Hasidic leader found guilty of molesting teenage girl

[minionofmidas]

Could one not argue that a culture which generally is less hierarchal and preaches less respect for authority and more freedom of the individual should be less likely to display things like this?

Not really. "Generally" in all such questions is perfectly irrelevant, it's the details that count. A society that is "generally" less "hierarchical" is not necessarily less likely to include situations of total control with no oversight.
Just ask yourself how many teenagers bore their fathers and older brothers children in the old rural world where every man's house was his castle free from government intrusion.

[MaxQue]

Sure, it's much better to pretend to be tolerant than to accept there is a lot of problems with Hasidics.

Their lifestyle isn't compatible with Western laws and standards.

Could you elaborate on that please?

Their schools are illegal in Quebec and they refuse to respect the programs.
They have 5 days of Torah studying and one day of English and Maths. No science
That's obviously a way of dumbing down kids to keep them under control.

That is one example of how their backwards ways are incompatible with the freedoms and liberty of Western World.

You lost me on the last part. They are backward, so we have to ban their schools and force them to educate their children the way we want?.... in the name of freedom & liberty?

I don't follow.

In my view of things, Government first role is to protect its citizens.
And those kids really need protection. Those kids deserve to be able to have the same opportinuities than other kids, that is impossible under that lifestyle.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I'm fine with freedom of religion.  But, freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom to create your own laws or act like you own the people who were born into your sect.  Obviously, we want to respect any individual choosing to adopt this lifestyle.  That changes when religion leaders demand the ability to control other people.

EXACTLY. In fact that's not freedom of religion, it's the exact opposite. It's downright abhorrent to have one set of laws (or even not de jure laws but societal standards) for people in general and another for people who happen to be born in a certain tradition.

Just from personal experience, the Hasidim in my part of Brooklyn don't tend to show a lot of respect for the freedom of non-Hasidic people.  They have their own vigilante police, they violate housing laws constantly, they go nuts about women riding bicycles or dressing provocatively and they make inflammatory anti-Israel statements.

Yeah that's what I've heard. One guy on another forum who lives in Brooklyn (raised Reform Jewish, now atheist) jokes about how he wants to walk through their neighborhoods on the Sabbath eating a bacon cheeseburger because of their attitudes toward everyone else (which includes normal Jews as well).

Sure, it's much better to pretend to be tolerant than to accept there is a lot of problems with Hasidics.

Their lifestyle isn't compatible with Western laws and standards.

Could you elaborate on that please?

Their schools are illegal in Quebec and they refuse to respect the programs.
They have 5 days of Torah studying and one day of English and Maths. No science
That's obviously a way of dumbing down kids to keep them under control.

That is one example of how their backwards ways are incompatible with the freedoms and liberty of Western World.

You lost me on the last part. They are backward, so we have to ban their schools and force them to educate their children the way we want?.... in the name of freedom & liberty?

I don't follow.

In my view of things, Government first role is to protect its citizens.
And those kids really need protection. Those kids deserve to be able to have the same opportinuities than other kids, that is impossible under that lifestyle.

Pretty much this, yes. Someone born into this does not have freedom (look at the girl in question in the article and the other one in the later article) and that shouldn't be just tolerated by society.