Fabulous Girl's Boudoir

Friday, May 05, 2006

Terra Incognita

Heading east (not far) for a conference with the Scottish Cowgirl, the Cookie Monster & Rainster for a few days.

The only book I've ever read about Utah was lovely, if a bit cloying, and I was spared all the preconceptions about the state that those raised on the West Coast seem to have been innoculated with at birth. Plus, I'll be surrounded by unapologetically liberal, highly intelligent and turbo principled Americans doing their damndest to save this nation from itself - it doesn't get much better than that.

Perhaps I'll bring back boots for Shuesday ...

posted by fabulous girl at 9:37 AM

6 Comments:

  • beautiful photo..

    By Blogger n, at 2:21 PM  

  • Maybe you should read Under the Banner of Heaven. See http://www.randomhouse.com/features/krakauer/

    Or better yet, look into the life of Rulon Jeffs. http://www.rickross.com/reference/polygamy/polygamy9.html

    Yes, Utah is lovely (been there twice), and they even held an Olympics, allowing liquor to be sold on Sundays throughout. But are preconceptions held by us Westerners really such a bad thing? Or are there just plenty of freaks in Utah?

    By Blogger camarooned, at 5:13 PM  

  • Where to start ...

    There are /freaks/ everywhere.

    Have already met my lifetime requirement of reading two Jon Krakauer books. I enjoyed them, but I'm moving on.

    Coastal Westerners are pretty open minded, especially considering how far they have to travel to get beyond North America.

    You know I'm not pro-polygamy ... I hope. What I've often encountered, south of the 49th parallel in the past 9 years, is a knee-jerk negative reaction to all Mormons, individually & collectively, by people who don't know any Mormons, and who otherwise appear to be intelligent, open-minded folk. And it's not necessarily polygamy related. Believe me, I'm not signing up (not that they'd have me). I just don't think that the small group (60,000) of polygamists are the most important issue vis a vis organized religion in this country. Compared to, say, intelligent design being taught in schools (there are almost 9 milllion people in the state of Georgia), the right to choose (31 states have enacted abortion bans), medically accurate sex-ed (Since 1997, Congress has allocated more than $500 million for unproven, medically inaccurate sexuality education programs that focus exclusively on abstaining from sex and censor information that can help young people make responsible, healthy and safe decisions about sexual activity.), or child abuse.

    By Blogger fabulous girl, at 6:32 PM  

  • I agree with you about all that stuff about how polygamy shouldn't be a top priority...

    But that being said, Under the Banner of Heaven is a *really* interesting book. (Also, I heart Jon Krakauer.) I take it you're not a fan?

    By Blogger UW Nutrition, at 9:00 AM  

  • It's easy to separate Mormonism from polygamy. There is a polygamist 'Mormon' sect (connected to Rulon Jeffs, et. al.) in Bountiful (near Creston) BC, which is currently under investigation by the RCMP. It's interesting to note that the RCMP is in a conundrum here, because given the expansion of the definition of marriage to include same-sex marriage, Canadian laws against polygamy are unlikely to withstand a Charter challenge. At first glance this seems alarming, but when you imagine a case where three competent, mature individuals want to form a consensual union that is santioned and respected by the Government and society, you need to revisit the knee-jerk reaction so easily taken to the term polygamy.

    So technically, you should be pro-polygamy. In fact, any unapologetically liberal, highly intelligent individual should be pro-polygamy. What these same folk should be against is polygamy as it is practised in certain instances, where issues of non-consent to coercion to forced marriage to sexual and physical abuse enter the fray.

    Murders happen everywhere. And yes, there are freaks everywhere, too. And granted, the word 'freak' can be very subjective, and therefore very inclusive.

    But in playing to the extremes (unabashedly for humour points), I am trying to get at the very different feel that Utah has. This difference does not come from the existence of Mormonism or polygamy. I am far more interested in the types of people who make Utah home. Maybe the geography plays a part, where extremes of human action parallel geographical extremes.

    By Blogger camarooned, at 6:34 PM  

  • I am a fan of Jon Krakauer, but his writing style is a little too much the same for me, book to book. That said, it's been a long time since I read him. I was also sceptical of the focus of his last book.

    Here come the shoulds ... what I meant, of course, were coercive marriages with off-kilter power dynamics due to age, education, position in society, exposure to other ways of thinking, etc. Not opposed to consenting adults setting up whatever kinds of relationships they see fit, although am cognizant that the law needs to protect the weak.

    Unfortunately, wasn't able to spend much time with residents of Utah, as was surrounded by colleagues, but what a beautiful place.

    By Blogger fabulous girl, at 10:28 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home