http://cellar.org/pictures/tomgreenfamily.jpg

The largish gent in the center is Tom Green. (No, not that Tom Green, else he'd be sticking his tongue in the ear of the person next to him.) The middle row includes Mr. Green's five wives, and he is currently being prosecuted for polygamy.

It looks like an idyllic scene in the picture. In reality the family was destitute, thrown out of a mobile home park and forced to find a remote land in Utah on which they could settle. The home was destroyed by a windstorm at one point and at another point one child was killed in a fire.

Mr. Green's apparent m.o. was to marry these women in their teens, then divorce them and continue to live with them while they received welfare. But as time went by he couldn't afford to pay the bills, especially since his "job" was selling magazine subscriptions all over the west. Work that left him living out of his car - until that car broke down.

If he divorced them I'm not sure why it was considered illegal. I'll allow for any lifestyle people want to take up, but this one doesn't seem to have worked very well for him.

He broke the 11th Commandment--Don't get caught. And was stupid enough to brag about living with so many women. And in Utah of all states. This sounds like something out of my native Missouri.

Re: Polygamy
 

It is also what happens when a location is about to sponsor the Olympics and reporter converge on a regions sucking up any story they can find. It is why regions want Olympics - free and hopefully flattering publicity. The sooner Utah puts this story to rest, then the less often it will be reported during the Olympics.

Re: Re: Polygamy
 

I don't think it should be disputed at this point that Salt Lake City did not in any way, shape, or form deserve the 2002 Olympics. Bastards...but we've seen that the IOC turns a blind eye to things like this...hell, they're still letting Athens have the 2004 Olympics.

The athens bid is a terorist disaster waiting to happen.

But seriously, this guy is jsut sick, he married these kids when they wre barely out of puberty (13 on of them!!) (if not before), they haven't see anyhtign else, he shoudl be fucking locked up, or castrated.

Re: Re: Re: Polygamy
 

The sad thing is that, when I visited Utah in '89, I had thought about what a wonderful site it would make for the Winter Olympics. And the scandals do nothing to diminish the fundamental majesty of the site itself, just as Athens' problems do not detract from it being the historic first Olympic site.

But, you're right, in terms of official corruption in efforts to get the bid, SLC appears to take the cake.

And tip the waiter really heavily,
Z

Actually, I have one complaint to voice about the Olympics, at least based on what I've heard.

Being the hockey fan that I am, I was disappointed to learn that the hockey games will be in 2 small venues, apparently. The new ice complex is for skating only.

That is such shit!!! Hockey (although not as popular as skating) has become rather popular, particularly since the NHL players will be there. And this time, we'll be able to watch it at a decent hour. *remembers being at a bar in Chicago at 11:30 on a Sunday night in 1998, watching the US play a game at Nagano*

As far as polygamy goes, I say leave it alone. There is nothing in the Constitution preventing polygamous marriages. It is an area best left to state and local governments. I fault Mr. Green for the age at which he married these girls, not at the number of wives.

There are many religions in the world which practice ploygamy. In my opinion, the first amendment takes precedence unless there is a "clear" danger to society.

One aspect of the case was disturbing. Even though Mr. Green divorced all but one of his wives, he was still living with all of them. The state declared that by cohabitating they were his "common law" wives and therefore he was committing polygamy.

In theory, this means that if you set up housekeeping with two women, even without exchanging vows, in a state with common law marriage, you run the risk of becoming an "accidental bigamist". This could open up a whole new way for the goverment to interfere in personal lifesytles.

back to topic
 

Regarding common law, in most states, the length of time is generally 7 years. In addition, we're talking about Utah here, so their standard may be more strict (i.e. simply cohabitating could mean common law, whereas Illinois's definition is more lax).

My biggest problem (along with the fact that these women were young) is that apparently these "divorcees" were collecting welfare. I have zero tolerance for that bullshit. You want to have 29 kids (with 4 more on the way), then you damned well better be able to afford them! (Although, if Utah is on the same wavelength as most states, their TANF benefits would be running out shortly.)

This is one of the millions of reasons why I'm not having children. ;-)

Re: back to topic
 

The other 999,999 being the names on the petition telling you not to.

Re: Re: back to topic
 

[quote]Originally posted by richlevy

Quote:

The other 999,999 being the names on the petition telling you not to.

The world could not handle little Sycamores running around this earth...one is enough.

Hell...I couldn't handle them!

Re: Re: Re: back to topic
 

As soon as I read that last, the image of the Wicked Witch of the West sending out the flying monkeys came to mind.


...I wish I had a legion of flying monkeys to do my evil bidding.

~Mike

Too much energy for me
 

There was a story about this guy on NPR a while back. From the picture, the family seems quite proud to share a father. And they seem fairly well taken care of, if not quite well. I am sure it can't be easy appropriating enough funds to raise all of those children, but they seem okay on the surface. I think Utah has a bad taste in its mouth from the whole polygamy thing. They have had to live with a freakish reputation to outsiders for a long time, even though they publicly shun the practice. I truly did not expect a man by the name of Tom Green to look like this either.

Re: Too much energy for me
 

How do you think Tom Green (the obnoxious comedian) is handling this? It's probably generating him even more attention...and he'll take good AND bad. ;)

Re: Re: Re: Re: back to topic
 

I DO have flying monkeys doing my bidding. There out there...;)