Jun 03 2008
One FLDS Community Celebrates Whilst Another Becomes a Target
Whilst the parents of the Texas FLDS community collect their children and take them home to try and rebuild their lives after the trauma they’ve been put through, another FLDS community becomes a target for investigation. The Texas parents aren’t through the process yet, but at least they are reunited with their children having agreed to the strict conditions laid out in an agreement process – which includes not traveling out of state, parenting classes, and non-interference with the child abuse investigations that will be carried out. Across the state line in Canada however, the legal system is turning its attention once again to the FLDS community of Bountiful, just outside of the beautiful town of Creston in British Columbia.
I’m not sure if there really are issues that need addressed up in Bountiful, they’ve already had two bites of the cherry at that community, and each time the FLDS people have been cleared. They say that they keeping hearing about young girls establishing relationships with older guys – are these new, or are they still trying to use the original gossip that was cleared? I know this town, if anything was going on there, the larger community of Creston would know about it and you can be sure they wouldn’t let it go. It’s not like the Texas community that’s far removed from other people, Bountiful backs onto other smaller communities. You hear things all the time. It doesn’t make them real. You hear them, you investigate and you find out. They’ve investigated twice, and nothing was substantiated.
I’m happy to see the children returned to their parents. As I said in a comment on an earlier post on the Texas FLDS community, statistically there may well be abused kids amongst the community’s children. Time will tell. But the greater percentage of the kids are probably going to need counseling for separation anxiety for a good while to come. As for Bountiful, I hope that the Canadian Government has real charges to make because I don’t want to see unnecessary negative media attention in a part of the world I love more than any other. At least on this occasion, if it’s a witch hunt just to play safe and to grab some air time to show that they’re doing things, they are proceeding with more stealth than their Texas peers and the families shouldn’t be faced with the same trauma and humiliation they’ve had in the Lone Star State.
6 Responses to “One FLDS Community Celebrates Whilst Another Becomes a Target”
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I was just thinking how it sounded like the Salem Witch Hunt. I was wondering about the seperation thing last night, you know once these kids get back with mom and dad they’ll probably be scared to ever leave them. Or they’ll say they liked life outside their community and pick fights. Very hard time for them now, hope they get through it and hope they leave that Canada community alone.
I think the younger ones will be the ones with separation anxiety issues, and the older ones will probably be more prone to questioning how things are. The questioning isn’t such a bad thing because it could lead to a more enlightened youth about what the outside world is about and why their religion rejects it, but the separation anxiety is going to be a difficult thing to manage. Heck if someone took my kids, and then returned them, I’d be probably needing counseling because I’d be terrified to let them out of my sight again! But then, I’m a paranoid momma to start with!
I certainly hope they have a basis for investigating this community, as they did with the Texas one. There’s no reason the whole community should be turned upsidedown if there’s no basis for it.
Separation anxiety…..now there’s some inspiration for my blog
Sierra
http://anxiety.today.com
Interesting point. I have to say, I think the punishment of children in these cases is tragic. I do think that people make a choice to do something that they know is illegal, an they need to live with the consequences, regardless of if the law is just or not.
I think, though, that the state needs to just crack down on polygamist communities as such if that’s their intentions. Punish the adults who chose this lifestyle, and try to do so in the least harmful way possble to the children.
By the way, I found your site on pokermom’s blog. I added your link toboth of my blogs. Feel free to check them out and/or link them!-Z
http://zachthinks85.blogspot.com
http://gamingtips.today.com
I hope so to Sierra. By the way, great advice in your blog. If anyone’s reading this, and has any anxiety issues, check out Sierra’s blog - she recently did a great series of articles with advice for anyone who gets anxious about going to the dentist.
Thanks Zach I’ll check out your blogs. I think there’s a misconception about polygamy, that people in these communities are married. They know this is against the law. They aren’t really polygamists in most cases, they’re adulterers - at least the men are. It’s not illegal. “Marriage” by their terms is not a legal binding contract that can be held up in court. Adultery isn’t against the legal code, just a moral one.