Taliban Tony and Lina's crisis of faith/marriage

[Confused_by_religion]

She really looks great, but seems to be off the modesty/headcovering bandwagon. I will never understand how people can deeply, completely embrace one religious concept so publicly, ranting on about everybody who does NOT - and one year later they ditch the idea blithely and...I don't know, pretend it never happened?

[Wolfie]

She really looks great, but seems to be off the modesty/headcovering bandwagon. I will never understand how people can deeply, completely embrace one religious concept so publicly, ranting on about everybody who does NOT - and one year later they ditch the idea blithely and...I don't know, pretend it never happened?

It is because she is still a kid. Our brains don't finish developing until we're close to 25. It is still very annoying how these people who are not fully grown up lecture us on what we should and should not be doing- there are so many blogs out there. My only hope is that there aren't people who might not have the intelligence to tell what is going on who choose to make their lives miserable by listening to them.

[wtylcf]

I'm sure Lina's conviction to be modest and headcovering was heart-felt at the time, but considering how many pictures she used to post of herself trying out various headcovering styles, I'm sure she also liked the positive attention she got for her modest attire. She wrote on her old blog one time that strangers used to give her compliments on her head-wraps and ask what religion she was. I'm guessing that the crisis of faith thing with Tony simply prompted her to re-consider messianic Judaism (since she's quoting Ratzinger now), and other faux-orthodox beliefs she may have held concerning head-covering.

[fundyfunland]

I hate to say that I'm enjoying this new thread on Lina. Really missed her crazyness!! I feel sorry for her now though, because she's just too young to be dealing with a divorce and a kid.

I wish her well. I also wish that she and TT (whether they're married or divorced) pick one religion and stick to it for quite a while. I can only imagine how much that would mess their son up, going from one extreme religion to another, not knowing which one to treat as the TRUE church.

[Black Aliss]

She really looks great, but seems to be off the modesty/headcovering bandwagon. I will never understand how people can deeply, completely embrace one religious concept so publicly, ranting on about everybody who does NOT - and one year later they ditch the idea blithely and...I don't know, pretend it never happened?

I think it's called mental illness.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I think it's called mental illness.

Youth is not a mental illness.

I deal with enough genuine mental illness that I don't throw the term around lightly. [When I say that I suspect Kidist has a mental illness, I mean it.]

[2xx1xy1JD]

Divorce Dramawatch continues to be mostly uneventful. I check their facebooks every day or two to see if anyone's going to have a public throwdown, and have to be content with scraps of non-info. Points for discretion, I suppose! The main bit of info here is that Lina is still calling this Dodd-lastname lady "Mom" (she must be Tony's mom?)

She's always gorgeous, but she's looking awfully thin in this picture. I wonder if it's stress from the marriage breakdown. I hope she stays healthy.

[wtylcf]

She's always gorgeous, but she's looking awfully thin in this picture. I wonder if it's stress from the marriage breakdown. I hope she stays healthy.

I hope she's taking care of her health as well. A couple of times in my life I've been through periods of intense stress which caused me to completely lose my appetite for weeks, but I'm larger framed and heavier than Lina. Although it sounds awesome to lose weight without trying, it is no fun whatsoever and very unhealthy. I hope her family and friends are looking in on her and helping her rest, eat, and heal. I know Lina has sometimes been criticized for being a delicate flower and not wanting to take care of herself, but this shit is stressful, and if there's ever a time one needs support, I it's when one's marriage breaks up.

[treemom]

I think I must have a super broad view of fundie. In fact, I didn't know a lot of this SAHD crap until I came to FJ. I came for the fundies who I experience in my daily life. And yes, I would consider MO on the spectrum of fundamentalism. I am often surprised when FJ'ers think wearing pants or working is the gold standard for not-a-fundie. I suspect because I attended Liberty I am used to the same general feelings packaged up with an acceptance of women working and wearing pants.

It is the belief system that is what makes me put something on the fundi spectrum not the obvious things.

[longskirts]

If you think of fundamentalism as a spectrum, I can see how MO would be considered a kind of fundamentalism. But it is still a very different lifestyle than the one Lina was aiming for. It's unlikely someone who became MO would end up doing things like Lina because there are so many major differences, including work, school, birth control.

[mlady]

Has Lina ever posted here? I wish she would. I bet she would find a lot of support since it sounds like IRL she is surrounded by extremes and also is a little OCD about the stuff herself. She needs to breath and enjoy life a little more and not worry about religion, ritual, pleasing "insert god-type here" by DOING things.

[Black Aliss]

Youth is not a mental illness.

I deal with enough genuine mental illness that I don't throw the term around lightly. [When I say that I suspect Kidist has a mental illness, I mean it.]

Point taken. I forget how young (and immature for her age) Lina is. I was thinking in more general terms, of some of the other fundie nutjobs (layperson's term) we snark on.

[rward]

I'm not saying you didn't "know the right folks". I'm saying the attitudes you're describing are more right-wing. Religious groups are defined by their beliefs and lifestyles, so it's not a fallacy to point out that you're talking about beliefs promoted by a different group from MO.

No true Scotsman would be saying nobody really MO has green eyes or nobody really MO lives in Texas. Eye color or location don't define religions, but beliefs do.

That's not the No True Scotsman fallacy.

This is the NTS: Christians don't kill people. [Christian] killed someone, therefore, they were never a Christian.

[treemom]

If you think of fundamentalism as a spectrum, I can see how MO would be considered a kind of fundamentalism. But it is still a very different lifestyle than the one Lina was aiming for. It's unlikely someone who became MO would end up doing things like Lina because there are so many major differences, including work, school, birth control.

So? FUndamentalism looks like a lot of different things. The Robotkins don't look like the Maxwells for example.

[longskirts]

So? FUndamentalism looks like a lot of different things. The Robotkins don't look like the Maxwells for example.

Of course. I was responding to someone who said she came close to being Lina because she almost became MO. Point is it's not the same lifestyle.

Lina in her Torah phase would have loved this discussion though. She was always trying to convince her readers that she practiced Judaism just like any Orthodox Jew.

[treemom]

Of course. I was responding to someone who said she came close to being Lina because she almost became MO. Point is it's not the same lifestyle.

Lina in her Torah phase would have loved this discussion though. She was always trying to convince her readers that she practiced Judaism just like any Orthodox Jew.

I was confused because I was the one who said it was a spectrum so I assumed you were responding to me.

[longskirts]

I meant at the beginning of the "Is MO fundamentalist?" discussion, that's what I was responding to when I defended MO. I was referring back to that when I said yes, it could be on the fundie spectrum but it's still different from Lina (what I was arguing from the beginning). Sorry for not being clear.

[treemom]

I meant at the beginning of the "Is MO fundamentalist?" discussion, that's what I was responding to when I defended MO. I was referring back to that when I said yes, it could be on the fundie spectrum but it's still different from Lina (what I was arguing from the beginning). Sorry for not being clear.

Its ok. I understand now.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

So is Lina back home? Who has custody of their son?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[wtylcf]

So is Lina back home? Who has custody of their son?

Inquiring minds want to know.

You and me both, friend! Their public activities in Facebook and twitter haven't been all that forthcoming. Which is probably for the best, actually, but it does not satisfy my burning curiosity.

[jenny_islander]

It looks as though she may be the most stable parent ATM. Let's hope she quits playacting and settles down to taking care of that person who didn't ask for this and can't just walk away.

[wtylcf]

non-news of the day: Lina's pinning articles about the possibilities of being a single parent...and homeschooling. *headdesk* *headdesk*

It's her decision and all...but it seems like she's not going to give up the stay-at-home-mom dream if she can help it. I'm not sure how it's possible to be a single parent with no income and homeschool. The article does not address having a job and homeschooling - just how to save money to be able to stay at home and homeschool one's kids.

[bananacat]

Maybe Lina is expecting child support payments from Tony to completely cover her expenses? Or maybe she'll mooch off other family or even beg for donations on her blog.

[wtylcf]

you're probably right, bananacat - probably Lina expects alimony and child support money to allow her to live and support her child without working if she's seriously considering staying at home as a single parent. I just personally don't get how you can have your marriage collapse after only a year and a half, and NOT rethink your decision to be entirely supported by others your whole life. She could make such a better life for herself and her kid, in my opinion, if she could have an independent source of income. Then again, I'm not a fundie, so I don't get the whole, "make an idol of being at home even if it means unnecessarily living in poverty" thing. Who knows- maybe Tony's raking it in as an e-book architect or whatever.

[Curious]

It's kind of too bad that Lina didn't listen to us when we were desperately try to save her from exactly what she is going through right now. I wonder if she ever thinks about that. Maybe not or maybe she does deep down once in a while.

So many of these young girls telling people how they should live their lives with such authority and they don't want to listen to the people that have actually been there.

On one hand, I want to feel sorry for Lina, but on the other it's time for her to grow up. We did everything, but stage a real life intervention for her to try and help her not make this huge, life changing mistake and she dug her heels in and told us we didn't know anything. Now she has a baby and no life skills because washing underware and lighting candles. That's not going to support a child.

Reality apparently still isn't somewhere she is living if she thinks she can be a single mom and homeschool. Expecting other people to take care of her and her child for her entire life is unreasonable. At some point, she is going to have to be responsible for her own decisions and realize she has to make her own way for herself and her child.

I do think she would find a lot of support here, if she'd come back, but Lina doesn't strike me as someone that admits she was wrong..ever :( Posting here again would be admitting we were right and I don't see that happening.