5 ms·

"The real reason we stopped marrying cousins is:..." Perhaps in the majority groups in the West. Certain communities in the UK still widely practice cousin mar

by alva 9y ago

"The real reason we stopped marrying cousins is:..." Perhaps in the majority groups in the West. Certain communities in the UK still widely practice cousin marriage and suffer hugely in genetic abnormalities. They are not constrained by transport, it is a cultural thing that has not yet been updated.

petercooper 9y ago
Two of my great-grandparents were first cousins. We blame every bit of nuttiness in our family on this, whether or not it's fair :-D
- blueblimp 9y ago
  Though close relatives marrying is bad for the children's health, it's actually a slight benefit for the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. Why that's true: The reason inbreeding is bad is that the child is at risk of inheriting two copies of a nasty recessive mutation, in a region of their genome where both versions came from the same recent ancestor. However, if the child goes on to successfully reproduce, it's more likely that they had zero copies than two--and in that case the grandchildren have zero copies, which is good for them.
smellyindian 9y ago
Based on the cultural sensitivity on display, I am going to guess you are Brit, and are referring to the Pakistani rat children? The practice is sometimes constrained by foiling kidnappers at airports, so yes, transport is certainly not a limiting factor at all.
- 2trill2spill 9y ago
  > Pakistani rat children That seems rather harsh. Or is that a real term? Either way it seems like a rather harsh term to call a child.
  - omarqureshi 9y ago
    Yeah, that's not a real term ...
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - Tech-Noir 9y ago
    Reposted since my other posts were repeatedly abusively flagged by "smellyindian"s multiple account/s: He's posting under the fake nick "smelly indian" because he lacks the guts to post this kind of shit under his real account: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=smellyindian https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=smellyindian Admins: please clarify whether it's allowed to highlight racists using fake nicks, or whether doing so simply results in downvotes/flagging.
    - grzm 9y ago
      If you see abuse or suspect fake accounts, the proper response is to email the mods via the Contact link in the footer, and potentially flag the comment. They've repeatedly commented that they take this seriously and look into it.
      - Tech-Noir 9y ago
        Thanks. In future I will just email.
      - smellyindian 9y ago
        Yes, that is the correct course of action. Users with high karma will see a downvote button as well.
    - smellyindian 9y ago
      I assure you I have not flagged (repeatedly, abusively, or otherwise!) your posts in any way. In fact, HN would not allow a new user to do so, only high-karma users have the option of downvoting/moderating. I do not avidly follow discussions about social issues or relatives, marriage, or any combination thereof, and therefore do not wish to confuse my comment history on the main nick. I felt I had some knowledge to share on the matter and so created an account to share it. I do not believe my actions are abusive or dishonest in any way, I simply wish to distance myself from the discussion. Once this anonymous chrome window is closed I won't even remember the password as it was autogenerated. Also, I am not racist, and nor are my comments. Pakistan is a country, not a race. India is a country, not a race. If you mean subcontinental Asians, yes, that could broadly be termed a race. I have other throwaway accounts called nonsmellyindians, it was just a bit longer to type when making a one-time use nick. I am sorry you are offended, and offer my sincere apologies.
- dang 9y ago
  We've banned this account for provoking a senseless flamewar and having a trollish username. Please don't create accounts to break the site guidelines with. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
jrmarc 9y ago
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-23183102 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-23183102 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392217/Muslim-outrage-professor-Steve-Jones-warns-inbreeding-risks.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392217/Muslim-outra... It's noteworthy that it's simultaneously socially unacceptable to criticize Pakistanis for their preference for first cousin marriages, despite the undeniable harm caused by it, and yet it's also socially unacceptable for whites to have the much less incestuous preference for just marrying other whites, despite the absence of harm: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/04/okcupid_and_race_is_it_racist_to_date_only_people_of_your_own_race.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/201...
- foldr 9y ago
  The first article you link to is a BBC news article that says exactly what you claim it is socially unacceptable to say. In the second article, the only people getting outraged are those who've been referred to as "inbred". You can hardly expect them to take kindly to that description.
  - jrmarc 9y ago
    https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/591577/British-Pakistanis-13-times-more-disabled-children https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/591577/British-Pakistanis-... > Baroness Flather said because of 'inbreeding', members of the ethnic group are 13 TIMES more likely than the rest of the UK population to have disabled children. > The Pakistan-born peer has called on the Government to take steps against the issue of unions between close relatives in Muslim communities, which she called an "outdated, un-British custom". ... > She also accused Britain of a "cowardly reluctance to tackle damaging social practices within certain ethnic minorities". > In what has been described as a brave attempt to break a taboo she said there was a fear of "accusations of racial prejudice" which has made the issue "unsayable". > She added: "That is certainly what happened over the disgraceful sex-grooming scandal in Rotherham, in which the civic authorities, including the police and social services, tried to cover up the systematic abuse of more than 1,400 vulnerable girls by predatory gangs of Pakistani heritage men."

by alva 9y ago

petercooper 9y ago

Two of my great-grandparents were first cousins. We blame every bit of nuttiness in our family on this, whether or not it's fair :-D

blueblimp 9y ago
Though close relatives marrying is bad for the children's health, it's actually a slight benefit for the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, etc. Why that's true: The reason inbreeding is bad is that the child is at risk of inheriting two copies of a nasty recessive mutation, in a region of their genome where both versions came from the same recent ancestor. However, if the child goes on to successfully reproduce, it's more likely that they had zero copies than two--and in that case the grandchildren have zero copies, which is good for them.

smellyindian 9y ago

Based on the cultural sensitivity on display, I am going to guess you are Brit, and are referring to the Pakistani rat children? The practice is sometimes constrained by foiling kidnappers at airports, so yes, transport is certainly not a limiting factor at all.

2trill2spill 9y ago
> Pakistani rat children That seems rather harsh. Or is that a real term? Either way it seems like a rather harsh term to call a child.
- omarqureshi 9y ago
  Yeah, that's not a real term ...
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- Tech-Noir 9y ago
  Reposted since my other posts were repeatedly abusively flagged by "smellyindian"s multiple account/s: He's posting under the fake nick "smelly indian" because he lacks the guts to post this kind of shit under his real account: https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=smellyindian https://news.ycombinator.com/threads?id=smellyindian Admins: please clarify whether it's allowed to highlight racists using fake nicks, or whether doing so simply results in downvotes/flagging.
  - grzm 9y ago
    If you see abuse or suspect fake accounts, the proper response is to email the mods via the Contact link in the footer, and potentially flag the comment. They've repeatedly commented that they take this seriously and look into it.
    - Tech-Noir 9y ago
      Thanks. In future I will just email.
    - smellyindian 9y ago
      Yes, that is the correct course of action. Users with high karma will see a downvote button as well.
  - smellyindian 9y ago
    I assure you I have not flagged (repeatedly, abusively, or otherwise!) your posts in any way. In fact, HN would not allow a new user to do so, only high-karma users have the option of downvoting/moderating. I do not avidly follow discussions about social issues or relatives, marriage, or any combination thereof, and therefore do not wish to confuse my comment history on the main nick. I felt I had some knowledge to share on the matter and so created an account to share it. I do not believe my actions are abusive or dishonest in any way, I simply wish to distance myself from the discussion. Once this anonymous chrome window is closed I won't even remember the password as it was autogenerated. Also, I am not racist, and nor are my comments. Pakistan is a country, not a race. India is a country, not a race. If you mean subcontinental Asians, yes, that could broadly be termed a race. I have other throwaway accounts called nonsmellyindians, it was just a bit longer to type when making a one-time use nick. I am sorry you are offended, and offer my sincere apologies.
dang 9y ago
We've banned this account for provoking a senseless flamewar and having a trollish username. Please don't create accounts to break the site guidelines with. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

jrmarc 9y ago

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-23183102 http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-leeds-23183102 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392217/Muslim-outrage-professor-Steve-Jones-warns-inbreeding-risks.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1392217/Muslim-outra... It's noteworthy that it's simultaneously socially unacceptable to criticize Pakistanis for their preference for first cousin marriages, despite the undeniable harm caused by it, and yet it's also socially unacceptable for whites to have the much less incestuous preference for just marrying other whites, despite the absence of harm: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2014/04/okcupid_and_race_is_it_racist_to_date_only_people_of_your_own_race.html http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/201...

foldr 9y ago
The first article you link to is a BBC news article that says exactly what you claim it is socially unacceptable to say. In the second article, the only people getting outraged are those who've been referred to as "inbred". You can hardly expect them to take kindly to that description.
- jrmarc 9y ago
  https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/591577/British-Pakistanis-13-times-more-disabled-children https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/591577/British-Pakistanis-... > Baroness Flather said because of 'inbreeding', members of the ethnic group are 13 TIMES more likely than the rest of the UK population to have disabled children. > The Pakistan-born peer has called on the Government to take steps against the issue of unions between close relatives in Muslim communities, which she called an "outdated, un-British custom". ... > She also accused Britain of a "cowardly reluctance to tackle damaging social practices within certain ethnic minorities". > In what has been described as a brave attempt to break a taboo she said there was a fear of "accusations of racial prejudice" which has made the issue "unsayable". > She added: "That is certainly what happened over the disgraceful sex-grooming scandal in Rotherham, in which the civic authorities, including the police and social services, tried to cover up the systematic abuse of more than 1,400 vulnerable girls by predatory gangs of Pakistani heritage men."