Dear Jim Bob and Michelle

[Miggy]

To the Lost Children: .....come to my house. I'll MAKE YOU BEHAVE!

To the Lost Girls: I"ll gladly adopt you all. I don't have kids so I can teach Jenny, Jordan and Josie how to be a fierce female.

Sorry but I've got dibs on James and Jenny. You are welcome to the others...

[dora]

Dear Jim Bob and Michelle,

Please, feed your children some vegetables. Fresh ones. The food you eat disgusts me and with so many helpers and such a great kitchen there is no excuse for not serving real food. Also, lay off the disposable plates. That's just plain lazy.

[laura oz]

My mom had 2 and it occasionally took her 3 - 4 different tries to call out the right one. And we didn't even have a dog.

Of all Michelle's faults, this one I don't really hold against her.

For a bizarre twist, I call my husband my son's name and vice versa sometimes. Getting older is such fun :lol:

[Bloo]

Dear Jim Bob and Michelle,

Find a Speech/Language Pathologist, please! Not just for Josie, either. Jenny and Jordyn are likely far behind their age equivalents in at least expressive communication.

Exposure to new ideas doesn't mean that children automatically lose faith in Jesus. Asking questions is not a sin.

Send everyone from Joy on up away for a week with no contact. Be damn parents to your younger children and let the older children have actual freedom.

No love,

Bloo

[jjmennonite]

For a bizarre twist, I call my husband my son's name and vice versa sometimes. Getting older is such fun :lol:

I only have 1 blessing, but I call her by the oldest dog's name and the dog by her name frequently - even tho she moved away for school 2 years ago.

[Syd+Marky]

Dear Jim Bob and Michelle,

Find a Speech/Language Pathologist, please! Not just for Josie, either. Jenny and Jordyn are likely far behind their age equivalents in at least expressive communication.

Exposure to new ideas doesn't mean that children automatically lose faith in Jesus. Asking questions is not a sin.

Send everyone from Joy on up away for a week with no contact. Be damn parents to your younger children and let the older children have actual freedom.

No love,

Bloo

Yes!Please!Take the yonger girls to a speech patholgist,&while you're at it,please,please have Jackson evaluated by a special-education expert&a Dr.that can diagnose him.I genuinely,sincerely worry about the child-he is more than a little on the hyper-active side.Don't you care if your kids need more than wisdom booklets& Michelle's "homeschool"?There are possible issues that could cause your children serious setbacks in life.

,

[pega127]

Dear Michelle and JimBob,

Do you remember growing up in your own families? Michelle, your family seemed very main streamed. You went to public schools, were a cheerleader and had friends outside family friends. So, was that so evil? JimBob, you came from a loving family, too. Albeit, your Dad took lots of financial risks that didn't pan out successfully and that must have been hard for you to witness, but they loved you. Were you kind of a shy kid, without many friends and didn't make any teams; that couldn't find his way and then connected with a Christian group? Either way, both your families allowed you to follow your own paths. Why can't you allow your children to follow their own paths? Beliefs and structure are very positive for raising children, but so are supporting them, trusting that what you have taught them will enable them to make good decisions. Your parents, parented you; why are your daughters parenting your children? Give your children the gifts your parents gave you; the right to follow what they believe to be best for them.

With great sincerity

[quaterofaquiver]

Dear Jim Bob and Michelle,

Your fooling no body.

[HereticHick]

Dear Jim Bob and Michelle--

Jer. 2:7. "I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But

you came and defiled my land and you made my inheritance detestable."

Plant a garden on your ample acreage. Put those howler monkeys to work in the fresh air. Stop defiling God's land with your paper plates and your hairspray.

And just as important-- stop disrespecting others and insulting God with your "Duggar Time."

Proverbs 12:27 "Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth."

[Becket70]

Dear Jim-Bob and Michelle:

The next time you and the kids visit New York City, please take in a Broadway musical so you can see what real talent looks like. You might even take in a symphony or visit an art museum. It couldn't hurt.

[TinyDancer87]

Dear TLC,

Can you have a Ask-Duggars-Anything episode where the questions are only asked by FreeJingerites? :dance:

That would bring more viewers, gossip, and attention to the show for sure.

Love, me

[Mela99]

Dear Boob and Mullet,

QUIT BLAMING JESUS BECAUSE YOU LIKE TO F*CK LIKE RABBITS,

Sincerely,

Mela

[HereticHick]

Becket70 makes an interesting point.

For all the Duggar babbling about their love of classical music, have we ever seen them attend a concert or recital outside of Big Sandy Camp (my ears are instinctively hurting from the screech of 50 untrained blessings on violins), or that Gothard music institute that a few of the J'Slaves went to for a long weekend a while ago?

What are they afraid of? Defrauding choir robes? The children jumping up and dancing to Handel? Or Wesley hymns? The possibility of a glass of wine at intermission?

I can't imagine a more wholesome activity myself than a classical concert or recital.

And they can't say they don't have any opportunities.

At Christmas, most big churches around the US have Messiah singalongs or sacred music concerts. Most towns of any size have choral societies. There is even a symphony in Springdale: http://www.sonamusic.org/

Jim Bob, let some of your adult daughters go to a concert. And DON"T make them haul 7 little howling children with them.

[TheSilverTongue]

You continue to ignore your younger children while your older children, who work themselves to death, continue to do the job that Michelle should be doing, instead of sipping Starbucks or exercising.

It's not just Michelle's job. It's also Jim Bob's responsibility. He's a parent just like Michelle is.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

My mom had 2 and it occasionally took her 3 - 4 different tries to call out the right one. And we didn't even have a dog.

Of all Michelle's faults, this one I don't really hold against her.

Nor do I. Often times when trying to address my sister or me, my grandmother would call us [my mom's name]-[my aunt's name]-[my name if addressing my sister, my sister's name if addressing me]-[the correct name]. And, as children, you honestly could not tell my brother and sister's voices apart, so I called them Chraitlin (a combination of their names). My dog was almost always called my brother's name, and vice versa. One time, when my mom was really mad at me, she called me her name. And, as a nanny, I almost always catch myself saying the wrong name. Like I'll call my 6 year old cousin the name of the 7 year old I took care of. Or, I'd call the girl I took care of last the name of the girl I took care of before her.

Among their findings, published this spring in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology:

* People confuse the names of people with whom they have--or had--the same type of relationship. For example: parents mix up their children's names. (Some families reported calling their pets by their children's names, leading Fiske to speculate these are "good families to live in, if you're a dog.")

http://articles.latimes.com/1991-07-17/news/vw-2240_1_tracey-miller

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

My letter would be:

Dear Jim Bob and Michelle,

In protecting your children from the evils of the world, you have filled them with the inability for them to be truly compassionate and empathic. You've raised children that are as least "Christ-like" as you could get. Jesus traveled the country, hung out with "the wrong sorts", had a few drinks now and then, made mistakes, etc. And, while you constantly go on about how Jesus is the one true role model and you want your children to be like him, you do nothing to allow them to follow in his footsteps. The closest your children come to a "Mary Magdalen" type figure is your niece, Amy, and (despite the grief people give her for her fame-whoring and her boyfriend count) she's not that bad. I doubt your children could possibly see the good in someone who chose a "more seductive" lifestyle than you allow, like Jesus did. In fact, your children, particularly your older daughters, regularly judge the choices and desires of others as if they themselves get to determine who is admitted into heaven. Though, this sense of entitlement isn't something they just developed on their own. Your own actions and words emulated the perfect example of a self-centered, holier-than-thou, damning person.

On the rare occasions that your children are given the opportunity to experience the world, and see the wonders that your god has created, you waste no time in convincing them that these new things are evil, reminding them to take their gender appropriate role, and serving to entertain the younger ones while completely ignoring the fact that the majority of your children are no longer under the age of 10 -- in fact, only 5 of your 19 children are under the age of 10. While I understand that it can be hard to keep the young ones entertained when doing activities geared towards the older children, you should make a greater attempt at playing towards the interests of the majority.

On many occasions, we've watched as your family partakes in activities that describe your believes of what the bible says. On one such occasion, we watched your family tour a "science" museum in which Jesus was depicted as having been with the dinosaurs, stated the world was only 10000 years old, evolution is a made up story, and claimed that fossils were incorrect/a tool to convince people that the creation story is not true. I must ask you, under what authority do you have to determine the power of god? You believe that god created the world and inspired people to write the bible, do you not? Why must you then put your definition of a day as the definition god uses for a day? God existed before the sun, did he not? Therefore he had to have some way to measure a day that would not have required the sun. So why make "the 7 days" 7 earth days? What if it hasn't even been a god day since the creation of Adam? Furthermore, why must evolution be false? The bible says we're all created in gods image, does it not? When creating art or music, writing stories, learning the basics of existence (walking, eating, breathing), or otherwise performing/learning a new skill/trade, our work gets gradually better, does it not? When learning to draw a person, a child may start off with a head that has arms sprouting out where the ears should be and legs coming out of the chin; yet with time, patience, and a better understanding of how to control and manipulate their mediums, a person can learn to be a master of drawn/painted portraits creating works of art so close to reality that you'd swear it was a photograph. Knowing this, and knowing that we're created in god's image, why must you think that god got everything right on the first try?

On the topic of getting things right on the first try, I still do not understand why you don't allow anything other than courtships -- I know you claim it's the child's decision, but lets be honest: after the amount of indoctrination and peer pressure your children face, they're only ever going to come out with the goals you want for them. You claim that a person's heart should not be broken because you're "giving pieces of your heart away." But, you'll do a complete about-face and claim that you should have as many children as possible. If each person you date steals a piece of your heart and leaves you with less of a heart to give, wouldn't the same be true for children? In which case, your first child would have the majority of your love and your last child would have the least of your love. If you don't lose pieces of your heart to your children, why would you lose pieces of your heart to your previous significant others?

Furthermore, what makes you think that you'd be able to pick out the perfect person for your daughter to marry? If my family believed in courtships like yours does, I would have been married to my first boyfriend, whom I dated at the age of 16. He was "perfect": he belonged to my family's churches (we had two because the youth group was a combination of the two); he came from a large family; he wanted a large family; he had already "graduated" (having done a homeschooling program that had him out at the age of 15) and was enrolled in a college with a career in mind; he was part of the CORE Team (teen leaders of the youth groups at our churches') with my cousins and me which was lead by my aunt; he was a member of the church band; he played two instruments; he was my cousins' best friend; my cousin was the one who introduced us; he was respectful to his parents; he was respectful to my family; he treated me well in front of people; and the list continues. However, he was abusive physically, emotionally, mentally, and sexually. One day, while getting ready for a church function, he pushed me against the wall and forced his hands into my pants. Another day, while hanging outside of the CORE Team room during a break, he decided it would be funny to roundhouse kick me in the jaw. He constantly belittled me. He decided to flirt with one of my best friends on a day he felt I wasn't paying enough attention to him. And, on the last day I saw him, he tried to rape me while we were supposed to be tending to his younger siblings. When his plan failed because I kneed him in the groin and got away from him as fast as possible, he broke up with me on the grounds that I wasn't "easy enough" for him, stealing the last bit of dignity I had left because I didn't even get the satisfactions of ending the relationship. Now, you don't allow your children any alone time with their future spouse, you choose their spouse based on things you think are important, etc. You set your children up to be married into a relationship like the one I had the fortune to escape.

Last but not least, if you truly want to worship the lord and praise him for his blessings, I really think you ought to focus on nurturing your children. I dont mean just spending time with them, I mean figure out what their strengths are and help them achieve them. For instance, when Justin expressed an interest in getting a trumpet, you should have taken him to a store where he would have found a good quality one (not taken him to some pawn store; your rich enough to afford to buy appropriate gifts) and gotten him lessons. Instead, you had him settle for an impulse buy that more than likely was quickly passed on to another kid and/or completely forgotten. And, with Jinger expressing an interest in photography, you should at least be sending her to photography workshops where she'll learn how to capture the look she's going for. Sure a camera crew around your house could help Jinger, but there's only so much she can learn from surrounding herself with the same people day in and day out. And, with so many different forms of photography and methods of capturing "the perfect shot," she's missing out on so much by not being allowed those opportunities. Once she develops her craft, she should be able to start a business which would allow her to share the talent instilled in her. Having a talent but not being allowed to develop or sharing it is not only the most wasteful use of a life, but it's also the most insulting thing you can do to your child.

Sincerely,

Me

[TinyDancer87]

Wow. :clap:

[Drina Adams]

Dear JB and JChelle,

Please don't come to Ireland again.

Regards.

[merrily]

Dear JB and JChelle,

Please don't come to Ireland again.

Regards.

Please don't travel to 'heathen' lands again.

Love,

The World

[Lillybee]

Dear Michelle,

If you can not be bothered to brush Hannie, Jenny and Jordyn's hair, can you please make a J'slave do it. Those poor girls look so neglected.

[laura oz]

DuggarsTheEndIsNear, that. was. really. good! Well said :clap: :clap: :clap:

[HereticHick]

Jim Bob and Michelle,

There is a great picture of lunch on the road from the blog of your fundie pals the Bontragers (...bontragersingers.blogspot....)-- a big platter of fresh raw veggies, small servings of cheese quesadillas, homemade guacamole, rice & beans & homemade salsa from their garden.

Learn from these people!!

PS Their name isn't really that hard to pronounce. Stop being such ignorant hicks.

[Tom Slick]

My letter would be:

Dear Jim Bob and Michelle,

In protecting your children from the evils of the world, you have filled them with the inability for them to be truly compassionate and empathic. You've raised children that are as least "Christ-like" as you could get. Jesus traveled the country, hung out with "the wrong sorts", had a few drinks now and then, made mistakes, etc. And, while you constantly go on about how Jesus is the one true role model and you want your children to be like him, you do nothing to allow them to follow in his footsteps. The closest your children come to a "Mary Magdalen" type figure is your niece, Amy, and (despite the grief people give her for her fame-whoring and her boyfriend count) she's not that bad. I doubt your children could possibly see the good in someone who chose a "more seductive" lifestyle than you allow, like Jesus did. In fact, your children, particularly your older daughters, regularly judge the choices and desires of others as if they themselves get to determine who is admitted into heaven. Though, this sense of entitlement isn't something they just developed on their own. Your own actions and words emulated the perfect example of a self-centered, holier-than-thou, damning person.

On the rare occasions that your children are given the opportunity to experience the world, and see the wonders that your god has created, you waste no time in convincing them that these new things are evil, reminding them to take their gender appropriate role, and serving to entertain the younger ones while completely ignoring the fact that the majority of your children are no longer under the age of 10 -- in fact, only 5 of your 19 children are under the age of 10. While I understand that it can be hard to keep the young ones entertained when doing activities geared towards the older children, you should make a greater attempt at playing towards the interests of the majority.

On many occasions, we've watched as your family partakes in activities that describe your believes of what the bible says. On one such occasion, we watched your family tour a "science" museum in which Jesus was depicted as having been with the dinosaurs, stated the world was only 10000 years old, evolution is a made up story, and claimed that fossils were incorrect/a tool to convince people that the creation story is not true. I must ask you, under what authority do you have to determine the power of god? You believe that god created the world and inspired people to write the bible, do you not? Why must you then put your definition of a day as the definition god uses for a day? God existed before the sun, did he not? Therefore he had to have some way to measure a day that would not have required the sun. So why make "the 7 days" 7 earth days? What if it hasn't even been a god day since the creation of Adam? Furthermore, why must evolution be false? The bible says we're all created in gods image, does it not? When creating art or music, writing stories, learning the basics of existence (walking, eating, breathing), or otherwise performing/learning a new skill/trade, our work gets gradually better, does it not? When learning to draw a person, a child may start off with a head that has arms sprouting out where the ears should be and legs coming out of the chin; yet with time, patience, and a better understanding of how to control and manipulate their mediums, a person can learn to be a master of drawn/painted portraits creating works of art so close to reality that you'd swear it was a photograph. Knowing this, and knowing that we're created in god's image, why must you think that god got everything right on the first try?

On the topic of getting things right on the first try, I still do not understand why you don't allow anything other than courtships -- I know you claim it's the child's decision, but lets be honest: after the amount of indoctrination and peer pressure your children face, they're only ever going to come out with the goals you want for them. You claim that a person's heart should not be broken because you're "giving pieces of your heart away." But, you'll do a complete about-face and claim that you should have as many children as possible. If each person you date steals a piece of your heart and leaves you with less of a heart to give, wouldn't the same be true for children? In which case, your first child would have the majority of your love and your last child would have the least of your love. If you don't lose pieces of your heart to your children, why would you lose pieces of your heart to your previous significant others?

Furthermore, what makes you think that you'd be able to pick out the perfect person for your daughter to marry? If my family believed in courtships like yours does, I would have been married to my first boyfriend, whom I dated at the age of 16. He was "perfect": he belonged to my family's churches (we had two because the youth group was a combination of the two); he came from a large family; he wanted a large family; he had already "graduated" (having done a homeschooling program that had him out at the age of 15) and was enrolled in a college with a career in mind; he was part of the CORE Team (teen leaders of the youth groups at our churches') with my cousins and me which was lead by my aunt; he was a member of the church band; he played two instruments; he was my cousins' best friend; my cousin was the one who introduced us; he was respectful to his parents; he was respectful to my family; he treated me well in front of people; and the list continues. However, he was abusive physically, emotionally, mentally, and sexually. One day, while getting ready for a church function, he pushed me against the wall and forced his hands into my pants. Another day, while hanging outside of the CORE Team room during a break, he decided it would be funny to roundhouse kick me in the jaw. He constantly belittled me. He decided to flirt with one of my best friends on a day he felt I wasn't paying enough attention to him. And, on the last day I saw him, he tried to rape me while we were supposed to be tending to his younger siblings. When his plan failed because I kneed him in the groin and got away from him as fast as possible, he broke up with me on the grounds that I wasn't "easy enough" for him, stealing the last bit of dignity I had left because I didn't even get the satisfactions of ending the relationship. Now, you don't allow your children any alone time with their future spouse, you choose their spouse based on things you think are important, etc. You set your children up to be married into a relationship like the one I had the fortune to escape.

Last but not least, if you truly want to worship the lord and praise him for his blessings, I really think you ought to focus on nurturing your children. I dont mean just spending time with them, I mean figure out what their strengths are and help them achieve them. For instance, when Justin expressed an interest in getting a trumpet, you should have taken him to a store where he would have found a good quality one (not taken him to some pawn store; your rich enough to afford to buy appropriate gifts) and gotten him lessons. Instead, you had him settle for an impulse buy that more than likely was quickly passed on to another kid and/or completely forgotten. And, with Jinger expressing an interest in photography, you should at least be sending her to photography workshops where she'll learn how to capture the look she's going for. Sure a camera crew around your house could help Jinger, but there's only so much she can learn from surrounding herself with the same people day in and day out. And, with so many different forms of photography and methods of capturing "the perfect shot," she's missing out on so much by not being allowed those opportunities. Once she develops her craft, she should be able to start a business which would allow her to share the talent instilled in her. Having a talent but not being allowed to develop or sharing it is not only the most wasteful use of a life, but it's also the most insulting thing you can do to your child.

Sincerely,

Me

Can't add nothing to that :clap:

[Change]

Has anyone ever tried IRL to write either one of them a letter?

Is there an email address anywhere?

It seems astonishing to me that they are immune to the criticisms of themselves out there. No introspection whatsoever.

How about writing the young adult girls letters? Telling them they do not have to remain their parents prisoners for the rest of their lives?

[Change]

Dear Jimbob and Michelle:

Why can't you see that Bill Gothard is a snake oil salesman? AND Do you REALLY believe all the crap that you spew...or is it all just lip service for political gain and tv ratings?

Love

Samurai Katz

Someone ought to mail a book exposing Gothardism to them.

Scary to see not one kid has questioned the beliefs. That is against even statistics.