man accused of selling his daughter for meat and beer

[Hakuna_Matata]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28629054/?GT1=43001
hmm…my daughter is 13, wonder how much beer I can get for her. Maybe next time I have to yell at her to clean up her room I will mention this article. But Corona? At least go for some good beer if you are gonna do this!

[kittenblue]

It was more of an arranged marriage and a dowry. If you do this for your daughter, you’ll be gaining a lot of in-laws. I don’t think even good beer will compensate for that.

[ShibbOleth]

Are dowries and arranged marriages specifically illegal in the United States?

[Sitnam]

@kittenblue

It was more of an arranged marriage

You misspelled sex slave.

[Bricker]

@Sitnam

You misspelled sex slave.

From the story:

Martinez is a member of an indigenous Mexican Trique community. Greenfield police Chief Joe Grebmeier said the case highlights an issue confronting local authorities in that arranged marriages with girls as young as 12 are not uncommon among the Trique.

He hesitated to say the girl was being sold into marriage, as the money was intended as a dowry and the beer and meat were for the wedding. But, he added, the arrangement violates California law, where the age of consent for marriage is 18, and with parental approval, 16.
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“This is not a traditional trafficking case because there is no force or coercion in this,” Grebmeier said. “We’re aware of the cultural issues here, but state law trumps cultural sensitivity.”

Members of the indigenous community protested the news reports and public discussion of the case, saying they were painted in a very negative light.

“No one put a ‘for sale’ sign on this girl, and that’s how it sounds,” said Rufino Dominguez, an indigenous immigrant and head of the Greenfield office of the Binational Center for the Development of the Indigenous Communities.

Is “sex slave” really an accurate description? Perhaps this is GD territory, and I’m not saying I’m all that comfortable with the situation, but there’s clearly a difference between this case and, say, Thai girls shipped in a container box to Port Authority Baltimore.

[Snarky_Kong]

Before reading the article, I’m guessing it’s for bacon?

[DMark]

I’m not saying it is right, or a good thing to do, but this is a cultural tradition that has been around for generations, in cultures around the world.

I have heard of worse things happening here in the US - idiots selling their kids as prostitutes for some drugs, or making kiddie porn with their own kids and putting it on the Internet…at least this guy was basically following in his cultural tradition. As I said, it doesn’t make it right, but it doesn’t mean the guy was just looking for a quick beer buzz at his daughter’s expense.