Bates Updates - Part 2

[Phoenix]

I can't speak for fundies or other religions but I was raised strict Catholic and socialized with strict, conservative Catholics for whom everything, but especially abortion, was black and white. When it came to politics, a candidate could be a sterling, shining do-gooder who did everything right but who was pro-choice and it would be a huge no-no to vote for him. It was incredibly frustrating and mind-boggling and part of the reason I no longer identify as Catholic.

Been there, done that, have the t-shirt. The super conservative parish I was raised in threw out a long term and highly generous member when they ran for political office as a Democrat, thus had to sign onto a pro-choice ticket. It was so bad this person's spouse wasn't sure I would talk to them many months later after the political campaign was over. I not only talked to the spouse but voted for the candidate!

When I was graduating from Catholic high school headed for a Catholic college my parish gave me grief because the Catholic college was run by an order of priests who were too liberal! :roll:

People I grew up with in that parish assume I still share their strictly conservative Catholic world view. I have generally chosen to not inform them otherwise as an act of kindness. I will have to excuse myself from the room the next time someone gives me a speech about the danger to my immortal soul. God and I are good, thanks for your concern. :angry-banghead:

[indifferent]

Bradley is one cute baby. And that pic of him and Zach really is adorable

[ILoveJellybeans]

Starcasm posted an article about the Bringing Up Bates show and also Bradley's birth. They included a blurb about the new show from the UP network:

"Twenty-seven years ago Gil and Kelly Jo Bates tied the knot with no plans to have kids. Fast forward 19 kids later and this tight-knit family, seemingly too good to be true, has a tremendous bond but are far from perfect. As you will see, when you have a house full of 19 children, from ages two to 25, daily chaos is multiplied exponentially, but so are the joyful and poignant moments that life can bring.

[The Bates] foster the courtship of Michaella (24) and Brandon Keilen by allowing him to share an extended visit with the family during the holiday season; support Erin (23) and her husband Chad Paine as they face a health issue that challenges their hope of starting a family; check in on newlywed Alyssa (19) as she finds her way in Florida with new husband, John Webster, the son of a U.S. Congressman and makes a surprise announcement; encourage Tori (18) to bring order to the family schedule and step up to meet the challenges of child training as her parents have become more lax in their later years."

I wonder what Alyssa's surprise announcement is? Getting on birth control?!

Awwwww no, I hope Erin and Chad are okay :( I hope they don't have problems with infertility or the ability to carry a pregnancy to term, Erin's pregnancy was very much wanted, and I think they would make good parents.

Is Alyssa pregnant? I thought that she would wait as she said that she did not want to have 19 kids, but even then, it might not mean she is going to have a million more after that, loads of people have babies right after marriage, even if they stop at one or two.

[AussieSisterMum]

Does anyone know why the Bates became fundy? From reading about some other families they face some sort of crisis and they find the answer in fundamentalism. Gil and Kelly were both raised Christian, were they not? And both are well educated, I mean Kelly even said she wrote a paper in college in support of abortion :pink-shock:

So I'm wondering what made them take the ATI/Gothard route?

[anjulibai]

Yeah, I hope Erin and Chad's health issue is something that is easily treated, so they can have the children they want. Infertility is painful enough without having to deal with the added pressures of the quiverfull culture.

[memabelle]

Been there, done that, have the t-shirt. The super conservative parish I was raised in threw out a long term and highly generous member when they ran for political office as a Democrat, thus had to sign onto a pro-choice ticket. It was so bad this person's spouse wasn't sure I would talk to them many months later after the political campaign was over. I not only talked to the spouse but voted for the candidate!

When I was graduating from Catholic high school headed for a Catholic college my parish gave me grief because the Catholic college was run by an order of priests who were too liberal! :roll:

People I grew up with in that parish assume I still share their strictly conservative Catholic world view. I have generally chosen to not inform them otherwise as an act of kindness. I will have to excuse myself from the room the next time someone gives me a speech about the danger to my immortal soul. God and I are good, thanks for your concern. :angry-banghead:

I actually credit my 16 years of Catholic education, including Catholic college, by inadvertently teaching me the inconsistencies, prejudices, and human-created dogmas and rules, with making me finally decide that I wasn't actually Catholic. Ironic.

[Ursula]

[The Bates] foster the courtship of Michaella (24) and Brandon Keilen by allowing him to share an extended visit with the family during the holiday season; support Erin (23) and her husband Chad Paine as they face a health issue that challenges their hope of starting a family; check in on newlywed Alyssa (19) as she finds her way in Florida with new husband, John Webster, the son of a U.S. Congressman and makes a surprise announcement; encourage Tori (18) to bring order to the family schedule and step up to meet the challenges of child training as her parents have become more lax in their later years."

Well, fuck. Alyssa's oven has definitely been bunned (though she's SO slim and has still had a perfectly flat stomach in recent pictures that showed off her full body or at least upper torso...I guess none of those pictures were TOO recent...) I bet they are just waiting until her 20th birthday to officially announce, which is in a week anyway, because that looks better than having a teen pregnancy, even if the teen in question is married. That or they have to hold off on announcing because of this new show and the show is getting the rights to control their lives the way TLC controls the Duggars. She's going to end up with children in the double digits, easily :(

And yeah, that quote regrading Tori is all kinds of gross. RAISE YOUR OWN FUCKING KIDS, GIL AND KELLY.

Anyway, I've never heard of this network, and I doubt they have pockets anywhere near as deep as TLC/Discovery Communications so I can't imagine the Bates family will be making a ton of money off of it. I suppose any little bit of exposure that allows them to spread their vile agenda is a good thing in their eyes and the little money it brings in is just icing on the cake.

[actuallyjessica]

alyssa posted this. (i don't wanna assume, but with their self-proclaimed stance on blessings, i think it's not an 'if' but a 'when') - and her face (and chest!) is fuller and she's glowing. and looks to have a little bump if you look closely.

[FreeHannie!]

Is Alyssa pregnant? I thought that she would wait as she said that she did not want to have 19 kids, but even then, it might not mean she is going to have a million more after that, loads of people have babies right after marriage, even if they stop at one or two.

Yeah, most people who have kids seem to have them within the first few years of marriage, but what I can see Alyssa toning down is the frequency and number of babies. I can see them having 4 over 10 years, not 4 in 4 years kinda deal and then 10 more for good measure.

[singsingsing]

But if she still holds to her parents' teachings, and she wants to keep having sex with her husband (or she also holds to the teaching that it's the wife's duty to have sex with her husband whether she wants to or not) she will have very little control over how many blessings, how fast. Maybe she will get lucky and be like Anna Duggar, having one every two years or so. She'd still have six by the time she was 30 and would easily get to double digits that way. But if she has one every year, she could easily hit 20. Sorry, Alyssa, but if you don't like it you have to do something about it!

[FreeHannie!]

I'd need the pill or a shot if I was married to him. I'd TOTALLY happily let Alyssa's husband ask for sex whenever he wanted. #hotfundie haha.

[FreeHannie!]

But if she still holds to her parents' teachings, and she wants to keep having sex with her husband (or she also holds to the teaching that it's the wife's duty to have sex with her husband whether she wants to or not) she will have very little control over how many blessings, how fast. Maybe she will get lucky and be like Anna Duggar, having one every two years or so. She'd still have six by the time she was 30 and would easily get to double digits that way. But if she has one every year, she could easily hit 20. Sorry, Alyssa, but if you don't like it you have to do something about it!

I wonder if this is where John being a Congressman's son might work in Alyssa's favor. Even if David is a pro-life, pro family kinda guy, having a son with 19 kids is not going to be a good look for them. It is going to jeopardise their appeal with mainstream conservative Christians (the ones who like family values but also think you should on the damn pill after a 3 or 4 of blessings and not put out your hands for food stamps and welfare!). I wouldn't be surprised if they've told Alyssa to 'do what she needs to do' to space out the births to a more 'acceptable' frequency.

[freedomjesusfootball]

I have thought she may be pregnant based on her selfies... More recently she has looked a bit more pale. I don't know how else to describe it, besides saying that she looked like a lot of women do in their first trimester when they have that constant slight nausea and extreme exhaustion going on.

[singsingsing]

I wonder if this is where John being a Congressman's son might work in Alyssa's favor. Even if David is a pro-life, pro family kinda guy, having a son with 19 kids is not going to be a good look for them. It is going to jeopardise their appeal with mainstream conservative Christians (the ones who like family values but also think you should on the damn pill after a 3 or 4 of blessings and not put out your hands for food stamps and welfare!). I wouldn't be surprised if they've told Alyssa to 'do what she needs to do' to space out the births to a more 'acceptable' frequency.

I'm not sure that's really accurate. Most mainstream conservative Christians view the more fundamentalist variety as charming and a generally positive force in society, even if they personally wouldn't live like that. John's father is ATI, so clearly he embraces the 'family values' thing and is probably influenced more by social than fiscal conservatism. I think he'd view having a son with a bunch of kids as a plus, not a liability.

[eh02]

Alyssa obviously could be pregnant, but I don't really think she "looks pregnant" - scrolling through IG, she looks exactly the same as she did months ago IMO. I don't think she looks sicker, heavier, paler or anything like that. When Jill got pregnant I was suspicious immediately because her boobs got enormous overnight! There's no really obvious signs in Alyssa yet - but of course, some women don't show any signs at all.

I wonder if it could be something totally different though, like she's enrolling in college? Isn't there a fundie-friendly Christian college in Florida?

Erin's health issue could be many things, but I really feel for her if it turns out to be something that will make her have a lot of trouble getting pregnant. I think she and Chad would be great parents. They seem like a really well matched couple, and I'm so glad she found someone like him. A supportive spouse definitely takes a little bit of the weight off when you have to go through something scary like a miscarriage and fertility issues. Fertility issues are hard for any woman trying to get pregnant, but I can only imagine how disproportionately awful it'd be when literally your entire life being a mom was your ONLY plan.

[Daenerys]

Whilst I hope Erin can have kids if she wants them, I wonder if being forced to spend a long time together without them might actually be a good thing. Both for their relationship and for her role in life - I think she's actually got a lot about her and it would be a shame to see her just pop one out every year and lose all that spark.

[DugFan]

Fertility issues are hard for any woman trying to get pregnant, but I can only imagine how disproportionately awful it'd be when literally your entire life being a mom was your ONLY plan.

I agree! Not to mention that when the doctrine is "we'll take as many kids as God gives us", there must be a bit of thinking "Well, I guess God doesn't think we're good enough".

Ack!

[LavenderSquare]

I read a post on a FB page about Erin's health issue. I can't find it anymore, but the poster claimed to be a home school acquaintance of Erin's with some mutual friends. She said Erin's condition hasn't been made public yet, but it was some sort of hormonal issue that was preventing her from having a healthy pregnancy and Erin was being treated for it.

[Meghann]

[singsingsing]

She looks pregnant. Don't forget her idol Kate Middleton is pregnant too - maybe she was inspired.

[HereticHick]

Damn girl, those are some non-fundy heels.

[anjulibai]

Considering how flat she used to be, that definitely appears to be a baby bump.

[coffeebean7]

Considering how flat she used to be, that definitely appears to be a baby bump.

I agree. Plus, people don't really show that early with their first baby.

I feel bad saying this but I really hope the surprise isn't that she's pregnant, and it's something much tamer like they are moving or there's a new job? One can hope...

[freethemall]

Well there's definitely a bump! I can't imagine being pregnant and wearing such crazy high heels - in fact, I'm not pregnant and I still can't imagine wearing heels like that!

[jerkit]

Alyssa is a very thin girl and previously had a perfectly flat stomach. There's a bump. She's pregnant. I'm calling it now.