I am still very troubled by what the State of Texas has done to the children, families and church (i.e.- the members of the Yearning for Zion Ranch) Read this news report. I find it scary. Apparently the anonymous phone call from an alleged abused teen that started this episode was not from an abused teen at the ranch at all, but from an adult unconnected with the ranch. I am not surprised. Nor am I surprised that some over zealous State workers jumped at the excuse the call gave them to invade the Ranch and snatch over 400 children out of their homes and away from their parents and go on to disperse them around the State in foster care. Reading the article we learn the State will not act on the original complaint of child abuse. Dropping that, they are now justifying their actions based on the State’s judgment that the culture [Religion] of the Ranch endangered the children.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/
2008/04/26/AR2008042601742.html?wpisrc=newsletter
They are especially concerned that young teens were having babies, even though those teens and their babies were part of extended families and had the support of a community which provided a physically healthy and secure environment in which to live. I wonder what the State would think and do about all the babies born to single teenagers and growing up on their own, financially supported by Welfare, living in poor housing with inadequate healthcare in crime ridden neighborhoods or homeless, here in Springfield and in dozens of other cities around the Nation. Could the real motive in Texas be animus against a Religion and a cultural bias against simple, rural living without TVs and video games and the different way those Mormons dress. Oh, such deprivation!
“Now comes a legal fight with a twist. The state will argue that the sect's children are at risk at the compound, but not because every one of them has been physically or sexually abused. Instead, they will say that the culture of the church,… was a danger to any child immersed in it.” [my emphasis]
If the real issue is arranged or forced marriage of underage teens, which is illegal, there had to be other ways to enforce the law, on a case by case basis, without uprooting all those children or causing such pain to their mothers. To justify the violent abuse of these children in one (State approved) way because they were allegedly abused in another (State disapproved) way is unconscionable. As I have said before, if the State can do this to these folks, they could do the same to other Religions and Families. We should be very concerned!"The children are in a position to no longer on a daily basis be influenced by adults who have encouraged a code of silence," said Darrell Azar, a spokesman for Child Protective Services. "Now that they are away from that influence they may become more comfortable, and we will have a better chance of learning the truth."Who are the adults this spokesman refers to as the influence the children must be taken away from? Could that be their mothers? Hmmn yes, we should be very concerned.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/
