Which Is More Of A Threat To American Society?

[DistressedAmerican]

There is a lot of talk about the "sanctity of marriage" these days. It gets me thinking. Which do you think eats more at the fabric of society? Why?

JUST TO BE CLEAR: I Support Gay Marriage. I have little opinion of marrying your cousin. All mine are the same sex. That would put me into both categories if my cousin would just say yes!

[uppityperson]

1. Other-Mr.bush

[Phoenixblade444]

14. confederate flag

is bullspit. That was completely uncalled for to place a symbol of heritage in the midst of a bush bashing. But yeah, kinda funny.

[Swamp Rat]

16. That "symbol of heritage" is also a symbol of HATE!

And to this day, it is used as a constant reminder for minorities to shut the fuck and behave or else ... "you gonna get it boy... I hear yo' mama callin'!" ... but that topic is better left for another thread.

It also reminds me of redneck, first cousin marriage, so it is entirely appropriate. :)

[uppityperson]

17. huh? Confederate flag in midst of a bush bashing?

you lost me there. Or are you talking about the flag in the original message?

[illflem]

2. I would have voted for

marriage between humans and animals if you had given the choice.
We all know that gay marriage is the first step down a slippery slope.

[Withywindle]

3. Neither!

First-cousin marriage is perfectly legal in many countries and in some states (it's not even considered incest lots of places), and it hasn't caused the collapse of society either.

Edited to add The Straight Dope link: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/041001.html

[Celeborn Skywalker]

8. Interesting

I didn't know it wasn't taboo in Europe.

[Withywindle]

11. Nor in South America as far as I can tell...

...My Brazilian cousins flirt with me all the time. No one there thinks that's weird but me!

[lumpy]

9. There are certain restrictions

in some countries i.e. parentage etc.

[DistressedAmerican]

10. Also, I am an Anthropologist and can tell you am completely

ambivalent. I think what ever works for a society works for a society. Who is to say? I am a cultural relativist (the fundies say we are EVIL).

I think the government should just stay the hell out of these things!

BTW - They also shouldn't be allowed to restrict the ease of getting a divorce.

[Sapphire Blue]

4. Sanctimoniousness

[mattclearing]

5. Something tells me the 1 gay marriage voter won't elaborate. n/t

[Anakin Skywalker]

6. Hah Hah Hah!

That's a pretty funny banner there.

[DistressedAmerican]

7. I Have To Admit I Am Surprised To See Even A Single Vote For Option 1

[ultraist]

19. Believe gay marriage is a threat but too cowardly to say why? hmmm...

I find that interesting.

[stellanoir]

12. neither. . .

box turtles are. . .the BIGGEST threat!!!

'member that ruse from about a year ago. 80% of the threads on DU for about 24 hours were about box turtles after the Daily Show put up that graphic of the stick figure holding hands with a stick figure of the opposite gender + stick figures holding hands with someone of the same gender = a stick figure doing a box turtle.

I know, I know. . .no sex threads.

Was wickedly funny though.

[DistressedAmerican]

13. Bless You Daily Show!

[readmoreoften]

15. So I wonder who are the 2 people here who think

legalizing gay marriage is dangerous to society. Interesting.

[DistressedAmerican]

20. That is really surprising me too. I do note they offer no explanation!

Spineless freepers would be my guess!

[ultraist]

18. I didn't vote because I don't think either is a "threat " to society

I don't really know much about marrying first cousins, but I have read that it is not genetically risky.

As far as family roles, some cousins don't even know eachother growing up. If they did, there might some issues there, but not to the degree it would "threaten society" as a whole. Besides, there is NO ONE definition of family.

[Silverhair]

21. Truth about cousin marriage.

Being against cousin marriage is mostly an American thing. In much of the world, your cousin is your preferred marriage partner. Until recent times, in human history, your cousin was the only one available to marry anyway. Until recently, last few centuries, people often never left their own village for their entire lives. Everyone in the village, or tribe, was related to you.

It is a myth that cousin marriage increases the genetic risk of defective children - unless there is an obvious known problem in the family. If everybody in the family appears normal, the risk of adverse genetic match is no more than for non relatives. There have been several recent articles on that, but I don't feel like googling to find them.

One thing that discouraging cousin marriage does do is to help break up the wealth of rich families over several generations. Doesn't always work, but usually does.

Cousin marriages actually tend to be more stable than the normal American mode of meeting and marrying. You get fewer surprises, and your new in-laws are already relatives. Your mother-in-law is already your aunt. The new couple usually gets support and help from both sides as there is really only one side. Usually you have come from very similar (Often nearly identical) backgrounds and so tend to have similar views on everything, therefore - usually fewer arguments.

It's an American prejudice.