Just some news from up here. The trial is getting a lot of coverage.

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"A clinical psychologist from Utah on Thursday described the dark side of polygamy in fundamentalist Mormon communities."

Read more:
http://www.theprovince.com/life/Psychologist+describes+abuse+robotic+demeanour+polygamist+women/3919384/story.html

Oh, HELL no! At least not the religious based kind of polygamy. Really gross. Please keep us updated on how this turns out.

but that they'll finally start enforcing the polygamy laws. It's a travesty that they don't protect the children better -- although I know most people really don't "get" the problems with polygamy -- particularly with religiously mandated polygyny.

This trial is the first step towards that... ie; the courts are attempting to decide whether Canada'a anti-polygamy laws are unconstitutional - are they (the current laws) violating protections of religious freedom, or not.

More links

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/canada-would-become-magnet-for-polygamy-if-law-struck-down-court-told/article1809509/
(lots of comments below the article)

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/12/01/bc-polygamy-hearing.html

http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/features/polygamy/index.html

it's not that much easier for most people to leave the monogamous kind. They don't hunt you down and drag you back kicking and screaming, but the belief about losing your salvation is almost as strong.

It's really the same religion. That was one of my big shocking realizations from reading Under the Banner of Heaven. The regular Mormon church may not be as extreme, but it's still extreme and at least half as weird.

A convergence of circumstances and coincidences including an interstate move, parents who were never really into it and reverted to inactivity at the same time, and a mostly inactive extended family made it super easy for me to leave. Few people can just walk away, like I did, and not get any crap from anybody.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2010 12:13AM by munchybotaz.

Regular Mormons may seem to have more normal feelings, but there's a similar weird emotional culture where negative feelings aren't allowed and people who don't fit a certain mold are bombarded with disapproval.

If not for that, I might still be Mormon. :-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2010 12:17AM by munchybotaz.

From the links provided (and please keep us up-to-date, S-Oh, we have another who reports here regularly, but she's also buried with work obligations).

http://www.theprovince.com/life/Women+polygamous+Bountiful+happy+healthy+academic+testifies/3914180/story.html

>A professor who interviewed nearly two dozen women from the polygamous community of Bountiful, B.C., said they have happy, healthy lives, as well as control over their marriages, when they got pregnant and over their education.

>But, under cross-examination Wednesday at a constitutional reference case that is weighing Canada’s law against polygamy, McGill University law professor Angela Campbell admitted she had done little fact-checking to support the women’s stories.

Another link...

http://www.theprovince.com/life/Expert+testify+polygamy+case+after+intense+scrutiny+over+qualifications/3907849/story.html

Those perverts make me want to vomit. That's all I can say.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2010 07:09AM by melissa3839.