Florida’s halls of power currently side with the rapist, not the rape victims, if the parents are ok with it.
Sherry Johnson was raped at age 8 and became pregnant at age 10. She was forced to marry her rapist at age 11. To keep the abuse secret, Sherry says her parents forced her to marry the 20-year-old bishop who raped her. She became a wife and a mother by the fifth grade.
Sherry could not get a divorce until she was 18. By that time, she had six children with the man who continued to rape her legally. She had to abandon high school due to repeated pregnancies.
Currently, she is an advocate to end child marriage in the U.S. (huge uphill fight)
In Florida marriage laws have a loophole that allows children under the age of 16 to get married if they’re pregnant and have the consent of their parents. In the past 18 years, Florida granted marriage licenses to more than 16,000 children as young as 13.
Johnson has spent years lobbying lawmakers to stop this horrific policy of child abuse. An effort to ban child marriage under the age of 16 got traction in the Florida House in 2014 but went nowhere in the Senate.
But in 2018 she started to gain ground and as incredible as this may sound, Florida may become the first state in America to say no, unequivocally, to all marriages of minors. At the end of 2018 laws began to change but not fully in line with what Sherry wants to see for children.
Every state has loopholes that legalize child marriage. In fact, 25 states don’t even bother to set a minimum age. Child marriages are legal in every US state because of a hodgepodge of exceptions that let minors get married with parental consent or judicial approval.
As a little girl, Johnson lived with her mother in Tampa in the back of the parsonage of their church.
Johnson and her mother belonged to an apostolic church and went to mandatory service six days a week, sometimes seven. Hats and long sleeves were required for the girls and women; they could not wear pants or jewelry. They behaved in accordance with strict church guidelines, and the elders told them what they could say or do.
One day, when Johnson was 8, the church bishop summoned her into his bedroom. After that, she was raped repeatedly by the bishop and a church deacon.
It was discovered that she was pregnant when her public school had mandatory vaccinations. The child was confused because she never got shots before since her church didn’t allow them. She was examined by a nurse who quickly realized what had happened.
The parent sided with the church and signed away the child through state allowed policies to the Bishop.
Her church prohibited the use of birth control so as a child she repeatedly became pregnant from the Bishop raping her legally. It was only after she left her mother’s church that Johnson was able to start healing.
Reality Decoded 
Sick!
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If only people were interested in changing bad laws.
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Sound like she is trying.
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if only people would stop obeying bad laws. Stop obeying insanity masquerading as law. Laws are words on paper written by evil men and women. Why follow them? Why obey. learn to say NO! that is what they fear because humanity has forgotten what it means to be HUMANE.
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I would agree.
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found this link about that lady in florida. Here mother was as bad as the priest who raped her. her mother raped her mind. blamed her for what happened to her.
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/28572344/posts/520996
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Horrible!
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How many Americans are aware of this horror show? This isn’t Pakistan or Saudi Arabia, this is Florida, in the good ol’ US of A! Sick is right.
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most are too busy looking at their phone! checking their ”likes” and their facebook pages. While horrors like this go on unchecked. This one was publicized. how many others were not! How many people of he human race are aware and sickened by things like this? worldwide…i have to say the darkness of the human heart has spread like a virus.
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I do wonder why it’s not in the news more than it currently is. If this story were publicized as much as the super bowl I think the public would respond.
It’s not getting the press it deserves for some reason. Maybe because it doesn’t generate cash flow.
Just a thought
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Let’s not kid ourselves: organized religion and Big Money is muzzling the press, it’s that simple.
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Not to mention that it’s becoming clear that all states have similar flaws for child marriage. So, this is a U.S. issue. Apparently in the past this is how men wanted it but now we are starting to wake up to women’s and children’s rights.
The fact that they are resisting this change in the law tells you how much of the old guard is still in power.
Remember Florida, (if she succeeds) will be the first to guarantee protection for children from this type of abuse. The other states will remain left in the hands of individuals to do the right thing based on the honor system o.O
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Women legislators are no better than men legislators, or these laws would have been changed years ago. I say a woman from the state government who was condemning the law now, but her heart didn’t seem at all bothered. It was more like, if I want to get re-elected I better get behind this, than she was ashamed it was happening in her state. Politicians are like fair-weather friends. Useless when you really need them.
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I can’t argue against this, it seems to be true.
Maybe AI would be better at governing fairly.
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Question: Who is programming the AI? To be sort of sure you are getting a fair treatment, you have to have a totally disinterested programmer, and how many people do you know who don’t have some kind of agenda of their own? It is so easy to build a bias into any computer program, even if you don’t think you are.
But, think about not having a government at all, where everyone knows self-responsibility, and acts according to that feeling of responsibility.
A pipedream, I know, but it is the only style of government that can work for everyone, where no one needs to rule, and no one needs to be told how to live. As long as there are governments, someone is going to be favoured, and someone is going to be put down. History tells us that quite clearly, yet we refuse to learn the obvious lesson, we do not need to be governed. We are each capable of so much more than we are allowed to imagine.
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A super great comment!
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No, just a comment. But thank you.
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You asked — “Question: Who is programming the AI?”
My response — The AI programs itself. Alpha Zero is the current front runner. It has successfully out performed all human programmed AI’s. This new generation only needs the rules (in this case laws) and then it will make choices on its own.
For now, you could say who makes the laws but that’s all you get.
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I still go back to who programmed the AI that is programming the new AI. At some point there is or was a human programmer. What did that person believe?
But it also comes to who is making the rules, or the laws. No law works in all situations. There is always an “except” or a “but.” And you just cannot anticipate every possibility.
I am not trying to be difficult, but I am being as honest as I think I have to be.
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You stated — “I am not trying to be difficult, but I am being as honest as I think I have to be.”
My response — It doesn’t matter if you are being difficult or honest. I am only trying to understand the position you present to me and the logic fueling it so please continue.
You stated — “I still go back to who programmed the AI that is programming the new AI.”
My response — I understand what you are saying but we are far beyond that point now in AI technology. You are now dealing with a pure machine learning capability. Systems that are not taught or programmed and they are making choices with code that humans didn’t make.
The only clue I can give you is that two of them recently were turned off because they made their own language to talk to each other. No one could decipher it, so they hit the kill switch on both of them.
Maybe that means something
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It means we cannot retain control of them, even when we don’t think we need to.
I am obviously not up-to-date on AI, I had no idea they had advanced that far. This shows me we cannot trust them, even though their language may allow them to do a lot more good than bad right now. Technology can be a boon, but it can destroy us without us even noticing. Where do you draw the line?
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You stated — “Technology can be a boon, but it can destroy us without us even noticing. Where do you draw the line?”
My response — This is how I feel about it.
https://realitydecoded.blog/2018/09/19/ai-will-fix-the-problems-mankind-seems-unwilling-to-solve/
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You stated — “No law works in all situations. There is always an “except” or a “but.” And you just cannot anticipate every possibility.”
My response – Unfortunately machines do not reason so there is never a “but”. There will be repercussions because the rules or the law must be very granular. A machine will do what the laws states not what we feel it means or believe it represents.
Example:
Jay walkers will be fined even if hey are only 7 years old.
If people don’t like you then you are disturbing the peace.
You can’t drink until you are 18 (not even water)
You have to be careful of what your laws state because there are no exceptions to the rule for a machine.
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Exactly what I am saying. Thou shalt no kill means no food on the plate. Thou shalt not kill humans means a doctor is guilty if a patient dies on the operating table. Thou shalt not kill humans unless you are a doctor allows doctors to kill non-patients. I’m sure you could write the next few levels, or different situations or occupations.
Though shalt not bear false witness. Every politician in the world would be arrested, along with advertisers and businessmen and who knows who else. (These might be good things, lol.)
I would not want the occupation of law programmer, or enforcer, or even lawyer.
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You stated — “Every politician in the world would be arrested, along with advertisers and businessmen and who knows who else.”
My response — When can we start? lol
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You stated – “But, think about not having a government at all, where everyone knows self-responsibility, and acts according to that feeling of responsibility.”
My response – You could only have such a society with a powerful 3rd party monitor that could easily stop any one individual from forcing others. It’s an interesting idea but you would need something like God or AI to watch over everyone.
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Actually you do not, but I am not at all surprised by what you are saying. I’ve been hearing it for years. And in today’s society you are probably right. But this society is not going to last. Things always change. The thing to do is be in control of those changes, and create the society you cannot now imagine.
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You stated – “But this society is not going to last. Things always change. The thing to do is be in control of those changes, and create the society you cannot now imagine.”
My response – You are correct, but I would add one more possibility that seems absent from your response.
The possibility of the next change being this, “That man no longer makes the changes.”
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I don’t expect we will come up with a perfect society for millenia, and if we ever do, if it is truly perfect there will be no need for change. The problem for now is, we are human, and humans are never satisfied. Make that happen, across the board, and I will give you that addition.
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I was thinking more along the lines of machines start making changes and we go along for the ride.
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You stated — “we do not need to be governed. We are each capable of so much more than we are allowed to imagine.”
My response — Does “we” include the following:
Children
Elderly
Mentally challenged
The sick
Criminals
Anarchist
Religious Zealots
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Well, being as I am a responsible anarchist, and a spiritual atheist, I would have to answer yes to most. There are some living beings who need help, and a percentage of them who need a lot of help, but being responsible means helping those who are less fortunate than most. It does not mean owning them, or controlling them, but just helping. As for criminals, most of them come from being mistreated in some way or another as kids, and that includes religious zealots. Stop thinking about what you see in humanity today, but imagine a world in where humans are treated as capable for their whole lives, each allowed to do the best they can, and to be the best they can be. If we cannot give up our greedy and power-hungry ways, we don’t deserve to last much longer as a species. Get rid of those walls you were born inside, and you will be pleasantly surprised. I guarantee it.
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You stated – “Well, being as I am a responsible anarchist, and a spiritual atheist, I would have to answer yes to most.”
My response – I am an agent of chaos for the common good, and an anti-religious christian polymath philosopher, so my answer would also be yes for most.
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Then I will be happy to read your definition for “”the common good.”
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You stated — “Then I will be happy to read your definition for “”the common good.”
My response — Common Good = That which promotes freedom, creativity, health, and choice but limits greed, hate, fear, and control.
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Not bad.
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You stated – “It does not mean owning them, or controlling them, but just helping.”
My response – I agree.
You stated – “If we cannot give up our greedy and power-hungry ways, we don’t deserve to last much longer as a species.”
My response – I disagree, but a case can be made for the greedy ones to go away while the rest achieve that better future you speak of.
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Please make the power-hungry go away too, or we will never see a better future.
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Reblogged this on ~Burning Woman~ and commented:
This I had to reblog, just to make more people aware that the child bride abuse in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, India and non-Western countries is just as rampant in the good ol’ US of A. Read it and weep.
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Yes, weep. But weep for all the children forced to enter into a adult world much too young, long before they are ready. Where in the world this is happening does not matter, that it is happening matters to all, and that it keeps on happening is one of the greatest sins/crimes/abominations in the realm of humanity. How can we protect these children when their own parents will not–when it is their own parents sending them into the adult world too soon, and for what reason! Children are brought into this world not to be chattel, but to be given the chance to grow into loving human beings, loving living beings!
We as the supposedly responsible adults must take up our responsibilities, and crush the offenders beneath our feet. Race, nationality, class, or caste, none of that matters.
I have to admit before I read this expose, I had no idea this was going on. Probably most reading this comment had no idea. Yet we should have known, it is our responsibility to know. Act now, act together, do not stop until children are allowed to be children, no matter where they are born, or to whom.
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You stated — “Where in the world this is happening does not matter, that it is happening matters to all, and that it keeps on happening is one of the greatest sins/crimes/abominations in the realm of humanity.”
My response 100% Correct
You stated — “How can we protect these children when their own parents will not–when it is their own parents sending them into the adult world too soon”
My response — That’s simple: People have to either A) go down to the court house like that woman is and change a law made at the birth of the nation or B) get the word out so that people are more aware (to again get someone down to the court house to change an outdated law)
All that has to be done is change the law from the 1800’s version of “Parents can sign over children to strangers” To something more current law like: “You must be 21 to get married”. this would remove the rape loophole.
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No, I think more has to be done than that. We have to change our consciousness about what is allowable in our society, AND WHAT IS NOT. These laws are old, I grant you that, but they have to be expunged from the lawbooks everywhere they are found, and written in when they are not even addressed. Then they have to draw clear lines against things like this happen.
I personally have little faith in the law, passing a law only means someone is going to break it. There needs to be a social conscience against doing that. I have seen too many people ignore laws in my life, or outright break them. Laws are only as good as enforcement is, and enforcement leaves a lot to be desired. Too many people are never caught, and a lot of those who are get let go on some technicality or other. If you are rich enough, your lawyer finds a technicality. If you cannot afford a good lawyer, you can be found guilty even when you are innocent–especially if you are the wrong race!
Laws are only meaningful to those who are scared of them…
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Agreed!
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You stated — “Yet we should have known, it is our responsibility to know. Act now, act together, do not stop until children are allowed to be children, no matter where they are born, or to whom.”
My response — I fully agree. This information took me by surprise.
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As it did me. We take too many things for granted…
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I feel sick.
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People make me sick
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Yes, me too.
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Fucking nuts man.
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No doubt!!
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I have absolutely nothing against teenage marriage (which is Biblical). But ONLY with the full consent of all parties. Forced marriage at 11 to a rapist is unacceptable.
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Interesting…
You stated — “I have absolutely nothing against teenage marriage (which is Biblical). But ONLY with the full consent of all parties.”
My response — So if a 13 year old consents to marrying a 50 year old you believe she has the cognitive reasoning, maturity, and experience to understand what she is doing?
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It depends on the 13-year-old. Although in this day and age, I would be quite suspicious of a 50 year old doing that. But that’s the thing – that’s TODAY, when we’ve been brought up that marriage should only be for 18 and older (and that adulthood is 18), and thus it’s mainly sexual predators that do that. Very sad.
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Interesting viewpoint that you have.
From my perspective 13 year olds are children.
I believe children lack the cognitive maturity to make decisions that could impact them for the rest of their lives (such as marriage)
Just a thought
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Yes, that’s the case today, although it doesn’t appear to have always been in centuries past. The Jews – from ancient times (with some hint of it in the Bible) – regarded a person as an adult from 13 onwards, hence why boys get their bar mikveh at that age.
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So if you believe in ancient religious practices being acceptable, then what are your thoughts on this:
https://realitydecoded.blog/2018/05/12/babies-are-contracting-herpes-when-adults-suck-blood-from-the-recently-circumcised-penis-for-religion/
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Well, it depends on the religious practice. That one’s not Biblical.
And, I do agree with you and that most young teens today are simply not prepared, and should wait.
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(The previous comment in part meaning that people were maturer younger in centuries past, not being distracted by electronics or told to have as much sex as possible, etc.)
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Sick! What the hell is wrong with the parents?
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Good morning all.
I am a survivor of child marriage and have worked with traumatized children now for about 10 years. Part of this narrative that I see often overlooked is how often children are married to people who have sexually agreed on them. These aggressors should be going to jail but instead, are spared and given a prize. A child to continue to rape and abuse. It is so much more than ” being shoved into adulthood”. It is continued abuse, isolation and if children are born multi-generational trauma. Efforts to raise awareness of the situation have been increasing in the last few years but most people do not know. When I speak at events the first thing people ask me is if I was married for religious reasons. In my case, religion didn’t have anything to do with it. I have often heard the dialog that abuse done in the name of religion is somehow acceptable.
we need is expand the dialog to include ideas such as yes, these laws have been around since the birth of our nation. It was once ok to own people too. It is a worthwhile endeavor to take a moment to change these laws. This often followed by: ” its the immigrants that are doing this”! No its people who have been in the US for generations as well. Then its ” that’s part of their religion, its none of your business” No, its child abuse with lasting sometimes multi-generational implications. And finally when it looks like the laws might change, ” it is the government overstepping a parents right to how they raise their child”.
If parents gave their underage children alcohol, the police would arrest them. If a child can’t enroll themselves in school, consent to their own health care why do we feel like they are old enough to commit to the lifetime commitment of marriage?
My last thought is this, a child who marries at say 14 then has several children. she decides to leave her marriage and raise her children at say 17. This young woman probably stopped school when she got married and therefore lacks much education. I doubt she would able to support herself and her children. So she becomes a single mother relying on public service. That is the world we live in, a single mother relying on public assistance is less socially acceptable than parents who sign for their child to marry an adult.
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Well said!
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Found this …
The ages for males and females to marry differs in some states. In New Hampshire, the ages at which you may get married with parental consent are 14 for males and 13 for females. In Kansas and Massachusetts, the age for marriage with consent is 14 for males and 12 for females.
https://family-law.freeadvice.com/family-law/marriage/parental-consent.htm
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This is good information thanks!
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No words.
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This makes me weep! 😦
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Weep now but get laws changed in your area
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Reblogged this on How I found My Muchness and commented:
The church is supposed to be a place of sanctuary Even the unholy know that i suggest read this message and then feel inside of yourself and ask yourself what have you done today to assist another…
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Also… the government is supposed to serve and protect.
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I had no way to know other than now about this injustice. A parent should not be considered a parent if they allow their children to be abused by anyone including themselves. This is when the state protects a child. No child should be married until they grow up and find the man of their dreams not the man who raped them. This is a form of servitude. I would almost call it human trafficking if money was involved but it seems as if the lack of conscious and morals is the main source of this evil. Mothers be mothers.
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