What do you know about arranged marriages?

I live in the United States. My marriage was not arranged. I am glad that it was not arranged. I liked dating and finding the one for me. I like the fact that we had some knowledge of each others likes and dislikes before we got married. I know that I would not like an arranged marriage.

I heard this happens between rich families and royal blood, to keep their wealth and blood lines pure. Sometimes fanatical people do not want their children marry people with different beliefs and traditional people don't like their children marry anyone outside their ethnic. My mother is one of these traditional people who didn't like anything foreign but now she has no choice because I married an English man hehe My dad and my brothers never see this as a problem though. I think in some degrees it's interesting, you will marry someone whom you heard about from your parents, but never really meet and see this person. Sounds like pure adventure, but unfortunately this one is also binding legally so I wouldn't want to be bound with someone I don't know much in the first place.

Well I don't wish to offend anyone here - I know different people come from different cultures, and I value the differences, but personally I am totally against arranged marriages. Love is a wonderful thing - a personal journey, where you meet someone and learn about each other, and eventually decide whether you have enough in common to spend the rest of your life together or not. In my opinion, that love cannot be forced, and you should not be forced to marry someone just because your families have agreed it to be so long before you ever met each other. I know that in some cases nowadays, more liberal families will allow the two people to meet first, and the wedding may not go ahead if there are any really strong objections, but from hm Western point of view, I truly do not see how anyone can really know if they want to spend the rest of their lives together, until they have dated a long time, been alone together, possibly lived together, or at least been on hoiday together. Love is a personal thing - you do it to please yourselves - not your parents or your religious leaders or your family. Everyday here in the UK and the rest of Europe, we hear dreadful stories of "honour killings", where basically young Asian girls who have been bought up and educated in the West, rebel against their parents' choice of husband, and suffer dire consequences. It is tragic. The have got Western friends and been bought up with the freedom we have here, and then suddenly some girls as young as 16 are being "forced" into arraged marriages with men they have never met who are often twice or three times their age, which is litle more than r*pe in my eyes. So sorry - but I really do not agree with it at all.

That over here most don't want to be forced into marriage and a small percent are killed because they marry someone else who the father or family think "isn't good enough" oh we need someone with class and money or it's not good enough. Other than not much but I think it's wrong, unless the women is 100% happy with it. ~Joey

family members select a guy,they investigate,they see his business,his character,his family back ground,if the guy is suitable for their girl they get their daughter married to this guy, Love is blind,they fall in love without any investigation,about the person, one wrong choice will spoil our whole life,this is what i can say,