WTF Daddy Arndt

[0 kids n not countin]

Jude Arndt:

 

 

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Our family usually gathers for an old movie on Sunday afternoons, but we went for the Pixar animated film “Up,†which is either my favorite of Pixar’s or is tied with “Toy Story.â€

 

Seth Arndt:

 

 

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Dad gave me the choice of which movie we’d watch, and I picked that. I think it’s my favorite.

 

 

Tell me it isn't true, the Arndt boys (even those in their 20's and older) can only watch Daddy-approved movies? WTF??

[JenniferJuniper]

Jude Arndt:

Seth Arndt:

Tell me it isn't true, the Arndt boys (even those in their 20's and older) can only watch Daddy-approved movies? WTF??

Oh, it's true.

Seth probably got to pick "Up" because his birthday was on Christmas.

His 21st birthday.

[Eternalbluepearl]

Holy creepy Batman.

[Coconut Flan]

Those poor, poor boys er alleged men. I can't understand the fear level the parents must have to hobble their kids like that and not realize that they are keeping the kids from living life not protecting them under some illusory umbrella.

[Eternalbluepearl]

Don't the Arndt parents ever want their house to themselves? They have a shit ton of kids, I mean grown men, why would they want them all to stay? Shouldn't they be looking forward to alone time? Crazy!

[fauxmenno]

Knowing what we do about the Arndts, this doesn't surprise me at all. Sad, but when a 21 year old boy gets excited about M&M pancakes on his birthday, getting to choose what Pixar movie to watch was probably better than he expected.

[lilith]

The Ardnt's don't seem to be associated with any group like ATI or VF, so their kids don't even get to socialise with other fundie kids. It's extremely sad.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

so creepy! I can't believe none of them have run off by now. They must be terrified of the world.

[CrazySister]

so creepy! I can't believe none of them have run off by now. They must be terrified of the world.

I can only imagine what the "kids" from families such as the Maxwells, Arndts and the adult children from other super extreme fundies will do when mommy & daddy dearest pass on. Can't imagine the paralyzing fear the half-grown adults will face when the parents croak. Such a tragic, pathetic excuse of parents.

[terranova]

If those movies qualify as old I can't imagine what they think of real old movies like Casablanca. :( Poor people.

[Childless]

And this explains why none of their children are married. Have any of them even dated? It's an extremely sad life. Why would you hold your adult children back like this? Isn't the whole point of parenthood to create an independent, self-sustaining adult who is a productive member of society and goes out into the world to live his/her own life? Why should a grown ass man have to ask daddy's permission to see a movie? It's like none of the Arndt children can think for themselves. As someone above mentioned, what happens when the parents pass away? Their kids are just going to replace their parents with some other crutch. It's not a healthy lifestyle.

[JenniferJuniper]

If those movies qualify as old I can't imagine what they think of real old movies like Casablanca. :( Poor people.

Jude was actually proud to tell us about how they were allowed to choose between modern films like "Up" and "Toy Story" instead of the usual 1940's fare. He’s soon to be 26.

I wish that family would let some anthropologist study them. They're the American heartland equivalent of a lost rain forest tribe.

[adayinthelife]

I wish that family would let some anthropologist study them. They're the American heartland equivalent of a lost rain forest tribe.

That is a perfect description of them.

I'm surprised since Pixar is an enlightened company that did its own "It Gets Better" video. But I imagine when you're that repressed your options for movies are pretty limited.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Jeez, somehow they make me even sadder than the Maxwells. At least two of their kids have been allowed to find partners. The Arndts have taken infantilizing to a whole new level.

And seriously, I'm concerned as hell for "Wizzy". Sorry, but as an incest survivor, I simply don't have the good faith that all those manboys will never succumb to an urge and turn to the only other female in their midst besides Mom.

[debrand]

Last night, I watched The Devil's Backbone with my fourteen year old daughter and twenty year old son. Once my children hit adolescence, we stop censoring what they watch. There are many good films that are rated R and yes, have sex and violence. We're a fans of the director, Guillermo del Toro so we enjoy watching his films. Despite the fact that his films can be violent, I like the morals behind his stories.

She likes all kinds of movies and we've started watching a series on Netflix called The Story of Film.

The Ardnts are in a different world from my children. I wish the young Arndts would start asking why their father feels the need to protect them. What is gained by not allowing your adult children to stand on their own feet and make a real decision about what movie to watch? The Arndt children don't seem more compassionate then other people.

Maybe my morals are just different than the Ardnts. I want compassionate kids who stand up for other people. I want my kids to experience life, both the good and bad. Being sexually innocent, never using curse words, thinking that life is always happy, isn't part of my morality.

I happen to like a lot of Pixar movies so if I'm in the mood, I might pick one. But I have real choice.

[Coconut Flan]

It's like they don't understand the basics of parenting: children learn to make choices by making more and more complex or difficult choices, children learn responsibility by being given more and more responsibility, etc. Good parents don't want to run the risk of dropping dead and leaving their adult or near to adult "children" floundering.

[Abi]

Seriously, this family just gets creepier.

At least certain other fundies get to socialise, even if their social circles are limited.

If you're an Arndt, there's family. That's it.

And that will probably always be it, because Ma and Pa Arndt seem to have succeeded in institutionalising their children to such a degree that they would struggle greatly to function in the big bad world.

[gustava]

Their social maturity seem to have stopped at about age 10. And I agree with another poster who expressed concern fo Wizzy.

[Hane]

Once my children hit adolescence, we stop censoring what they watch. There are many good films that are rated R and yes, have sex and violence. We're a fans of the director, Guillermo del Toro so we enjoy watching his films. Despite the fact that his films can be violent, I like the morals behind his stories....Maybe my morals are just different than the Ardnts. I want compassionate kids who stand up for other people. I want my kids to experience life, both the good and bad. Being sexually innocent, never using curse words, thinking that life is always happy, isn't part of my morality.

[OT] Some 20 years ago, when my daughter was a teen, I was taking out a Blockbuster membership and getting a card for her. The clerk offered to block her from renting R-rated movies, and I said, "No." He was only in his 20s, but he was shocked![/OT]

[JesusFightClub]

Life. Life is fucking shocking, I can testify to that.

And I have led a fairly boring life, I would say, but still been hit with horribleness. These guys aren't prepared for anything. Some things you can't prepare for until they hit you and then you need the inner reserves to sit there and take it and then carry on going on. And not lose it. I don't think they have that.

"Sheltering" or "protecting" your kiddies is no protection at all. You're actually doing the opposite, because too much sheltering makes for an absolute collapse when the worst happens. If you let them experience the world, it makes them stronger, not weaker. It makes them more prepared for things.

I have a strong feeling on this because we had a murder in our family, there's been a suicide, mental illness, numerous things. It happens. You don't know it's ever going to be you. But it might be, and you need to have more than cuddly toys in cute positions, never reading newspapers because they might put evil thoughts in your head, and blindly following whoever tells you everyone else in the world but you is wicked.

[JenniferJuniper]

I have a strong feeling on this because we had a murder in our family, there's been a suicide, mental illness, numerous things. It happens. You don't know it's ever going to be you. But it might be, and you need to have more than cuddly toys in cute positions, never reading newspapers because they might put evil thoughts in your head, and blindly following whoever tells you everyone else in the world but you is wicked.

So true. It's just a sad fact that we all deal with dysfunction and tragedy. Some have more than others, but if you live long enough, you'll get your share.

Mommy and Daddy have done a remarkable job sheltering their (almost entirely male) brood, but at some point, something is going to give and no one is going to be equipped to cope with it.

Aside from Mark, I can't really tell most of the manboys apart, although I am keeping an eye on Luke. Partly because I think he's the best looking of the lot, but also because I'm picking up a faint ping.

[YPestis]

I think this ultra-sheltering we see in some fundie homes stems from two factors:

1. Attempting to emulate extended families from bygone eras.

Under traditional patriarchal society, grown children lived with parents under the headship of the senior male. In those circumstances, adult males still defer to the oldest male. Fundies try to interpret that relationship into the modern equivalent. However, some end up keeping adult children in this perpetual infantile state. In the Old World, adult sons were not treated like children. Far from it, they were given pretty adult responsibility early on. It was common to sent sons out as young teens to learn a trade, to marry in the teen years, to be pulling a grown man's wage before they can shave regularly. There are few modern equivalent of sending sons out to earn adult salaries (legally) so fundies end up twisting that idea into this weird isolation cult.

2. Sheltering children from the heathen world.

All those secular ideas about dating, gender roles, gays etc is scary for fundie parents who disagree with them. Some react by completely isolating their kids. And since the parents are living in isolation, there's no one to remind parents that their kids are grown and need to learn to filter out the world for themselves. The Maxwells are especially bad about this, as they seem to see their children as 5 year olds until they marry, when the wedding magically transforms them into mature adults.

This type of sheltering is not feasible as others noted. Children can't get married in our society when parents keep them in such infantile state. In their zeal to maintain their children's "purity", the parents may have also ended their own line. As long as you keep children as children, they will struggle to get married. What girl would marry a guy who needs Dad to choose which G-rated movie to watch? These fundies are shooting themselves when they isolate their children. How can you outbreed the heathens when half your kids can't even find mates?

[lilith]

The Ardnt's are in a bind cause they are way too sheltered for regular fundies (can you imagine the look on Jessa's face if JimBob presented her with an Ardnt groom) but have too many liberal trappings (shorts, baseball, any mainstream movie, even a G rated one) for the other really extreme shelterers like the Maxwells and the even more lunatic fringe who would never dream of blogging.

And I echo an earlier poster's concern about Mary Elizabeth. That situation is dangerous for everyone, but especially the lone girl.

[truthteller]

So true. It's just a sad fact that we all deal with dysfunction and tragedy. Some have more than others, but if you live long enough, you'll get your share.

Mommy and Daddy have done a remarkable job sheltering their (almost entirely male) brood, but at some point, something is going to give and no one is going to be equipped to cope with it.

Aside from Mark, I can't really tell most of the manboys apart, although I am keeping an eye on Luke. Partly because I think he's the best looking of the lot, but also because I'm picking up a faint ping.

Pinging? You mean GAYDAR? I definitely pick it up on Luke. John, Phillip and Jude too to a lesser extent. I may be wrong though... It may may that they are just so baby-soft and childlike that manliness doesn't show through. I think they all are essentially asexual. They never had the visual stimulation of girls that other boys have. Not even forming a schoolboy crush on on girl at school because they simply were never exposed to them may have retarded their hard wiring in that department. Anybody that actually knows this family likes them (including me through softball), but their lack of dating for every single one of them is a huge elephant in the room.

[JenniferJuniper]

Pinging? You mean GAYDAR? I definitely pick it up on Luke. John, Phillip and Jude too to a lesser extent. I may be wrong though... It may may that they are just so baby-soft and childlike that manliness doesn't show through. I think they all are essentially asexual. They never had the visual stimulation of girls that other boys have. Not even forming a schoolboy crush on on girl at school because they simply were never exposed to them may have retarded their hard wiring in that department. Anybody that actually knows this family likes them (including me through softball), but their lack of dating for every single one of them is a huge elephant in the room.

Yeah, a number of them are sort of girlish. But feminine boys don't necessarily ping for me, and Luke just comes across a little.... differently than the others. I wonder if he gets hit on when he's out in the world, assuming he is one of the ones allowed out. He's not quite 28 yet, after all.