Kissing Cousins

Centre Daily. com and AP ^ | Mon, Apr. 04, 2005 | DAN NEPHIN

[b4its2late]

"Me and her's been through pure hell from the get-go and our love has survived that and will survive anything else that comes up against it," said Donald Andrews, 39.

Eye souport publik edekashun two.

[soundandvision]

Remember, 1 Huguenaut arriving in 1660 in New York could end up with more descendants in the USA by 1840 than 50 boatloads of starving Irishmen. This was due to the American practice of having 10, 15 or even 20 children!

By the way, I never said I was against it. Just don't get it in this day and age. Live and let live...

[xJones]

Shades of a certain other marriage movement?

Nah, this predates all that by a long shot. In 7th grade I was in an algebra class with a beautiful, very smart girl. She and her first cousin ran off to South Carolina to be married, when she was only 14. He was the original nerd, but they're still married with two average daughters.

The moral to this might be to monitor carefully family reunions.: )

[Paradox]

(yes, 75% of children born from brother/sister incest are perfectly normal)

Something like that. I remember now it was on the Oprah winfrey show (certainly as good as a peer reviewed journal, no?). I was mildly surprised.

As you said, I think the problem is when this is compounded through generations..

The fact of the matter is, whether you are a creationist or an evolutionist, we all descended from a relative small population of people, so we are all "cousins".

No big deal, I mean, my parents were second cousins, and I am doin just fine. In fact, here is a pitcher of me playin my geetar.

[latina4dubya]

I've often wondered about Cain and Abel..but that was the dawn of man, at least there was an excuse.

yes, and they were closer to the originals... closer to perfection... later generations are like the "copy of a copy of a copy of a copy..." not has good as the original...

[the OlLine Rebel]

"This was due to the American practice of having 10, 15 or even 20 children!"


How is that "American"? It largely couldn't be helped!

Furthermore, death rates were much higher than this century. How many of those large broods actually survived paast 15?

[yarddog]

I read an interesting article on this a few years ago. I forget the exact figures but it did say the chances of genetic problems are far less than once thought in scientific circles.

Still, they do exist and you are actually very close kin to your first cousin, genetically speaking.

[soundandvision]

Eye souport publik edekashun two

Git-R-Done

[ChicagoHebrew]

It ain't universal. In most of the world there is no taboo against cousins marrying. I imagine most of us only have to go back maybe 5 generations or so before we run into ancestors who were cousins.

[the OlLine Rebel]

I'm against this MORALLY, but GENETICALLY, there is little wrong w/what dog people call "line-breeding". That's inbreeding at a further distance - cousins, etc.

I think to bolster the moral argument, people have been claiming now for ages that cousins, siblings, etc, reproducing is detrimental genetically. That generally is false. But obviously it's made its way into the "common wisdom" by being repeated enough.

The truth is, it goes both ways. You can compound BOTH GOOD and bad by this kind of breeding. In the end it's probably not much different from "out-crossing" - bad and good go into it.

[JLS]

Shades of a certain other marriage movement?
_____________________________

Exactly. I can not see how under the current state of constitutional law, these marriages can be refused. The defense of marriage act does not speak to them that I know of.

If the states can not outlaw sodomy and since the "experts" say the genetic risk is minimal, by what right does a state legislature outlaw cousins from marrying? Mr. Justice Scalia warned you of this in his dissent in the sodomy case.

[lilylangtree]

Once I could remember a 1st cousin marrying her 3rd cousin which was scandalous at that time. That's as far back as I want to travel.

[b4its2late]

LOL!

[the OlLine Rebel]

How could she be a 1st cousin to her 3rd cousin?


Anyway, 3rd cousin was usually the limit as I understood.

[GoLightly]

Having fifteen or more was pretty rare, especially when you're talking just two parents. People having 2 or more spouses was not uncommon, as many people remarried rather quickly after the death of a spouse. Many men seemed to marry a sister of their deceased spouse. Women marrying a brother of the deceased spouse also happened, but it doesn't seem to be as common.

[xJones]

This was due to the American practice of having 10, 15 or even 20 children!

Shame on them! Too bad you can't ask Benjamin Franklin, he was the 10th child of his father's 17 offspring.

[FreedomSurge]

Darwin married his cousin and sired a brood of unhealthy children. His hatred of God, did not start with his ideas and theories, it started when his favorite daughter died.

[Junior]

I guess it's okay as long as they keep it in the family...

[cjshapi]

Yuck! Not my family. Blech!

[Ravens70]

" A few years after my Mother passed away, my Dad married my sister's husband's Mother. That made my sister and her husband step brother and sister. Their kids became their own cousins and they have developed an uncanny proficiency with the banjo."

LMAO!!!