Christian Leftist

[*I say hunting because he married off adolescent girls to older men without their conesnt.]

I find it more than a little ironic that the most religious of zealots call things like AIDS, cancer and Hurricane Katrina “signs from God” or “God’s wrath” as punishment of sinful people, but when an extremely rare genetic disorder blights a closed population who practice a blatantly illegal and immoral act, it’s blamed on “the drinking water.”

The residents of Colorado City, AZ and Hildale, CO are all closely related. And when I say closely, I mean they’re doing more than playing ping pong with their cousins. Few people escape the clutches of the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints and even fewer join up for a life of poverty, tyranny and fifteen kids, so the gene pool has suffered from a limited number of people all intermarrying.

Hence the problem reported by Yahoo News. Many residents marry their first cousins (or worse). Now the towns are paying the price: at least 15 children have had fumarase deficiency, a disease where brain cells starve for nutrients and fail to grow properly, resulting in retardation, nervous system functions and facial features. Often victims suffer an early death.

I cannot believe the sheer irresponsibility of marrying another person who shares recent ancestors with me. I would say that they deserve what they get, but the genes aren’t punishing the parents; they’re punishing the children who had no choice in being born.

Logic would say bring in fresh blood. Reason would say have them all sterilized. Kidding! Seriously though, what morons. But at least the young ones will fit right in.