon. Many people are suffering & it's really sad that so many are children.

 

[snowy76]

I saw an interesting interview this morning with a woman who I believe (didn't catch the beginning) was once part of these groups. She expressed a concern for the kids in the foster care situations because of certain cultural differences - for example, the kids are discouraged from laughing b/c it's considered morally weak/of the devil. So if a foster parent is trying to make a connection with a kid through playing and jokes, etc... they might actually cause the child to withdraw. Another example was calling the kid "sweetie" - they'd take it as code for "staying sweet" and resist any attempts to undo the conditioning that has happened in these communities.

What an extremely difficult case for all the professionals and foster families involved.

 

[froglady]

Should people be punished for something they might do in the future?

I guess my feeling is that if parents have allowed their daughters to marry illegally, they should be punished for it, and both the abused child, and any other children, should be removed from the abusive parent.

But what about the mothers whose children have not been abused; should those children be removed because their mother might force them to marry/toss them out? I guess that's the only problem I have with it; ALL of the women have been treated as abusers, even if they haven't done anything....yet.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Should people be punished for something they might do in the future?

I guess my feeling is that if parents have allowed their daughters to marry illegally, they should be punished for it, and both the abused child, and any other children, should be removed from the abusive parent.

But what about the mothers whose children have not been abused; should those children be removed because their mother might force them to marry/toss them out? I guess that's the only problem I have with it; ALL of the women have been treated as abusers, even if they haven't done anything....yet.

I agree. This whole thing has left me with a "that's not right" in the back of my mind. It was executed poorly. I don't agree with the Polygamy lifestyle, but I don't agree with taking the children either.

 

[chobie]

I agree. This whole thing has left me with a "that's not right" in the back of my mind. It was executed poorly. I don't agree with the Polygamy lifestyle, but I don't agree with taking the children either.

I find it unsettling as well.

 

[DemonLlama]

Legally, when a report is made (the cell phone call from the girl claiming she was being raped and beaten) the state must act.

One of the legal gray areas is how they define "home." Is it just the one log cabin of the complainant? Or is it the compound where all the families live/interact? And now that the girl won't come forward, who could pinpoint it anyway?

I've been following the case(s) today, which was absolute insanity. The hundreds of lawyers for every child and every mother makes things impossible. But the system wasn't set up to handle this load. It's uncharted territory.

They are talking genetic testing to determine who the rightful mother and father of each child is because everyone is lying about their relationships.

This is a case of serious indoctrination -- like all cults, they've been told this will happen by the evil people on the outside, and now it's happening.

 

[nuke]

Polygamist= religious group= child abuse

Catholic Priests= religious group= child abuse

Just something to ponder................

So are suggesting that Catholic Mothers are offering up their children to the pedophile priests?

There's a big difference between giving your 14 year old daughter willingly to a 40,50,60 year old man and what happened with the priests. Yes they are both child abuse but the polygamists agree with the abuse where as Catholics are just as disgusted by the pedophile priests as the general public.

 

[phinsleft10]

Polygamist= religious group= child abuse

Catholic Priests= religious group= child abuse

Just something to ponder................

There are over 400,000 priests worldwide. You hear about a handfull and now all priests are bad.

In my County we had 2 people murdered by Harley riders. Does that mean Harley-Davidson Rider = murderer?

Just something to ponder.......................

 

[JennyMominRI]

I'm guessing some of you don't understand exactly what this group does.

The kids are 2/3 female.. Odd huh? DO you know why? The only boys there are young with a few exceptions... To ensure the older men get all the young girls the group takes boys that hit puberty and dump them on the side of the roads like trash... Where are the mothers calling for the return of their dumped sons?
Many of these people won't name the fathers. They aren't even the mothers in many cases..Many of these kids were taken from ther famililies in Colorado City and Hilldale and given to new families in El Dorado.
If the leaders don't like what you do as a man they will take your wife and kids and pass them on to another father then kick you out of the compound for life.
These people believe in Blood Atonement.. They believe that if you commit certain sins the only way to atone is through the spilling of blood..They believe murder is the way to atone for sins.
There is no comparison of this group to Catholics.

 

[Honu]

The state says according to their records there were 150 people total reported to be living there. They went in looking for one 16 year old girl, they found FIVE 16 year old girls who were already mothers or pregnant (apparently by their pedophile husbands - all 45 years+) and 450 additional children. I don't think they had a choice, except to take them.

The parents will be able to argue that their family didn't take part in the practice, if that is so, and that's a valid argument, but all the parents are going to have to prove to psychiatrists and the court that they possess appropriate sensibilities about parenting. I'd guess many of these kids will probably turn 18 before it's resolved.

 

[KariC]

There are reports and testimonies that the abuse was systemic. It didn't just involve marrying young girls off to old farts. It included punishing mothers by abusing the children, spanking babies and dunking their heads under water to teach them not to cry, refusing to educate children, and on and on. From what I understand, this particular phone call was the final straw.

I have no idea if this was the best way to do it. I'm not a social worker. And, from what I've been reading, most lawyers are donating their time to represent the children.

It will be interesting to watch.