Season 6 of 19 Kids and Counting. God help us all!

[charizbarb]

You really should read these threads charizbarb and remember this is a snark board. Don't go around handslapping like an angry sunday school teacher before you read the back story. You are obviously new, and haven't observed lardlads poor lifestyle choices in action. These threads document those poor choices on an almost daily basis. Many of us here don't have perfect bodies and like marmalade fight to lose weight and work to live a healthy lifestyle. We do not dine out on fatty slop and transfats three times a day. We recognize the struggles many of us have, but to say that Smugger faces those same struggles is just plain bullshit.

Um, point out where I said that Josh faces 'struggles' please? I didn't. I never even compared him to anyone on these boards. My point is that Josh's obesity is being treated as a moral failure when it's not. Just because Josh isn't a nice person doesn't mean it's OK to use sizeist language about him any more than it's OK to use racist language about Voddie Baucham.

[charizbarb]

Don't they believe in the 7 Deadly Sins? Isn't Gluttony one of them? Smuggar packs his body (and from what we've seen, his kids' as well) with crap food just about every day, and from what we can ascertain from seeing his Instagram over the past year or so, almost every MEAL, yes, he's failing in terms of the morality HE is professing to uphold.

No. The 7 Deadly Sins is a Catholic concept and so is not relevant to Duggar theology.

[Sister Mozz]

Does anyone know where I can find a clip of Priscilla speaking? I looked on their website but didn't see anything that had her in it. I'm very curious to check it out, but don't want to watch the whole episode.

Trufax: a friend of mine lived in TX and became best friends with a girl who worked at the Big Sandy ATI center. There were pictures of them hanging out and doing things together, and I thought she seemed like a nice girl. When I met her in person, though, I could NOT get over her voice. It sounds like what you are describing Priscilla's voice to be, which is why I want to check it out. It seemed unnaturally high-pitched and whispery, and you had to really pay attention to catch what she was saying. Babyish is a good word. I wonder how many women in ATI talk this way and if it is considered normal??

[Maude]

Does anyone know where I can find a clip of Priscilla speaking? I looked on their website but didn't see anything that had her in it. I'm very curious to check it out, but don't want to watch the whole episode.

Trufax: a friend of mine lived in TX and became best friends with a girl who worked at the Big Sandy ATI center. There were pictures of them hanging out and doing things together, and I thought she seemed like a nice girl. When I met her in person, though, I could NOT get over her voice. It sounds like what you are describing Priscilla's voice to be, which is why I want to check it out. It seemed unnaturally high-pitched and whispery, and you had to really pay attention to catch what she was saying. Babyish is a good word. I wonder how many women in ATI talk this way and if it is considered normal??

6WqS4qAWnHo

[snarkbillie]

She sounds like she is trying to keep a gumball from falling out of her mouth and he sounds like he's trying to remember the BS he's supposed to spout.

[Sister Mozz]

6WqS4qAWnHo

Thanks, Maude! Wow, David likes to hear himself talk, doesn't he?

Priscilla's voice isn't nearly as annoying as the other girl I mentioned before. It sounds like Pris has more of an impairment of some kind. Not diagnosing, just observing.

[xDreamerx]

I disagree. Yes the concepts of 'deadly sins' or 'mortal sins' is Catholic, but Evangelicals and fundies still believe in them. They just spin them differently and use different language to describe them. Gluttony=Making whatever it is into an 'idol'. Lust=Being defrauding, giving away pieces of the heart, "provoking" desires etc. They pretty much cover pride with their Joy bullshit and so on.

Deelaem~Your rant was all kinds of awesome.

[wtfrenchtoast]

Honestly I don't know that anything on any of these topics is in any way any of our business. That's kinda the point right?

This. I don't exactly know how I feel about this debate one way or the other, but is Priscilla's baby voice a moral failing, or even any of our business? No. But people are snarking on that. Are the Duggar girls' crunchy curls our business? Not really. Is their tater tot casserole our business? Nope. No aspect of their lives is necessarily our business, aside from their political campaigning, so maybe we just shouldn't snark on anything aside from that.

[CynicMom]

Has anyone ever seen the picture of Mike Huckabee and his family when he was governor or Arkansas?

By themselves, you wouldn't give anyone of them a second glance - together, you can't help but notice that the mother and daughter are in a normal weight range while Mike and his two grown sons are obese. Looking at the photo, I don't see an opportunity to body snark, however much I dislike the man or his policies, rather a visual representation of a patriarchal culture. It's very clear that the (allegedly bold, biblical, visionary) penis- owners are not required or expected to exercise moderation, temperance or constraint. The power imbalance is on display for the world to witness.

That's how I feel most at FJ are approaching Josh's weight. If a reasonable number of his female relatives looked similar, they would not comment. They are snarking on a physical manifestation of patriarchy, not on the attribute itself.

THIS! I agree with Deelaem as well. Fat shaming is common and easy to do. But Josh's food choices (not necessarily his weight) are also evidence that the patriarchal-no-college-quiverful system results in poverty. Eating right takes education. It takes money. It takes effort. Josh's consistently unhealthy food choices show significant gaps in his level of adult preparedness. This would be equally true if he were thin.

[silverspoons]

Ratings are in 1.66 and .6 for 19 kids last night

Abby and Brittany got 1.73 and .7 for the 10pm and 1.531 for the 10:30

I wonder how much Abby/Brittany help the Duggars last night?

[YPestis]

The season 6 premiere was ok, I was surprised they spent so much time on the wedding of a nonDuggar family. Then again, weddings are big things in the reality world. If you can't get a Duggar wedding......

They really did a wonderful job with the church decorations. The reception looked ok, kind of blah. I guess with 400 guests, they can't get too spendy with the reception decors. I haven't watched the Duggar stuff with a close eye so I must have missed alot of the Smugger stuff. I find Josh and Anna kind of a cute couple in their own way and Josh's comments mostly hilarious.

Josh is like the typical patriarchal male, smug and all knowing. I sometimes forget that Anna comes from a fundie family too. I get reminders of that with all this talk about purity. Then I don't feel as sorry for Anna. She drank the kool-aid through and through. I'm hoping that Josh's laziness will make him realize that having a boatload of kids is not conducive to a comfortable lifestyle that he's used to now. Looking at the house Anna's family lives in, squeezed in with 8 siblings, I hope Anna will stop the baby factory soon as she gets used to not being crammed like sardines.

[Hannie]

I remember from Kathryn Joyce's book that Quiverfull women are supposed to modify their voices in a way that they sound "sweet" enough for their husbands because it keeps them calm and stuff. :? I'd have to look it up, but I remember her explaining the voice thing somewhere. So it must be intentional, at least for Michelle, I'm not sure about Priscilla though...

[luckystone]

I remember from Kathryn Joyce's book that Quiverfull women are supposed to modify their voices in a way that they sound "sweet" enough for their husbands because it keeps them calm and stuff. :? I'd have to look it up, but I remember her explaining the voice thing somewhere. So it must be intentional, at least for Michelle, I'm not sure about Priscilla though...

That is so creepy!

[Hannie]

Ok it was about Martha Peace who recommends teaching young women to speak ""in a soothing tone of voice" until they've perfected a gentle, soft tone with which to address their husbands." (Joyce 57)

[Dark Matters]

Ok, time for one of my patented guaranteed-to-piss-people off rants.

Josh Duggar is a creepy, misogynistic asshole jerk. His beliefs and actions are damaging to the basic human rights of over half the population. The key words here are beliefs and actions. His weight has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!

Fatness is so completely demonized in our country that it has become crazy. What does it accomplish? Do people really think that shaming fat people will motivate them to change? I read a news story this morning about a 200lb. woman whose doctor is now refusing to treat her. I mean, what the fuck. Because she doesn't fit into a near-impossible standard he set, it's ok to let her die? What ever happened to the Hippocratic oath?

If all people had to do was eat less and exercise to lose weight, we wouldn't have this problem. But as any statistic will show you, DIETS DON'T WORK! You lose weight in the short term, but unless you're one of a very few who can keep it off, you gain it all back again. And why is that? Because the cause for obesity exists in the brain. All cutting-edge science is pointing to this conclusion. So unless and until science comes up with a brain solution (and chances are that will be a long time off, given the power of the diet industry), people will continue to struggle with obesity.

As for Smuggar, yeah, he eats a lot of junk food. But while I'm not excusing his deplorable beliefs and actions, he probably eats like that because his brain is telling him to. Whether for comfort or stress release, it really doesn't matter. Seriously, it really doesn't matter. If he were a liberal atheist, none of you would be harping on his weight.

And speaking of that, what does fat bashing do for you? Does it make you feel righteous and superior? Does it make you feel better about yourself that you don't look like that, or if you do, at least you have the decency to be ashamed of it? I've said this before, but attacking people's looks is the laziest and most shallow form of snark. If a fundie saw a picture of you and said mean things about your looks, could they also defend it because they think your beliefs are wrong? They actually have done that, I and recall some pretty righteous indignation because of it.

Feel free to tell me I'm hand-slapping, because I sorta am. But I'm sick and fucking tired of people who decry all the meanness and injustice in the world, but have no problem being ignorant and cruel about fat people.

As a fatty who has struggled with her weight since childhood, I thank you for this!

[Arete]

CynicMom, good eating habits do not require wads of cash or a college education. You only have to look at newly arrived immigrants who may or may not be educated past 8th grade and struggling with money to see that they feed their families far better than a Duggar with money. The fact that his mother was so wrapped up in baby making she could not figure out that rice and beans is a cheap and nutrituous meal cannot be fixed with AP nutrition courses. These people raise children like feedlot cattle-feed them the crapiest diet possible so they are technically alive, breed them quick, end it.

[snarkbillie]

CynicMom, good eating habits do not require wads of cash or a college education. You only have to look at newly arrived immigrants who may or may not be educated past 8th grade and struggling with money to see that they feed their families far better than a Duggar with money. The fact that his mother was so wrapped up in baby making she could not figure out that rice and beans is a cheap and nutrituous meal cannot be fixed with AP nutrition courses. These people raise children like feedlot cattle-feed them the crapiest diet possible so they are technically alive, breed them quick, end it.

So are all fat people stupid then? I'm not trying to start a fight, but this is the kind of stuff that irks. Couldn't it be that Joshy knows better and is just making shitty choices? I understand that the ice cream I'm going to eat later is a bad choice. I'm not stupid, uneducated, hateful, morally repugnant, etc. I'm just a fat girl. Maybe I need to take a break.

[slickcat79]

I remember from Kathryn Joyce's book that Quiverfull women are supposed to modify their voices in a way that they sound "sweet" enough for their husbands because it keeps them calm and stuff. :? I'd have to look it up, but I remember her explaining the voice thing somewhere. So it must be intentional, at least for Michelle, I'm not sure about Priscilla though...

I just read that section today. It's on pg. 57...Joyce is quoting a woman named Martha Pride:

She recommends teaching younger women to...practice speaking in a "soothing tone of voice" until they've perfected a gentle, soft tone with which to address their husbands. "You may feel silly at first," writes Peace, "but if you want to be godly, you must be trained!"

:shock: Seriously. Since it's in the Titus 2 section, which is all about training younger women, I'd be willing to bet Priscilla's heard all of this crap, especially in the last couple of years.

[YPestis]

The high pitched voice thing may not be a quiverful thing at all. A good family friend also talks likes that. In fact, when my mom saw Michelle Duggar speak for the first time, she instantly thought back to our friend. Our friend is a baptist, I'm pretty sure fundie, although otherwise the comparison ends there. She's married to a nonbeliever, have a large range of friends from many religions and countries and has only one child LOL. However, our friend also talks in that high pitched, sweet voice. I think she was kind of taught to keep sweet too. I wonder if it's something that conservative families in general like to teach females because it's considered "ladylike".

[Arete]

So are all fat people stupid then? I'm not trying to start a fight, but this is the kind of stuff that irks. Couldn't it be that Joshy knows better and is just making shitty choices? I understand that the ice cream I'm going to eat later is a bad choice. I'm not stupid, uneducated, hateful, morally repugnant, etc. I'm just a fat girl. Maybe I need to take a break.

How did you get "All fat people are stupid." out of that response to CynicMom? I am seriously puzzled. My response was meant to point out that no one needs tons of education or even tons of money to eat better than the Duggars. Sure Josh Duggar makes crap choices. While I usually do not find that people's weight or lack there of has anything to do with their ethics, in Josh Duggar's case, it has everything to do with HIS ethics. He will gladly restrict anyone who does not live as he does in the name of advancing his so called wonderful and harmonius relationship with God, and can't see what this life is doing to him.

[formergothardite]

I see David and Priscilla had a little hand sex going on there too.

[snarkbillie]

How did you get "All fat people are stupid." out of that response to CynicMom? I am seriously puzzled. My response was meant to point out that no one needs tons of education or even tons of money to eat better than the Duggars. Sure Josh Duggar makes crap choices. While I usually do not find that people's weight or lack there of has anything to do with their ethics, in Josh Duggar's case, it has everything to do with HIS ethics. He will gladly restrict anyone who does not live as he does in the name of advancing his so called wonderful and harmonius relationship with God, and can't see what this life is doing to him.

I think it was an amalgamation of a lot of comments that you didn't even make but were under the same "you need education to eat right" and "people are fat because they're uneducated" banner. I don't know. I'm having mood swings again.

[Arete]

No worries. Been there, done that, and have the t-shirt. :)

[MaryEGoodin]

:lol: So did the girls get new haircuts??? I thought I saw highlights and such.... Wonder how they paid for that... :roll:

[Sprocket]

There is a world of difference between noticing the declines in Michelle's physical health, and that is probably due to too many pregancies, and calling Josh LardLad and posting every single time the guy buys a hamburger. No one has decided to call Michelle Ms. Osteoporosis, as far as I can tell.

Sprocket, you can deny it all you want, but you and the others that do it consider Josh's overeating to be a major character flaw. One only has to read the Josh's Instagram thread (one which I have avoided until recently, and was shocked at what goes on there) to see how that's the main thrust of the snark there. Your argument that he's put his life out in the public so he's fair game is hardly an apt one. Being in the public eye does not mean a person ceases to be a person who is entitled to fair treatment. Using the reasoning that he posts his Big Mac meals on Instagram makes it fair to jeer him makes about as much sense as saying a person who posts kissing a same sex person makes them fair game to be called faggot.

While the kind of acceptance and encouragement of fat hatred seen here really does make me mad, I say these things because I know most people here are good, decent people who really don't want to hurt people's feelings or make ignorant judgments about them. All I'm asking is to take a look at what you're doing, and decide if that's really the way you want to snark on fundies. If you were to be given the opportunity to go on, say, Anderson Cooper to discuss the harm of the Duggars and Gothardism, do you think it would leave a good impression if you spent that time discussing Josh's weight? Do you think that would win people over to cause of exposing fundamentalism and freeing the women and children it enslaves?

edited for riffles

Seriously? Fuck you sideways. By all means, find ONE post where I have called him "lard lad" or said anything about his weight other than to remark how unhealthy he looks. Don't go pointing fingers until you can back your shit up. He is a douche of epic proportions but that's his personality. I don't think his overeating is a character flaw unless you consider eating your feelings or having food insecurities from not having enough to eat as a kid, which I don't. I think it's sad, but not a character flaw.

People with their own weight issues need to stop projecting onto other people. If it's a subject that's uncomfortable for you and others, stay the fuck away from the instagram thread. But stop acting all butt hurt that people can *gasp* have legitimate feelings of concern for the health of this dude.

And if I wasn't clear, fuck you sideways.

edited because I type fast when I'm pissed the fuck off and spelling goes out the window.