Little House of Polygamists

Is this scene from Little House on the Prairie? Are we in the 1970s? No! we are in the 21st century and girls should not dress like this. But it is happening but it is not the dressing which is distressing but more so how they live and what they believe in.

When I first heard of this (ah hmm..from an episode on Oprah), I could not believe my eyes and ears. Apparently there are people living a "plural" lifestyle. Ok, I should not be surprised since in Malaysia, our Muslim men can take up to 4 wives. But the bizzare thing about these plural lifestyle folks are that they all stay together in one big house and sisters may be married to the same men by choice and they all have 4-5 kids or more per wife. Most household have over 20-30 people staying under the same roof. But at least these folks are still a bit more normal meaning they are just like you and me, the only difference these women have one husband and staying harmoniusly under one roof.

But not this particular sect...........

They belong a group called Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) -- which regards plural marriage as ordained by God. The sect's spiritual leader Warren Jeffs, was sentenced in a Utah court to 10 years to life in prison as an accomplice to rape for forcing a 14-year-old girl to marry her 19-year-old first cousin. He is in jail in Arizona awaiting trial on similar charges for arranged marriages there.

Polygamy is outlawed in the United States but the male followers of such sects typically marry one woman officially and take the others as "spiritual wives."

Apparently they are a breakway sect from the Mormon faith.

Ok..that is a bit of the history, the latest bizzare news for me is that they actually formed a community in West Texas. They have set up communities in Utah and Arizona but now in Texas too??

It is not so bad if it was just a polygamist lifestyle, there are more scary stuff - young girls in their teens are married off to much older men, they get pregnant and continue to have more children, some younger boys are kicked out from the community as so they are not competition for the older men, they all dress in the "Little House on the Praire" clothes, they are not connected to the rest of the world, no TV, no internet, children are all schooled within only their own community.

I just cannot believe that this can happen. It is almost unbelievable! Why would they live like this?

I have been following the news, Texas authorities recently raided their Eldorado ranch and took to custody over 400 children after a call from a 16 years old girl complaning of underage marriage/ pregnancy and sexual abuse. Since the parents are not cooperating and it is difficult to determine which child belong to who..(some of the children don't even know), the authorities are performing DNA test to all children and parents. This will also help determine is the children are underaged when pregnant.

I don't know if I am just curious, or digusted.