Kissing Cousins Are Hardly a Scandal

It appears that, like so many other times through history, someone's sex life and the incest stigma are once again being used by political opponents.

We're rapidly approaching an election here in the US (actually, early voting is underway in some places), and in addition to the Presidential race and all of the Senate and House of Representative races, there are many, many other state and local offices subject to the election. It can get overwhelming and I especially feel sorry for people here who are not allowed to vote but have to endure so much noise.

An ongoing story out of Florida caught my attention. A week ago, Chris Joseph had a blog entry at browardpalmbeach.com with the headline "Marlene Ross, Boynton Beach Commissioner, Sent Nude Pictures to Cousin, Report Says."

My initial response: So what??? If an adult sends nude pictures to another adult, why is that anyone else's business, unless we're talking about criminal harassment? In addition, it should make no difference that the recipient was her cousin.

Boynton Beach Commissioner Marlene Ross reportedly sent her first cousin nude photos of herself on Facebook. This may have led to her being extorted to vote a certain way.

Wouldn't it have been better to have a headline about extortion allegations, then?

The State Attorney's Office concluded that no extortion was committed. But Ross panicking over the possibility of it reveals that she did, in fact, send some naughty pictures to her cousin.

So? I wonder what kind of sex life, if any, the people who have a problem with this have?

Joseph followed up with anther report about a website calling for her to step down...

"This is NOT about racy photos or an incestuous relationship," the web page reads.

But the page later says...

"Most recently, Ross violated common sense and nature's law by engaging in an inappropriate incestuous relationship with her first cousin, who also happens to be a convicted felon and a cocaine dealer."

What could possibly make the relationship inappropriate is if he is a convicted felon, depending on the felony. That he is her cousin does not make their relationship inappropriate.

None of this is to say I support Ross. I have no knowledge of her performance in her job. All I know about this is that it is ridiculous to criticize an adult for having a relationship with her cousin, or sending him pictures. There are many people in this country who have long, happy marriages with their first cousins, and the bigotry expressed by hateful and ignorant people needs to stop.