Have any of you ever read the “Sandman” series by Neil Gaiman? If you haven’t, you should. They are haunting, disturbing and beautiful all at once. It is the one of the only graphic novel series ever to win the prestigious Hugo & Nebula awards. I read the series faithfully at least once a year.
Anyway, in it, Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, is hunted by the Furies from Greek mythology. They are three women and only one at the same time. They have a horrible witch-like aspect, and they pursue Morpheus with a slow and steady wrath. Morpheus had committed a murder – a mercy killing, really – against one he loved. So the Furies take it upon themselves to take vengeance. They never question why; they merely decide that he must pay for his sin.
The Furies move through the Realm of Dreams, burning and destroying anything in their path. The first way that they attack Morpheus is to scourge and murder anyone that Morpheus loves by striking them with this really awesome whip made of scorpions. Finally, the Furies confront Lord Morpheus on this high plateau that is the last refuge of the Dream Kingdom, battered by winds and lightning. The only way that the doomed Lord Morpheus can stop the Furies from totally destroying his kingdom is to offer himself willingly to Death. Only his death takes away the purpose of the Furies’ relentless quest to destroy him, thus saving his realm.
I use this analogy for how I feel about me and the anti-polygamy movement. I feel like Lord Morpheus. Okay, Lord Morpheus was tall and thin. I am tall and fat. Lord Morpheus was pale with deep, dark eyes. I am dark-skinned, don’t sunburn and have eyes the color of poop. Lord Morpheus had wild, black hair that Robert Smith of The Cure would be proud of. Hey, so do I. Lord Morpheus was brooding, aloof and pensive. Maybe I am some of those things, but mainly I am a polygamist Geek-Boy who thinks that the best thing that happened this week was learning that Guillermo del Torro is going to be directing The Hobbit. (Seriously!)
So how are the anti-polygamists like the Furies? They are singular in their quest to destroy. They are fueled by hate. (I have always said that they are as much a hate group as any.) They refuse to listen to reason or moderation. They won’t come to the table and have discussions with the polygamists. They label all polygamists as the same. They won’t stop short of an ethnic cleansing of all polygamist parents and ripping all children away from polygamist parents. Look at the senselessness in Texas.
For instance, one of my brothers just recently wrote to Flora Jessop asking her why she had an interest in my other brother’s divorce case, since Child Bigamy wasn’t a factor. She responded. The only part that I will quote is where she talks about yours truly, Lord Morpheus:
Flora Jessop: "I also discovered your brother Moroni's name associated with a web site promoting polygamy which is also connected to Child pornography which very much puts Sarine's children at risk in their continued connection to that particular brother. That information, of course, has been turned over to the proper authorities for further investigation and hopefully prosecution which I will pursue with all diligence.
Anyway, in it, Morpheus, the Lord of Dreams, is hunted by the Furies from Greek mythology. They are three women and only one at the same time. They have a horrible witch-like aspect, and they pursue Morpheus with a slow and steady wrath. Morpheus had committed a murder – a mercy killing, really – against one he loved. So the Furies take it upon themselves to take vengeance. They never question why; they merely decide that he must pay for his sin.
The Furies move through the Realm of Dreams, burning and destroying anything in their path. The first way that they attack Morpheus is to scourge and murder anyone that Morpheus loves by striking them with this really awesome whip made of scorpions. Finally, the Furies confront Lord Morpheus on this high plateau that is the last refuge of the Dream Kingdom, battered by winds and lightning. The only way that the doomed Lord Morpheus can stop the Furies from totally destroying his kingdom is to offer himself willingly to Death. Only his death takes away the purpose of the Furies’ relentless quest to destroy him, thus saving his realm.
I use this analogy for how I feel about me and the anti-polygamy movement. I feel like Lord Morpheus. Okay, Lord Morpheus was tall and thin. I am tall and fat. Lord Morpheus was pale with deep, dark eyes. I am dark-skinned, don’t sunburn and have eyes the color of poop. Lord Morpheus had wild, black hair that Robert Smith of The Cure would be proud of. Hey, so do I. Lord Morpheus was brooding, aloof and pensive. Maybe I am some of those things, but mainly I am a polygamist Geek-Boy who thinks that the best thing that happened this week was learning that Guillermo del Torro is going to be directing The Hobbit. (Seriously!)
So how are the anti-polygamists like the Furies? They are singular in their quest to destroy. They are fueled by hate. (I have always said that they are as much a hate group as any.) They refuse to listen to reason or moderation. They won’t come to the table and have discussions with the polygamists. They label all polygamists as the same. They won’t stop short of an ethnic cleansing of all polygamist parents and ripping all children away from polygamist parents. Look at the senselessness in Texas.
For instance, one of my brothers just recently wrote to Flora Jessop asking her why she had an interest in my other brother’s divorce case, since Child Bigamy wasn’t a factor. She responded. The only part that I will quote is where she talks about yours truly, Lord Morpheus:
Flora Jessop: "I also discovered your brother Moroni's name associated with a web site promoting polygamy which is also connected to Child pornography which very much puts Sarine's children at risk in their continued connection to that particular brother. That information, of course, has been turned over to the proper authorities for further investigation and hopefully prosecution which I will pursue with all diligence.
"So, how do I fit into all this? The same way I fit into all of the cases I work and that is in protecting the children. Not only Sarine's but all of the children in Apache and Navajo Counties (from Carlos) and God knows how many more throughout the United States from Moroni and his pals from their web site. "
*Sigh* Do I have to explain this again? Mike Watkiss from Arizona News Channel 3 asked me about this. I thought that I explained this away satisfactorily. I guess not.
First of all, I really don’t know Flora Jessop. We may have the same last name, but that is where the similarity stops. She is from a totally different world than me. Other than a few visits to Colorado City when I was a child so that my dad could visit some old men that were distantly related, I know next to nothing about growing up among the FLDS. When I would see them at grocery stores in Utah wearing their unmistakable pioneer dresses, I would stop and try to speak to them and tell them that my name is Jessop. But they would look at me like I was speaking a foreign language. I guess a “Jessop” with olive-colored skin is pretty foreign.
Anyway, I don’t know what Flora Jessop has experienced that has driven her to this extreme. She says that she fled a polygamist marriage. I have one friend who is former FLDS. She states that Flora is lying, and that the only thing that Flora suffered was being a promiscuous teen. And that this is all likely backlash against her upbringing. But I don’t know for sure that this is the case.
What I have read in the media is that she is known to lie, to use illegal means to kidnap underage girls away from their polygamous parents, and that she has criticized CPS in Arizona for not seizing children from the homes of polygamist parents. It is likely that she is behind the phony phone calls to Texas that instigated the raids on the El Dorado compound. Years ago, Flora lost credibility with everyone – even anti-polygamist groups. Everyone except the media, because the media generally will accept anything sensational, and Flora is known to spout the sensational and is no more the “expert” than the dog at my feet as I type. I am willing to wager that I know more about FLDS history than she does.
To go further down my tangent, I have probably had more positive and cooperative experiences with CPS than she has. I worked on a task force for DES with the Director of DES, the Deputy Director of DES, and the Deputy Director of DCYF (CPS). I helped them develop the agency’s Diversity Initiative. I was nominated for an award by both the agency and the governor for my efforts. It is my little joke that DES took a polygamist and taught him how to fight against discrimination.
And this is a case of discrimination. This is a case of prejudice. What does Flora Jessop know about me? I might as well be black and in Alabama in 1963. This is one of the last vestiges of a civil rights struggle in the USA in the 21st Century.
But I digress…
Let us speak of this Child Pornography accusation. In 2005, a young man whom I will call the Duke of Marshall decided to start a pro-polygamy forum for Christians. He had nothing to do with Mormons. He wanted to create a forum where people could talk about polygamy. Since I had known Duke from different polygamy discussion groups, I signed up at his invitation. For a while, the discussions were pretty active. There was even a place where “ministers” who believe in polygamy could register their names. I signed up, even though I am not a minister. It sounded cool. It sounded prestigious.
After a couple of months, I stopped checking this website. I didn’t have enough time, and I had too many groups demanding too much of my time. I have never checked that website since. I don’t even remember my password. Even though the whole group fell into inactivity, every time you Google my name, it brings up that Minister Database.
Last February, Mike Watkiss asked me about it. He asked me if I was aware of pornography being on the site.
“What? From spammers?” I responded.
I thought that satisfied the issue, until Flora Jessop called a friend of mine and asked if she was aware of my involvement on that site. Then in March, my evil sister-in-law Sarine Jessop submitted the website as “evidence”. The document stated that there were sixteen links to pornographic websites, including two to child porn.
I contacted Duke of Marshall and let him know about it. He told me that due to his inactivity on the website, it had been overrun by spam. It happens on any forum. I have known people who run parenting groups that are spammed by porn as well. Anyway, he decommissioned the site and moved the pertinent information to a new website (including the infamous database).
I told Duke that it was – not only ludicrous – but totally weak that they were trying to link polygamy with pornography.
“Well, then, I guess that there is a connection between polygamy and tobacco and online pharmaceuticals,” Duke said. “Because there was plenty of spam for that as well.”
So Cousin Flora has turned it in to the authorities. If a man can be prosecuted for having his name registered on a site that is spammed by porn, then I guess we are all in trouble.
It is a case of discrimination, because Flora Jessop does not know anything about me. Anyone on the polygamy discussion groups knows that I am against arranged marriages, I am against child marriages. I become combatative with anyone who advocates child marriage. (And they are out there.) If she knew anything about me, she would know that I have never, ever sought out a child. She is misinformed if she thinks this about me.
DISCLAIMER: Most of my friends and family disagree that I am even keeping this blog. They want me to state that they have not put me up to this. This blog is my own doppelganger – out to cause more trouble for me than good, I’m sure. But I need an outlet for all the tripe that is being said out there about me.
Also, I lied in this blog. The best thing that happened to me this week was not finding out that Guillermo del Torro would direct The Hobbit, although that is pretty cool. The best thing that happened to me this week was to find out that the Third Circuit Court in Austin, Texas found the actions of the State of Texas against the FLDS in El Dorado to be illegal and unconstitutional.
So anyway, back to Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman”. On top of the plateau, the Furies drive Lord Morpheus to his death. But he is soon reborn in another aspect. Because you can never truly kill a dream.
*Sigh* Do I have to explain this again? Mike Watkiss from Arizona News Channel 3 asked me about this. I thought that I explained this away satisfactorily. I guess not.
First of all, I really don’t know Flora Jessop. We may have the same last name, but that is where the similarity stops. She is from a totally different world than me. Other than a few visits to Colorado City when I was a child so that my dad could visit some old men that were distantly related, I know next to nothing about growing up among the FLDS. When I would see them at grocery stores in Utah wearing their unmistakable pioneer dresses, I would stop and try to speak to them and tell them that my name is Jessop. But they would look at me like I was speaking a foreign language. I guess a “Jessop” with olive-colored skin is pretty foreign.
Anyway, I don’t know what Flora Jessop has experienced that has driven her to this extreme. She says that she fled a polygamist marriage. I have one friend who is former FLDS. She states that Flora is lying, and that the only thing that Flora suffered was being a promiscuous teen. And that this is all likely backlash against her upbringing. But I don’t know for sure that this is the case.
What I have read in the media is that she is known to lie, to use illegal means to kidnap underage girls away from their polygamous parents, and that she has criticized CPS in Arizona for not seizing children from the homes of polygamist parents. It is likely that she is behind the phony phone calls to Texas that instigated the raids on the El Dorado compound. Years ago, Flora lost credibility with everyone – even anti-polygamist groups. Everyone except the media, because the media generally will accept anything sensational, and Flora is known to spout the sensational and is no more the “expert” than the dog at my feet as I type. I am willing to wager that I know more about FLDS history than she does.
To go further down my tangent, I have probably had more positive and cooperative experiences with CPS than she has. I worked on a task force for DES with the Director of DES, the Deputy Director of DES, and the Deputy Director of DCYF (CPS). I helped them develop the agency’s Diversity Initiative. I was nominated for an award by both the agency and the governor for my efforts. It is my little joke that DES took a polygamist and taught him how to fight against discrimination.
And this is a case of discrimination. This is a case of prejudice. What does Flora Jessop know about me? I might as well be black and in Alabama in 1963. This is one of the last vestiges of a civil rights struggle in the USA in the 21st Century.
But I digress…
Let us speak of this Child Pornography accusation. In 2005, a young man whom I will call the Duke of Marshall decided to start a pro-polygamy forum for Christians. He had nothing to do with Mormons. He wanted to create a forum where people could talk about polygamy. Since I had known Duke from different polygamy discussion groups, I signed up at his invitation. For a while, the discussions were pretty active. There was even a place where “ministers” who believe in polygamy could register their names. I signed up, even though I am not a minister. It sounded cool. It sounded prestigious.
After a couple of months, I stopped checking this website. I didn’t have enough time, and I had too many groups demanding too much of my time. I have never checked that website since. I don’t even remember my password. Even though the whole group fell into inactivity, every time you Google my name, it brings up that Minister Database.
Last February, Mike Watkiss asked me about it. He asked me if I was aware of pornography being on the site.
“What? From spammers?” I responded.
I thought that satisfied the issue, until Flora Jessop called a friend of mine and asked if she was aware of my involvement on that site. Then in March, my evil sister-in-law Sarine Jessop submitted the website as “evidence”. The document stated that there were sixteen links to pornographic websites, including two to child porn.
I contacted Duke of Marshall and let him know about it. He told me that due to his inactivity on the website, it had been overrun by spam. It happens on any forum. I have known people who run parenting groups that are spammed by porn as well. Anyway, he decommissioned the site and moved the pertinent information to a new website (including the infamous database).
I told Duke that it was – not only ludicrous – but totally weak that they were trying to link polygamy with pornography.
“Well, then, I guess that there is a connection between polygamy and tobacco and online pharmaceuticals,” Duke said. “Because there was plenty of spam for that as well.”
So Cousin Flora has turned it in to the authorities. If a man can be prosecuted for having his name registered on a site that is spammed by porn, then I guess we are all in trouble.
It is a case of discrimination, because Flora Jessop does not know anything about me. Anyone on the polygamy discussion groups knows that I am against arranged marriages, I am against child marriages. I become combatative with anyone who advocates child marriage. (And they are out there.) If she knew anything about me, she would know that I have never, ever sought out a child. She is misinformed if she thinks this about me.
DISCLAIMER: Most of my friends and family disagree that I am even keeping this blog. They want me to state that they have not put me up to this. This blog is my own doppelganger – out to cause more trouble for me than good, I’m sure. But I need an outlet for all the tripe that is being said out there about me.
Also, I lied in this blog. The best thing that happened to me this week was not finding out that Guillermo del Torro would direct The Hobbit, although that is pretty cool. The best thing that happened to me this week was to find out that the Third Circuit Court in Austin, Texas found the actions of the State of Texas against the FLDS in El Dorado to be illegal and unconstitutional.
So anyway, back to Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman”. On top of the plateau, the Furies drive Lord Morpheus to his death. But he is soon reborn in another aspect. Because you can never truly kill a dream.
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