I do not believe I am done writing about fighting white supremacy. However, for these "barking up the wrong tree" posts, the relevant people are unlikely to believe they are focusing on fighting white supremacy.
They are still not recognizing the ways in which they are upholding white supremacy; this is a good faith effort to explore that.
I had thought that as surely as you can tell that white liberals are not really listening to Black women by how much they love Shaun King, you can tell how much Mormons are missing the point on all efforts toward equality by how much they support Operation Underground Railroad.
That was before I found out that firesides supporting OUR were a big thing in Utah. I am going to concede that there is some Utahn uniqueness in devotion to OUR, which -- oddly -- does not make me feel better. I am going to try and make it all make sense.
I have too much content to fit into one week. That bugs me, but I'll deal with it.
First off, I have a lengthy article from Vice:
I understand if you don't want to read the whole thing. I also understand if you are concerned about the number of sources unwilling to go on record. I am going to pull out some things that I find interesting and important.
Let's start with that mission where they were in the village with a real medical team based on a tip from a psychic, because this gets us to two specific kinds of harm.
First of all, as the OUR members who were using the team as cover started ramping up their search, it caused some turmoil. They tried to cover by saying there was a virus and they were investigating the source of the virus. This ultimately made things worse, until the villagers asked the medical team to leave and followed them out of the village to make sure they left.
This is a good time to remember that massive vaccination efforts are needed to control a global pandemic. Yes, Utah had some issues with taking the virus seriously, but as more vaccines are given the rate of new infections is declining, so let's try and give it the benefit of the doubt.
Now let's consider this other article:
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150225-polio-pakistan-vaccination-virus-health
That is probably not the only reason that there is vaccine hesitance in Pakistan, but the mistrust doesn't help. Was finding bin Laden worth it? Maybe, but OUR did not find Gardy, the child they were looking for, which brings us to the source of their tip, a psychic.
Please notice that even the sources that OUR uses to defend using psychics are skeptical about using psychics. Perhaps the justification goes like, Yes, this article does say that it doesn't work, but it still points out that it has been done, so clearly it's a thing.
In the article about Texas use, hypnosis has occasionally sent people to death row. Now, think about hypnosis for entertainment, and how it is used more for relaxing of inhibitions and persuasion. Then think about coercive interrogation techniques. It doesn't even have to be malice on the part of law enforcement; it can just be a strong desire to get things resolved.
Bad information isn't going to do it. If you truly want to do good, you have to be more critical in your analysis of how to do it. Whether the motivation behind chasing down outlandish ideas is wishful thinking or desperation or a lack of caring, it still puts you in a position to do harm.
Also a potential way of causing harm? Asking for younger girls and thereby creating demand. OUR denies the possibility of what they ask and how they ask it leading to greater demand, but the points the article makes align with other information about sex trafficking. That leads to another thing that is kind of uncomfortable...
If they were looking for young boys -- especially in Thailand -- they might very well find some, but for sex trafficking they seem to focus on girls. The part about the reminders that...
“we're all red-blooded American males. We're visual creatures. So if at any time you may feel tempted to do something with one of the women, you need to tell us so we can get you out of there. Many men have come before and told me they feel tempted, and I respect them so much for it.”
That sounds creepy. These may not be the best people to be conducting rescues.
There is this weird kind of macho masochism where some types of men will weave elaborate fantasies about their women being raped and murdered, so they need to avenge them (and once with that legislator with an elaborate rape fantasy of when an abortion might be justifiable). These are the kind of men, like Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson, who idealize young girls, before they get all corrupted and independent.
I prefer DesignMom's take on protecting your families:
https://designmom.com/lets-talk-about-protecting-our-families/
One thing she gets at is the contrast between realistic, daily needs, and the dramatic, heroic needs of movie plots that are unlikely to ever come up with you. It is not a coincidence that their focus is on the minority of child exploitation, rather than the issues the the majority of endangered children face.
OUR lets dentists and finance guys feel like John McClain, but it is just as fictional. Ultimately, the disconnect with reality is probably the most harmful thing.
More on that next time.
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