In July 1953, Arizona Governor Howard Pyle ordered police action against the Fundamentalist Mormons in the remote village of Short Creek. Pyle told the public he wanted “to protect the lives and futures of 263 children” in a community “dedicated to the production of white slaves.” The raid was an expensive failure and cost Pyle his office. In April 2008, Schleicher County, Texas authorities raided the 1700-acre YFZ Ranch and seized 439 FLDS children with almost identical justification and results. Both raids played to the same stereotypes, drove the FLDS inward, and were financial disasters for the states. Didn’t anybody read history?

Ken Driggs