Is Josiah quietly swept under the rug?

[TeaELSee]

I am almost certain I saw him in a new episode, I think it was either this week or last week when Josh & Anna flew in for the wedding. He appears very briefly greeting them at the car outside the house. (I think Jill picked them up).

He is easy to miss, he had a major buzz cut.

[lilith]

I am almost certain I saw him in a new episode, I think it was either this week or last week when Josh & Anna flew in for the wedding. He appears very briefly greeting them at the car outside the house. (I think Jill picked them up).

He is easy to miss, he had a major buzz cut.

He was definitely home for the wedding.

I don't think Jana's at Journey to the Heart all the time as punishment - I think she actually enjoys leading it, being in a leadership role among her own peers and doing a job that's respected among her community and allows her to socialise with others her own age.

I really really hope that Josiah feels similarly about ALERT and the young men's Journey - that he's enjoying spending time with his peers and finding fulfilment and recognition within the system. It's entirely possible - the Duggars are celebrities within their circles, they would be very popular and they may very well enjoy being a popular member of a social group.

[HuggleMonster]

The FakeJosh picture of Josiah at JTTH makes me wonder if it's a case of Boob saying 'this is where you'll end up if you don't 'fix' yourself.'

I truly feel bad for the poor kid.

[FreeHannie!]

I don't think Jana's at Journey to the Heart all the time as punishment - I think she actually enjoys leading it, being in a leadership role among her own peers and doing a job that's respected among her community and allows her to socialise with others her own age..

If I was Jana, I'd want to lead as many JTTH sessions as possible if it means actually getting out of the house for a while.

[HarleyQuinn]

I am almost certain I saw him in a new episode, I think it was either this week or last week when Josh & Anna flew in for the wedding. He appears very briefly greeting them at the car outside the house. (I think Jill picked them up).

He is easy to miss, he had a major buzz cut.

Yep! He was there when Josh and Anna came home from the airport. His hair was buzzed and whatever was on his t-shirt was blurred. No talking heads, that was disappointing. Maybe JB won't let producers ask him where he's been.

Seriously, can someone share this Jinger acting like a WWII bride clip? Now I'm curious!

[JenniferJuniper]

Yep! He was there when Josh and Anna came home from the airport. His hair was buzzed and whatever was on his t-shirt was blurred. No talking heads, that was disappointing. Maybe JB won't let producers ask him where he's been.

Seriously, can someone share this Jinger acting like a WWII bride clip? Now I'm curious!

If they didn't want to explain he'd been at Alert since January, a talking head with a shaved-head Josiah would have raised questions with a large segment of the audience. Josiah's a skinhead now?! Best to keep him off camera as much as possible if you want to avoid providing details.

See the episode in which Joseph graduates from Camp Gothard. Jinger squeals with such joy when he sees Joseph, it was as if he'd been oversees for a long tour of duty in a war instead of 6 weeks at an overnight camp in Texas. It was a little over-the-top.

[browncoatslytherin]

Can Michelle and JB force their kids to attend reprogramming camp? And I hope Josiah has a ton of resentment towards his parents for putting him through this bullshit.

even though he's legally an adult, with the way he was raised, he still thinks of himself as a child who is submissive to his parents and has to do what they tell him to do. right now, he depends on them to support him as well, so until he gets a job on his own, he has to do what they say. so it's not really so much a choice if the parents say to go.

[Emme]

Upon inspection of the Alert "Prayer Calendar" on the website, Josiah is the "food manager", whatever that means.

Pelt them with dinner rolls and then RUN JOSIAH!

[HereticHick]

Upon inspection of the Alert "Prayer Calendar" on the website, Josiah is the "food manager", whatever that means.

Could this mean that Josiah is "working" at Alert now? Equivalent of being a camp counselor rather than being a camper.

I'd like to remind people on this thread that we do not speculate about the orientation of adult children if they still are under the authority of their parents.

[acat7]

If they didn't want to explain he'd been at Alert since January, a talking head with a shaved-head Josiah would have raised questions with a large segment of the audience. Josiah's a skinhead now?! Best to keep him off camera as much as possible if you want to avoid providing details.

See the episode in which Joseph graduates from Camp Gothard. Jinger squeals with such joy when he sees Joseph, it was as if he'd been oversees for a long tour of duty in a war instead of 6 weeks at an overnight camp in Texas. It was a little over-the-top.

Over the top, but I think it's sweet. Maybe Jinger/ Joseph were inseparable like Hannie/ Jackson back in their day. Or, maybe she is close with Joseph on a different level than with her sisters... I could see her being able to tell him that she's tired of the bullshit and wants to live in a city, those types of dreams. Dreams she cant share with her sisters without them lecturing her on contentment

[bluehydrangea]

Could this mean that Josiah is "working" at Alert now? Equivalent of being a camp counselor rather than being a camper.

I'd like to remind people on this thread that we do not speculate about the orientation of adult children if they still are under the authority of their parents.

That's what I was thinking, too. In the Prayer Calendar right before that one, he was listed as a cadet (camper). While I can't imagine this being the case, we have to consider the possibility that he actually enjoyed his time there and wants to be there for similar reasons to Jana enjoying her time at Journey to the Heart. I mean, it sure doesn't sound like fun to me, but who knows? We don't know the kid. Maybe it gave his existence some meaning and gave him an identity. Just trying to remain open-minded!

[pega127]

I am almost certain I saw him in a new episode, I think it was either this week or last week when Josh & Anna flew in for the wedding. He appears very briefly greeting them at the car outside the house. (I think Jill picked them up).

He is easy to miss, he had a major buzz cut.

Yes, that was he, briefly and from the back.

[pega127]

The Duggars are not poor! Even though they'd like us to think so!

But I couldn't imagine the Bates' having that kind of money, unless Lawson provided it?

Gil is/was on the board; so, maybe his kids can go for free or at a discounted rate. The Bateses were paid for their realty show, may still receive some royalties from any repeats and 19K & Counting appearances, a few ABC specials, speaking at ATI functions and the tree business may provide a decent income. I can imagine that they live frugally and have plenty of fans from Kelly's blog and their church who send various things to them, as well.

[Rachel333]

Off-topic, I suppose, but I don't see why speculation about even adult children's orientation is seen as so much worse than other topics. It's less personal than the (sometimes quite graphic) speculation about the current or future sexual habits of various funnies, including some who are still teenagers, and I think it is much less likely to result in real-life consequences than discussing which children seem unhappy or disagree with their parents' views. I don't see them taking it very seriously if internet commenters think their kids are gay, since to them homosexuality is a choice, not someone's nature, but if they read that a lot of people think a kid seems particularly unhappy, whether the parents agree or not with that assessment I could definitely see them taking steps to make sure the kid stops threatening their image of a happy family. (Poor Jana--I'm sure her parents have seen the recent articles about her.) If Josiah is being re-educated, maybe all the speculation about his feelings during the infamous arm twist episode have contributed. (I kind of doubt it, but it could happen.)

I'm not saying I want people to start snarking on one topic or stop snarking on another; I've just always found it kind of odd that this topic is so taboo here compared to all the other discussions that do take place.

[busdrivingmom]

The thing that bothers me about this is that when Joseph went to ALERT, Michelle was all like, oh its so great to have him back home with us and under our roof. He was only gone 6 weeks! I don't see the same with Josiah. And too, maybe he likes being there because he doesn't have to deal with the insanity of the Duggar home. Maybe he's one of those kids that likes schedules and order, more than Michelle and JB seem to offer.

[eh02]

Singling out kids (who may not even fully have a grasp of their sexuality yet) and speculating can be pretty harmful. It's such a sensitive topic for developing adolescents, and they should be able to define their sexuality on their terms alone, 100%. It's never anyone else's place to try to define it for them.

It can be traumatic for people to openly speculate about your sexuality. I mean, who knows if any Duggar child is gay or straight - only him or her! but I'm sure that some kids already suffers enough for not being as "masculine" (in the fundie sense) as their brothers even without people guessing whether or not he is gay. He's no John David, thank God.

It's also just not good in general to correlate where you fall on a gender spectrum with your sexuality...just further enforces stereotypes, and the last thing the Duggars need is more stereotyped views of gender.

I can't speak for everyone obviously, but I really want the best for the Duggar kids and it makes me kind of sad to think that they could suffer on any level from snark that starts on sites like FJ. They already have enough shame and guilt about their bodies and sexuality without anyone else's help :(

Edited to modify speculation of sexuality of specific child. Lilith

[JillsFlowerHeadband]

If I was Jana, I'd want to lead as many JTTH sessions as possible if it means actually getting out of the house for a while.

Yeah, I think that's why she keeps going back. When she's at JTTH she doesn't have to deal with housework or screaming/crying/fighting/sick kids, so it's almost like a vacation.

[pega127]

The thing that bothers me about this is that when Joseph went to ALERT, Michelle was all like, oh its so great to have him back home with us and under our roof. He was only gone 6 weeks! I don't see the same with Josiah. And too, maybe he likes being there because he doesn't have to deal with the insanity of the Duggar home. Maybe he's one of those kids that likes schedules and order, more than Michelle and JB seem to offer.

It is different for sure. Maybe Josiah wants to be there or maybe Josiah was in some sort of trouble.

[HarleyQuinn]

It is different for sure. Maybe Josiah wants to be there or maybe Josiah was in some sort of trouble.

It's probably the latter. I never see his parents showing him any kind of affection. Actually, the only ones I've seen do anything like are Jinger and Joy Anna. (Or whatever little he holds. He seems to be good with babies.)

[Rachel333]

To be clear, I am not saying I think it's okay to speculate on kids' sexuality and I am pretty sure I have never done that myself. I grew up gay in a fundie-ish house too, and I know how hard it can be (and I know I had it much, much better than the Duggar kids). I'm still closeted to my parents, in fact. (My mom has said that God wouldn't let her have a gay child, so I think I'd have to tell her pretty clearly for her to ever get the message.)

I don't appreciate people speculating on my orientation, but that's nothing compared to how horrified I'd feel if I saw people speculating on my sexual habits and ability, personal grooming habits, the status of my vagina, the size of my breasts, etc, let alone having my parents see it. I've seen speculation like that get pretty graphic about teenagers, both adults and even some minors. And I do think that the discussions about the possible discontent of various kids could have real-life consequences. The orientation conversations could, but they do tend to believe that gay is something you do, not who you are, and they know everything their kids are doing.

Eh, I don't even know where I'm going with all this. I do hope that none of the Duggar kids are negatively affected by this website or any of the other media about them. I hope, and do tend to think, that Josiah is in the ALERT program because he wants to be.

[TXGirlInAMaterialWorld]

Even thought Josiah is a young adult- his parents have a lot more control over him than the average high school graduate. Breaking that mental and emotional bondage is far harder than the physical aspects.

My mom would demand her adult daughters come over on the weekends and help her clean, decorate for holidays, cook for the week, etc. One time I flat refused to come help with a garage sale- just too much craziness and by the time our family was done using items, they were barely worth donating. My mother was so mad that she told my sisters that she was going to call my boss and tell him what a terrible person he had working for him.

My sister called me in a panic- she honestly thought your mom could call your boss and get you in trouble. I just told my sister not to worry.

[FloraDoraDolly]

Since the Duggars are concerned 24/7 about their image I do fear the consequences that Josiah may experience if they feel that the general public thinks he is gay. There is no greater sin..I think he is a great kid and would snatch him up as mine in a heartbeat.

Josiah could be at ALERT for any number of reasons, most of which would seem minor or trivial to a mainstream family. It might have been something as insignificant (to us) as sneaking off to the movies or listening to the "wrong" music. Or he might have made friends with people who are not ATI. If he was sent away for something major, it might not have anything to do with his sexuality. What if he wanted to go to college or get a normal job or do something else with his life that is outside of what Jim Bob thinks is right? Another possibility is that Josiah did not want to be on TV anymore, and so he was banished.

[grandmadugger]

Josiah could be at ALERT for any number of reasons, most of which would seem minor or trivial to a mainstream family. It might have been something as insignificant (to us) as sneaking off to the movies or listening to the "wrong" music. Or he might have made friends with people who are not ATI. If he was sent away for something major, it might not have anything to do with his sexuality. What if he wanted to go to college or get a normal job or do something else with his life that is outside of what Jim Bob thinks is right? Another possibility is that Josiah did not want to be on TV anymore, and so he was banished.

Josiah wanted to be an artist at one time. I'm pretty sure that's not a JB approved job.

[happy atheist]

I'm not saying I want people to start snarking on one topic or stop snarking on another; I've just always found it kind of odd that this topic is so taboo here compared to all the other discussions that do take place.

!

{TEXT1}:

Not only is it taboo, as of October 13 it is against the rules. viewtopic.php?f=242&t=23584 For those of you who don't read the announcements, let me make this very plain: It is now against the rules to speculate about the sexual orientation of unmarried adult children still living with their parents. There's been a good deal of speculation in this thread, as well as a good deal of 'not that I'm speculating, but.' That all stops now or there will be some new inhabitants of the Prayer Closet. :shock: Feel free to talk about how long ALERT lasts, and what people might be doing while exiled there, as long as the insinuations stop. If you want to chat about the new rule, please do so in the announcement thread I linked to above. And please, for the love of the Flying Spghetti Monster, read all new announcements. :fsm:

[DarkAnts]

Josiah is different from his older brothers. He is quiet, and not into "manly" things. I could see him being the creative bohemian of the family if given the chance. He did not fit the Duggar male mold so he got shipped off to make him fit it.