Incest: Should it be a crime?

[sandgk]

The always twisted Robert Crumb had it that The Family that Lays together Stays Together.

But, joking about incest being a game for all the family aside (now available from Mattel - certified Lead-Free and 100% genetically pure), I'd say absolutely not.

Many of the moral prohibitions laid down from ancient times had their basis in sound reasoning. Incest was likely seen early on to yield weaker, less well developed children in one or more generations. Hence it was prohibited. So it should be today, for precisely the same reasons.

 

[cincibuck]

The always twisted Robert Crumb had it that The Family that Lays together Stays Together.

But, joking about incest being a game for all the family aside (now available from Mattel - certified Lead-Free and 100% genetically pure), I'd say absolutely not.

Many of the moral prohibitions laid down from ancient times had their basis in sound reasoning. Incest was likely seen early on to yield weaker, less well developed children in one or more generations. Hence it was prohibited. So it should be today, for precisely the same reasons.

One need look no further than the British royal family to see what happens when the gene pool is too confined.

 

[sandgk]

One need look no further than the British royal family to see what happens when the gene pool is too confined.

Must ... resist .... temptation .... to post a picture of Charles into this thread. :tongue2:

 

[Mike80]

Must ... resist .... temptation .... to post a picture of Charles into this thread. :tongue2:

Couldn't resist....

 

[sandgk]

Couldn't resist....

Hell, you got his good side :)

 

[methomps]

the South will rise again!!

 

[Best Buckeye]

It is a crime up north .

 

[Mike80]

the South will rise again!!

Unfortunately the area I lived in where I had the displeasure of dealing with people seemingly related to everyone else in the town happened in a Northern state, not a Southern one.....

 

[Muck]

One need look no further than the British royal family to see what happens when the gene pool is too confined.

Iceland has one of the most homogeneous gene pools in the world....and their women are smokin' (well except for Bjork).

 

[cincibuck]

Iceland has one of the most homogeneous gene pools in the world....and their women are smokin' (well except for Bjork).

But look at the ancestral beginnings: they traveled all over the Northern Hemisphere, raping, murdering,raping, plundering, stealing, raping, looting, colonizing and raping... they liked rape (apologies to Mel Brooks)... Their initial gene pool would have been influenced by every place they went.

 

[Buckeyedynasty]

Incest, I wouldn't hit it. Even if I come off as an elitist, It's just F'n gross!

 

[OCBucksFan]

Is it such a rampant problem that it deserves legislative attention?

I guess my feeling is 'no'. There is enough cultural taboo regarding such behavior, imo.

Tell that to people in Kentucky

 

[Muck]

But look at the ancestral beginnings: they traveled all over the Northern Hemisphere, raping, murdering,raping, plundering, stealing, raping, looting, colonizing and raping... they liked rape (apologies to Mel Brooks)... Their initial gene pool would have been influenced by every place they went.

The general inaccuracy of their Scandinavian (and Celtic) forebears aside, 60 generations in isolation after starting with a relatively small population group nullifies any perceived advantage of a more diverse initial gene pool (beyond a certain point).

There are various population groups in the US that are similarly self limited...Old Order Amish, various Utah Mormon splinter groups, "blue blood" families (Rockefellers Kennedys etc) and so on...it's just that none of them have been isolated for near the length of time as the Icelanders (1K + years).