Man forced to "marry" goat...

Well, this is a goat we are talking about, not human, so in essence this is more like he is buying the goat from the owner. >.>

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Sanny

In the context of our society, that would be unconstitutional and barbaric. It might work for them, but here we have laws that make sense.

I have a feeling that the person might be fined and charge with animal cruelties, but in essence, that isn't much different compare to paying money to buy the goat from the owner, except not buying. Or maybe you are talking about it is barbaric to sell the animal to the guy who basically rapted it?

I wonder if we have any type of bestiality laws in this country.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Quote:

Right now, there are no real laws protecting marriage, as is evidenced by the conservatives trying to pass laws that DO do so. Nor are there laws preventing "shotgun weddings." (as far as I know)

Some anthropologist has hypothesize that the reason that the family unit (note, that family unit are define more broadly then the current definition of nuclear family to include extended family) is becoming much smaller and gradually become obsolete because people prefer to lives as individual economic unit.

A family unit doesn't always frame itself around a marriage, in fact, the economic relation to the extra-nuclear family kins use to be much more extensive. A large family unit allows a certain safety net in older societies (and even today) that force all participant of the family unit to function as single economic unit, and set priority as such. One component of this hypotheses is that, the individuals will need to make concessions in terms of economic , political and personal decisions within the family unit for the good of the entire clan/tribe as an economic unit, and because that individuals can't really function within society without the backing of a large family in the older society. (This is also context of which arranged marriages are sustained, however, arranged marriage does not necessary means force marriage. Interestingly, a total devotion of affection and romantic notion of marriage, at least in its popular context, are also quite modern.)

However, the individualist meritocracy and the governmental institution that providing safety-nets changes all that. In most cases, people don't' really have to make concessions in their personal decision nor need family backing to survive today's society. Being economic independent has also become part of the norm as we are more aware and cherish our personal freedoms that come with it. This is a relatively new concept, so is the nuclear family. This type of family really don't have much guarantees in terms of perpetuating specific cultural values or dogmas, since the social context that use to support the marriage, ie, the larger extended family structures that use to benefit from the marriage, no longer there because it is economical (and thus socially) obsolete.

This is a trend that has been going for at least one and half centuries now, we doubt that one or two laws here and there can reverse centuries of social changes as results of modernization.

How ya doing, buddy?