Posted on 05/03/2008 1:06:46 AM PDT by Politicalmom
A newly released "cultural awareness guide" says FLDS children in Texas state custody have made derogatory comments to "staff of color" and women wearing jewelry.
The guide also indicates that boys taken from the YFZ Ranch have been "upset" over men with facial hair and men who aren't wearing long-sleeved shirts.
The guide was posted Friday on the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Web site. It lists unique cultural and behavioral practices and beliefs of the Fundamentalist LDS Church and is designed to help workers better understand and communicate with the children. Information for the guide was collected from law enforcement and child welfare agencies in Utah and Arizona as well as former FLDS members, said Patrick Crimmins, spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services.
The guide indicated that children, particularly young boys, made "derogatory remarks to staff of color" since they were taken from the ranch. The guide is dated April 22, the same day the first group of about 100 children was taken from a temporary shelter and bused to foster care facilities. All the children have since been placed in such facilities throughout the state.
Carolyn Jessop said she's not surprised at such comments.
"Warren Jeffs has been so racist," she said of the sect's spiritual leader, who is now in an Arizona jail. "What he was programming into kids was scary."
Jessop, who grew up in the FLDS community in southern Utah and Arizona, said some of her children attended Jeffs' private school before she and her eight children escaped the lifestyle. One day her children told her, "If you had as much as a drop of Jewish blood in you, you couldn't enter the kingdom of God," she recalled.
"I said that 'we're in big trouble,' because my patriarchal blessing says the blood of Christ runs through my veins — and he was Jewish," Jessop said.
After leaving the sect and moving to Salt Lake City, she said her children continued to express similar views for a while but "got over it pretty fast."
As to children making negative comments concerning women wearing jewelry, Jessop said jewelry is considered vain and is taboo in the FLDS faith. Pierced ears, too, are frowned upon.
"That's like sinning against God, to maim your body like that," she said.
Also, FLDS men are required to shave and keep their hair short. "To grow a beard is a sign of immorality," Jessop explained.
Attorney Rod Parker, a spokesman for the FLDS Church, said much of the information in the guide comes from critics of the church.
"(FLDS) families are upset because many of these guidelines come from dissidents and the parents have been excluded from the process," he said. "When it comes right down to it, this whole situation is about Texas acting on the basis of anti-FLDS propaganda."
Parker said he didn't know of any insensitive remarks from children, but he questioned the motive of Texas reporting such statements. "To characterize the remarks of a child as derogatory remarks is inherently culturally insensitive," he said.
One of the cultural tips incorrectly lists April 6 as Joseph Smith's birthday, indicating it is the sect's only significant holiday.
Jessop said FLDS members celebrate the birth and resurrection of Christ on that date. "That's also when God's New Year begins," she said. Growing up, she said they also celebrated Pioneer Day on July 24, held a "harvest festival" in the fall, and they used to celebrate Thanksgiving, but "Warren took that away, too."
The guide also indicates the children have minimal contact with media, including "books with fictitious characters."
"Even 'Little House on the Prairie' is out," Jessop said.
She was devastated when her collection of 300 books in her Arizona home was destroyed after Jeffs announced he was banning all literature.
The color red is "not acceptable for clothing" for boys or girls, the guide states. Black Nikes and Crocs shoes of all colors are preferred for girls, except for red Crocs. The guide also indicates FLDS children do not play with red toys.
The red edict also stems from Jeffs, who banned the color after announcing it was reserved for Christ, who would return wearing a crimson robe. "To wear that color before he returned was mocking Christ," she explained.
People reacted differently to Jeffs' red announcement, Jessop said. Some women continued to wear red but didn't replace the clothing with that color once it was worn out, while others immediately threw away all red items, including one woman who ripped out the red rose bushes in her yard and changed them to pink roses.
The guide spells out the unique food preferences of the children, including non-pasteurized milk, whole grain breads, fresh fruit and vegetables, brown rice, no processed foods and snacks and no pork. Beef, chicken and fish are OK, the guide states. "Yogurt, cheese, molasses and almonds (are) used in baby formula," it states.
As for health care, the guide indicates the children have had no immunizations. Jessop said that is based on a conspiracy theory that the government wants to poison the population and make them sterile.
"To the FLDS, that's a huge thing," she said, adding that this is another idea that has changed since she was growing up. "I was immunized," she said. "It's like death not to, with so many children around."
Concerning behaviors, the guide states: "The children appear to cooperate, but may not. They will demonstrate politeness but may disclose little and/or contradictory information. Children in care were initially extremely compliant, but are beginning to 'act out' after separation from parents."
The document also says FLDS children are "socialized to believe that sexual activity with adults is positive."
The six-page document also includes a glossary of terms unique to the group. A "double cousin," for example, is someone who is related to someone else through both their mother's and father's families.
"Kids" is considered an offensive term as members prefer the word "children," the guide states. "Poofers" is a slang term for girls who suddenly disappear in order to take part in an arranged marriage.
Ideally you would think so (monitoring the morality monitors), but the opposite has occurred. Some long time posters have been successfully vaporized by the moving mob. The mob cheers admin on and brags about it in some threads, all gleefully thanking each other when they take another government heretic out.
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