The world is apparently devolving, as the Rule of Reason gives way to superstition and folly that masks itself as wisdom, tolerance, and respect for diversity. AP:

A Malaysian villager who took a second wife has been ordered by a court to compensate his first wife and their children with a buffalo and a pig, an official said Wednesday.

The Native Court in Penampang district on Borneo island annulled the man’s 10-year marriage to his first wife and granted her custody of their three children Tuesday, said District Native Court Chief Innocent Makajil, who presided over the panel deciding the case.

“It is a symbolic punishment because he violated his people’s customs by marrying more than once,” Makajil said by telephone. The identities of the couple are not being revealed due to a request by the wife, Makajil said.

The man, a self-employed 30 year old, is from Borneo’s Kadazan-Dusun indigenous community. His second wife, whom he married earlier this year, is a Muslim, and he converted from Christianity to Islam, Makajil said.

We are reminded of the story of the rich Westerners who want to prevent the poor people in a Romanian town from mining their own gold. Perhaps those Westerners, with their exquisite consciences, would prefer the Romanians to live like the Kadazan-Dusun’s. After all, “the poor are just as happy as the rich because they smile more.” Can the West recover in time to stave off disaster?

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 2:17 am and is filed under General, idiots!, radical chic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.