Truth is more disturbing than fiction

I opened up our local newspaper today, the Daily Herald.

Before I go on, I must remark, for those of you outside Utah, that while our paper serves a community of over 500,000 people, it's not exactly a fount of information regarding world events. But that's what the internet is for, right? The Daily Herald is more for the comics, the coupons, and an occasionally interesting insight into local culture and happenings. It's not bad, it's just not the L.A. Times.

But as I said, I opened the paper this morning, to find, funnily enough, an article reprinted from the L.A. Times. The headline read:

"Big Love" For Real In Lehi

Click here to read the full article.

(Lehi is another town near us. All the towns in our county run together, as suburbs do. It's just a few minutes north of us)

Big Love is the HBO series about a polygamist man and his three wives. It's fiction. Actors play the characters. This type of thing goes on in reality, and in secret, and few people publicize it.

Until now.

Evidently, TLC is soon to air a reality show starring a polygamist man and his three wives and 13 children. It will soon be four wives and three more kids (the fourth wife has three of her own that she'll be bringing to the party. Guess the first husband didn't work out so well, so she's gonna try life with 1/4th of a husband. Sorry. I'm so cynical).

I'm just flabbergasted by this whole thing...in so many ways.

First of all, I'm just thrilled that this is the picture of Utah we're sending out to the rest of the world. Come to Utah! It's the place where you can have as many wives as you want...and no one cares!

It's so ridiculous. I mean, are there polygamists here? Yes. In fact, when Emily's was in 5th grade there were polygamist siblings in her class (same Dad, different Moms). Was it weird seeing said Father at a school play with multiple women sitting by him, leaning on him, holding his hand? Yes. Extremely. Actually downright freaky. We had a hard time watching the play as we couldn't pull our eyes away from the creepy drama playing out in the row in front of us.

I guess I'm just disgusted that people will think this show, "Sister Wives", is how life is here. Yeah, there are polygamists here, just like there are gangs in Chicago, and murderers in Miami, and muggers in New York. But that's not ALL there is in any of those places.

Second of all, we're giving these people a reality show?!? Okay, I get it, reality shows are increasingly about putting the fringe-dwellers of the world front and center. Kind of the modern equivalent of the traveling side-show. But polygamists? Last I checked, having more than one wife is illegal! What's next? A reality show about a drug cartel? (I guess I should check the cable schedule...maybe it's already out there).
I love, too, how the happy husband and wife...and wife...and wife...and...fiancee(?) (is that what you call a soon to be fourth wife?) are posing in their matching outfits, mugging for the camera, as if to say, "Look at us! Don't you wish you were as happy as us? We're not weird! We're not different! And we're photogenic!"

My next great fear is that Kody and his wives will become local celebrities. Or worse, yet, national celebrities. And I'll have the unbridled joy of telling people, "Yeah, I'm from the area where the Sister Wives live. It's quite a thrill."

Can someone just stop the madness?