Taliban Tony and Lina's crisis of faith/marriage

[redcurls]

Another baby? ANOTHER BABY!? Shit.

Lina's profile seems to be on extreme lockdown. No visibly public posts or even a 'friend' button.

[bionicmlle]

Another baby? ANOTHER BABY!? Shit.

Lina's profile seems to be on extreme lockdown. No visibly public posts or even a 'friend' button.

I think the last post referred to andrea, not Lina.

[uber frau]

No sorry, that was Andrea. I would be completely unsurprised if Lina ends ups with a reconciliation baby though. I've seen it so many times, it's not funny (because adding another baby to the mix is just the thing an already strained relationship needs).

Whether or not the marriage holds together is more unpredictable, although if they do get back together I'll wager a tenner it will be an unhappy one. Unless he magically gets a personality transplant, TT will continue to be a prize dick, irrelevant of the flavour of his religious affiliation.

[ladyamylynn]

No sorry, that was Andrea. I would be completely unsurprised if Lina ends ups with a reconciliation baby though. I've seen it so many times, it's not funny (because adding another baby to the mix is just the thing an already strained relationship needs).

Whether or not the marriage holds together is more unpredictable, although if they do get back together I'll wager a tenner it will be an unhappy one. Unless he magically gets a personality transplant, TT will continue to be a prize dick, irrelevant of the flavour of his religious affiliation.

This is a spot-on analysis. Poor, poor child.

[ladyamylynn]

TT just posted a huge picture of him and Lina kissing on FB. Whoever predicted the reunion baby- sadly, I think you're probably right... ugh.

[silvia]

So, uh, which one of them caved in on the religion front to prompt this reconciliation? Or are they kind of superficially agreeing to disagree, with the inevitable future blowups surrounding whether/ where to worship and how to raise their son? I'm not against interfaith marriages by any means, but the maturity level of these two puts them at a disadvantage in trying to make this work.

[formergothardite]

I'm giving them three months before they separate again. She will discover she is pregnant and they will reconcile for the birth of baby #2.

[wtylcf]

Wow, I did not expect that picture to be taken about 2 inches from Lina and TT's smooching lips. Hey, looks like the atheist interest groups have disappeared from his profile! (ETA: they have not disappeared; it seems Facebook just changed how it displays information again so it was harder to find) Oh, only TT could go from attending free-thought conventions to reconciling with his religious ex-wife and putting aside those interests in the span of 2 weeks. (ETA: I don't even know how to speculate anymore about their supposed agreement. Please use contraception, you crazy kids!)

I'm sure they're on a bit of a high right now, but unless one of them is really willing to change, I can't see it working out, and that will just make the process so much harder on everyone involved if they have to deal with repeated breakups and reconciliations.

Their baby is seriously one of the cutest kids ever, and it makes me so sad that his family is already this fraught with turmoil.

[pimpom]

Oooooh, Lina has a new background pic on her fb...

https://www.facebook.com/paulinadodd#!/ ... =1&theater

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Yup, beautiful baby with two dingbats for parents.

[pimpom]

Hahaha OMTS, at first sight your avatar looked to me like a pious little girls (allbeit without a head or shoulders) holding a little bouquet of flowers. Only on looking again....hahahahha brilliant.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Hahaha OMTS, at first sight your avatar looked to me like a pious little girls (allbeit without a head or shoulders) holding a little bouquet of flowers. Only on looking again....hahahahha brilliant.

RIGHT? :lol: I found it on Pinterest today.

[bananacat]

Honestly, this scares me. I am scared for Lina's sake. This just really seems like the reconciliation phase of the cycle of abuse, and considering the story of how they met in the first place, I am really worried that TT is abusing her.

[wtylcf]

Honestly, this scares me. I am scared for Lina's sake. This just really seems like the reconciliation phase of the cycle of abuse, and considering the story of how they met in the first place, I am really worried that TT is abusing her.

...I really, really, hope not. Considering the origins of his nickname here, I hope to God he's left behind the thought that women who are disobedient are deserving of abuse. Freethinkers and recreational pot smokers are not usually down with spousal abuse, right? Ugh, just thinking about that possibility made me feel sick.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

...I really, really, hope not. Considering the origins of his nickname here, I hope to God he's left behind the thought that women who are disobedient are deserving of abuse. Freethinkers and recreational pot smokers are not usually down with spousal abuse, right? Ugh, just thinking about that possibility made me feel sick.

Well, those are my people ;), and unfortunately, there are just as many misogynistic dicks among them as anywhere. :(

ETA: One of the reasons I no longer go to freethinker/atheist conventions is because they are lousy with smug, sexist white men.

[ladyamylynn]

Well, those are my people ;), and unfortunately, there are just as many misogynistic dicks among them as anywhere. :(

ETA: One of the reasons I no longer go to freethinker/atheist conventions is because they are lousy with smug, sexist white men.

Unfortunately, I think you've just hit the nail exactly on the head. I would wager that TT's a redditor... he strikes me as exactly the smug white 20-year-old that would avidly frequent /r/atheism, and meanwhile ogle/shame/rage at every poor woman that dared to post. Anyway, I hope for their sake that he's lost the misogyny that went along with the fundie-ism and faux/Judaism, but I would be really, really surprised if he had. His family is fucking AWFUL, by the way.

[wtylcf]

Unfortunately, I think you've just hit the nail exactly on the head. I would wager that TT's a redditor... he strikes me as exactly the smug white 20-year-old that would avidly frequent /r/atheism, and meanwhile ogle/shame/rage at every poor woman that dared to post. Anyway, I hope for their sake that he's lost the misogyny that went along with the fundie-ism and faux/Judaism, but I would be really, really surprised if he had. His family is fucking AWFUL, by the way.

Well, damn. Colour me naive, I suppose, since I was all, "he's not an MRA yet or anything." It is more consistent with the persona we got to know during his blogging/commenting days. I've met a few freethinkers and rec. pot smokers, not a large sampling, but just haven't come across any that are total douchebags and abusers (that I know of).

[GeoBQn]

When I used to table at the farmers market for NARAL, one week our table was next to the local philosophy club. The man at that booth kept harassing my friend, saying things like, "So, since you are pro-choice, does that mean you are easy? Will you have sex with me?" She finally got so creeped out that she loudly demanded to see his tabling permit. That seemed to scare him off from saying anything further. I looked it up later and they looked like a legitimate, non-misogynistic organization, but any possibility I had of seeing them as good people was completely ruined by this one asshole.

[wtylcf]

...And Lina's flashing her wedding bling on her FB profile shot. "I was thinking of my husband when I took it [this photo]," she says to a commenter. Most depressing photo of a gorgeous, happy-looking young woman I've ever seen.

(Y'know, sex is great, and all, but it will not solve the underlying foundational issues of any marriage).

ETA: and TT is bragging about re-reading Darwin's "on the Origins of Species!" I'm sure he has to dig it out from under the "Bible bouquet" Lina places on top of it every day (as per her pinterest).

[punkiepie]

...And Lina's flashing her wedding bling on her FB profile shot. "I was thinking of my husband when I took it [this photo]," she says to a commenter. Most depressing photo of a gorgeous, happy-looking young woman I've ever seen.

(Y'know, sex is great, and all, but it will not solve the underlying foundational issues of any marriage).

ETA: and TT is bragging about re-reading Darwin's "on the Origins of Species!" I'm sure he has to dig it out from under the "Bible bouquet" Lina places on top of it every day (as per her pinterest).

Wow, she looks gorgeous in that picture! It's so sad that she's tied herself to that asshole. She should have taken her son and gotten far far away when she had the chance and the resolve to do so.

[Just Not Good]

I wish I knew more about these people! Is there a thread that deals with their background?

[wtylcf]

I wish I knew more about these people! Is there a thread that deals with their background?

I was absolutely certain that one of our Lina+TT watchers had created a summary with links, but I can't seem to find it right now! Am I imagining things? I will keep looking for it in the meantime. Please chime in if you recall reading this.

Short story: Lina and TT are former "messianic jews," a self-assigned label to which many of our posters took umbrage (and they were not alone in their sentiments). She used to have a blog called "a set apart life," in which she discussed her faith. Lina and TT had a whirlwind courtship which sort of began with TT online-stalking Lina through facebook. They were married in someone's backyard in what seemed to be a hurry and 10 months later, had a baby. It was widely speculated that they fooled around before marriage, but it seems like she just got insta-pregnant after their wedding. At some point (I forget when), Lina locked down her blog, presumably because she couldn't deal with getting flak from FJ posters and Jewish bloggers for her religious beliefs. After the baby was a few months old, TT began posting on his facebook and twitter talking about atheism. They separated a few months later. Then after a few months, they were back together again (as of last week or so), but TT doesn't appear to have backed down from his interest in atheist authors. Lina has become Catholic. Their poor baby is too young to understand what's going on, but I still feel bad for him.

TT's nickname comes from a post he made (I think on Lina's former blog?) to the effect of, "when men act like the Taliban, it's because women are disobedient." I paraphrase, but as I recall, that was the general sentiment. Hence, he became nicknamed "Taliban Tony" or TT for short. Lina now goes by her full name, Paulina.

[OnceModestTwiceShy]

Is Lina's family of origin Catholic?

[ladyamylynn]

Is Lina's family of origin Catholic?

I think they're evangelicals, but I'm not 100% sure.

[LynnJ0516]

I find Paulina's Pinterest page bizarre. I'll bet that the ink on her divorce papers is not yet dry but she is already posting pictures of Cinderella type wedding dresses. Who does this? Every person I know who has gone through a divorce takes some time before they are ready to even consider another serious relationship. I don't think this whole experience has taught her anything. She has gone from regularly religious to fundie Christian to faux Jew to now ?? Catholiscism. I think she is as flighty as ever. Maybe she has spent time and effort looking at her role in the failure of this marriage but I doubt it. I think she still thinks of herself as a princess and she is still looking for a prince to "rescue" her. I hope I am wrong. I hope she is buckling down and studying/getting a job so that she can care for her child. I doubt it though.

This.

I could not for the life of me understand why she was already posting wedding pin ideas a month (maybe even less) after her separation. It was either to make TT jealous (immature) or because she really thinks she can just get a magical "do-over" like nothing ever happened (again immature). Not to say there is no moving on after divorce and finding the right person to love, but there is certainly no magic in it like snap your fingers it never happened and I'm a princess again waiting for my prince!

Whatever it is Lina's level (or lack) of maturity downright scares me. I really really hope you're right too in that she is finally looking for a career or way to make an income so she can rely more on herself to support her baby.