Study debunks inbreeding myth (Cheney's West Virginia Joke Shot Down) (Link)...

[The Great Escape]

Nichols, who also serves as editor of "The American Sociologist," said Cheney used West Virginia as the butt of the joke to connect with his audience.

"Humor is often stereotypical," Nichols said. "It uses symbols that have become established and that remain useful.

"All of the points above, I believe, contribute to an understanding of why West Virginia continues to be used as a stereotype for such threats as inbreeding, and why this stereotype is often used humorously."

From a legal standpoint, West Virginia actually has strict anti-incest laws. First cousins cannot marry here, yet they can in states such as Vermont, New York and California.




http://www.dailymail.com/News/200806090191

[LeftyMom]

1. All my cousins are female- ZOMG! California! Destination state for gay cousin marriages!

That's gonna be the best Maury episode ever. :popcorn:

[The Great Escape]

2. I'd Like To See Them Try To Stop It!

:bounce:

[LeftyMom]

3. I'm calling my cousin right now. She's married, but luckily she lives in Reno, so that's easy to fix

Won't her husband be in for a shock! :bounce:

[TwilightGardener]

4. Um...maybe WV NEEDED very strict anti-incest laws ...just sayin' ....

[The Great Escape]

6. So You Stand With President Cheney?

From the article I posted.


"When coal companies came in to exploit the land, it was useful to picture the natives as in need of educating and civilizing in order to mitigate the less defensible aspects of what these companies were doing," Arnold stated. "It's also true that rural customs, which included early marriage and multiple children, could have added to a sense that Appalachians were more highly sexual and promiscuous, although that's clearly not supported by research."

[TwilightGardener]

7. LOL! Just pointing out the chicken-egg nature of the argument.

[aquart]

8. So your level of humor is identical to Cheney's.

Perhaps you two can share a laugh at someone else's expense one day.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

5. Somewhere there must be surveys, case studies, etc...

on just how widespread inbreeding is, geographically.

[aquart]

9. The Jukes and the Kalikaks.

Infamous study. Actually proved nurture rather than nature. But they didn't notice that at the time.

[The Great Escape]

10. Thank You For Actually Reading The Article!

[aquart]

14. Didn't. Just educated.

[rebel with a cause]

11. Illinois has/had a third cousin rule

I believe, anyway my family always said they did and we were warned not to even think about any cousins. Which is funny because we never had much to do with any of our cousins. Just a couple of them, and my mother obsessed on one third cousin and my sister. I could never see anything happening, but then I thought he was weird.

On one hand when I was young I knew a girl that went south of here, to Texas I believe, and married her nephew. They were about the same age and had not grown up together. Her sister had moved back into the area when her son and her sister were both about nineteen, and that is when it all came about. Everybody went "EWWWWW" but then just kind of ignored it. I have no idea what happened to them, just knew them from work. On the other hand, I knew a few people who were involved with incest but they never married. When I worked in Child Welfare, I found out there were more than I even knew about. Yuck, it was sick and I do mean SICK. Everyone might be surprised what is going on next door from them.

[AZ Criminal JD]

12. People have short memories.

Obama supporters on DU were posting Cheney like jokes all over when Hillary was winning in W. Virginia.

[davidinalameda]

13. the Daily Mail is a BIG repug paper in WV

hard to believe that they would take any sort of shot at VP Dick

and being from WV, I can say that you have lots of families who are very closely related

I think I was probably related to a good third of my hometown through various relatives

it might not be first cousin in my case only because my dad's brothers (it was his hometown) never had kids and his sister moved away when she got married

but I know plenty of others who had a whole mess of relatives close by

[Spangle]

15. IT's always been used to ignore

It isn't just in the Appalachia. It's were ever hillbillies settled. The folks who settled the Ozarks were from Hillbillie stock. Watch the Movie or read the book "The Painted House." ABout a family who lived in the flat lands of Arkansas. There is a scene where they are talking about the "Hillbillies" who came down from the Ozarks to work in the fields.

When Clinton was President, we heard alot how Arkansas was full of inbreeds. I'm from Arkansas, and I can't tell you how many times I've been asked if I was one of Clinton's Kissing Cousins.

The comment from the article about 'family' is correct. A cousin is a cousin, no matter how distant the person is. Unless you just can't stand that branch. Tee hee.. I had a friend in school that became "family", when we realized we were cousins. Well, our Grandmothers were first cousins.

When family is family, after several generations, everyone is family. Connected one way or another. So it can seem a little incestuous if thought about that way. But by law, very few of the relationships would have been incestuous.