Is Josiah quietly swept under the rug?

[Dandruff]

Joseph went to the 9 week ALERT basic training program. His graduation was featured in an episode.

Josiah started the year at basic training, graduated, and then started a series of "elective" ALERT courses that kept him there for most of the year. The show has not addressed this in any real way, and although he attended Jill's wedding, he was not seen in the episode. By contrast I must have seen Jeremiah - never much of a prime time player - at least 10 times during the wedding episode but saw Josiah for a 10th of a second as he apparently was preparing to walk his grandmother down the aisle.

So something is up with Josiah, although what it is ain't exactly clear.

I believe Jeremiah is now a prime time player. Played chess with Michelle, front and center during that ridiculous Duggar Theater episode, part of the Jill engagement reenactment, always smiling and helpful. No indications of smug or buffoon-like behavior. Still has hair.

I'm hoping that Josiah's general absence is because he's sick of the family circus and ALERT seems a better option for now.

[Ralar]

I believe Jeremiah is now a prime time player. Played chess with Michelle, front and center during that ridiculous Duggar Theater episode, part of the Jill engagement reenactment, always smiling and helpful. No indications of smug or buffoon-like behavior. Still has hair.

I'm hoping that Josiah's general absence is because he's sick of the family circus and ALERT seems a better option for now.

If that's the case, it was a decent option when he was a minor. Now that he's 18, if he doesn' want to be back at the TTH he needs to figure out what he wants to do and think out how to do it. He can't stay at ALERT forever. If he wants to lave the TTH but not go back to ALERT, I hope he reaches out to his aunts, uncles or cousins on Mullet's side while they are in town for Benessa's wedding.

If he rides off into the sunset with J'Chelle's family, he can write the tell all book (with a ghostwriter, of course) and use his earnings to get started in life -- and finance an education.

RUN, JOSIAH, RUN! :drama:

[Mama Mia]

Joseph went to the 9 week ALERT basic training program. His graduation was featured in an episode.

Josiah started the year at basic training, graduated, and then started a series of "elective" ALERT courses that kept him there for most of the year. The show has not addressed this in any real way, and although he attended Jill's wedding, he was not seen in the episode. By contrast I must have seen Jeremiah - never much of a prime time player - at least 10 times during the wedding episode but saw Josiah for a 10th of a second as he apparently was preparing to walk his grandmother down the aisle.

So something is up with Josiah, although what it is ain't exactly clear.

The past two seasons the main story line has obviously been Jill and Jessa and courting, and all their strange and exotic mating rituals. Did you catch that they have constant chaperones and side-hug only? Did ya? :lol:

But other than that, what I've noticed is that most of the older kids have been basically mute. Jana and Jinger are practically invisible. Josiah is literally absent.

They've been playing up John David's character of goofy, bumbling red neck - which makes me think he has a courtship lined up for next season. Or they just think that it was a character type that was missing. Joe basically just sits next to him and laughs.

I think they are focusing so much on the middle kids because they need to fill the void. And I'm sure many young girls find one or more of the howler boys crush worthy. I think Michelle's incredibly awkward one-on-ones with each of the middle kids is just so TLC can get an idea of which might make the best primary players for future seasons.

Eta: Just saw Dandruffs post and totally agree about Jeremiah being a main focus now. I think for the at home episodes, aside from little kid antics, the main " characters" will be :

--good 'ol boy John David and his path to getting hitched

--Tomboy Joy and her struggles to be a real lady and good sister mom

--Jeremiah and his struggles to be an intellectual in a family where that is clearly not a primary value.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

Could it be that Josiah left the compound and claiming he's at ALERT is a viable excuse for his absence that doesn't also raise red flags? I wouldn't put it past the Duggars to pay the ALERT organizers off, or past the ALERT organizers to receive a pay off.

[FreeHannie!]

I believe Jeremiah is now a prime time player. Played chess with Michelle, front and center during that ridiculous Duggar Theater episode, part of the Jill engagement reenactment, always smiling and helpful. No indications of smug or buffoon-like behavior. Still has hair.

I think the JedJer twins will get a lot of air time in upcoming seasons. They're growing up quite cute in that "One Direction" way 12-16 year old christian girls will go OMG over.

[twinmama]

I'm pretty sure you can get an accounting degree online, probably even from a community college.

What on earth kind of life and beliefs do you have to have that you can't let your child get a college degree in ACCOUNTING!? I mean, its probably a stereotype but that sounds like the most down to earth, not sinful, possibly boring degree you can get! I understand not wanting your kid to get a sinful film production degree or literature or music, but ACCOUNTING??? It is so freaking useful and I can't imagine stopping a kid who is into it from pursuing it!

I think the denial of education is the worst thing about the Duggars. It is just disgusting to want your children to be ignorant like that.

[Mama Mia]

I don't think he can be too on the outs with the family. He is one of the two brothers that was a groomsman in Jessa's wedding.

She did seem to make the wedding very much specific to what she wanted -- but I would think if Josiah was a complete outcast he wouldn't have been picked.

Maybe wanting off the show, but not the point of a huge rift.

[nana sew dear]

It's not the degree but evil college life and unchaperoned college coeds that freak them out. Oh, and rogue professors with secular and even liberal beliefs that could corrupt pure fundy minds.

I'm hoping that the extended ALERT stay is Josiah's last gasp effort to get a grip on what he believes. It takes awhile to exchange one belief system for another and these kids have been so sheltered. Perhaps he knows ALERT could offer him skills that could lead to employment if he decides to try and make it on his own. I hope so.

Go Josiah! You can do this.

[sophrosyne]

I believe Jeremiah is now a prime time player. Played chess with Michelle, front and center during that ridiculous Duggar Theater episode, part of the Jill engagement reenactment, always smiling and helpful. No indications of smug or buffoon-like behavior. Still has hair.

It's my sense that "Jer" (Jeremiah) is the smartest of the first fifteen kids. He plays chess, he's quietly insightful, he seems rather circumspect about the KoolAid, and so on.

[Toothfairy]

I wish grandpa Duggar were still alive. Maybe he could've taught Josiah more things.

[pega127]

In recent pics of Josiah on Pickles and Hairspray, he doesn't look well. His skin is broken out pretty badly and his eyes look as though he's in pain or discomfort.

[pea3]

It's not the degree but evil college life and unchaperoned college coeds that freak them out. Oh, and rogue professors with secular and even liberal beliefs that could corrupt pure fundy minds.

I'm hoping that the extended ALERT stay is Josiah's last gasp effort to get a grip on what he believes. It takes awhile to exchange one belief system for another and these kids have been so sheltered. Perhaps he knows ALERT could offer him skills that could lead to employment if he decides to try and make it on his own. I hope so.

Go Josiah! You can do this.

I couldn't agree more, if they are such wonderful parents and they have "taught" their children in the way that they think is better than anything on the planet, why do they have zero confidence in them. They seriously think that going to a college is going to expose them to the evils of the world, introduce them to girls/guys, and maybe even drugs or alcohol.....they can't allow their kids to have a private conversation with the opposite sex, when they are even their darn twenties because they might do something "adult-like". They obviously have little trust that what they have drilled into their heads is going to stay. They don't think that any of their kids have self control to say no to anything. Sure seems like it anyway.

[calimojo]

Well, College sure did introduce me to sex, drugs and rock 'n roll and it was a blast. And, I lived to tell the tale and have been a productive member of the workforce for 30 years, married for 30+ years, and raised 2 kids. I learned a lot about myself in those college years, and treasure the experience. My parents instilled good values in me, and yes, I tested the limits at times, but in the end, I pretty much stuck with those values. It was because they trusted me to learn from my mistakes, and ultimately to choose to live a principled and honest life, rather than be forced into it.

I feel badly that these kids don't seem to ever be given that option. As so many on here have said, better than I, I might add; it really is sad that these parents don't trust their kids. But, IMO what is worse, is that it seems like the parents are very unforgiving, should a mistake be made. This isn't very Christ-like. They virtually eliminate or drastically reduce the possibility that their kids will make independent decisions, or actions, so that JB and Michele are never forced to exercise support and forgiveness.

My relationship with my own children has been enriched by trial and error and forgiveness on both of our parts.

[Coco]

Well, College sure did introduce me to sex, drugs and rock 'n roll and it was a blast. And, I lived to tell the tale and have been a productive member of the workforce for 30 years, married for 30+ years, and raised 2 kids. I learned a lot about myself in those college years, and treasure the experience. My parents instilled good values in me, and yes, I tested the limits at times, but in the end, I pretty much stuck with those values. It was because they trusted me to learn from my mistakes, and ultimately to choose to live a principled and honest life, rather than be forced into it.

I feel badly that these kids don't seem to ever be given that option. As so many on here have said, better than I, I might add; it really is sad that these parents don't trust their kids. But, IMO what is worse, is that it seems like the parents are very unforgiving, should a mistake be made. This isn't very Christ-like. They virtually eliminate or drastically reduce the possibility that their kids will make independent decisions, or actions, so that JB and Michele are never forced to exercise support and forgiveness.

My relationship with my own children has been enriched by trial and error and forgiveness on both of our parts.

Yes! Total lockdown by fundie parents, instead of gradually removing the restrictions as kids are responsible and cautious enough to make their own choices. It's lazy and fearful parenting.

{L_MESSAGE_HIDDEN}:

Thank goodness my parents were wiser than that and prepared my siblings and me a little better, but most of my fundie friends went through a crash and burn time after they got out on their own. Like a dog that's been kept on a chain. They ran and ran and ran. Tattoos, junk food, rock concerts, drinking, smoking... I'm not saying that rock music and tattoos and all that are wrong, it's just that these parents' worst nightmares came true because they didn't respect their kids enough to teach them reasons for what they believe, and let the kids come to convictions about things for themselves. One of my friends actually has serious health complications from psychological torment after accidentally sleeping with her boyfriend. Freedom for some fundie kids is so sudden and drastic a change that some aren't able to handle it with balance. And the parents react to that by shunning them from their siblings; one friend's parents actually turned around and walked out of his house when they saw he had a Christmas tree, taking his younger siblings back with them.

It's so messed up. I just don't get it -- fundies have too many kids to handle and keep them caged and then wonder why they can't function well on their own.

[JenniferJuniper]

She did seem to make the wedding very much specific to what she wanted -- but I would think if Josiah was a complete outcast he wouldn't have been picked.

There is no evidence of a rift between Josiah and his family. We only know that he spent almost all of the year up until now at Alert, and was seen only for a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in the Jill Marries Dill episode. TLC either didn't film him or, and this seems more likely, he was edited out. I can't see Boob bothering to have them edit out random shots of Josiah and if not, Josiah - a legal adult at the time of airing - may have asked them not to include him in the footage. Barring a contractual agreement between him and TLC, I think that's his right.

Jessa made some specific decisions about which family members to not include in wedding party, to the point of only having buddy team member Jordyn - who is after all losing her Mommy - as a flower girl. Maybe she missed Josiah this year, or decided only to have the brothers she felt closest to as groomsmen. Joe and Josiah are the closest in age to her.

We don't know what's going on with Josiah, but he's almost certainly living back at the TTH now. Whether this is a good thing for him or not, we'll probably only find out when he writes the book.

[FreeHannie!]

I believe Jeremiah is now a prime time player. Played chess with Michelle, front and center during that ridiculous Duggar Theater episode, part of the Jill engagement reenactment, always smiling and helpful. No indications of smug or buffoon-like behavior. Still has hair.

I'm hoping that Josiah's general absence is because he's sick of the family circus and ALERT seems a better option for now.

Jeremiah is becoming one of my dark horses to potentially escape. He seems to be growing up quite good looking (which is rare for a Duggar boy. They make gorgeous girls but the boys don't age well) and seems to be smart and sensitive. I don't see him being happy with trying to fit the mould of being another Josh/JD.

[JumpingD]

Josiah was in the photos on the bus tour - alternately looking happy when he is photographed with Jana and uncomfortable and stifled when he is book ended by JD and Josh.

He did look much more stylish than his brothers so hopefully Alert didn't beat down all of his personality out of him.

[Joan of Snarc]

Yes! Total lockdown by fundie parents, instead of gradually removing the restrictions as kids are responsible and cautious enough to make their own choices. It's lazy and fearful parenting.

{L_MESSAGE_HIDDEN}:

Thank goodness my parents were wiser than that and prepared my siblings and me a little better, but most of my fundie friends went through a crash and burn time after they got out on their own. Like a dog that's been kept on a chain. They ran and ran and ran. Tattoos, junk food, rock concerts, drinking, smoking... I'm not saying that rock music and tattoos and all that are wrong, it's just that these parents' worst nightmares came true because they didn't respect their kids enough to teach them reasons for what they believe, and let the kids come to convictions about things for themselves. One of my friends actually has serious health complications from psychological torment after accidentally sleeping with her boyfriend. Freedom for some fundie kids is so sudden and drastic a change that some aren't able to handle it with balance. And the parents react to that by shunning them from their siblings; one friend's parents actually turned around and walked out of his house when they saw he had a Christmas tree, taking his younger siblings back with them.

It's so messed up. I just don't get it -- fundies have too many kids to handle and keep them caged and then wonder why they can't function well on their own.

That reminds me of the Jimmy Buffet song We Are the People Our Parents Warned Us About

[bBvideo 560,340:3vug79va]

[/bBvideo]

:lol:

[Walking Cat Bed]

Josiah was in the photos on the bus tour - alternately looking happy when he is photographed with Jana and uncomfortable and stifled when he is book ended by JD and Josh.

He did look much more stylish than his brothers so hopefully Alert didn't beat down all of his personality out of him.

That keeps me optimistic about Jana AND Josiah. (Was he one of her Buddies? I can never remember.)

[HarleyQuinn]

I don't think Josiah was ever part of the "teams." Didn't J'chelle say in the 14 kids special that he didn't need or have a buddy anymore? I assume Josh or JD was his.

He does look more comfortable next to Jana then he does his brothers. I wonder if Boob gives him a hard time for not being more like them?

[janetsmirror]

Has anyone noticed in recent pictures of Josiah that his eyes and smile seem so forced it becomes creepy. It makes me so sad and worried for him. There is a group pic of him on Lawson Bates' Instagram (I think) that just looks very strange. I would link to it but I'm not sure how to do it the right way.

[RosyDaisy]

I wish grandpa Duggar were still alive. Maybe he could've taught Josiah more things.

I wish Grandpa Duggar were around to kick JB's ass. Grandpa distinctly said in one of the earliest episodes (not sure if it was one of the early specials or 17/18 KAC )that he didn't approve of JB and Michelle having that many kids.

[JHeathen]

That keeps me optimistic about Jana AND Josiah. (Was he one of her Buddies? I can never remember.)

From this thread: viewtopic.php?f=87&t=23565

Freejosiah writes: "

This is from 2011 so it's probably out of date, but

Jana - Josie, Jackson, Jason

Jill - Joy, Jenni, James (Guessing Joy has these two now)

Jessa - Jordyn, Jer, Justin

Jinger - Johannah, Jed."

That list doesn't include Joseph& Josiah...their births must have been about the time Meee!chelle was losing her shit. The older boys did not have buddies (recently one of the howlers mentioned in a TH that JD did not have any buddies OR a girlfriend, LOL...).

So I'm guessing Joseph and Josiah are Lost Boys in a way.

[HarleyQuinn]

From this thread: viewtopic.php?f=87&t=23565

Freejosiah writes: "

This is from 2011 so it's probably out of date, but

Jana - Josie, Jackson, Jason

Jill - Joy, Jenni, James (Guessing Joy has these two now)

Jessa - Jordyn, Jer, Justin

Jinger - Johannah, Jed."

That list doesn't include Joseph& Josiah...their births must have been about the time Meee!chelle was losing her shit. The older boys did not have buddies (recently one of the howlers mentioned in a TH that JD did not have any buddies OR a girlfriend, LOL...).

So I'm guessing Joseph and Josiah are Lost Boys in a way.

I think the older boys DID have one buddy in the early days of the specials, I think once Joy-Anna and down was born they stopped having Josh and JD help out and just switched to the older girls.

[Coco]

I wish Grandpa Duggar were around to kick JB's ass. Grandpa distinctly said in one of the earliest episodes (not sure if it was one of the early specials or 17/18 KAC )that he didn't approve of JB and Michelle having that many kids.

JB is just such a creepy looking guy. He was doing something weird with his expression while Ben was talking in the garage on the engagement episode. Maybe it's just the 10 years of being "on" for the show that he can't be genuine anymore.