The Whitaker Family: The Haunting Effects of Inbreeding
Welcome back from today we are discussing an unusual family of Virginia. It’s enough to make someone disgusted just starting to think about incest. I’m not making a reference towards the HBO series Game of Thrones. I’m talking about the real world, a particularly awful reality. Are you familiar with the Whitaker family? This family is considered as Odd, West Virginia’s most famous inbred family.
So if you didn’t have any idea about this family then we have covered everything you need to know about this famous family of Virginia. Keep on reading further to find out what has actually happened to this family.
The Whitaker family belongs from Odd, West Virginia, and without any doubt is America’s very well inbred family. Due to the Whitakers’ secrecy and the security, they receive from neighbors, friends, and local authorities, we know next to nothing about them. Mark Laita is the one who brought this family into everyone’s consideration.
When Mark Laita photographed the family for his book Created Equal in 2004, he managed to bring them worldwide attention. As he tried to photograph the family, he received death threats from neighbors and had to explain himself before locals permitted him to continue. In 2020, Laita paid one other visit to the Whitaker family, that he recorded in a viral video.
The Inbreeding of Whitaker’s Family Might Have Caused Their Physical and Mental Defects
Due to the overall Whitaker family’s secrecy, capturing their ancestors is nearly impossible. As ethical barriers prevent the collection of family data without permission, researchers rely on self-reported inbreeding to generate family trees. We see Mark interact with Ray, Lorraine, and Timmy throughout his 2020 interview with the Whitaker family. As they are suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness, the three are unable to provide coherent responses.
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The family lives in a run-down house and appears disorganized, giving a sad tone to the video. The members of the family are unlikely to work, and given the low average annual salary in southwestern West Virginia, we believe the family is trying to make ends meet.
To show his good intentions, Mark Laita decided to offer the Whitaker family food and money. He says in his letter: He brought them pizzas and cold drinks and treated them well, which also goes a long way in southwestern West Virginia, where the average annual income can be as low as $12,000. He said that it was his fourth visit, and each time he has given the family a monetary gift.”
Inbred offspring have relatively low cognitive capabilities and lung function, and are more prone to disease in general, according to a Discover Magazine report. Inbred children are also ‘at a significant risk of rare recessive genetic disorders,’ as per the study. The Whitakers have yet to be examined by medical experts, but many assume that their health problems are due to inbreeding. Mark Laita expresses his thoughts as follows:
“Apart from Timmy, who seems to be a cousin, all of the people in this video are brothers and sisters.” He had no way to know whether the Whitaker parents were connected, but given that this happens in this part of the country and that the Whitakers are the most extreme case one can see so far. He also added that inbreeding was at least partly responsible for Freddie, Lorraine, Ray, and Timmy’s mental and physical abnormalities.”
The conversation of the Whitakers is an interesting puzzle that we may never solve. We have really no choice but to contemplate until the family reveals its past. Meanwhile, Mark Laita issues a warning to all the curious visitors: “He strongly advises everyone looking for the Whitakers to avoid doing so as their armed neighbors and Raleigh County deputies have both mentioned that curious visitors are not welcome.”
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