There's been a lot about the raid at the YFZ Ranch in Schleicher County, TX. I find the best source for news on that, and on the larger FLDS scene in Utah, Arizona and British Columbia, is Brooke Adams blog on the Salt Lake Tribune site: blogs.sltrib.com/plurallife/
In today's post, Brooke quotes in its entirety the text of a statement made by Winston Blackmore after his arrest for polygamy in BC. Blackmore and Jimmy Oler were arrested by provincial officials on similar charges on Jan. 7. Oler is a follower of Warren Jeffs, though the leadership now seems to be in the hands of Merril Jessop. Blackmore was the head of the FLDS group in SE BC, but was ousted by Jeffs through his father, who was then the prophet. The "Warrenites" and the "Winstonites" live silently (and hostilely) intermingled in the community called Bountiful (formerly Lister) south of Creston, BC.
Winston's statement can also be seen on his blog, Share the Light: sharethelight.ca/b2/, which includes other material espousing his point of view.
The Oler and Blackmore arrests have been a long time a-brewing, test cases pitting the anti-polygamy statute against claims of freedom of religion. US parallels are obvious. Almost incidentally, Winston points out that there are others besides the FLDS (Fundamentalist Mormons, he calls them) that practice polygamy in Canada. That's also true in the U.S., some Muslims, for example.
'Twill be interesting to see how this plays out. In the meantime, I commend to you Carolyn Jessop's book "Escape." A former wife of Merril Jessop who was raised an FLDS believer, she recounts how patriarchy can be carried to obscene extremes in a polygamous setup, especially when the woman's salvation is believed to depend on following the wishes of the prophet/master/husband. tv
4 comments:
The ball is in Canada's court now! Will this be solely about polygamy or will we see Winston explain how he took Lorraine Johnson at age 15? When Suzan Mazur did her story, she recorded her interview with Raymond Johnson who tried to state his daughter age 15 rented a car to go to Canada, with him giving consent. Of course legally Winston was married to his first and legal wife Jane at that time.
Then there is that nagging question of how many were American girls in the first place? Canadians have been footing the bill to educate Winstons girlfriends kids, if they were not legal unions, then why did Canada pay?
Beyond paying for their private schoolling, what else were Cadadians paying for? Blackmore & Sons had several businesses, were these women funded asthough unwed mothers? Did Winston claim these kids as dependents and if so which ones? The FLDS has the highest rate of Fumarase Disease in the world from their recess gene in marrying cousins or closer, was this a known issue in Canada? It explained Warren's need to access Blackmore girls from Canada, but what did it mean to the FLDS of Canada?
Winston was fined a few years ago for Workman's comp violations, who determined his use of free or under paid family labor? When he ran the school and married girls from his school, did he violate the partner in authority figure, under age of consent laws?
I can sit her all day, wondering the concerns of a few dozen issues. Polygamy may be the broader issue, but what about other laws violated?
Then if the FLDS fragmented in the states then chose to relocate to Canada, as they did to Texas, are Canadians prepared for that?
If legalized in Canada, I guess we could have 3 contacts or unions, with 6 men and 11 women, some straight, a few bi-sexual and several gay or lesbian, but 3 overlapping unions, legal under the law. Who could claim custody, child support, food stamps, health benefits, adoption rights, public assistance or alimony, will be decisions for the courts and income for the lawyers, but in the end, billed to the taxpayers.
What did INS have to say?
Canada INS Interview #1 in 2000 Carol remarks at what her government knew;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_DlDojGCi0
Canada INS interview #2 in September of 2000;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzQBHb248WA
Canada INS Interview #3 in the year 2000;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6Z3FMJxrSY
Interview with Canada INS tape #4 in 2000;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ95YXggUPs
Thanks for the insight.
All good questions, Obstructionist. I don't know about the Canadian situation, but Laurie Allen describes the abuse of welfare funds in Short Creek in "Banking on Heaven."
If there was welfare fraud in the past, a practice labeled "Bleeding the Beast" by John Quinnones of CNN, it is non existent now.
"None of the 600 or so residents of the Yearning For Zion Ranch received any form of welfare, according to state officials. Cash assistance is almost nonexistent in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.
While many families living in the sect's traditional home base receive food and medical help, virtually all those families qualify under program guidelines, authorities say. There has been a single fraud case prosecuted in the past decade.
Yet six speakers at a July 24 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing -- from Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid to former plural wife Carolyn Jessop -- said fraud and misuse of welfare funds is a primary reason the federal government should be more involved in investigating the sect.
Reid said the FLDS have a 'sophisticated, wealthy and vast criminal organization' that includes 'welfare fraud.' "
This is from the Salt Lake Tribune.
http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_11368343
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