Incesticide

Incest is a word that carries a very negative connotation. The term, aside from reminding me of early Nirvana songs, brings to mind images of that crazy old Austrian bastard Josef Fritzl, who kept his daughter captive for 24 years in a makeshift dungeon and fathered her 7 children. The word evokes such abhorrence that even some die hard pro-lifers are willing to make an exception for a child that is the result of an incestuous coupling. This is because the incest people usually envision is of the Fritzl persuasion – rape. Incest and rape are two different animals, but because they often occur simultaneously people have difficulty in distinguishing between them. Rape is inherently bad, but is incest? If not, what is the big deal?

Incest in the marital sense means 2 people wedded who are closer in relation than the law allows. If society has deemed incest such an unforgivable sin it must be because it is wrong for several reasons. Most people find incest (in the marital and/or sexual sense) understandably gross and absurd. Many people will argue that incest is wrong and that cousins should not be allowed to marry, let alone procreate. Before giving the subject much thought I would have argued that I don’t want cousins breeding and making 12 toed retarded kids, hence marriage between cousins is illegal in every state except Georgia (blame Deliverance for that jab). Wrong.

The truth is that 20 states still allow marriage between first cousins. That was news to me! Wow, must be some weird archaic laws in states that have not caught up with the times, like prohibiting women from wearing pants or some such nonsense. These states will come to their senses because surely there are scientific reasons why this should not be allowed, right? Wrong again.

The numbers I’ve read state that the increased risk of having significant genetic disorders or mental retardation are anywhere from about 2% to 4% higher in children born to first cousins. This does not seem dispositive as to why it should be outlawed. If that is the rationale, than women over 40 should not be allowed to have kids, nor should anyone with any inheritable genetic disorder. Taking this reasoning to its extreme, all marriages should be preceded by genetic testing lest anyone begat a tard. Hell, give everyone an IQ test too, because allowing idiots to reproduce is like opening a tard factory.

If we deem that cousins should not be married because they may have retarded kids, then the real issue is sex. Further, if the idea of marriage is antiquated and therefore irrelevant, the underlying issue still exists. Sex between certain people will result in an increased risk of complications with offspring. Is that a big deal? Is that a big deal only if you are cousins? Is the determination of what is right or wrong different in either situation?

I am left to conclude that society has determined incest is bad because society believes it to be bad. The larger implication is that much of what society has determined to be good or bad may have no real basis other than that is what society believes. The status quo is often accepted because it is the status quo, and not for any other reason. I doubt society will ever get to the point where its cool for consenting adult siblings to hook up, regardless of whether they make 12 toed retarded babies or not. I will never spearhead the movement for equal treatment of incestuous relations, but I will open my eyes a little wider when the values imposed upon me are not my own. The masses may not need more than a consensus, but I do.

-Kissing Cuz