I've tried very, VERY hard not to go here. But just wtf is up with

[CatWoman]

these dresses and hair dos??? And the squeaky, little-girl-lost voices???

:wtf:

[bdamomma]

1. freaky huh?

[virtualobserver]

10. geez, it's like a uniform... they must have only one stylist in the cult

[OKthatsIT]

181. These women have been 'mind controlled' their whole lives

gawd...it looks like a nightmare. They really don't know any other way to live their lives. They've been taught, since children, to stay in bondage for surival and security.

[JackBeck]

2. The higher the hair

the closer to God.

[BunkerHill24]

9. Ha ha ha

:rofl:

[CatWoman]

31. omg!!!!!

i spit Perrier all over my monitor!!!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[truebrit71]

111. "Perrier" !!!! Catwoman you elitist you!!!

:hi:

[CatWoman]

121. would you have me any other way???

:hi:

:loveya:

[truebrit71]

126. Heck no...

:loveya:

[backscatter712]

77. They must have got the idea from the Centauri...

[tom_paine]

103. Somehow, I am guessing the culties are not fans of Babylon 5.

After all, the main philosophical thrusts are the literal an exact opposite of cultism and Bushevism.

Nice picture, though.

"The avalanche has begun. It's too late for the pebbles to vote."
--Ambassador Kosh, "Babylon 5"

I'm a sucker for any Bab 5 post.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Cabcere]

222. :)

I'm tempted to make an incredibly tasteless joke about Centauri anatomy here, but I'd rather not get tombstoned. ;) :hi:

[backscatter712]

226. Could be the hair and outfits are set up to conceal their attributes?

I wonder if the guys in that cult are good poker players?

;)

[wordpix]

91. LOL

[Libby2]

195. lmao......okay that was funny!!

[villager]

3. well, yeah. I've been wondering the exact same thing...

n/t

[Dr.Phool]

4. Auditioning for extras on "Big Love"?

[BlooInBloo]

5. Par for the course for religious cultists, I figured.

[liberal N proud]

6. The whole thing is just weird

Is it that they are just so brain washed or they are no educated properly or are they really that stupid?

On one hand I feel sorry for these women as they were abused and taken advantage of and they don't even realize it. But they were given an opportunity to get out and went back.

What is with that?

[sandnsea]

Dogma is powerful stuff

Look at John McCain's numbers. Baffling. And the people who think Bush is right. Were there people on the Titanic who didn't believe it would sink until they were drowning?? Must have been.

[Frustratedlady]

25. When you stop to think of it, when a young girl has never really known the...

outside world and is only allowed to say or do what she is instructed to say or do, how can she have a mind to think for herself? All she knows is to follow those she "belongs" to. They are very strict and are only shown how their own cult members live, so they don't know any better.

You have to feel sorry for them, as they are trained to be subjects of someone else's desires and take care of their needs. They are basically prisoners in their own properties.

It is sad, as they have no idea what others have or how others live. They are happy in their own little ways, I suppose, but their lives are a strange lot.

[mrcheerful]

65. Oh so thats how the republicon get their followers?

Just saying :shrug: I mean come on, they say democratics don't have a plan on slowing the price of gas, you post what their long term plans are and either get that doesn't matter or that don't address todays prices or how they will bring gas prices down today. Short term goals without a thought of tomorrow with rewards in the after life same thing. religious nuts are right wing nuts born to follow the leader.

[Indenturedebtor]

32. They went back because

"The whole thing is just weird
Posted by liberal N proud
Is it that they are just so brain washed or they are no educated properly or are they really that stupid?

On one hand I feel sorry for these women as they were abused and taken advantage of and they don't even realize it. But they were given an opportunity to get out and went back.

What is with that?"

They went back because they've never known anything else. They are held hostage to their life history. How hard do you think it would be to get a job in our society without knowing how to send an email etc etc. What is this tax business? How do I get to work? Oh you need a credit app to let me rent this apartment? What's a credit app?

I mean seriously, how could they have functioned without some serious training and starting cash? Would probably have a hard time even talking to people as their worldview and experiences have been COMPLETELY different and utterly wierd.

The small voice thing is common in people who were molested as children. Sad, strange, but true.

[CTyankee]

71. I saw that interview and thought they were DRUGGED.

There was a strange sense that they were not connecting to the reality of the interview. I wouldn't be surprised if they were, since they seem to have justified every other horror in their lives. So my guess is that they have their very own Dr. Feelgood at the compound who feeds them tranks. Easier to keep them in line, that way...

[CatWoman]

72. I didn't know that!!

The small voice thing is common in people who were molested as children. Sad, strange, but true.

[NashVegas]

136. I Have a Hard Time With That One

I've known too many examples that show otherwise.

[Mind_your_head]

87. What do you mean by "the small voice thing"

I haven't heard that term before/don't know what you're talking about with that phrase, but I'm interested/intrigued (what I'm guessing at what it might mean could help me understand some things that have circled around people in my own 'sphere').

TIA

[tanyev]

95. "The small voice thing is common in people who were molested as children."

Oh, that makes sense. I'm sure I read somewhere that abuse at a young age is a contributing cause to multiple personality disorder. And when there is MPD, isn't it common for at least one of the personalities to manifest itself as the young child?

[woo me with science]

202. No, MPD is part of the recovered memory crap.

It has nothing to do with this. These women were actually abused, and they are playing the role they have been taught since childhood.

[tanyev]

203. I am in agreement with you that these women were abused.

I am not saying that they have MPD, just that the comment made by the person I originally replied to reminded me of something similar that I once read about MPD.

[woo me with science]

206. Yes, I understood you. But the clarification is important.

It is important to discriminate between people who were actually abused, and those who adopt symptoms based on hysteria and malpractice.

[Hekate]

143. Yes--they behave as lifelong slaves do, because they have been enslaved and abused....

Many religious groups dress distinctively to show their separation from the sinful world the rest of us inhabit -- Orthodox Jews, the Amish, formerly the Quakers, and so on -- without enslaving their members. The FLDS are different -- they need intervention.

Hekate

[Sheltiemama]

219. I seem to remember hearing

that they believe the only way to get to heaven is through their husbands. That would be a pretty big incentive to go back to them.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

34. Stockhold syndrome, perhaps?

I think that many who have undergone years of abuse and isolation are so emotionally fragile that they run back to their tormentors because it is the only world they know. From what I've read of this cult, they isolate the followers and don't allow them TV, radio, or even newspapers and books. So these people really know nothing of the outside world--no wonder they are scared.

[Warpy]

These women have spent their lives in a prison

They have never seen a television. They have never heard music. They have never experienced art of any kind. They have never been to a shopping mall. They and their children didn't even know what to do with crayons and coloring books.

Every breath they have taken since birth has been at the pleasure of the patriarch into whose family they were born. Every action is controlled and infractions are severely punished.

They are like this because they are breeding stock, nothing more, animals kept for the gratification of the patriarch and the production of his offspring.

Likely most of them will never break free of it. Sadly, most will get their children back and most will end up back in the nightmarish cult, made even more nightmarish by the fact that what was paranoia has now been fully justified.

[liberal N proud]

64. Sad that this is taking place in America in the 21st Century

[jazzjunkysue]

144. Most battering victims do that. This is all they know. Think of it as an alien planet.

This is like first contact on star trek. Only we already speak their language and there aren't any tribbles.

[butterfly77]

7. I was waiting for someone to comment...

all I could think of was "Little Women" or "Little house on the prarie"...

[Ronnie]

122. Or...

[PDJane]

8. That's just...........

wow. There's way too much inbreeding there......

[mike_c]

11. that's the American burqa....

Worn by women of good virtue.

:sarcasm: (just in case)

[LisaM]

23. It is a burka. That is an excellent analogy.

These are women who have been broken down by abuse and subjection, and who don't know any other way of life and are incapable, at this point, of blending into society. Moreover, they have been separated from their children. They are like subjected women everywhere. Many victims of domestic violence have trouble breaking the cycle and go back to their abusers.

This entire situation is so untenable. What the hell is John McCain doing not speaking out on this? A lot of it was/is happening in his own freaking STATE. Why is he not culpable for this?

While these women are not free, none of us are free. I don't even know where to begin to help with something like this.

[Chovexani]

40. And yet DU's response is to laugh at the weirdoes.

Telling, IMO.

[LisaM]

49. Not everyone, but I was a little taken aback by a couple of the comments

It's not funny. The fact that this has been going on in our country - and not under the radar, either, there has been a lot published on this in the last few years - is shocking. There are times when people have control over a situation and we can chuckle at the absurdity of it. I don't find the sight of broken, crying women very funny, nor do I find de facto sexual slavery funny either.

[Chovexani]

51. There's nothing wrong with gallows humor. I do it myself.

It's a coping mechanism. But some of these comments cross a line.

I see too much pointing and laughing and not nearly enough empathy and compassion.

[LisaM]

56. Yes, I agree with you.

I'm sorry if I implied otherwise.

I'd like to see the men involved with this walkig the plank. Ha ha ha! There, is THAT funny?

[Chovexani]

68. It's ok.

Walking the plank is kind compared to what I'd have in mind.

I say we sic Xena on them. :P

[LisaM]

70. Not bad, not bad at all.

In fact, I like it!

[Sabriel]

108. I'm with you. No bad hair days there! Otherwise, everyone has one. n/t

[XemaSab]

211. Sic me on them?

Buy me a plane ticked to Texas and I'd love to go kick some ass! :D

[Lance_Boyle]

73. My empathy and compassion run low once they become

partners in the forced sex-slavery of their daughters, and the abandonment of their sons. Certainly it is nothing to laugh at, odd clothing and hairstyles aside.

Think Dracula and Renfro for a literary analogy. Just because it's someone else sucking the blood, that doesn't mean the enabler isn't also guilty.

[Dogtown]

116. LB, think of the incredible pressure

it must take to force these women to these acts.

Remember compliance was almost universal in their society.

I don't think these victims had much choice but to comply.

Edit: for civility.

[jazzjunkysue]

151. Someone's beating those kids, and the "husbands" can't be there to do it

all the time. They've got the farms to run. So, these women aren't absolved of the child abuse. They're neglecting their own kids by not allowing them to be educated or experience the outside world. And, every time they send the young men away, beacause the system cannot support many grown men, they give up their teenage boys and choose to stay with these husbands.

I'd like to see us get some of those boys who have been evicted and survived in the outside world to come down there and help transition these women. But they're probably too screwed up to do it.

[Chovexani]

172. Do you have any idea of what these cults are like?

Look, no one here is saying these women are blameless. But these women did not just wake up one day and decide to let their children get abused. Most if not all of them were victimized in exactly the same way. This is all they know. FLDS members are literally brainwashed from birth to believe that the only way to escape eternal damnation is to submit to "the Principle" (polygyny), and that the words of their "Prophet" are literally the word of God. The outside world is "ungodly" and to be excommunicated is to burn in hell forever. It is nothing less than lifelong psychological torture. Societal norms do not apply there. It is Taliban.

Read a book called "Under the Banner of Heaven" and you will be a little less quick to throw stones at these women, and save your ire for the true monsters here--the handful of men at the top of this religious pyramid scheme.

[Elidor]

150. It's very easy to laugh, if one is unaware of what they've been through

If I had nothing more to go by than a surface glance, I'd laugh like hell. It's with deeper awareness that laughter dies away quickly. I guess that's true of most people.

[CatWoman]

55. It's not so much that I'm "laughing" at them

I feel nothing but revulsion over the entire affair.

[Chovexani]

67. Oh CatWoman, I know. I'm not mad at you.

I know you, hon. Sometimes all you can do is throw your hands up and go "WTF?" :hug:

It's some of the troglodytes in this thread I take issue with.

[CatWoman]

69. I've read that they think they've identified the 16 year old

whose call prompted the raid. The problem is, there are SEVERAL pregnant 16 year olds, and they are working to ID which one actually made the call.

Disgusting.

[LisaL]

188. And I've read that a similar call was made and the caller said

she was in AZ. And the guy named as a husband actually lives in AZ and claims he hasn't been in TX in decades.

[susankh4]

59. What on earth?

Laughing at oppression???

I can't believe the Dems I meet nowadays.

[Sheets of Easter]

83. I think it's a common method for people reacting to what they don't understand,

at first, anyway.

My gut reaction was to go "LOL, look at the hairdo! Listen to the way they talk!" but when you realize the situation they are in, it stops being funny.


-edit for clarification

[SoCalDem]

48. Why? because the powerful men in charge look the other way

and pretend it's not happening..:grr:

[Ellen Forradalom]

120. French interviewers of niqabi women in the Parisian suburbs

reported the same kind of identical-response, small-voice phenomenon.

(Read in Charlie Hebdo about a month ago.)

[jazzjunkysue]

148. People like McCain just don't give a damn. No compassion makes it easier

to go on with your petty, self-centered life.

[Teaser]

12. what the fuck is this?

.

[CatWoman]

36. that's some of the women from that Polygamist sect in Texas

[NMDemDist2]

13. don't know about the voices, but looks like they only invested in one dress pattern

[Tunkamerica]

63. Dr.Drew from loveline can call when what age a girl was abused

by the sound of her voice on the phone. He's usually within a year or so. If they have the voice of a six year old, that's when they were abused and it's like arrested development.

[jazzjunkysue]

154. When abused, you lose your self control and your voice. That's the point.

The prepetrator makes sure the resistance is squashed beforehand. With violent men, you learn pretty fast that your voice is your downfall.

[Iris]

214. wow.

That's very interesting.

I love Dr. Drew.

[Virginia Dare]

14. Little House On The Prairie Cult..

I think those men got off on having sex with little girls, and they wanted to keep their women looking and acting like little girls.

SICK SICK SICK!!!!...:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:

[CanonRay]

15. Has anybody asked Mitt Romney to comment on this?

They are Mormons, after all, despite what the official LDS line is.

[mr_hat]

16. That's the way the men like 'em, I reckon.

[KSinTX]

17. It's TEXAS ... big hair in this state works n/t

[libodem]

18. They all look oddly alike

Incest clones.

[BattyDem]

29. Wow ... you're right. I didn't really think about that, but ...

they DO have similar facial features.

[CatWoman]

66. I'm wondering just how many of them are "directly" related to one another?

[bdamomma]

19. just like the Waco thing.

http://www.theexaminer.org/volume8/number5/waco.htm

[BattyDem]

20. I saw them on TV earlier

It was freaky! They were like zombies. They're all dressed the same (different colors, but the same dress) and they all have the same hairstyle. They are totally brainwashed. :-(

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[CatWoman]

43. bwahahahahaha

Tru!!!!!!

:hi:

:loveya:

[Nia Zuri]

22. I like the ones with the saucy little dips in their pompadours nt

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

24. The hair reminds me of the Nazarines

that denomination says women should never cut their hair, and usually it is done up in a manner similar to the FDLS ladies. I believe the cult leader dictated the dress. Always amused me that men decided what dress was for what gender, because if you go back to Biblical times, no one wore trousers in Palestine as far as I know.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

179. 1970s era Church of Christ, too.

Saw a bunch of women after church at the local cafeteria. They piled their hair on top of their heads. It was ratted and sprayed into curls and waves like a beehive. They wore absolutely no makeup. They all looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy with three chins, tiny little piglike eyes, and a beehive hairdo.

The clothing was a navy blue polyester skirt and vest with a long sleeved white blouse under the vest.

Creepy.

This is the Church of Christ where they don't allow singing or music in church services. :puke:

[yellerpup]

26. It comes from 'submitting yourself to your husband.'

I didn't become fully feminized until I got a memo at work one day (1969) saying that women were now allowed to wear pants to work. Not any kind of pants, they had to be "pantsuits" that were all the same color, but if a pattern was involved, the pattern had to be on the blouse/jacket part of the pantsuit and not on the pants. WTF!?!?!??? Who the hell made up the rules? Why the founding fathers of the Chamber of Commerce! What the hell did they know about fashion? Not a F***ing thing! I rebelled by wearing a maxi skirt and was called in to the President's office for it. They said mini skirts were fine for me, but maxi skirts didn't do my legs justice! Instant Feminist!

[Frustratedlady]

52. Yep! I remember those days. We also had to wear heels and it ruined my feet.

Those were the days of the pointed toes and 2 1/2-3" heels. We walked on tile, marble or cement and were in misery by the end of the day.

We didn't know we were being used then, either.

[yellerpup]

84. Before that memo, I wanted to exemplify the "Cosmo Girl"

"12 Red Hot Tips to Please Your Man in Bed". If only I'd know that all I had to do was be there! :rofl:

[flygal]

76. 1988

I was 20, my first secretary job was at a steel company where the dress code was women wear dresses. There was ONE woman who wore nice slacks - she just said under her breath, that's illegal - they can't tell you what to wear.

I voted in my first presidental election that year for Dukakis after hearing all the men in that company were voting republican and then I quit after only 4 months.

[yellerpup]

85. I get how hard it is to be a team member

when the other team members view you as pretty scenery. I hope you landed in a fulfilling job that you enjoy. :hi:

[Chovexani]

27. Their religion teaches modesty to an extreme.

They are not supposed to wear "flashy" clothes or hairstyles to draw attention to themselves. Thus the prairie garb and hair. It's really no different than the Amish style of dress.

I don't pretend to agree with it, but I'm not going to condemn these women or make fun of them for being brainwashed to believe they have to dress this way or burn in hell, just as I don't condemn or make fun of women who wear burqas. I condemn the men at the top of this pyramid scheme called the FLDS.

Edited to add that these sects often have "morality police" to enforce this dress code so even if a woman WANTED to look different, she would not be permitted to.

[Sequoia]

28. They look like scary aliens.

How could they have babies? Put a bag over their heads.

[Chovexani]

How liberal of you.

[trumad]

42. Yeah---it's anti liberal to think this is freaky.

Dumb post

[Chovexani]

50. No, it's anti-liberal to make fun of cult victims

Instead of doing something to help them.

Yes, let's laugh at these women who have been brainwashed and broken to the point where they willingly dress this way because they believe they will burn in hell if they don't. Ha ha.

This entire thread is abject douchebaggery and Exhibit #91283727 as to why DU has become Free Republic dyed blue.

[trumad]

89. Oh bullshit!

If you feels so strong about it.... drive out to Texas and rescue a few of them.

[Sequoia]

141. Totally. Some people can't take a joke.

I'm tempted lots of times to put a bag over my head when I have a bad hair day. Who doesn't like space aliens! Seriously though, why do they have to take their kids away? That seems mean and it sure doesn't seem right. The women are not the danger, it's the dirty old men and where the heck are they?

[Saturday]

30. That's how cults act. nt

[MoeHayNow]

33. Cult wives?

Sorry, but I haven't gone there either.
The hair and unibrow are kind of disturbing. As are the full-length, shapeless, body-cloaking dresses.
Mrs. MoeHayNow mentioned this to me. There was a story that she was reading and she pointed out just how ludicrous their get-up is: they are brood mares, plain and simple, their only function is to breed with their perverted husband, yet they are completely sexless to all outward appearance.
This is not a new or radical concept and is not at all limited to a Texas cult, but I realized that every word she said was right. Looking at those women with their "Little House on the Prairie" get-up and knowing that they allowed the men to repeatedly rape their daughters and turn their sons into "lost boys," made me understand that people will do the most unhealthy things in the name of religion.

[GoneOffShore]

35. Lots of inbreeding by the look of it.

[SoCalDem]

37. Militant Modesty?

in an Onward Fundamentalist Soldier sort of way..

These women are so brainwashed it's painful to watch them..

The MEN should all be carted away, and locked up.. They are probably not "supporting" the families anyway.. the States they live in are paying most of the way..

The last thing those women need is MORE babies & raped teenaged girls..

GET THOSE MEN OUTTA THERE..

Hire people to work the fields" and let the women learn how to be self-sufficient..

Maybe some of them would awaken from their hypnotic state and actually emerge as whole people..

[CTyankee]

75. It would be nice if they had their home back without the men.

It would be better if they had new homes with their kids and some former cult members, women who had escaped and remade their lives, to counsel them and help them transition.

[SoCalDem]

79. until the men are gone, that cannot happen

There was a documentary a while back about a village in Africa.. the men got drunk, beat up the women, did not support them, and basically made their lives miserable.. the whole town of women got together and MOVED..started their own village and do not allow the men to even enter the town..

they are doing great..and don;t miss the men at all.. the men are a wreck though :)

[CatWoman]

80. LOL - That sounds like a PLAN!!!

:hi:

[kestrel91316]

38. This is like the Amish version of Stepford Wives..........

Except the Amish don't have anything in their religion that REQUIRES the oppression of women. It's religious dogma for the FLDS.

[DemoTex]

39. Now where have I seen that look before .. hmm?

[CatWoman]

47. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So Satan is their stylist? :)

[DemoTex]

128. Actually, I think their stylist is the same as LT's:

[CatWoman]

129. one ringy-dingy

:)

[alfredo]

41. They remind me of the Manson girls.

[CoffeeCat]

44. These women are enabling pedophiles...

...and most of them are victims of this pedophile-centered cult.

Why anyone in law enforcement is listening to them or making decisions based on what
they say, is beyond me.

They're abuse enablers. Their own daughters are being molested by middle-aged men. And these
women are the gatekeepers. They keep the girls in line, and allow the men to do these things--by
teaching these girls that it is normal--and expected in life--to be sexually abused by men 40 years
older than you.

These women are either complicit or so damaged that they are complicit. They have no credibility.

Child Protective Services needs to get those children far from these dysfunctional, damaged mothers
so the truth can surface.

These mothers are a lost cause, and they have gone from victims to perpetrators. They need to
get out of the way, so law enforcement can get to the truth and rescue these children.

These mothers are all lost, but there is still hope for these children.

[Chovexani]

61. You do realize that they enable because they were brainwashed to?

Most if not all these women were once the 14 year old victims we're seeing led out of the compound. We're dealing with generation upon generation of abuse with the FLDS and similar cults. I don't think the people who keep demonizing them understand the level of abuse and dysfunction that goes on here. They are trained from birth to believe "the Principle" is their only ticket to salvation. They are brainwashed from birth to believe that the Prophet's word is law and to disobey means burning in hell. They are broken like horses. I'm not saying they aren't complicit in the abuse, but what I'm saying is IT IS THE MEN WHO ARE MONSTERS. The men at the top of this pyramid scheme are the ones we should be condemning. They pull the strings and they set the cycle of abuse in motion.

Read "Under the Banner of Heaven" some time. It will open your eyes and make you want to throw things. Thank gods the State intervened so that these 14 year old girls won't grow up to hand over their own 14 year olds to perverts in the name of eternal salvation, but the women here are as victimized as they are.

[JackBeck]

94. I read that and was horrified.

Specifically the explicit description of the murder scene gave me chills.

[Bonhomme Richard]

45. Maybe Playboy will offer them a lot of money..........

for a spread.

[Binka]

196. Spread? Pun Intended?

Sorry this thread needs a bit of levity. On a more serious note, I think the MALE PIGS who run this shit hole should be taken out back and shot. They are rabid animals and will strike again if they can. Shot 'em.

[marions ghost]

46. The Econowives?

:scared:

[jmowreader]

155. No, think Handmaids

You got it! This is a fully functioning replica of Gilead!

[janx]

159. Atwood, where are you? I wonder what she thinks of this. n/t

[Lisa0825]

185. The day the news broke, I told a friend about the comparison....

I said she now HAS TO read that book! It's freaky, the similarities! Those poor women have no idea what they have been conditioned to accept... and those poor children, forced to bear children of their own, and sleep with those fucking perverts - old men being handed barely pubescent girls to abuse, with too much fear to try to escape... being taught that the outside world is so much worse so they will be afraid to try to leave. Thank goodness one of them had the nerve to blow the whistle on the sick cult.

[marions ghost]

210. You're right, these would be the Handmaids

Their hair is too perfectly coiffed for doing domestic work.

[eShirl]

53. it's almost as if they were abused, brainwashed little girls who never escaped the cult...

hmm.

[Lugnut]

54. Holy crap!

:wow: They look like clones.

[hiphopnation]

57. they probably made them themselves

at least they're not buying shit made by chinese slaves sold at walmart

:shrug:

[TankLV]

58. At least I know where all my mom's old coats went to...

but that was forty years ago!

[JackBeck]

60. Watch out for the one in the third photo.

The one in front, in light blue...

She's showing some skin! Her wrist is showing. Charlatan!

[Lost-in-FL]

62. They look bitter. n/t

[shanti]

74. they remind me of the dugger family

and they're not FLDS, just "christian".

http://www.duggarfamily.com/photos.html

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

153. lol! I was all prepared to post that before along with this

[jazzjunkysue]

156. Ok. now I'm going to have nightmares!

Tell me this woman can actually remember all their names and birthdays. Honestly.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

165. When I first saw them on tv and since (every time she has a new youngin) I get creeped out.

[nashville_brook]

78. it's what the world would look like if theocrats ruled -- the burqa analogy is quite apt.

that's the look of women having zero power/control over their lives.

[NNN0LHI]

81. Why do they all look like they are related in some odd way?

Oh, wait a minute.

Don

[TeeYiYi]

82. Ever read 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood?...

... These women are chattel.

From another angle, I've noticed that people (women) who are housed close together start to look alike. By this, I mean trailer parks, housing projects, small towns, prisons, etc. Just a thought. ymmv...

TYY

[Blue Diadem]

86. I find the entire situation sad,

The American burka sounds about right. No difference must be allowed by that sect at all, same dress style, same hair style, no makeup, probably never a hair cut.

How sad for them, they seem to know nothing of the outside world and yet think they live a wonderful life.

[hamsterjill]

88. Freaky is the right word!

Has anyone else noticed that the older woman who has appeared on several media pieces talks about having a small child? Doesn't she look too old to have given birth in the last couple of decades? (I assume they don't believe in any medical interventions!!)

One piece that I saw indicated that some of the children weren't even able to identify their birth mothers, so this may be the answer to the older woman's comments - i.e., perhaps she is a caregiver and not a birth mother, but still.

The question that I want to see asked of these women is why there are underage girls in the sect who are pregnant or already have children themselves before the age of 17. These women obviously won't answer questions like that, but I'd like to the see them pressed anyway.

And speaking of freaky, that show about the Duggers (the ones with 18 (+/-) children) FREAKS me out, too!!

[Spike89]

90. The look alike because there are basically only 2 families

The group has basically two bloodlines and 90% of the members belong to one or the other (many both) lines. This cult was started by a very small group, but it only takes a few generations to have a huge brood when each man has multiple wives and births are highly encouraged. The level of inbreeding on the compund has led to incredibly high rates of mental retardation and other genetic defects.

[wordpix]

92. if the older women look really unattractive, the men then have "reason" to sleep with little girls

:puke: that's my take, anyhow.

[tanyev]

93. I could give them a pass on the dresses because they're obviously

just making the same pattern over and over again, but I have to confess I could not tear my eyes away from the hairdos when I saw some of them being interviewed on TV. That's more than just pull it back and braid it or put it in a bun. I've had long hair all my life and I can't begin to imagine how you create the high swoopy thing. Especially if they don't use any product.

[Lorien]

96. Sorry to be living under a rock (I don't watch much TV) what's the deal here?

These women look a lot like some of the Mennonites that went to my grandmother's church (but Mennonites are generally liberal and not so "hard" looking). What sect do they belong to?

[Beaverhausen]

104. lots of info in this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3163212

This is a FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints) group that law enforcement in Texas has been investigating for over 4 years. They rescued the children last week and many moms left with their kids.

[CatWoman]

125. one of the girls they took into custody is only 16, and is pregnant with

her FOURTH child!! :grr:

[malaise]

97. They make the Stepford wives look

like radicals.
Bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I understand their grief re their children but this is madness.

[Postman]

98. I think they're extras for the next Hallmark movie "Sarah, Plain and Afflicted with Down Syndrome"

n/t

[EOTE]

124. And the award for the comment most likely to damn me to hell for laughing at goes to...

[Lars39]

99. Looks like they're allowed a little leeway on the details of the dresses...

there's at least 5 or 6 variations that I can see from these pics. Still ugly as homemade sin, though.

[SpiralHawk]

100. Persephones emerging from the Underworld

Where Hades had his way with them.

Strong heart, Sisters.

The Sun will shine eventually.

[ljm2002]

101. Well another point that bears repeating...

...while the so-called "news" parades these women around for us to scratch our heads over, if not mock outright, the MEN who were RESPONSIBLE for all of this are nowhere in sight.

Has anyone been charged with anything yet?

[havocmom]

102. American burka

barefoot, pregnant, and a long way from town.

[Beaverhausen]

105. The lack of compassion and understanding in this thread is mind-blowing

People, read up on this cult and stop being so fucking cruel to these women. Sheesh.

[Chovexani]

173. Don't waste your time trying to talk sense.

It's far too amusing to laugh at the "freaks" in their prairie garb.

I look at DU lately and wonder if I'm actually liberal anymore, if this is what is considered a normal liberal point of view.

[Snarkturian Clone]

106. Yes, we should judge them on their looks and clothing, because that's the most important issue here.

Odin's beard, I'm losing faith in DUers.

[Missy Vixen]

107. They're not hawt.

Of course they have no use to anyone else, do they?

:sarcasm:

Julie

[truebrit71]

110. Who's judging?

Care to cast that first stone?

Didn't think so...

[Snarkturian Clone]

113. WHO's JUDGING?!?!?!

How 'bout you actually read some of the vile filth being posted above.

[truebrit71]

114. I did...I was talking about the OP...

...settle down Frances...

[Snarkturian Clone]

115. fair enough NT

:hi:

[truebrit71]

109. Oooooooooh shit....

What in the wide, wide world of sports is goin' on here?

[devilgrrl]

112. It looks like 'The Handmaids Tale" LIVE!

:scared:

[DFW]

117. This was their second choice, I think

They approached the make-up artist of SNL who did the "Coneheads"
back in the seventies, but when he passed, they landed this as
their back-up.

[HuffleClaw]

118. 'the stepford wives' + 'little house on the prairie' ?

i really didn't need to see that

[Cleita]

220. At least the Stepford wives had nice clothes and

fashionable hairdos.

[Ellen Forradalom]

119. Social norms we're not accustomed to seeing

:shrug:

Everyone in Hollywood dresses alike and sounds funny too, but we're used to seeing them and shrugging them off.

[dixiegrrrrl]

123. It's traditional Mormon stle I think

sorta like Amish women wear a certain style.
I ran into a herd of Mormon women in Washington during an equal Rights state convention, the Mormons had brought the women in by the busload to pack the convention, and they all looked they had stepped out of Little House on the Prairie movie set, and were not at all pleased to see a bunch of bra-less radical women running about. They looked a bit shocked. And very much like the pics above.

[katty]

127. uhhh, i would say these women look abused and brainwashed

[varelse]

130. These women look frightened and scarred and disoriented

Many of them appear to be fighting back tears.

Hopefully a way will be found to reunite most of them with their children, without permitting the abuses and brianwashing to continue.

I guess I don't see them with the same eyes as many here - to me, none of these women appear to be ugly, in spite of the unflattering clothing and hairstyles. They're human beings - brainwashed, bullied, and imprisoned ones. I hope we can all remember that.

[CatWoman]

132. I don't recall ANYONE calling ANYONE "ugly"

:shrug:

[varelse]

170. No, you didn't

but there's been some fairly vicious comments made in this thread. That's what I'm referring to, not your OP or any of your posts here.

[Xithras]

131. Serious answer. And quit being so bigoted.

They are called prairie dresses, and you probably had ancestors that dressed exactly like that. Prarie dresses, or modern variations on them, are common in communities that make their own clothes. They can buy the cloth in bulk and make these things for far less money than buying clothes would cost. I'd bet that each of those dresses costs no more than two or three dollars.

The reason that prairie dresses were popular for so long, and why they still hang around in some circles, is that they're modest, easy to make, provide great freedom of movement, and are cool to wear when the temperature climbs.

The hair thing is just fashion. I think it looks dumb, but I can name off several other "popular" womens hairstyles that look dumb to me too. Fashion varies by community.

If you want to attack their religious practices, that's one thing. But laughing at their dress and hair? Would you laugh if they were black and wore afros? If the answer is no, you should question your motives.

[CatWoman]

134. It's bigoted to note that these people look like clones from another

time, another place? so be it.

and yes, I WOULD laugh if they were black and wore afros. I truly, truly would.

Hell -- I get a kick out of Al Sharpton's hair, as I've always remarked that his "do" looks better than mine.

It's obvious that you don't know me that well.

And yes -- it DOES LOOK DUMB.

thank god I don't need permission to make that and other observations.

those women need to snap the fuck out of it, seek help and counseling, unload those child molesting freaks they are married to, and bring THEMSELVES and their CHILDREN into the fucking future.

Sans the fucked up hair and stupid looking dresses.

[Beaverhausen]

137. wow, your lack of understanding about what kind of life these women have is monumental

please read the top thread on the Greatest Threads page. Enlighten yourself.

[CatWoman]

145. yes, I do lack as you say "understanding"

but people have a way of overcoming tragedy in their lives.

I wish them the best, and hope they take the first step towards that endeavor.

It may appear that I am "blaming the victim" here. I suppose I am to a degree.

Fucking sue me.

[janx]

140. They don't know any better. They were raised that way.

It's pathetic, I know.

[CatWoman]

146. I understand that

I was raised in the filthy slums.

Didn't mean that I had to stay there, did it?

[janx]

158. Yes, but you had some kind of access to information that

appealed to your good brain and common sense. They didn't. I agree with you that the women look very weird, and in certain ways, they resemble some more mainstream fundamentalist Christian women for whom I have not much regard; but this is different. This is very extreme. These women have been born and raised in seclusion, inbreeding, and ignorance to such a degree that we can't even imagine it.

I mean this is is the stuff of anthropology, really. Most of these people are descended by two major families, from what I've read. There has been a lot of inbreeding. That's how secluded they've been.

I'm not going to be harsh with you, as some have been in this thread, because you have a legitimate point: it is very bizarre. You should be able to point that out. But I would like to respectfully point out that they are, sadly, almost as culturally distant from you and me as any tribe living on another continent.

[CatWoman]

166. Janx

one of the girls who was recovered in the raid is 16, and pregnant with her FOURTH child.

Her FOURTH fucking child :grr:

I look at these women on television, with their false alligator tears and exclamations of "there's no abuse here", and I want to scream.

I can't see past the silly hair and the stupid dress.

I'm sorry.

There's just no fucking excuse for what is going on in that cult. None whatsoever.

I'm nothing or nobody special, yet I was able so overcome "some" diversity in my life. I'm no genius. I'm not even above-average in intelligence.

But I know that bullshit is bullshit. And what's going on in that compound is nothing but bullshit.

[janx]

171. You don't have to apologize.

I'm at least as angry as you are. :pals:

There is no excuse for it. It should have been investigated and dealt with before now, but apparently law enforcement was worried about some Waco-like outcome. A real lack of logic there.

[Cleita]

178. I agree. What they wear is unimportant. What is important

is what they practice and it appears to be woman and child abuse in the extreme. I have known women in the mainstream world, who obey their husbands and don't question them on anything. So it's not that unusual of a phenomenon, and I don't sanction it, but this seems to take that to extremes.

[Rockholm]

133. What Dress Pattern Are They Wearing?

I see a hot trend coming on the runways of Paris and Milan. Where is Donatella when you need her?

[CatWoman]

135. I don't know

perhaps the resident expert, Xithras, can help you.

[mainer]

162. Since the men were running the place, why not miniskirts?

You'd think that men (having all the power) would doll up their women in sexy clothes.

How do they even tell their wives apart? What's the point of having four wives if they all look alike?

[Spike89]

208. Denying their sexuality

Sexuality is power (no, not the only power). Those men aren't about celebrating the sexuality of the women, that would give the women a sort of power. It is pure control and dominance politics.

[Hamlette]

138. fundamentalists in all religions are scary and dangerous

They believe every word in "their good book" to be literally true. Because there is no room for interpretation, and their belief that they are the only ones who are right, they tend to do crazy, sometimes violent things. (Think Waco, 9/11)

I've worked "with" the polygamists for years (I work for the welfare office in Utah).

This isn't a Texas thing, most of these people come from the Utah/Arizona sect.

The group has people in Canada and Oregon as well as Utah and in theory move people around to avoid inbreading but I'm sure there is some inbreeding (hence the rumors of burying babies so badly deformed as a result with no paperwork.)

This sect has become much more closed since Warren Jeffs took over.

Read Under the Banner of Heaven for an excellent history of polygamy and read Escape about one woman's successful escape from the sect.

The whole Arizona/Utah sect (Colorado City/Hildale) is in court supervised receivership because Jeffs is gone and they won't pay their taxes etc. We also cut off all child care support so it became more difficult to "bleed the beast".

Some of the woman are smart and sympathetic. In "another life" my small law firm represented Vicki Singer. In spite of myself, I came to really like her.

I like that they all look the same. Easier to know who you are dealing with when you "run" into them here (although be followed by 10 kids and pushing around 5 grocery carts at the discount store is a pretty good hint too.)

[jazzjunkysue]

161. Doesn't anyone try to help these children? Why are they allowed to have

no access to school? Medical care? Is anyone actually getting in there to show them that the modern world isn't what they've been told?

I know that If I knew of this in my state, I'd be all over my politicians to get child protective in there and open up these cults. I would insist they get to public school everyday. That would break the cycle.

[Hamlette]

175. In Utah/Arizona they have their own school district

they convinced Arizona to let them, they even got them to buy them an airplane and got the FAA to build an airport for their school district.

They have access to medical care. I can tell you about the one case that went to court (it was part of the record) Tom Green. He had 5 wives (it was his second set of wives, he'd had 5 earlier but they were too old? Left him? who knows) and 30 children. The family/families received $60,000 in "cash" assistance (food stamps, housing, utilities etc) PLUS medicaid. He showed income of $12,000 to $15,000 per year. The poverty level (we had to calculate it) for a family that size is around $100,000 so they were still very poor.

My guess is many (if not most) are on medicaid and food stamps. They got child care ($500,000 from Arizona) for a child care center where the wives "worked" and got subsidies for their kids to go there (Utah wouldn't support it so they all moved over the border. When AZ pulled the plug, they moved to TX....there were other reasons.)

We tried to provide all kids of support. Put police officers (they have their own) from the outside kids could go to, set up places for the lost boys. Didn't get much support.

No one gets in. If you do, they shy away, run, hide.

Its very difficult to get any evidence of actual abuse. They will not testify against each other. You have to have a reason for going in. Besides girls marrying young, the abuse is not the kind that is easy to prosecute (brain washing).

Then, to top it all off, they scream religious persecution. And the population says "leave them alone, they are not really hurting anyone. If they want more than one wife, who are we to say?"

They rounded them up (on the Utah AZ border) in the 50s and arrested them. There was an outcry against the authorities and all the elected officials in both states were defeated for reelection the next election. Same with the guy who prosecuted Tom Green (who had an underage wife). He was defeated for reelection.

[Hekate]

139. My gods, they look enough alike to be sisters."Little girl voices" say "don't hurt me, I'm harmless"

Anyhow, if the women in those photos aren't actually full sisters, there may have been some serious cousin-marrying for generations. Ew.

Hekate

[CatWoman]

149. lots of inbreeding going on there........

[AlCzervik]

142. Ok i get the dresses, no doubt it's about modesty but the hair, it confuzzles me.

[RazBerryBeret]

163. some fundamental religions

don't think women should cut their hair (weird but true). so once you've got all that long straight hair going, there's not much you can do with it...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

198. I was in a TGF Haircutters a few months ago....

A lady came in with three little girls and told the beauty operator to "not cut the kid's hair above the shoulders". I figured they were probably some sort of fundies due to the number of kids close together in age and the comment about the hair.

Some stupid woman on Wife Swap one time freaked out because her granddaughter got her nasty split ends cut off, and the grandma said "It'll take a LIIIIIFE TIIIIME for this to grow back!!". Ignoramus.

If I had to let my hair grow it would be a complete mess and uncombable and unwashable. :puke:

[RazBerryBeret]

213. see, then

you would have to tease it and pile it up on top of your head like those women! hehehe.
I don't understand why some people think God wouldn't want you to cut your hair....seriously is a haircut gonna send you to hell?
but that's just me ...

[shanti]

193. my opinion

is that the 'do was worn by the original "wives" of this community way back when. they just never changed it and all women following them wear it too.

[SidneyCarton]

147. Typical Radical Fundamentalist Wardrobe

Yes, they do dress like Mormon Pioneers, but if you stop into a mainstream Mormon Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, the women don't look like that. (At least they didn't look like that last Sunday in my California congregation.) Interestingly enough, they look a lot like the radical evangelical "crentes" I saw in Brazil, who have no TV, can't wear pants, or makeup and aren't allowed to cut their hair. It seems that those who embrace the extreme interpretation of religion always resort to oppression of women, usually involving control over what they wear and how they look. In this sense, the poster who refered to these outfits as Burquas is essentially correct.

[iamthebandfanman]

152. i dont care what they look like

making children get married and have sex on the other hand....

[mainer]

157. Did anyone see real tears?

One of the commentators last night (a woman who'd escaped from a polygamist community) made the observation that the women interviewed had no actual tears on their faces. Instead, they seemed as if they were trying to cry, but there were no tears. I had noticed that myself -- they seemed like really bad actresses. If my kids had been taken from me, I'd be a hell of a lot more upset looking and distraught.

The commentator also mentioned that in the community where she lived, crying was strictly forbidden, and that it took her months after escaping to actually be able to shed tears.

[proud patriot]

160. I saw that interview as well . I did not see any tears

or swollen noses or puffy eyes ...

[jazzjunkysue]

164. Exactly. They live in suspension of reality. Period. They're chronic

victims and they're not allowed to be themselves in any authentic way. It was beaten out of them in childhood. No laughing, no tears, just grim existance, waiting for the next insult, one after another.

[Duppers]

228. very astute observation

"they're not allowed to be themselves in any authentic way"

This so true of many fundamentalist religions.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

167. Pic...Art imitating life

Big Love

[CatWoman]

168. I found this on TMZ

We re Just Sayin
"Big Love" Keeps it Real?

Posted Apr 16th 2008 4:10PM by TMZ Staff

The ladies on HBO's polygamist drama "Big Love"...



... and female members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the Yearning for Zion Ranch.



Only one of them represents the real housewives of Schleicher County, Texas.

We're just sayin'!

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

169. lol!

I can't wait until the show comes back on!

[ruiner4u]

174. YES!!!! make fun of someone else's belief and custom... SWEET!

Who cares what context the pictures represent!.. Why even give a little snipit to describe why your posting a pic! Just post a pic of someone who you find odd for the sole purpose of identifying and underlying their difference!!!!..

why...How.... REPUBLICAN.

[Duppers]

229. well

there's more to it then that....although making fun of someone's appearance is a repig thing.

have you not been reading this thread???????

[Bluebear]

176. The Coneheads!

Truthfully, each to their own. I understand the modest clothing but I cannot fathom where they picked up that hairstyle.

[JI7]

184. yup, the hair is not modest at all

[shanti]

194. prolly 60's "big hair"

that never changed. jmo...

[Bluebear]

207. Or the 40's. First time I saw these ladies I thought "Andrwes Sisters"

[shanti]

221. eek, you're right!

how long has this group been in existence?

[mwdem]

177. My daughter said she just found her next Halloween costume..

dress, hairdo, and unibrow.

[calimary]

180. Ma Kettle Gets Cloned?

I don't know. Creepy, if you ask me.

:scared:

[bullwinkle428]

182. The look similar to the female members of the Apostolic church, which

has a number of pockets here in Iowa. Some think of them as a kind of "Amish lite", although they embrace many more of the modern conveniences than the Amish...

[Hannah Bell]

183. I think it's weird how so many people think if people in the same group wear

the same hair & clothing style, they're robots.

It's what people did through most of human history, & basically still do, even though some seem to think that the choice between "old navy" & "the gap" expresses the depths of a precious individuality.

people in traditional communities know each other very well, as individuals, not job descriptions, not neighborhood income groups, not buying patterns.

It's only in modern communities we're so faceless we must take pains to distinguish ourselves by the length of our hems & the cut of our trousers.

[Evoman]

186. Man I feel bad for those women. To be so brainwashed...

I hate fucking religion...I hate fucking religion so bad. This is what that shit does to you.

[OmahaBlueDog]

187. So if a woman belongs to a religous sect that dresses funny, she's a cultist?

This will come as news to the Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites, Moslems, and Orthodox Jews

[LisaL]

189. So they wear old-fashioned styles.

These people are living their own lifestyle. Why in the world can't they dress they way they find acceptable? If they had pink hair and tatoos all over the place I doubt there would be the same kind of comments.

[Thepricebreaker]

190. Do they make thier own cloths too? Or do they go to Omish R us?

[Rex]

191. Brainwashing, notice the similarity in the hair, clothes, stance.

Very Orwellian in some ways.

[CatWoman]

200. they were on Larry King last night

I could swear, that ALL have the same shaped eyes and/or nose.

check it out: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/

[Balbus]

192. Victims are such easy people to make fun of...

It's like shooting fish in a barrel.

[CatWoman]

199. I' ve got the gun

you got the barrel?

[AngryOldDem]

197. The dresses remind me of what I saw last night...

...when a group of German Baptists came down and fixed dinner for about 250 homeless men and women at the shelter where I work. Most of the women dress this modestly, although some have printed fabric, not plain; even the younger girls wear ankle-length dresses and some wear bonnets. Their hairstyles are also very similar. The men dress in plain pants and shirts. They come about once a month with a homemade meal -- last night it was chicken and noodles, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cakes.

There are no more better, or more decent, people whom I have met. Ever. You feel humbled in their presence. They are the epitome of goodness in an often cruel world.

[Miss Carly]

201. those ladies deserve make-overs, brow waxes included

Then they will all end up waitresses at Olive Garden

Carly

[mcctatas]

204. I feel like a horrible person for saying this...

but there was one woman with beautiful bone structure and auburn hair and did I think "I'm so sorry that she has been brainwashed and abused probably since the age of 14"...no, I am such a bitch I just thought "Please God, wax her unibrow!"
I suck!

[CatWoman]

205. in your defense

it is awfully "distracting"

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/larry.king.live/

[Sheltiemama]

217. I refuse to belong to a religion

that apparently forbids tweezers.

Seriously, you can't stop looking at that unibrow. Was she really the best choice to give the tour?

[JBoy]

209. Maybe the only TV they watch is this one Seinfeld episode

[elizfeelinggreat]

212. you drew me in

I have not gone there either and now that I have watched their news clip all I am is angry.

Really, just angry at these women. They DO NOT have a right to hurt their children and it's rather dramatic of them to say that the children are in danger, how do they know that? I truly feel for any mother separated from her child but to say they're in danger is a bit over the top, IMO. I'd be outraged but I'd also know that my husband would be with me. These ladies don't seem mature at all to me and their feigned innocence and "we are law abiding citizens". Did anyone else get the creeps when they insist they need to "hear" the voice of their accuser?

The celebrity interviewer was obviously afraid of causing them any anxiety or appearing to push for any answers and bent over back-wards to be apologetic about what child services was doing. Why not ask the simple question Who is the father of your children to each and every one of them? Wouldn't America like to know that? Since when does GMA shy away from asking nasty questions?

GROW UP ALL OF YOU, interviewer and these "mothers". Good grief.

Once again, I have every sympathy for their maternal feelings but not for their LIES. Law abiding my butt.

[Evergreen Emerald]

215. It is very sad.

They are in the midst of repression. I feel very sorry for them.

[Armstead]

216. Did you ever see the movie Blade Runner?

The secretary of the tycoon played by Sean Young had the same look.

[CatWoman]

223. damn!!!

you know, you're right???

:rofl:

[Armstead]

224. I'm always right about everything

.....Okay not really.

Just thought I'd indulge in some egomania. :)

[spanone]

218. their posture alone is frightening

[Duppers]

231. yes, I think that's telling

more defiant than humble, I'd say.

[Cerridwen]

225. Try harder.

It's called "learned helplessness" and "going along to get along (or fucking survive!)".

Google will help.

[Greyhound]

227. EPIC FAIL. n/t

[TransitJohn]

230. If I were

gonna **attempt** to have a harem....I'd want my women to be much hotter than that.