Texan carves pentagram into son's back on "holy day" of 12-12-12-police

[happyslug]

20. In what cultural setting are you talking about????

Mohammad was over 50 when he married his youngest wife, who was six. It is reported they had sex when she was 10 and was tried for adultery at 14. In Arab society of that time period that was NOT unusual and no one, including Alisha herself, considered herself abused (She NEVER had any children, but she did lead a revolt against Ali long after the death of her husband Mohammad).

I bring this up for the CULTURAL BACKGROUND often determines if something is harmful or not. In Afghanistan today, boys 10-14 tend to be sexually objects to older males, but it has been the norm in Afghanistan for thousands of years and viewed by all participates as NOT causing harm. We in the West views such action as severe harm to the 10-14 year old.

In the South Pacific, we are told, the natives sometimes sacrificed young girls to the volcano gods to appease them. In such Cultures, no one, including the victim, considered themselves abused for it is part of their Culture.

Cultural differences do lead to conflicts and often addressed by putting people in situations that are comic given the conflicts in cultures (The legendary "North American Tango" Americans like three feet between themselves and who we are talking to, many Latin Americans prefer to be closer, about 18 inches. In parties where people of the two culture mix, this result in the "North America Tango", the North American puts himself at three feet from the Latin he is talking to, the latin then closes in to the 18 inches he is more comfortable with. This is followed by the North American Stepping backward to give himself the three feet he wants, followed again by the Latin moving forward to be within 18 inches. Thus the two, often engaged in an otherwise friendly conversation, "Dance" around the room.

The only reason I mentioned Religion is this situation is such actions are NOT within the Cultural norms of North America (it is not within the norms of the vast majority of cultures, but since I do NOT know ALL of them, I have to be conservative and say most instead of all). This is reflected in the main religions of North America, Europe and the Mid East (Even the Communists and followers of Ayn Rand, both of who have view on how the world should be and thus meets the definition of religion as a way the world should be, do NOT vary on this regard, and both advocate atheism as the state religion).

I bring up religion only to show, this act is an act of someone OUTSIDE the norms of Society, which means someone with a mental problem. Marriage between a 58 year old and a 14 year old, while not normal, is still within the norm of out society if both want to enter into a marriage (and that is the law in MOST states, the 14 year old would need her parent's permission EXCEPT in those states that still retain Common Law Marriages, in the late 1990s Pennsylvania, which has since ended Common LAw Marriages, Ruled that in a Common Law Marriage, a woman as young as 12 did NOT need her parent's permission to wed for that was the law under the Common Law of England and no one had ever changed it).

One Legal Scholar in Colorado, states that given that Colorado law on Common Law Marriages is similar to the Old Pennsylvania law, 12 year olds can enter such a marriage without the Child's parent's permission and that is the law to this day AND sex within a Marriage, no matter the difference in ages, is not only legal but considered non abuse (With the sole exception if one of the sexual partners call it abuse but that is another story).

Sorry Cultural background has to be considered and while the law is one way to show the cultural background, religion is another.