Joshley 18: Another Summer, Another (Threatened) Lawsuit

[Kittikatz]

On 11/08/2016 at 9:27 AM, JesSky03 said:

I feel so sorry for those girls. When I was 14-15 my friend's dad slipped us ambien (at least 2-3 times) and potentially touched us while we were sleeping. He also had hidden cameras all around the house, including the bathroom. Anyway, I had no idea that I was drugged (though I did remember hallucinating a bit as I was fighting to fall asleep not knowing what was working in my system) , videotaped naked, or possibly molested until his house was raided and all the cameras were found. It didn't really affect me too badly, I didn't know how to feel about it because I had no memory of anything happening. His short sentencing pissed me off. I had a small panic attack when he came in to where I worked and I was the only one around to help him. Anyway, so that was 10+ years ago but I was recently reminded of it. I haven't been sleeping well and my doctor was talking to me about options, including ambien. It kind of hit me that oh yeah, I have taken it before without my knowledge, and I have experienced what happens when you don't go to sleep right away when taking it. Just kind of me feel icky and a little weird about taking it again. So to think of those girls having to be forced to forgive him, and then continue to live with him and act like it doesn't affect them at all? Or to say it's all in the past and everyone has moved on? Ugh I just want to shake those two idiot parents until they figure out the type of damage they are doing to their children's psyche. Josh should have been sent to Jesus jail permanently long ago. 

I'm so sorry that you went through that JesSky. People that hurt children should be locked away from society for the duration of their lives. I just wanted to say that you aren't alone, and that I get how it sticks with you even if the memories aren't fully there, and how and how the feelings can creep back in at odd times. For me, the abuse happened when I was around 5 - 6, and when I tried to tell my mother, I didn't have the right words, so she told me "don't be silly, x wouldn't do that", and I stayed silent. Thankfully, x moved away, but it all came home to roost when I was sent to stay with my abuser and his wife when I was sixteen. New city, different country and having to repress constant panic attacks and act normal. It was psychologically brutal, and it didn't last all that long. I can't imagine what it would be like for the Duggar girls to actually have to live with their abuser and pretend "everything is fine" for years. There are no words for how useless/evil/self centred the Duggar parents are....

[Dandruff]

On 8/12/2016 at 5:56 PM, nst said:

I hope Anna is now where near a camera spewing her stuff in the new season

I think she'll be on camera, behaving as though Josh just doesn't happen to be nearby.  Maybe she'll say something like "We're keeping busy with a new car lot".

I just hope, if she and/or the M-kids are on the show, that the checks aren't made out to Josh.

[Bad Wolf]

Even if the checks are made out to Anna, I think Josh will still be in control. I can't see Anna opening up her own account and giving Josh an allowance.

[patsymae]

37 minutes ago, Dandruff said:

I think she'll be on camera, behaving as though Josh just doesn't happen to be nearby.  Maybe she'll say something like "We're keeping busy with a new car lot".

I just hope, if she and/or the M-kids are on the show, that the checks aren't made out to Josh.

Alas I think she'll be giving marriage advice and talking about babies (notice it's never about raising kids past the baby stage) to Jinger

[HarleyQuinn]

When did Joshley delete his IG? I just noticed it was gone.

[halcionne]

3 hours ago, HarleyQuinn said:

When did Joshley delete his IG? I just noticed it was gone.

I hadn't even missed it, lol! Apparently it's been gone for at least a month:

http://www.inquisitr.com/3342784/josh-duggars-instagram-disappears-taking-with-it-gop-political-selfies/

[Fundie Bunny]

Oh shit. That's why Jessa was following 38 people but only 37 appeared on her list. I was getting insane thinking about it

[Buzzard]

8 hours ago, halcionne said:

I hadn't even missed it, lol! Apparently it's been gone for at least a month:

http://www.inquisitr.com/3342784/josh-duggars-instagram-disappears-taking-with-it-gop-political-selfies/

So sad... good thing we have the "best of" archived here!

[December]

On 8/22/2016 at 10:57 PM, halcionne said:

I hadn't even missed it, lol! Apparently it's been gone for at least a month:

http://www.inquisitr.com/3342784/josh-duggars-instagram-disappears-taking-with-it-gop-political-selfies/

I'm surprised nobody's posted here about it before! I thought a number of FJers followed them all on Instagram! 

I think the Inquisitr article is right though... Instagram probably has the most potential for Nike content (and Nike exchanges of messages) out of all social media besides maybe Snapchat. That probably has something to do with it. Then again, I don't really believe that Josh would be allowed to even access online accounts at this point (pretty sure Jim Bob would have those under lock and key), so who knows. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's a move to preserve the brand, especially if they're gonna test the waters with adding him / Anna and the kids back into the show. 

[infooverload]

Anyone think the pressure on Josh and Anna to have a reconciliation baby may have faded due to Jessa ' s pregnancy and Jinger's engagement. I know we got a generic we are working on things and everything is peachy from Anna. There are just so many unanswered questions. So many pinks elephants looming in the background which are way more interesting than what they are showing, seems to be the standard M.O.

[Childless]

5 hours ago, infooverload said:

Anyone think the pressure on Josh and Anna to have a reconciliation baby may have faded due to Jessa ' s pregnancy and Jinger's engagement. I know we got a generic we are working on things and everything is peachy from Anna. There are just so many unanswered questions. So many pinks elephants looming in the background which are way more interesting than what they are showing, seems to be the standard M.O.

If the pressure is off, then good.  The last thing they need is to add a new baby into that mess.  In fact, for the mental health of Josh and the good of what shreds of marriage they have left, it's probably best if they stop having kids altogether.  It's not as if their family is small right now.

[imokit]

6 hours ago, infooverload said:

Anyone think the pressure on Josh and Anna to have a reconciliation baby may have faded due to Jessa ' s pregnancy and Jinger's engagement. I know we got a generic we are working on things and everything is peachy from Anna. There are just so many unanswered questions. So many pinks elephants looming in the background which are way more interesting than what they are showing, seems to be the standard M.O.

NO

A baby proves Josh & Anna are both doing the married thing properly.

Plus babies are gifts from God.  A baby means God gave them a present, so he had to have forgiven Josh in order to do so.

[PracticeMakesProgress]

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that the most honorable thing (in a very limited pool of choices) would be for Josh to leave Anna? I mean, don't give her the choice to "keep sweet?"

Yes, I know she has no skills, education, and 4 kids, etc., etc., but it would potentially be a very temporary shit situation for a potentially greater one? And then, no one could fault her if Josh fell away, left the fold, turned his back on his husband duties, blah, blah, blah...

I also know that this culture always blames the woman for the man's indiscretions, but if he would just publicly defect, then there's some element of that which makes Anna blameless. Like, "I've done all I can, and he chose the darkness..."

She has family members that have seen the light on the other end, perhaps they could help her connect to ex-fundies and fundy lites who understand the ridiculousness of her situation, and give her credit for attempting to keep it together in the worst of arenas. 

I don't know, as stated, there really isn't a magic solution in all of this nonsense. I guess I'm just projecting, because if I was stuck with a man who privately and publicly humiliated me, our children, and has been royally screwing up his entire life, while picking specs out of the eyes of others (biblical reference, FTW!), I would crawl through the 5 football fields of sewage, for the promise of freedom on the other side (shawshank reference, FTW!) 

[Jana814]

I fell like if Anna was to leave Josh and take the kids with her, their would be people who would be willing to help get on her feet. 

[LadyCrow1313]

8 minutes ago, PracticeMakesProgress said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that the most honorable thing (in a very limited pool of choices) would be for Josh to leave Anna? I mean, don't give her the choice to "keep sweet?"

Yes, I know she has no skills, education, and 4 kids, etc., etc., but it would potentially be a very temporary shit situation for a potentially greater one? And then, no one could fault her if Josh fell away, left the fold, turned his back on his husband duties, blah, blah, blah...

I also know that this culture always blames the woman for the man's indiscretions, but if he would just publicly defect, then there's some element of that which makes Anna blameless. Like, "I've done all I can, and he chose the darkness..."

She has family members that have seen the light on the other end, perhaps they could help her connect to ex-fundies and fundy lites who understand the ridiculousness of her situation, and give her credit for attempting to keep it together in the worst of arenas. 

I don't know, as stated, there really isn't a magic solution in all of this nonsense. I guess I'm just projecting, because if I was stuck with a man who privately and publicly humiliated me, our children, and has been royally screwing up his entire life, while picking specs out of the eyes of others (biblical reference, FTW!), I would crawl through the 5 football fields of sewage, for the promise of freedom on the other side (shawshank reference, FTW!) 

And given the state of the Fundie-life that she's in, she'd need about 50 rock hammers the size of a sledgehammer to dig herself  and the kids out.

Shawshank Redemption is an excellent movie; the actual story was a bit different, of course, but it's one of the rare Stephen King stories-made-into-a-movie that did a good job.

And with regards to acting honorably, Josh wouldn't know how to act honorably if his life depended on it. Actually, let me rephrase that: he'd act "honorably" in the way that Daddy advises/feels a caution/tells him to.

[CreationMuseumSeasonPass]

But Josh being the one to break away first would mean he actually would have to put in a hard day's work just to get afloat. And you know he's not about to do that. At least for the moment.

Right now, he's probably living free under his parents' roof, getting free childcare from his sisters and being a sleazy car salesman for work.

He already damaged the family's brand so bad, if he divorced Anna, he would ruin any Duggar financial support system he currently has.

My reasoning is that if he cut ties with her, he's turning his back on the Duggars' ideals of Christian marriage and fully letting the devil build a fortress inside his heart. In their eyes, a divorce would mean he just gave up on their lifestyle. He won't do that.

[Hera]

Josh leaving (either Anna or even just fundie land) would take far more introspection, courage, honor and, of course, hard work than he appears to be capable of doing. Part of that is on the way he was raised, but more of it is on the fact that at Josh's core, he's basically an entitled asshole.  

Even if he weren't a fundie, I think he'd be the sleazeball that objectified women, cheated on his girlfriend(s) and treated them badly until they left him, and mooched off of his parents and friends until forced out. Oh, wait...

Anyway, I don't think Josh cheated and has (had?) an inflated opinion of himself because he was raised fundie, per se. But do think I think he wouldn't have been under 30 and married with 4 kids when he did it, thus dragging them down with him, because of it. 

[Cleopatra7]

I've been wondering if Josh is a troubled and high-maintenece guy who would have benefited from being in a much smaller family setting where his problems could have been better addressed. Part of me thinks he would have been a douche even if he was raised by the most enlightened family, while another part thinks that Josh's problems were exasperated by him being a face in the Duggar crowd. When you have that many kids, it is simply not possible to focus on a single child's problems, even if they require the extra attention. Reading between the lines of the police report, it seems like Josh was in charge of his siblings a lot while JB and Michelle were schmoozing with local politicians, being interviewed, and making the next "blessing." He could get away with the molestations for so long, because his parents had already checked out of the day to day aspects of parenting and relied on him and probably Jana also to run the house. When Josh was finally caught, that should have been a sign that JB and Michelle had too many kids to monitor adequately, but the baby making machine kept on humming. While molestation can happen in families of all sizes, the peculiarities of Gothardism in general and the distatched nature of JB and Michelle in particular enabled Josh's actions. For the Duggars, adequately addressing Josh's problems means sending him to religious re-education camp, which appears to be how they handle all of their teens and young adults. While the M'kids are still young, I feel like Josh is going to repeat his parents' mistakes on his own kids, especially if Mack and Michael are put in charge of raising their eleventy siblings in eight or nine years.

[Mela99]

On 8/26/2016 at 5:54 AM, imokit said:

NO

A baby proves Josh & Anna are both doing the married thing properly.

Plus babies are gifts from God.  A baby means God gave them a present, so he had to have forgiven Josh in order to do so.

So would it prove something to the Duggars if Anna never got pregnant again? I bet that's the only sign they would believe that Smuggy had McFuckedUp. 

[imokit]

14 hours ago, Mela99 said:

So would it prove something to the Duggars if Anna never got pregnant again? I bet that's the only sign they would believe that Smuggy had McFuckedUp. 

If Anna never got pregnant again - the first question they would ask is if Anna is being a proper wife, and then I think they may start to wonder if God is upset.

Meredith's just turned one.  I think they have another year to announce before people start questioning marital action/the couple's standing with God.  While the timing was in most ways awful for Anna because she had a newborn and her life went haywire with Josh's scandals and she was juggling 3 littles & a newborn, it helps the pregnancy pressure.  Had Mer been older people would already be asking where the redemption baby is.

[Toothfairy]

On Saturday, September 03, 2016 at 7:37 PM, Cleopatra7 said:

I've been wondering if Josh is a troubled and high-maintenece guy who would have benefited from being in a much smaller family setting where his problems could have been better addressed. Part of me thinks he would have been a douche even if he was raised by the most enlightened family, while another part thinks that Josh's problems were exasperated by him being a face in the Duggar crowd. When you have that many kids, it is simply not possible to focus on a single child's problems, even if they require the extra attention. Reading between the lines of the police report, it seems like Josh was in charge of his siblings a lot while JB and Michelle were schmoozing with local politicians, being interviewed, and making the next "blessing." He could get away with the molestations for so long, because his parents had already checked out of the day to day aspects of parenting and relied on him and probably Jana also to run the house. When Josh was finally caught, that should have been a sign that JB and Michelle had too many kids to monitor adequately, but the baby making machine kept on humming. While molestation can happen in families of all sizes, the peculiarities of Gothardism in general and the distatched nature of JB and Michelle in particular enabled Josh's actions. For the Duggars, adequately addressing Josh's problems means sending him to religious re-education camp, which appears to be how they handle all of their teens and young adults. While the M'kids are still young, I feel like Josh is going to repeat his parents' mistakes on his own kids, especially if Mack and Michael are put in charge of raising their eleventy siblings in eight or nine years.

And add to the sexual surpression. These kids can't ask questions or have crushes. Jimchelle was worried about fucking and baby making. Seriously your daughters are molested by their brother but you don't do shit. They all need therapy. 

[3KidsAndStopped]

On Wednesday, August 31, 2016 at 7:28 PM, PracticeMakesProgress said:

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel that the most honorable thing (in a very limited pool of choices) would be for Josh to leave Anna? I mean, don't give her the choice to "keep sweet?"

Yes, I know she has no skills, education, and 4 kids, etc., etc., but it would potentially be a very temporary shit situation for a potentially greater one? And then, no one could fault her if Josh fell away, left the fold, turned his back on his husband duties, blah, blah, blah...

I also know that this culture always blames the woman for the man's indiscretions, but if he would just publicly defect, then there's some element of that which makes Anna blameless. Like, "I've done all I can, and he chose the darkness..."

She has family members that have seen the light on the other end, perhaps they could help her connect to ex-fundies and fundy lites who understand the ridiculousness of her situation, and give her credit for attempting to keep it together in the worst of arenas. 

I don't know, as stated, there really isn't a magic solution in all of this nonsense. I guess I'm just projecting, because if I was stuck with a man who privately and publicly humiliated me, our children, and has been royally screwing up his entire life, while picking specs out of the eyes of others (biblical reference, FTW!), I would crawl through the 5 football fields of sewage, for the promise of freedom on the other side (shawshank reference, FTW!) 

Although I agree this would be best for Anna in any sane person's eyes, I actually think Josh leaving her would destroy Anna. She's so enmeshed in this way of thinking she would completely blame herself and probably punish herself forever. I doubt she would leave the lifestyle. She would be stuck with JChelle and be reminded every day she wasn't joyfully available enough in that condescending baby voice after Smug spread his wick about who knows what. Her children would watch their mother perpetually blamed for the faults of their father.

The honourable thing for Josh to do is to start treating her properly and maybe lead her and the kids away from the lifestyle. And then support her if she wanted to leave him after she has seen the real world for a while.

I hope he does. I doubt it.

[VelociRapture]

Joshley, Anna, the M kids, and some other Duggars (the Seewalds, Jana, Joy, etc) popped up at Sierra's birthday party recently. Josh is in the back left with Marcus on his shoulders - couldn't find a bigger version. 

[Funwithfundies]

I guess I'm an outlier, but I don't get a party this size for an adult's birthday.  I guess it's the introvert in me, lol.

[Cleopatra7]

6 hours ago, Funwithfundies said:

I guess I'm an outlier, but I don't get a party this size for an adult's birthday.  I guess it's the introvert in me, lol.

My guess is that most events the people in the Duggars' orbit have has to be something the entire family can participate in, and given the size of the families in question, it can get very crowded very quickly.