One of the greatnesses of America is that we were a melting pot: we’d take people and practices and ideas from across the world, pack them closely together and let them beat the tar out of each other until some sort of agreement was made.  But sometimes there are cultural practices that are just… horrible. For decades I’ve heard the blee3ding heart-type yap on about how we need to celebrate diversity, that all cultures are equally valid, blah, blah, blah… and then I read stuff like the following, and I remember why I hold those people in such low regard:

Grab and Run: Kyrgyzstan’s Bride Kidnappings

In short:

1) A group of guys get in a car and go drive around town

2) One of the guys spots a woman he wants

3) They grab her off the street, take her to the guys home

4) As soon as they drag her into the kidnappers home, her own family thinks she is “impure,” and if she doesn’t marry the guy, she brings shame to the family.

Gah.