The Duggar Interview - With Megyn Kelly

[Kak]

I'm having trouble stringing my thoughts together to make a coherent post. The hate that's being spewed is hard to wade through and I feel some of it is misdirected. I believe that JB & M are being truthful in that they felt they had handled the situation, that Josh received forgiveness from the girls and god and that the whole matter was long behind them.

It isn't really the molestation, or even their handling of it that has the general public so riled up. It's the hypocrisy inherent in their beliefs. If only they would truly grasp that the hatred aimed at them is due to these beliefs. Oh I know they think they are being persecuted because of this, but it clearly hasn't made them re-evaluate the stand they have taken against the LGBT community, for example, and realize that this is no doubt the reason this has blown up so spectacularly.

They haven't re-examined their stand on these issues because of the bible. When we look at people like Gothard, the Bates, the insane PP, the Duggars and all the rest discussed here, aren't they all just following the teachings in the bible? It is all spelled out there for them. (In fact, I honestly sometimes wonder why every Christian doesn't agree with them.). It's in the bible. It's why I'm an atheist and it's why I'm so confused by religion. In their minds, they have done everything correctly. They believe they are good people doing god's work as stated in the bible. They believe it to their cores.

I clearly failed at my attempt to convey my thoughts coherently. Religion confuses the hell out of me. It's ironic that, to be redeemed in the eye of the public, they will have to forgo their belief in redemption through god alone.

I get what you're saying. I've often thought that as well, they're living consistently with their beliefs. Crazy IMO, but still...

[SassyPants]

To me, one of the saddest parts of all this is that Jim Bob, Michelle and even Josh, through his parents, are using his sisters once again to minimize what happened to them and put the image of the wonderful family first. The girls may be what saves the show …or they get a spinoff or whatever, but it’s the girls who will keep the money rolling in and it’s the girls who will parrot what their parents want them to say in order to keep JB and Michelle's "brand" on track and convince everyone that Josh is a wonderful brother who made a small mistake and they barely even remember it until the mean media and the mean police chief with an agenda released the police report and hurt them by exposing all their private and long forgotten business to the public, and it’s THAT…the public knowing…that is what really makes them sad. Cue the crying. The mean, bad media and all the people who just won’t let it go, even though they forgave Josh ages ago and it has no impact on their lives other than that it’s brought them closer to God and as a family.

Clearly the girls are just tools to use and they will continue to do so. Even the girls have been brainwashed to believe it wasn't a big deal and that Josh just made a mistake but everything is now fine, no biggie! It's all this attention that has victimized them! :wtf:

OMFG- woman are not supposed to be working outside the home per Gothard. So, NOW what? How would the Duggars justify the girls and their show saving the day?

Megyn hit the nail on the head- people are pissed off at the hypocrisy.

In the US, religion, sometimes even the really bad ones, has always been given the free pass- I think more and more people are anti this approach.

Religion is neither meant to be manipulated to fit an agenda nor used as a weapon to hurt others.

[ariel9]

While I agree with your statements, I still think putting the girls, and particularly those 2 girls, out there for an interview was an opportuni$tic move. Why not all 4 Duggar girls? Why only the ones that no longer live with JB and M? The Duggars are going to sell this as those 2, coincidentally, are the ones that wanted to speak out.

I agree the Duggars should have privacy in all of this. Privacy means no TV show.

Duggars, Dillards, Seewalds, which is it, privacy or money?

Match point.

I agree with the entire privacy meaning no television thing and that it is disgusting if they are trying to make a buck out of this. I know the girls were victims and that they could not help it.I know that they have the right to cope with the incidents any way THEY feel (if by some off chance they truly feel that way not their parents or Gothard) that does not endanger anyone else. However, what makes it damning and makes me angry is the parental response to it all (minimization of the experience, "counseling" + safegraurds),the legal system taken out of context (persecution), and the fact that they want to blame the intelligent general public for thinking that they are not blameless speshul snowflakes.

[VelociRapture]

While I agree with your statements, I still think putting the girls, and particularly those 2 girls, out there for an interview was an opportuni$tic move. Why not all 4 Duggar girls? Why only the ones that no longer live with JB and M? The Duggars are going to sell this as those 2, coincidentally, are the ones that wanted to speak out.

I agree the Duggars should have privacy in all of this. Privacy means no TV show.

Duggars, Dillards, Seewalds, which is it, privacy or money?

Match point.

Oh I totally agree on that. I feel terribly that this information seems to have hurt the young women involved. . . but that's what happens when your shitty parents put money ahead of your well-being. I wish that these young women would realize that, but I know how brainwashed they are. Its unlikely they will understand what damage their parents did for a very long time - if they ever understand.

[chelleinchicago]

I had to stop watching clips of the interview for so many reasons, but what really gets me (and it's how it is on the show, so no big surprise) is that JB can answer a fucking question while making direct eye contact with J'Megyn but Michelle has to constantly turn to him so that even though she's supposedly sharing HER thoughts it's all being approved by him.

They did the best they could? Which time? The first time Josh came to them? The second? The third? The one when she was sitting on his lap? Which time was their best? I'd really like to know.

[J'Ullet]

I think that they did try to educate their kids with having that Erin's Law person come in and talk to their young children about sexual assault issues. I just think they're stupid people in general. They don't acknowledge that they should have taught ALL of their children about 'wrong touch' and that their children were at risk of sexual assault even though they're Christians. They can't seem to fathom that. They thought Jesus made them invincible. The safeguards they listed do NOT address the problem of molestation, they control the behavior of potential victims to make them inaccessible to those who might violate them - but also to those who could enrich their lives. They are throwing away all of their young children's external influences just so they don't have to acknowledge that the perpetrator is at fault. Because if a Christian boy can be a rapist, then their entire worldview is thrown into chaos. It has to be someone else's fault, and girls are the easiest scapegoat.

This (bolded italics). Absolutely this.

In some families, I think the victim (or whoever it is that brings the abuse to light) may be treated poorly because abuse can be incredibly traumatic and disruptive to the lives of everyone around it and they don't make the connection that the abuse, not the discovery of abuse, is what allows that disruption/trauma to extend past the victim into the lives of others.

In Boob and Mechelle's case, though, they view masculine nature as uncontrollable and all that bs. Therefore, since men are innately sexual and dangerous, nothing can be done about that but to manipulate their environment and those in it to minimize the "risk" of prodding the sleeping stallion. As much as I hate to agree with the last sentence, their worldview does leave blame with victims.

[SassyPants]

I get what you're saying. I've often thought that as well, they're living consistently with their beliefs. Crazy IMO, but still...

The disconnect is that the Duggars seemingly do not realize or accept that all decisions and actions, which most do make using their beliefs during the process, have consequences and reactions.

You are free to walk down the street swinging your arms, if that's what your beliefs dictate, but if you hit someone in the head as you swing your arms, you may incur negative consequences, NO MATTER YOUR BELIEFS, and those consequences for actions do not = prosecution.

[gustava]

Anna needs to take the blinders off, and realize that Smugs is a danger to their daughters.

Honestly, I don't think he is.

[SassyPants]

Honestly, I don't think he is.

No one knows that but Josh, and he is taking the silent route. Maybe they all should have taken that route. Shut up and shut it all down; live off their religious beliefs and not the gravy train.

[Eternalbluepearl]

I'd like Josh to say something about how now that he is a father, he couldn't imagine something like this happening to his daughters and that he now sees it in a whole new light. But I think all Josh and Anna got out of this is that when Michael and Marcus are older, they shouldn't hold any young sisters on their lap. :pink-shock:

[amyjoyharrison]

Not sure if this has been posted yet because I'm still weeding through but.....ANOTHER FUCKING LIE!!!!!!!!

Whenever Josiah isn't at indoctrination camp, he's always constantly toting Josie around, and I know she's been sitting in his lap at different family bible times and announcements and crap. He's always carrying her.

Can we all spend the next few minutes finding photos of big brothers holding/carrying little sisters just to prove this statement wrong?

[Hera]

I'm having trouble stringing my thoughts together to make a coherent post. The hate that's being spewed is hard to wade through and I feel some of it is misdirected. I believe that JB & M are being truthful in that they felt they had handled the situation, that Josh received forgiveness from the girls and god and that the whole matter was long behind them.

It isn't really the molestation, or even their handling of it that has the general public so riled up. It's the hypocrisy inherent in their beliefs. If only they would truly grasp that the hatred aimed at them is due to these beliefs. Oh I know they think they are being persecuted because of this, but it clearly hasn't made them re-evaluate the stand they have taken against the LGBT community, for example, and realize that this is no doubt the reason this has blown up so spectacularly.

They haven't re-examined their stand on these issues because of the bible. When we look at people like Gothard, the Bates, the insane PP, the Duggars and all the rest discussed here, aren't they all just following the teachings in the bible? It is all spelled out there for them. (In fact, I honestly sometimes wonder why every Christian doesn't agree with them.). It's in the bible. It's why I'm an atheist and it's why I'm so confused by religion. In their minds, they have done everything correctly. They believe they are good people doing god's work as stated in the bible. They believe it to their cores.

I clearly failed at my attempt to convey my thoughts coherently. Religion confuses the hell out of me. It's ironic that, to be redeemed in the eye of the public, they will have to forgo their belief in redemption through god alone.

Oh, I don't know. I'm pretty riled up by the way that they handled the situation and the way that they refuse to reevaluate how they handled it and instead continue to whore their family out for fame and money and push out more children that they obviously cannot properly care for. The hypocrisy pisses me off, too, though.

[Eternalbluepearl]

Honestly, I don't think he is.

I don't put anything past Josh, Anna, Jimbob and Michelle at this point. They're shady as heck. And the cover ups for each other would never end.

[JenniferJuniper]

Can we all spend the next few minutes finding photos of big brothers holding/carrying little sisters just to prove this statement wrong?

Fox showed a picture of the family last night depicting John David holding a little Jenny.

These people are so full of shit it's incredible.

[SassyPants]

$$$$$ over everything.

JB proved it again last night.

Hearts, convictions, faith, beliefs, blah, blah, blah as he sat his fat ass on the barstool and lied and contradicted himself.

[elsabee]

I want The Toast to do an article on this. That would be kickass.

[Cartmann99]

I haven't watched the interview yet, but the descriptions of Ma and Pa Duggar's tapdancing routine is making me queasy. :disgust:

Also, do their religious beliefs not include a Judgement Day? If you were taught that you would one day have to stand before God and answer for every thought, word, and deed in your life, then the whole protecting your child molesting son and giving him easy access to children might give one a serious case of insomnia.

Lastly, TLC needs to get over it and cancel this damn trainwreck. I'm sure they can find one of the anti-gay bakers, or maybe that pizza place in Indiana who would love to be on television. They'd end up with a mix of true believers and snarkers like they do for the Duggar show, and they could call it something snappy like "Hot, Fresh, Haters". The people running the business think the marriage equality folks are the haters, while the marriage equality folks think the business owners are the haters.

There, problem solved. How about it, TLC?

[Hera]

I don't put anything past Josh, Anna, Jimbob and Michelle at this point. They're shady as heck. And the cover ups for each other would never end.

This is the thing for me. I have no idea whether Josh is a danger to his kids or not. For himself and his children, I sincerely hope that he is not. I also know full well that none of those people is taking any care to make sure that he is not a threat to his kids or would report it if he were. They admitted as much last night. And therefore, I would fully support an DHS investigation into the issue. Someone has to look out for those kids since their parents and grandparents obviously will not.

[ApologistsBeDamned]

My take on the interview:

Running Commentary.

Seriously did Michelle lean over like she was welcoming a child or dog to her house when she opened the door for Megyn?

Why do they keep saying twelve years ago? He came to you in spring 2002 that was very clearly thirteen years ago.

Oh yes it is all about you Michelle, as parents.

Michelle's mad eyerolling and gaping mouth, to me, is an indication of deception.

Jim bobs "anyway" and generic hemming and hawing and his body language and throat clearing indicated deception.

"A lot of families have had similar things happen" - oh okay well then I take it back then the way JB and M raise their kids is perfectly normal.

"Couple more times he came to tell us" -that boy was literally crying out for help.

"Mandated reporters" -oh they have been doing some legal research.

Megyn it was not a treatment facility.

Oh great don't explain why Josh is gone just say he did bad. That won't traumatize them.

Yes, JB this isn't all about you and Josh. There is a family here that was affected.

I call BULL SHIT on the trip to the police station. That just rings as false all the way around. I Realize they aren't that smart but even that story was too stupid for them. LIES.

GLAD TO HEAR they all got professional therapy although by now they probably needed more therapy because mom and dad keeping silent on what is going on.

Oh JB your wife just called you out. Yes, Michelle was worried because she had "safe guards" all though I call her out because we have pictures after this that say otherwise.

THIS INFURIATES ME! - "No boys babysitting, No sitting on big boys laps or playing hide and seek" - So they have criminalized all boys and fail to realize this wasn't normal behavior. They again have no expectations that someone has a responsibility for self control.

Jim Bob you are an idiot. It wasn't sealed because a judge never saw it. And remember Josh was an ADULT when the police report happened.

Well I am no fan of the police, and I have for many years spoken about NWA police corruption, and while I wouldn't put it past a retiring chief to blow open some scandals I am not yet convinced that is what happened here.

Jim Bob has the typical christian persecution complex.

Michelle you are an idiot. JB way to cover your wife's idiocy on her robocall.

Oh everyone take a drink Michelle said "AGENDA". - really I am not sure the fictitious Jesus was as persecuted as much as this family.

Side note- were the girls made to clean the house before this interview?

Jim Bob, no one thinks you Christians are perfect. That is the problem- we know you are not yet you think you are better than the rest. Its your hypocrisy.

I still am not convinced the release was illegal. Just because Megyn and Jim Bob think it was don't make it so.

And Michelle, last time I checked the safety center reports were never released because THEY ARE SEALED. Even before you went to court. But releasing an interview report for crime that was never charged.....

AGENDA take a drink.

Well if god is going to use it for good then you can thank In Touch.

My final thought is this family is no different than Muslims who think we should all live under Sharia law.

Girls tempt men. Men aren't responsible for self control. Allow church and parents to mete out punishment. Distance from god leads you to do wrong. Dictate clothing. They should just join ISIS - they have a lot in common.

I also believe it is possible the girls don't feel victimized. Hearing this interview I think JB and M did more harm to them than Josh did. I am not saying what Josh did to them was in anyway right or okay. I am just saying not everyone reacts the same way to things that happen to them and IMO I would have been more traumatized if mom and dad were keeping secrets and sending a sibling away because he was bad than I would have been being touched even while awake. But that is my opinion based on my childhood.

Question about the professional therapy. When exactly did it happen? It had to have been after 2007 because in Dec 2006 the interviewees all said there had been none other than Josh going away to Little Rock.

[2manyKidzzz]

Their religion is a cult. They are brainwashed. Theyy have 18 lovely and one seriously problematic child who are all at their mercy.

The RCC just moved priests around. A patriarchal religion.

People NEVER respond when I give my theory that religions are "clubs". Because they wax poetic about "God' they can, in this country anyway, the US, hide behind the law.

There is nothing that can be done about this craziness. Maybe some of the children will leave. But all they have every known is their family, and they love their family.

I say that the most important thing about a "religion" should be the spaghetti suppers, where you sit and find out which young family has a parent being posted overseas, a pregnancy, a sick child or parent, and figure out what you, as a community can do to step in and assist.

I really enjoy the younger 18. Jim Bob and Michelle are horrible, controlling nuts.

[apple1]

I had to stop watching clips of the interview for so many reasons, but what really gets me (and it's how it is on the show, so no big surprise) is that JB can answer a fucking question while making direct eye contact with J'Megyn but Michelle has to constantly turn to him so that even though she's supposedly sharing HER thoughts it's all being approved by him.

Actually - That's not why she does that. She has done that in a gazillion other interviews - because that is a very specific thing that Gothardism teaches and expects wives to do. The wife is to gaze directly (I know. Gag.) and intently at the husband's face whenever he speaks. (No, I didn't make this up).

[quiverofdoubt]

Can we all spend the next few minutes finding photos of big brothers holding/carrying little sisters just to prove this statement wrong?

In the clip where they meet Dolly Parton.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QijgWFb0j7k

Older boy is holding younger, sleeping, girl, the whole time.

[karen77]

In the clip where they meet Dolly Parton.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=QijgWFb0j7k

Older boy is holding younger, sleeping, girl, the whole time.

Well, that is ok, because she is asleep, she'd never know, so it doesn't' count. :ew:

[J'Ullet]

I initially read this as groping. Ugghhhhhgggghhh.

Edited because I don't know how quotes work apparently...

[EmmieJ]

I'm sure those kinds of services were offered to them and IIRC, they met with some kind PR/crisis consultant, but that consultant chose not to represent them. I'm guessing that the JB and Mullet are difficult to deal with and have a hard time taking advice and that leads to them dropping a consultant or the consultant like the previously mentioned one not wanting to work with them. I think JB and Mullet are truly stupid enough to think they can handle PR post Joshgate on their own. Pre-Joshgate, they made themselves look like asses for other reasons such as Michelle's robocall against transpeople, stupid ass comments from both jb&m on overpopulation, their support of Todd Akin. But with what has come out as Josh, they still think they can handle things on their own and not expect people to have issues with them.

JB&M are always going to have some leghumpers, in their corner. But they have lost fans as evidenced here by various posts and people on social media sites have stated that they are no longer Duggar fans. If the show returns minus Josh, I expect a huge ratings drop worse than Duck Dynasty. Boob is probably envious that the Robertson family made their fortune before entering the reality TV show world.

JB&M's other sources of income will decrease. There will be less speaking gigs at churches, homeschooling conferences etc. People Magazine will eventually tire of them and Today and GMA aren't defending them.

It's probably too late now for JB&M to take advice from PR people.

I think JB has always been arrogant, and his family's popularity on TLC these past years has only made him more so. That came through loud and clear on last night's interview. I know TLC and JB are both desperate to continue the money train, and I think TLC will at least try to create a spin off of some kind, but I agree, the ratings will take a huge drop. Eventually TLC will have to admit defeat and quietly cancel any Duggar show on their line-up. They can forget about being on the cover of People. He'll become even more of a skinflint. He and Michele will have more than enough money to live comfortably the rest of their lives. He'll probably continue to control his children even after his death, with a whole bunch of provisos and requirements before they can collect any inheritances - because at the root of his soul, he's just a petty tyrant asshole.

The statement that keeps coming back to me is when he said, "Parents are not mandated reporters. They can handle the situation the way they think is best." (I'm paraphrasing from memory, but that was the gist.) That was clearly an attempt to deflect criticism of their choosing not to involve law enforcement in the crime committed against their daughters. I think most people, especially parents who have both sons and daughters, would be disgusted by that remark and that attitude. "Hey, we aren't required by law to report any incestual molestation committed by our son, so quit acting like we did something wrong!" (I wish Megyn had pointed out that teachers are mandatory reporters and Michele was therefore required to report the abuse.)

Plus, JB clearly dodged Megyn at least twice when she tried to get him to respond as "father of the daughters." He would not do so!