[Archived] Gay Men!

[Eddie]

Just out of curiosity (the Mrs and I were discussing it the other day - starting to read Under the Banner of Heaven) what do you think about men being legally able to have multiple wives?

I lived in Salt Lake City for a few years and so was came into contact every now and then with the polygamous community, in fact we had 6 maids, 5 of whom were married to the same man and the 6th was the mother. Between them they had 80-90 children and had one house where all of the wives and children lived and another house where the husband and the wife who's night it was would live. They are really liked it, saying that their children always had someone to take care of them and that they always got time to themselves and the stress of married life was not as great. I have a lot of problem with it, simply because it only happens within closed communities so the chances of people being honest if they don't like it aren't that great.

In the polygamous mormon church though they have some very odd beliefs; in one instance they came in and seemed rather sad and quieter than normal, my mother asked what was wrong and they said that one of their children had died. She told them that they should all be at home, but said that they enjoyed working and that this was what they were supposed to do, plus the fact that the child had died young ensured that he would go to heaven and it also gave them a chance to have another child. The child had actually been run over by the husband as he left the house, but it still wasn't an issue for them.

[Pugg]

Just out of curiosity (the Mrs and I were discussing it the other day - starting to read Under the Banner of Heaven) what do you think about men being legally able to have multiple wives?

I must admit to not having much knowledge of this, so my comments aren't based on anything solid, just opinions and I may have to ask a few questions .

Is it only the men that can have multiple wives, or can a woman have multiple husbands? If it is both ways then I suppose I come back to the consenting adults thing. If they are all happy with the situation, and not just going along with it because of the close community etc, they I suppose it is up to them. If it's only one sided then that isn't fair . I am quite open minded and so I like to think that I wouldn't judge anyone on having multiple wives, the problem is, living in a society where it isn't legal and not having any knowledge on the subject, it is quite difficult to understand. There are people in the UK who are in open relationships, so I suppose it is just a legal version of having relationships with different people.

[blue phil]

in fact we had 6 maids, 5 of whom were married to the same man and the 6th was the mother. Between them they had 80-90 children and had one house where all of the wives and children lived and another house where the husband and the wife who's night it was would live. They are really liked it, saying that their children always had someone to take care of them and that they always got time to themselves and the stress of married life was not as great. I have a lot of problem with it, simply because it only happens within closed communities so the chances of people being honest if they don't like it aren't that great.

You had six maids !!??

Call yourself a communist .

Your bloody servants were more communist than you by the sounds of it .....

[Billy Castell]

Communism promotes free love? I'm getting a mental picture of Stalin at Woodstock with flowers in his moustache now.

Maybe Eddie is a Communist in reality, rather than in its utopian vision.

[blue phil]

There is a kind of equality in six wives and a mother all working as servants for young Eddie and then all buggering off to live in some communal brothel by the sounds of it .....

Maybe that's what Marx had in mind all those years ago ....

[Cheshireblue]

This is just too good to be true.

So far Eddie has told us that he lives in Paris, or is it Guildford, or was it Salt lake City? He's a communist with Mormon tendencies, numerous servants, does not know where to buy a television or how to get rid of any kind of vermin infestation (which would fit in nicely with the 6 maids approach to life), is best mates with Kofi Annan, knows at least one UN commander in chief (who regularly pops round for tea and a bun), hob nobs with grain traders from Switzerland and his mum is from the Carribbean. Or was that Kenya? I forget.

I'm running a book on whether his Dad was Buzz Aldrin, Albert Einstein or Jesse Owens. Any takers?

[Eddie]

Well as you seem to like knowing about me so much I'll just clear that all up for you. My family currently live in Paris, but did life in Salt Lake City for several years, also San Francisco (well Palo Alto), just in case that comes up in a conversation at some point and you for some reason go into a fit. My mother is indeed from the West Indies, although just in case you want to know, she is white, as am I.

No one in my family is Mormon, I simply happened to live in Utah which meant that it is impossible not to come into contact with them on a daily basis, so I am very familiar with the religion.

As for your final snide comments, I certainly don't know Kofi Annan, but as I went to an international school in a major world city I did grow up alongside children of people with some very interesting and important jobs. It is certainly not unusual and I'm sure anyone who with a similar upbringing would say the same thing.

I hope that clears that all up for you.

[Rovermatt]

Did you not say your mother is from Guyana? Which is in fact in South America.

[Cheshireblue]

That was his second mother whom he had to leave when Pinochet drove them out of Chile. His third mother is the head of the Carribbean secret service hence he has to live a Bondesque life moving around the world, "meeting" interesting people and then telling us about them.

His first mother was Indira Ghandi, which is why he knows all about international relations and nothing about TV's.

I reckon that the odds on Jesse Owens have just gone out a bit, but Buzz Aldrin is still a possibility as I think they used to do test launches on the salt flats of Utah...

[SouthAussieRover]

I'm running a book on whether his Dad was Buzz Aldrin, Albert Einstein or Jesse Owens. Any takers?

Add another name:

Frank Abagnale Jr.

[Eddie]

Did you not say your mother is from Guyana? Which is in fact in South America.

She is from Guyana and you are right it is in South America, although for all cultural purposes it is West Indian and I think they'd generally much sooner call themselves West Indian than South American.

[Daremz]

I love gay man. The things they can do with their tongues are immense.

Guyana is famous for their people calling themselves Guyanans. [/bad try of giving this post any meaning what so ever]

[Rovermatt]

She is from Guyana and you are right it is in South America, although for all cultural purposes it is West Indian and I think they'd generally much sooner call themselves West Indian than South American.

Fair enough.

[blue phil]

She is from Guyana and you are right it is in South America, although for all cultural purposes it is West Indian

Ahh - so that would explain your cricketing prowess

[Eddie]

A few of you really must have some sad lives.

[colin]

A few of you really must have some sad lives.

Eddie, they certainly do when the take a perfectly ordinary subject to have a pop at you. Notice that none of them have the guts to describe their upbringing and background to the fore for examination and comment. I think that most of them are probably excited little youths who have had a w**k in the bath for the first time and are now dreaming about page 3 of The Sun.

As for most of the rest of you: for goodness sake take it easy. Gay people exist, they have a right to live, what the hell, do they cause you a problem? Do they come round your house screaming "you hetrosexual pervert." and beat you up because you look "normal?"

This is 2007 for heaven's sake. Grow up.

[cletus]

As for most of the rest of you: for goodness sake take it easy. Gay people exist, they have a right to live,

....only until sharia law is installed here!

[American]

Eddie, they certainly do when the take a perfectly ordinary subject to have a pop at you. Notice that none of them have the guts to describe their upbringing and background to the fore for examination and comment. I think that most of them are probably excited little youths who have had a w**k in the bath for the first time and are now dreaming about page 3 of The Sun.

As for most of the rest of you: for goodness sake take it easy. Gay people exist, they have a right to live, what the hell, do they cause you a problem? Do they come round your house screaming "you hetrosexual pervert." and beat you up because you look "normal?"

This is 2007 for heaven's sake. Grow up.

What an interesting post - every single time you have asked people to answer a personal question I have answered it and asked you to do the same. Yet you will never respond...

As for what Eddie is claiming, Salt Lake City does actually NOT have a lot of polygamy. It is more in the far reaches of Utah into Arizona. In addition, most of the women don't work so they can claim for government benefits. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the main Mormon church) is actually adamantly against polygamy.

[Rovermatt]

....only until sharia law is installed here!

Bet you it isn't.

[Eddie]

As for what Eddie is claiming, Salt Lake City does actually NOT have a lot of polygamy. It is more in the far reaches of Utah into Arizona. In addition, most of the women don't work so they can claim for government benefits. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the main Mormon church) is actually adamantly against polygamy.

I'm quite aware of that and I never claimed that there was a lot of polygamy. I said that I came into regular contact with mormons, not members of the polygamous church. I'm quite aware of the split that took place, but I can also assure you that there is still a polygamous community in the Salt Lake City area. I lived there for 8 years, I know the place quite well.

[Rovermatt]

Roughly what is the number of non-Mormons who live in Salt Lake City?

[Eddie]

It really depends on where you are. You get a lot of places that call themselves "cities" that would never be in the UK, they are merely suburbs, so that confuses the issue. I would say nowadays a safe bet is 55-65%, although that could rise as high as 90-95% if you were in certain areas. Where I lived it was probably about 40% mormon, I went to a non-religous private school (generally the schools are either mormon or catholic), and it was still 35-45% mormon. The number of non-mormons is increasing steadily as more business goes to Salt Lake and the place generally becomes less mormon controlled.

Sorry, those percentages are for mormons, not non-mormons.

[Cheshireblue]

Do they come round your house screaming "you hetrosexual pervert." and beat you up because you look "normal?"

Pervert: To cause to turn away from what is right, proper, or good; corrupt.

I would merely point out their grammatical and linguistic errors before setting them on their way. Obviously, whilst I was doing that, somebody else would be kicking the dogs in the knackers and throwing them out of the side door......but then we do that to all unwelcome guests, so I'm not descriminating.

[blue phil]

Gay people exist, they have a right to live, what the hell, do they cause you a problem? Do they come round your house screaming "you hetrosexual pervert." and beat you up because you look "normal?"

Oohh...... A hissy fit . Get her

[colin]

What an interesting post - every single time you have asked people to answer a personal question I have answered it and asked you to do the same. Yet you will never respond...

Please accept my apologies and fire away. I'll try and pay attention and reply the best I can.

Over to you.