To be disturbed by wilfull ignorance around genetic inbreeding?

Both legal and frequently lethal unfortunately.

It’s absolutely forbidden to ever discuss this in my circles, so I’m glad that you brought it up OP.

Apparently it’s racist to imply that cousin marriage is wrong, and that certain countries are made worse because of it. Even if facts and data back up that point.

I don’t talk to anyone about this except my DH, who agrees with me. I hope that the public conversation will become more honest around this.

its a thing. Google GSA

I thought marriage between double cousins (products of two brothers marrying 2 sisters) was already illegal in the UK, although I'm not sure how it's policed, if at all.

Marriage between 2nd cousins being banned as some people are advocating would be difficult, as many people don't even know their second cousins and I believe you share very little DNA with them, unless there is a history of cousin marriages in your family.

I know a woman who is Roman Catholic and her parents were cousins. They had to get a dispensation from the Papal office to marry and this carried the condition that no more cousin marriages were to occur in the descendents for a number of generations.

You misunderstood. 3 children from one brother marry the three children from another brother.

The children of those marriages then also marry each other.

It's a recipe for disaster, it's already costing the NHS and care services and taxpayers a fortune, but we all know that the reason it's not being banned is purely political.

I doubt it’ll be banned, because the communities where it happens are mostly Muslim, and many politicians are terrified of alienating the Muslim vote.

If they're siblings I guess it's not a legal marriage and just a religious ceremony or do they do it abroad?

Your first sentence is categorically incorrect.

The purpose of education is to get a job and prepare for your adult life.
So, traveller boys go into business with their dad's and the girls get married and stay home.
So they don't need an education beyond primary school.
That is perfectly acceptable to the government.
I worked in traveller education and sometimes we had to go to their sites.

Bullshit. Two first cousins are just as likely to have a child with mental/physical disabilities as two strangers on the street.

The issue is generational consanguinity. When the offspring of two cousins has children with another close family member, the likelihood of both being carriers of genetic abnormalities increases.

I work in a community where this is prevalent. It's not just cousin marriages, it goes far beyond that.
Siblings from one family e.g. 3 sisters marrying 3 brothers who are their cousins. The children they grow up and are married. This narrows the gene pool even further.

The product of these marriages in the UK,
If male and disabled are then married to female cousins from abroad who are brought over to essentially be their carers. These ladies have a terrible life but we are seeing more and more getting married, having a child then leaving. Their child is a British citizen and they are then entitled to benefits for the rest of their life. Some would say, a small price to pay.

The reason it won't be banned is purely political.

It has parallels with a grooming gangs, there are too many non-British things we accept in the name of religion and community cohesion. This should go non-stand slaughter should go circumcision of little boys should go.. Frank that shouldn’t just be here.

There is a huge amount more to this though. Indians and Pakistanis weren’t basically from the same country they were broadly spit into religions, casts and tribes. This gap has grown since partition and today they are very different countries.

Then when you compare the economic circumstances of Indians who immigrated vs Pakistanis / Bangladeshis who migrated they look very differently economically and educationally.

the best examples is the Ugandan Indians, who are some of the most economically successful migrants in Europe.

There is a rational reason for an EW response and this has been for centuries in many countries.
Pope Gregory banned first cousin marriages in 590AD. (Although dispensation was given for aristocratic families 🙄 in certain circs)

Brilliant eloquent post.

They weren't first cousins though.

I’m starting to wonder if a lot of the income disparities we see between different asian groups can be explained by this as well. We have a large Pakistani diaspora and in Pakistan cousin marriage is something like over 70% of marriages. Theres a marked difference between Pakistani and Indian income deciles and given no long ago they were basically from the same country this is extremely interesting. Getting rid of cousin marriage may see an improvement in the material wellbeing of people from a Pakistani ethnicity.

https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/work-pay-and-benefits/pay-and-income/income-distribution/latest/

It’s funny how delighted people to are to rant about this. It’s as though they’re delighted there’s an objectively serious reason for their ‘Ew’ response.

It's like grooming gangs where people are willing to defend or hide abhorrent practice because of fear of offence. It is self evident housing marriage leads to genetic abnormalities and the children of these marriages will suffer for their whole lives as well as putting an avoidable burden on the tax payer. We have to move away from this attitude of unquestioning acceptance of cutlures which are essentially against value sets we universally hold including welfare of children and freedom of marriage.

The problem is that if an institution starts campaigning against cousin marriage in a community where such practice is prevalent then there will be inevitable political pressure to stop it.

Nasty and not true

Well no, because theres some evidence that IQ is depressed, even if it’s a few points at a population level thats not great for any group. So it may not warrant spending by the NHS etc but it is no good for the UK to purposely do something that makes any group more disadvantaged.

All mothers risk having disabled children. Repeated first cousin marriage increases that risk but the vast majority of kids will be healthy.

I dont see any advantage in first cousin marriage - my first cousin is a dick - but I have friends in my wider social circle who see it as a good thing in terms of family support and who have chosen to marry a cousin.

This was never really true, in south asia women generally don’t inherit and divorce would just leave you destitute. No woman whether she’s your cousin or not, easily takes wealth away from any of the male line of a family. It’s a nonsense argument.

Plus if it were true we could see that people who marry their cousins are significantly more wealthy. You are more likely to end up poorer because people start suffering from ill health and cognitive damage.

I always thought we couldn't really make it illegal because of the queen and Phillip.

Make it illegal.

The problem with guidance and education is that guidance and education may be against deep rooted and cultural norms. If someone is religious NH S guidance isn't going to change their views of religious dogma or centuries of cultufe.

Not all cultures are equal and we as a country need to move swifter and be more decisive when it comes to calling out practises that are by one the pale.