Polygamy: A Man's World?

Yay, this is my first post, and we only have one week left of school! Yeah, I'm a little behind.

While sitting here watching the news this last week, I've been especially interested in the polygamist community in south Texas. This afternoon, I had a discussion with Dean Turner about it and a male student. I then came home, got on the internet, and decided to look a little further into the situation.

My first thought is how horrible this life must have been for these children and their mothers. My second thought is why are the polygamists ALWAYS men?!?!? Where is the woman who has 50 husbands? And here I thought that our society had come a long way since the 70's bra burning. Boy, was I wrong. In the last 15 years, we have busted TWO, count them, TWO polygamist colonies in Texas! TEXAS!! We live in one of the most conservative states in the U.S. and we've had TWO?!?!?

It really bothers me that both of these colonies are men with numerous wives. This really sets us back as a gender, after those before us have worked so hard to get us where we are today. These women are seen as objects, those who bear children, stay home, and clean house.

And to make matters worse, the women and children and the ones who are removed from the compound. Why do the women have to leave and be put in dirty, run-down shelters? Why can't the men be removed and locked up? Aren't the women and children the innocent ones? And they're being locked up like convicts?? Now I know that CPS is just doing their job in doing what's best for the children. But for these children, are removing their mothers, their only link to their normal life, in their best interest? Imagine you were raised in this community, with no tv, no link to the outside world, and all of a sudden you're thrown into a shelter with people you don't know and completely outside of your comfort level.

Dean Turner has said that they're requesting attorneys from around the state to come down and represent these children as attorneys ad litem. And the main question is, why should we work for free when the community is still making money? Apparently they have a government contract making some kind of parts for something or other. So the men just get this money, even though they're in jail, and the kids are thrown in a shelter??? How is this right? Take that money and help pay for the best attorneys for these children. Putting them in a foster home is not the answer, and taking them from the only mother they know is not the answer either. These women have done nothing wrong. Granted, polygamy is illegal, and I'm sure these women know that, but I just wonder how hard it is for them to leave, to get out, and escape the hold of their husbands. So we send them back to their community with their husbands and without their children and expect everything to be hunky dory.

I think we need to try a little harder as a society to help this injustice. So be looking for an email and/or poster from Dean Turner. She's hoping to have students help out with the attorneys who are the attorneys ad litem for these children. I know this is really more about the children, but the women are involved as well. Let's help these women overcome this barrier of gender bias in their community.