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Who are The Arndts?


Shoes Grace

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OK, I've searched around FJ and the Arndt Family blog, but who *are* these people? I know there are a bunch of them, ranging in age from 34 to, what, 10? One girl. But, what is their deal? Their blog is mostly videos and I just don't have time for that.

To simplify, I guess, what are their Rules of Fundie?

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They don't really appear to have any rules besides that the men are just waiting for God to drop wives in their laps and they live at home till they get married. Besides that they don't appear to be big on modesty or any of the other typical fundie rules. They guys have jobs and interact with normal people, but they still sleep in bunk beds, play with stuffed animals and have birthday cake in their parent's bed. They are the most bizarre family out there. They cannot be compared to any other fundies.

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Interesting. I wonder if this is sort of what happens if you get a fundie family without the girls. Delete the girls from the Duggar and Maxwell scenarios, and you've got a bunch of stay at home men who have working lives and almost normal access to the outside world. Mama Arndt had already decided, "eh, 11 boys, I'll wear what I want," before Wizzy was born, so the cult of ladyhood and protecting innocent girls wasn't an issue for them whenever they turned fundie.

I wonder if that's not the way in for most of these families, to say to parents, "here's how to keep that poor girl safe."

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Are the Arndt's court reporters or is that a different family?

Yes, several of them are court reporters.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Why is Wizzy called Wizzy?

IIRC her real name is Mary-Elizabeth. I assume that Wizzy is a nickname that morphed out of Lizzy from Elizabeth but I don't know if that's actaully true.

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  • 1 month later...

They certainly are their own brand of cray cray. They aren't associated with ATI or VF...they are kind of their own family cult like the Maxwells, only with less modesty.

I get the feeling Mama Arndt is the one who is really in charge in that house, and what she says goes. I will say I don't blame her for running around in shorts all the time...if I looked that good after popping out a dozen+ kids, I probably would flaunt it too.

I've gone back and forth on classifying them as fundie or fundie lite over the years. I think with the de-emphasis on feminine modesty and with many of the sons having jobs in the real world, I lean towards a really weird fundie lite family.

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They certainly are their own brand of cray cray. They aren't associated with ATI or VF...they are kind of their own family cult like the Maxwells, only with less modesty.

I get the feeling Mama Arndt is the one who is really in charge in that house, and what she says goes. I will say I don't blame her for running around in shorts all the time...if I looked that good after popping out a dozen+ kids, I probably would flaunt it too.

I've gone back and forth on classifying them as fundie or fundie lite over the years. I think with the de-emphasis on feminine modesty and with many of the sons having jobs in the real world, I lean towards a really weird fundie lite family.

But they are so isolationist except for work.

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It will be interesting to see if Wizzy is let out in the world to get a job(at least an Arndt improved job) or if she will be a SAHD.

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  • 1 year later...

What's even more strange about them is that they see themselves as celebrities in their own little world. They have been doing a public-access TV show called "Fam Team" for years. (you can see dozens of episodes on youtube). It's basically random boring activities and trips that they have done with no real point or purpose. There are several episodes of just "Dad" driving and blathering on and on about something spiritual, but most of them have no religious connotation whatsoever. They don't brag about having such a large family (maybe slightly). Then there is the "Vine Valley" movie that Mr Arndt has been editing for 20 years. I have a feeling it's to be released just before the second coming. (kidding but really it's like shit or get off the pot). They appear so normal, but they are so incredibly stunted in the dating/marriage department. There are a few clips where Mama Arndt asks about girlfriends, etc... but there never are any...

Edited to add.... since this is in the SOTDRT forum, All the kids are home-schooled and apparently do quite well. At one point several of the older boys had to go to regular high school because Mama needed to work and they got straight A's There is a Fam Team episode about the home schooling and she certainly seems to be doing it right...... however, they seem to be lacking in the science department. There is an episode where one of the oldest (late 20's) had no concept of the speed of sound. They were at a lake using walkie talkies and he was literally blown away that he could talk to one of his brother's on the walkie talkie, but then hear his actual voice seconds later over the water of the lake....

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I have a vague recollection of reading an interview with Mom Arndt quite a long time ago where she talked about gender roles in her home and basically said there were none. When she needed help anywhere around the house, the boys pitched in regardless of what it was, and she was also determined to make sure her sons could run a home just as well as anyone. I really like that way of thinking. Oftentimes there's a bit of sensibility in the middle of lots of crazy. :)

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I have a vague recollection of reading an interview with Mom Arndt quite a long time ago where she talked about gender roles in her home and basically said there were none. When she needed help anywhere around the house, the boys pitched in regardless of what it was, and she was also determined to make sure her sons could run a home just as well as anyone. I really like that way of thinking. Oftentimes there's a bit of sensibility in the middle of lots of crazy. :)

I think that was more out of necessity than actual belief. When you have only 1 daughter, who's way younger than most of the boys, you actually need the boys to step up and be domestic.

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  • 8 months later...

I'm a newbie, but learned about the Arndts on this forum and spent WAY too much time watching episodes of their show on YouTube.

They were boring as hell, but I kind of liked them, except for Dad. He was weird. Mostly I felt sorry for their manchildren.

Have you gone on their photography website? They take some really neat pictures.

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