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The joke writes itself (thelemmy.club)
submitted 2 months ago by to c/slop@hexbear.net
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https://xcancel.com/weimers/status/2072225827169677415

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[–] 3 points 2 months ago (6 children)

My concern are power dynamics. A relationship between 4th cousins that happens entirely by accident is one thing, but for a lot of human history those kinds of relationships were arranged by the parents or by the family patriarch. That's not something we want.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 months ago* (5 children)

    I addressed the issue of power dynamics between first cousins, but I am talking to someone who thinks fourth cousin relationships should be banned. There just is not a higher likelihood of an improper power imbalance in a fourth cousin relationship than between a pair of randoms, absent some extremely unusual family structures. Again, do you even know any of your fourth cousins? I don't even know any of my second cousins! I could sit down, think about it, and tell you all my first cousins, but nothing more distant than that.

    Edit: an arranged marriage doesn't become more problematic if the couple shares a set of great great great grandparents, that's... That is honestly a bizarre thing to say. It's the arranged aspect that is problematic, not a very distant relationship between the couple. The power dynamic of the couple you describe is not in the least affected by the fact that they are fourth cousins.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago

    but I am talking to someone who thinks fourth cousin relationships should be banned.

    They said closer than fourth cousins though? So it's third cousins they're talking about being banned, not fourth cousins.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 months ago (3 children)

    It probably doesn't need to be banned, but maybe monitored? The fact that I don't know any of my fourth cousins is exactly why the first thing that came to my mind was "arranged marriage." Just check, make sure no one got sold to another family for a dowry.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

    But again, the situation would be literally no better without a fourth cousin relationship. The fact that the couple may be fourth cousins is a total red herring, it's got nothing to do with what's wrong with that situation. Yes, a familial relationship is often an aspect of an organised marriage, but selling someone to another family for a dowry with no blood relationship between the couple of any degree is exactly the same as between fourth cousins. I don't know why you are bringing the single shared pair of great, great, great grandparents into the scenario, it simply isn't significant in any way.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 months ago* (1 child)

    Arranged marriages are often between cousins though? It's a way to preserve family wealth and maintain cultural values in small communities and carry on family tradition. Maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions idk it just seems like a red flag to me.

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