Editor Speaks Out
 
By Christine Keener
Opinion
The Quad News - Quinnipiac University - Hamden, Connecticut
 
This man has a lot of love to share.

He has so much love that he shares it all with three different women, all at the same time. He calls each one his wife, with a fourth wife in the works.

Meet Kody Brown, 41, a polygamist.

This fundamentalist Mormon and advertising salesman, and his three wives and thirteen children, are all part of TLC's controversial new show, "Sister Wives," which aired on Sept. 26 with 2.3 million viewers.

His three wives, Meri, Janelle, and Christine all live in separate quarters of their Lehi, Utah house. Brown divides his time evenly between them all, as shown in this seven-part series.

As if three were not enough for this real-life "Big Love," Brown's big announcement on the series premiere is that he is courting a fourth woman, Robyn, who happens to have three children of her own. For those keeping score, that is a total of sixteen children and four wives.

Most polygamist families practice in private, but the Browns decided to take the risk and allow their lives to be aired on national television. As to not get confused, fundamentalist Mormons and the modern Mormon Church do not share the same beliefs on polygamy. In 1890, the Mormon Church ruled to excommunicate members who practice polygamy as part of the push for Utah's statehood.

According to a Huffington Post article, the family says this show is to help society understand plural marriages. The family is now being investigated by the Utah police for violating bigamy laws. In Utah, polygamy is a third-degree felony, punishable by a prison term of up to five years.

Brown claims he is only legally married to Meri, and the others are commitment marriages, as stated in the article.

Whether he is married to one, or all three, this show is only glorifying an illegal act in society. It is as if this show is making light of a serious issue. While the family may claim they want the public to understand this type of family set-up, they need to realize that perhaps our society is not ready for it. Some may see this as society accepting a multiple union.

This show is making the overly-tan, fist-pumping "guidos" of MTV's "Jersey Shore" seem normal. With this new show, reality TV may have just gone too far.

The image of this family is only jeopardizing the sanctity of marriage. Marriage is a union of two, not a multiple union. Call me old-fashioned, but this just seems wrong.

Yet, all the wives and children seem so content with their lifestyle and act as if they were the normal ones, and the general public was the outsiders. We all can assume the husband is not complaining. His life revolves around a bed rotation. He is just plain selfish.

Brown, you cannot have it all.

Update: It's official. Robyn is a fourth wife.
 
QuadNews.net
Originally published Sunday, October 17, 2010
 
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