Posted by And these are interesting comments. They’re not the only ones. And it is not representative, but they are a lot of qualitative input.
It is hard to make sense of it.
I have become very familiar with Colorado City, Arizona, Warren Jeffs, and the history there. I have been to St. George, Utah and I know about that. I know it sounds arrogant, but I have not read Under the Banner of Heaven (the whole thing) because I think I know the story.
The compounds or colonies are quite similar, including Gold Base, California. New Mexico (Jeffs) too. I have looked for pictures of the LaBaron “colony” and that of the Romney clan (Colonia Dublán), and a third, Colonia Juárez in Chihuahua. This video really helps.
Under an agreement with the Mexican government, the Latter-day Saints purchased 100,000 acres of land and eventually established eight colonias, or towns, in the states of Chihuahua and Sonora.
They are all like army bases. They have patrols; they stop outside vehicles. They are secluded (i.e., protected) from the outside world and involuntarily or not, residents are sequestered. There are no movie theaters, restaurants, sports teams, newspapers, etc. etc.
In Mexico there are reports of digging too many wells and it shows. I wanted to see pictures. Supposedly the colonies have much bigger homes that stick out in the poor countryside.
Mr. Staddon said he had always been surprised at the contrast between the large homes that the Americans and their descendants had built in northern Mexico, and the poverty that surrounded them.
It is all legal. They are not hurting anyone.
Or are they. It is brainwashing. If you care about your children, give them a choice.
I don’t entirely agree, but one comment… They are Mexicans now.