Josh Duggar Admits to Molestation Rumors- Part 3

[Coldwinterskies]

Josh Duggar Apologized - So What?

 

This article sums up my personal thoughts on the matter:

 

 

Quote

This isn’t penitence, it’s not repentance, it’s what child molesters do. Rewrite the narrative so that in the end the audience feels sorry for them and forgets about their victims. We’re supposed to give Josh points for confessing and resigning so quickly, while feeling sorry for him that he’s now unemployed with three children and a fourth on the way.

 

Except that Josh didn’t confess quickly, he hid this for over a dozen years, hid it while he became a television star, hid it while he became a rising star in the religious right, hid it while the organization he headed repeatedly attacked LGBT people as child molesters. Josh Duggar would have never become the household name he is if he and his parents hadn’t hidden the secret that he is a serial child molester.

 

Of course he’s going to release a statement apologizing once the police report is all over the internet. What else was he going to do? You can’t deny what’s there in black and white, all you can do is shift the focus.

 

[TheJewAmongUs]

He's not unemployed. He still has his contract with Figure 8 Films.

[VelociRapture]

Completely agree. I do feel badly for his children - they didn't ask for any of this to happen and are completely innocent in all of this. Their entire lives have been turned upside down because of this. . . but, unfortunately, that's what happens when your father and Grandparents hide something of this magnitude for so long.

On the one hand, I do pity Josh because he is a victim in a sense - he was a victim of the upbringing his parents provided that put such an emphasis on purity and made any sexual thoughts seem like a horrific sin.

On the other hand, he was more than old enough to understand what he was doing was wrong. He didn't just do it once either - he did it repeatedly and harmed more than one girl in the process. And he attempted to conceal what he did from his family and the world.

I do hope he gets counseling so he can deal with the trauma of his upbringing and full understand why his actions were wrong. I also hope that he and his parents are held responsible for somehow for what happened. And, mostly, I hope that the victims (both the girls who were assaulted and the other kids who will have to deal with this fallout) are able to access real counseling at some point so they can start to understand and heal.

[Buzzard]

He should be in jail (or just getting out of jail). What he did was criminal. You dont get to say "sorry" when you commit felonies and just move on with your life like its totes kool.

[keen23]

Part 1 can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=87&t=26047

Part 2 can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=87&t=26066

[imokit]

Do you think the Duggars might try a distraction, like when Jill announced her pregnancy really quickly after the Dugars had gotten some bad press (I don't remember what it was. Gah! It worked!)

They would have to go big to overshadow this. Something maybe like Jana is courting Prince Harry or JD won the 200 million Powerball. It would have to be something literally huge and over the top to even remotely knock this story back a few notches.

Jessa gender reveal, She's 16 weeks pregnant now!

The problem is, she might not play ball.

I bet they're wishing they held off the Josiah courtship announcement. He's too young to marry, so they can't do that. They're also probably wishing Izzy could have waited a few months.

Anna's baby is out, as that will draw more attention to the issue.

If Jinger/Jana/Joy announce a courtship - people will notice the timing and the backlash will be worse.

JD or Joe could announce courtship which may help

But their best bet is Jessa's baby or Joy going to college (she's the right age). Both of which may be tricky for different reasons. Getting Jessa to cooperate or agreeing to violate their principles by sending Joy to college.

[VelociRapture]

Jessa gender reveal, She's 16 weeks pregnant now!

The problem is, she might not play ball.

I bet they're wishing they held off the Josiah courtship announcement. He's too young to marry, so they can't do that. They're also probably wishing Izzy could have waited a few months.

Anna's baby is out, as that will draw more attention to the issue.

If Jinger/Jana/Joy announce a courtship - people will notice the timing and the backlash will be worse.

JD or Joe could announce courtship which may help

But their best bet is Jessa's baby or Joy going to college (she's the right age). Both of which may be tricky for different reasons. Getting Jessa to cooperate or agreeing to violate their principles by sending Joy to college.

Neither of those options could hope to overshadow the negative press they are getting right now.

[Buzzard]

I know theres a lot of thoughts that the show can continue so the cameras can hold the family accountable. The problem with that is - the cameras didnt stop Josh, the coverup, or the "rod" spankings.

Josh is a criminal. He is a child molester. He is a hypocrite.

Michelle and Jim Bob enabled all of this, and are just as bad.

Fuck them.

[Clementine]

Have we discussed this?

http://bitterjealousfatties.yuku.com/to ... V85X0Z0SSp

[VelociRapture]

In Part 2 someone posted a list of advertisers from the latest episode. Anyone have a draft of a letter that can be sent or tweaked a bit? It might be a good idea to start sending emails to those companies in order to get some advertising pulled.

(I'm not vindictive by nature, but I absolutely do NOT want those people on tv anymore)

[Arrowoftruth]

Last night I dreamt I was at the Duggars house right after the news broke and it was announced that the show would be cancelled but there would be specials about the girld engagements. I think that could be possible

[Buzzard]

Have we discussed this?

http://bitterjealousfatties.yuku.com/to ... V85X0Z0SSp

gatorxx was a FJ poster back in the day. They posted on a similar thread on FJ Yuku.

[keen23]

Thank you for doing this.

[Jana814]

Josh is a criminal. He is a child molester. He is a hypocrite.

Michelle and Jim Bob enabled all of this, and are just as bad.

Fuck them.

Agree!!

[Cheetah]

Okay, behind again. Quoting tamralyn from pg. 37 of part 2:

"The part that bothers me the most was Anna saying that "mama takes care of the north end, and daddy takes care of the south end." SHE KNEW. And she still gave him, most likely, unsupervised diaper changing time with Mack. I am just at a loss."

Now that makes me think: what if... everything has been getting increasingly awkward between Josh/Anna and the married daughters and their husbands lately, and this interview itself was quite awkward, and then the on-camera part ends, Ben sputters something at Josh, and the tv crew realize it's time to go digging?

(yeah, more total speculation from my end, sorry :-) ). But we've all been speculating on who figured out the info and why now.

[FundieFarmer]

I think a Josiah marriage announcement would be tainted now, just like if Jessa were to announce she is having a girl.

All people are going to be thinking about is the dangers of another girl being in that family, no matter how she came into it.

[walegaja]

While I don't think Mama June should have any say in the matter, I don't agree that this is a "better" situation for TLC.

Josh, a featured player, is an admitted child molester who sexually assaulted his sisters who are also prominently featured on the show. Every time a viewer looks at the perp or one of his victims, they'll be thinking of this. And he has little daughters. Add in the holier-than-thou "aren't-we-the-most-wholesome-family in America" crap, and you have a serious cluster, one that is just as bad, if not worse, than the HBB situation.

***Edited to add that the reason the police didn't charge Josh was because the statute of limitations had run by the time they investigated. The first cop was a friend of Jim Bob's who was heavily into kiddie porn himself. He did not report the incident to CPS as was required and it sounds like he kept the whole thing to himself. So it's not accurate to say they didn't think Josh was a danger; there was nothing they could do legally to charge him at that point.

I would like to clarify - I was by no means saying I think this is the right thing to do. I do know that 19KAC is a huge cash cow for TLC and given their recent behavior, they seem to be hesitant to severe all ties. I personally think the situation is similar to Honey Boo Boo, but that's not how TLC is going to spin it. They are keeping the Duggars around until they can assess the situation (i.e. figure out what the advertisers think).

Is it cynical for me to think that TLC can air whatever they want? As long as people watch and advertisers pay, do they really care about what is in anyone's best interest? :evil:

[colossians3]

If it is in fact Joy requesting that the record be destroyed to protect her identity, I don't understand why they didn't try to get the record destroyed earlier. Did they forget that there was actual documentation that could be found? Why wait until the record was released and things blew up?

It seems there's no point now that the information is out and everyone is speculating it involves his sister. Why get the record destroyed if people already can guess who it is?

[FundieFarmer]

I would like to clarify - I was by no means saying I think this is the right thing to do. I do know that 19KAC is a huge cash cow for TLC and given their recent behavior, they seem to be hesitant to severe all ties. I personally think the situation is similar to Honey Boo Boo, but that's not how TLC is going to spin it. They are keeping the Duggars around until they can assess the situation (i.e. figure out what the advertisers think).

Is it cynical for me to think that TLC can air whatever they want? As long as people watch and advertisers pay, do they really care about what is in anyone's best interest? :evil:

I don't think they care, particularly, but I do think this is worse than what happened with Honey Boo Boo, and I think TLC is going to feel the heat from pretty much every angle (except Fundies) if they leave this show on.

Regarding having the record expunged...the request was put in the same day that inTouch requested access to the documents, which was the first day anyone could've done anything about it (to my understanding. Maybe our Legal Eagles can clarify??). I don't think they anticipated that anyone would move so fast.

[formergothardite]

In Part 2 someone posted a list of advertisers from the latest episode. Anyone have a draft of a letter that can be sent or tweaked a bit? It might be a good idea to start sending emails to those companies in order to get some advertising pulled.

(I'm not vindictive by nature, but I absolutely do NOT want those people on tv anymore)

I think that flooding the advertisers with emails is the best way to get this show off television. Being on TV didn't protect these kids. And if they stay on all it does is send the message that what Josh did and how Jim Bob and Michelle treated the situation really isn't that big of a deal.

[JenniferJuniper]

I would like to clarify - I was by no means saying I think this is the right thing to do. I do know that 19KAC is a huge cash cow for TLC and given their recent behavior, they seem to be hesitant to severe all ties. I personally think the situation is similar to Honey Boo Boo, but that's not how TLC is going to spin it. They are keeping the Duggars around until they can assess the situation (i.e. figure out what the advertisers think).

Is it cynical for me to think that TLC can air whatever they want? As long as people watch and advertisers pay, do they really care about what is in anyone's best interest? :evil:

TLC makes money via sponsors. So even if viewers stick around for a time out of curiosity, if sponsors pull out, the show will end.

Five will get you 10, those sponsors will pull out. The situation is too sick.

[MisUndrstd]

I would love to see someone start a GoFundMe account for the girls (Jana, Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy), so that they could have control over money that JB couldn't touch and they could use the money to further themselves in their education or even to move or to start a business together.. Something for their future, so they could conquer their dreams, hopes and aspirations instead of being a slave to a husband their entire life. I bet it would be the largest donations that GoFundMe has ever seen. It would also be the perfect revenge against JB and Michelle, if those girls had a means to escape their current reality. Bathe your own kids Michelle, it's high time you got your fat ass off the couch!

[anon710]

I don't know if this has been brought up (still catching up with the older threads, as yesterday was busy and I was out, and I got a text about it and couldn't get home for another 3 hours; and I was in a situation where being on my phone to read here was inappropriate.)

But...... If Jana was the one who wasn't molested, that may be why she is staying around, to protect her sibling/children.

My heart really aches for the girls. I hope Derek and Bin take those women FAR away.. That is my hope. (it has always been my hope that Derek will whisk Jill away, but we see that hasn't happened.)

I made the mistake of reading the comments on the FB duggar page and I wanted to vomit. He's ok now because ... god. UUURRG

Countless pedophiles have hidden behind god, catholic priest scandals, Warren Jeffs, and Gothrard....

Clearly they knew this was coming, hence the purchase of the home in Arkansas

Funny how this didn't make it into the girl's book.

[nelliebelle1197]

I am not sure why people think the girls or family/inlaws leaked. It sounds like a reporter got lucky. Some PR person in another thread said the statements sounded too polished to be done quickly. I do PR and I disagree. Likely scenario is that a reporter was digging, got the dirt, called the Duggars for comment in last day or so and TLC started the spin.

I have no problem, coming from few years in an IFB school and church, believing that Anna knew everything and it was not a big deal because the lord heals. There is no evidence Josh is a pedophile today or that he would reoffend as an adult.

I also have no trouble placing the majority of the blame squarely on J&M. Josh was totally fucked and their hypersexuality combined with their denial of sexuality had to have created some real issues for those kids. Josh was 13/4, not 16/7 the way some posters are claiming. He did a bad thing and should have been properly punished and does not deserve to get off scott free now. BUT he was a confused and damaged child who was never given the tools to even understand life outside of Jesus and ATI. He does deserve some level of understanding. The REAL villains are JimBoob and DairyQueen.

I think picking apart imagined tensions and strange looks is silly. Those shows are not going to give anyone any real insight on who did what and how Duggars feel about each other. Unless one of them breaks ranks and tells, this idle speculation is nothing but overblown chitchat that doesn't lend anything to the conversation.

[nst]

Erica Hill the one who interviewed them on Tuesday just spoke about it on the today show

this is to horrible

cancel the damn show

I feel for the girls - yet that they stand by their parents makes no sense to me

I hope Jessa is ok as the rest of the girls

I really don't think it happened to Jill