"At least the Duggars don't eat/live like Honey Boo Boo"

[lilith]

It's pretty damn Christian that Sugar Bear is there supporting them all, thought only fathered Alana...

Id say that that's evidence of him being a fair, caring man, not of Christian behaviour.

My agnostic partner supports my three kids from my first marriage. It's cause he loves us, it has nothing to do with a religious creed.

In fact, the bible would tell us to stone June and SugarBear as well as Anna, as adulterers, leaving nobody to support any of the kids.

[Alecto]

Id say that that's evidence of him being a fair, caring man, not of Christian behaviour.

My agnostic partner supports my three kids from my first marriage. It's cause he loves us, it has nothing to do with a religious creed.

In fact, the bible would tell us to stone June and SugarBear as well as Anna, as adulterers, leaving nobody to support any of the kids.

We don't even know what Sugar Bear believes. They haven't really crammed any beliefs down our throat.

[kiwimusume]

We don't even know what Sugar Bear believes. They haven't really crammed any beliefs down our throat.

Another reason I'll take them over the Duggars.

[Coconut Flan]

I don't think Mama June needs to stock up on household products too much. She has her shelves and shelves of products from her couponing.

Several of the members of the family could use some new clothes based on the first season.

[Sinister Rouge]

I'd much rather have Mama June raise a kid than the Duggars. They are not homophobic or racist. That is much more important to me than eating "sketti."

Truth. The Duggars preach this insidious and inherently harmful lifestyle that is capable of causing untold emotional and physical damage to others as well as themselves. I really don't see many people introducing "sketti" into regular dinner rotation just because they saw it on HBB, but that Gothard crap and the image of this "perfect Godly family" is something that a disturbing number of people seem keen to latch on to these days.

Admittedly, I've only seen a few HBB clips, but as "redneck" as people say that family is, they seem incredibly loving and open-minded in their own way - much more so than JB and J'chelle, anyway. On that basis alone, I don't see the odds being stacked quite so heavily against the HBB kids.

[RosyDaisy]

I remember reading on Datalounge(guilty pleasure site) about HBB wearing a gay pride shirt.

This is true, there are pictures of Alana wearing them on her Facebook page. It also has a link to an online store where you can buy one.

http://www.facebook.com/AlanaThompsonOfficialPage (this the page run by June and a friend not TLC)

[fauxmenno]

I don't particularly care for any shows on TLC now, but HBB is way more realistic than the Duggars. Everyone on HBB seems genuine and capable of thinking for themselves while the Duggars are so fake it hurts to watch.

[lilwriter85]

Truth. The Duggars preach this insidious and inherently harmful lifestyle that is capable of causing untold emotional and physical damage to others as well as themselves. I really don't see many people introducing "sketti" into regular dinner rotation just because they saw it on HBB, but that Gothard crap and the image of this "perfect Godly family" is something that a disturbing number of people seem keen to latch on to these days.

Admittedly, I've only seen a few HBB clips, but as "redneck" as people say that family is, they seem incredibly loving and open-minded in their own way - much more so than JB and J'chelle, anyway. On that basis alone, I don't see the odds being stacked quite so heavily against the HBB kids.

I agree the Gothard/ATI crap is scary. I still remember that thread on FJ Yuku started by someone who lives near the Duggars. She has friends who know the Duggars. She said that the Duggars managed to get another family involved in Gothard and QF. The mother in that family had miscarriages and other health issues. I learned more about Gothard/ATI from a few former Gothardites who post on here. I was slightly surprised last season when ATI was mentioned on 19kac. The Duggars and TLC never mentioned Gothard or ATI before. I first watched the pre-series documentaries in 2004 or 2005. The Duggars seemed ok to me back then. When the regular show started, something seemed off with them and somehow I stumbled onto Vyckie Garrison's No Longer Quivering site. Later I found out about Gothard and ATI. Reading some of the other QF blogs like Life in A Shoe shows how disturbing the QF lifestyle can be.

[BlondeAgent007]

I don't think it's particularly June, but more HBB herself, who wants to do pageants. This child is OBVIOUSLY very outgoing and LOVES to show off and perform. It's part of her character. She has such a big, interesting personality though, that acting really isn't her calling. She doesn't need to have a script or channel a different persona to entertain people. She is really at ease in front of a camera. I don't think any of this is being forced on her. If anything, she seems to be blossoming.

[DarkAnts]

From the facebook page, it looks like the family is doing multiple fundraisers for different causes. That puts them ahead of the duggars in my book.

[JesusFightClub]

I don't think it's particularly June, but more HBB herself, who wants to do pageants. This child is OBVIOUSLY very outgoing and LOVES to show off and perform. It's part of her character. She has such a big, interesting personality though, that acting really isn't her calling. She doesn't need to have a script or channel a different persona to entertain people. She is really at ease in front of a camera. I don't think any of this is being forced on her. If anything, she seems to be blossoming.

QFT

I can see her being a TV show presenter or hosting a chat show rather than being an actress. Her big personality will get in the way of that.

[lilah]

I am going to disagree here. I think both families exploit their children for personal gain. It just isn't normal to have your childhood filmed for strangers. I wonder how these kids are going to function as adults when the camera crews leave. At least honey boo whatever can use her money to get therapy. The only option the duggar girls have are stupid ati retreats.

[kiwimusume]

Sorry for the noobish question, but can anyone tell me what ATI stands for?

[RosyDaisy]

Advanced Training Institute. It was founded by Bill Gothard. The official website is ati.iblp.org/ati/

[shrewlu]

I'd much rather have Mama June raise a kid than the Duggars. They are not homophobic or racist. That is much more important to me than eating "sketti."

While neither family is perfect (and really, what family is?), I think HBB and family are much more functional and loving. If I had to pick one family to raise my kid, I'd pick Mama June, hands down. Her children seem well adjusted and seem to act like normal kids, not stepford children.

[miffy]

I find the whole Honey Boo Boo clan to be endearing. Sort of like a IRL version of the Conner family. Its impressive the way that June puts in effort to give to others, even though until recently they didn't have much for themselves & obviously are not burning through their earnings from the show.

[miffy]

Also seeing Junes sneezing fits made me realise that yes there is somebody else in the world who sneezes more than I do.

[BlondeAgent007]

I see what June is doing as different from the Duggars. Yes, June parades HBB on tv, but this seems to be something she enjoys. Also, the motives are different. The duggars are trying to sell a lifestyle. The HBB's are trying to make the daughter's, and in the grand scheme, their own lives better. Outside of this show, these people seem highly unlikely to ever get any kind of break. 32 year old mother of 4/gma to one, living along the poverty line? Highly unlikely to be able to help any of those kids go to college. Now they have the opportunity to send all of them if they so choose.

I'm sorry, I find nothing wrong with a few shopping sprees at walmart. It's kind of telling what kind of people they are when their idea of a mass spending operation is spending a few hundred at walmart. June says she still fully plans to coupon, and that family needed some new stuff that wasn't toilet paper

[lilah]

Maybe she can bulk buy her kid some tomato sauce for her sketti. And not let her kid eat cheetos for breakfast.

[BlondeAgent007]

Right. Because the quality of parenting is directly related to the type of food they feed their kids. These are people who lived off of coupons for a long time. You get that, right? Would you rather they went without to have healthier food? While their food is unhealthy, they are not selling their lifestyle.

I love ramen noodles with peanut butter melted in them. I also love corned beef hash. That doesn't make me a bad person. If I were to give that to my kids, it wouldn't make me a bad person either. June has recognized that her and the kids are overweight and eat unhealthy the first season. Little progress was made, but she isn't a total moron.

I wonder how many "well meaning" pageant moms told June to quit while she was behind a few years ago. We all know Alana isn't your typical beauty queen. I like that June kept doing what she thought was right for her child instead of listening to people who thought her daughter was the equivalent to Little Miss Sunshine. Alana is having the last laugh now.

[JenniferJuniper]

I see what June is doing as different from the Duggars. Yes, June parades HBB on tv, but this seems to be something she enjoys. Also, the motives are different. The duggars are trying to sell a lifestyle. The HBB's are trying to make the daughter's, and in the grand scheme, their own lives better.

Both families are doing it for the money. One may have more of a need for it than the other, and the Duggars may have deluded themselves into believing they are also selling a lifestyle, but both families are pimping out their kids either way.

HBB is going to be 30 someday and she may not appreciate the fact that her childhood escapades will be available for the world to watch for the rest of time, just as Jason Duggar may end up resenting the way his parents exploited his terror and pain when he broke his jaw in that awful fall. But at least in Jason's case he's not the entire focus of a TV reality show. HBB may enjoy being the center of attention now, but she's only a child and children aren't really capable of consenting to this sort of thing or understanding what’s happening to them. And sadly, more often than not it all ends badly for the child.

[BlondeAgent007]

June is also only 32 years old. I don't think she did any of this without at least sugarbear's consent. He seems very uncomfortable in front of a camera. I feel like if he felt uncomfortable with alana in front of a camera, he would have said so. He hates being filmed. But his daughter loves it. I feel like he does it because he knows the opportunities Alana will get from it.

It could end sadly for HBB. I don't see it that way. If anything, I see her being more honest about things than most people. I see her being a great talk show bridge. She would be best to mediate between the average american and the talk show host extraodinaire

JesusFightClub, I would like to meet you in person. I absolutely love you

[pomology]

So, sketti on, June and Alana. Sketti on.

Just don't invite me for dinner.

That's pretty much how I feel about the situation. I think sketti sounds revolting, but I admit that I tend to be a food snob. If I'd grown up eating something like sketti, I'd probably feel different. I'd also never, ever eat Tater Tot Casserole (although, I will admit that I occasionally like tots--there's a place in my college town that serves tots and you can get them with this spicy stuff on it and they are fucking delicious).

The Honey Boo Boo family's way of life is utterly foreign to me (at least from what I saw of the one episode I watched) that it would give me worse culture shock than being in many foreign countries. But, hey, at least they love each other and don't oppress their children. So they can eat whatever they fucking well please--I just won't be partaking.

[Alecto]

Also, another point in HBB favor - their show has an openly gay character who is accepted and treated like everyone else. Uncle Poodle.

[B5SnowDog]

Sorry for the noobish question, but can anyone tell me what ATI stands for?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ati