We should bring back arranged marriages
Summary
We should bring back arranged marriages," a straphanger tells Kareem, and the conversation quickly spirals into a surprisingly data-driven defense of ditching love-based matchmaking. The rider points out that 50% of modern marriages end in divorce compared to just 4% of arranged marriages, arguing that shared values beat romance every time. Kareem and his companion riff on the paradox of choice, comparing online dating to a Costco filled with hoes (their words). The straphanger comes from an Indian family where her parents have been happily arranged for over 30 years, though she admits they're "useless" at finding her a match. The conversation takes a bizarre detour into Italian divorce law and cousin crushes before Kareem mercifully cuts it off.
Full Transcript
So, what's your take? We should bring back arranged marriages.
Bring back arranged marriages. 100% agree based on the data. Slay.
Divorce rates are up. Correct.
And everyone's marrying for love or money. Which is wrong? Oh, it's haram. [laughter]
Dating is exhausting. We are fatigued. There's too many options, too many people, too many choices. We're overwhelmed.
The biggest problem in dating right now is the paradox of choice. Exactly. It's like you walk into a Costco and there's so many options that you leave with all of them. And that's how I feel about like hoes on the internet.
Hoes. All hoes. Yeah. Mad hoes and women hoes. Imagine that Costco is filled with hoes.
That's what online dating feels like. Right now, we need to streamline the process. Bring some practicality into it. And you're right, divorce rates, 50% of marriages end in divorce. Do you want to know how many arranged marriages end in divorce? Yes.
4%. Do you think that's cuz they just get lazy and they're like whatever?
No. I think it's because it's founded on shared values and principles and not love. Values and principles and not love.
Yes. Think about, I'm not saying forced marriage. I'm saying arranged marriage. That's very different. In arranged marriage, there is a total propensity for mutual agreement. We could update it so that your parents aren't arranging you, but your friends are.
You get some options. You have a lot of information. You have a lot of data. It's basically the most vetted setup ever. It's kind of nice.
My parents are arranged. I'm Indian. They've been married for over 30 years. So, you have credentials.
So, I have credentials. They have a successful marriage and partnership and I turned out fine. Minimal trauma and I think the only reason why I'm not arranged is because they're useless. They like actually don't know anyone for me. So maybe this is the start of my non-love story.
Well, you're about to get a lot of DMs. So you're going to get arranged. What's the Italian divorce?
Italians in the south were arranged and they were not allowed to get divorced. So in the film The Italian Divorce, he has a crush on his first cousin. This is too long.
I don't care, bro. Bro has a camera on him for 20 minutes. He has a crush on his cousin. He wants to marry his cousin and he can't get divorced because of the the religion in the culture. So he has to imagine killing his wife.
That's a lot for me. The context of