Josh and Anna's New Father's Day video

[Four is Enough]

Yes, I wondered how Josh lasted so long in DC, being so uneducated. How could he interact with govt officials, lobbyists, regular Washingtonians?

He must be akin to talking to the wall -to these worldly & intelligent people.

People keep saying that Josh was surrounded by worldly and intelligent people, but isn't the FRC just another bunch of uneducated Gothard yahoos who got a consultant and went to Washington? I'm sure that SOMEONE there has an education, but all of them? Just wondering.

[mebeforee]

Actually, I think most of the people who work at FRC (especially ones working at the same level that Josh was) have college degrees from accredited colleges. Intelligent and worldly people can still be narrow minded bigots, it just tends to be discouraged by the academic community so a lot of kids gravitate toward being more moderate while at college (but not all do).

[Cleopatra7]

Yes, I wondered how Josh lasted so long in DC, being so uneducated. How could he interact with govt officials, lobbyists, regular Washingtonians?

He must be akin to talking to the wall -to these worldly & intelligent people.

Because he was an sideshow attraction that the FRC hoped would make them look good to a young audience (not really sure why; a rapidly aging twenty-something with a quiverfull of kids isn't going to be very interesting to most mainstream conservative teens and young adults even without the molestation scandal hanging over him). Now that the Duggar name has been tarnished, Josh is of no use to anyone, probably not even to his family.

[justoneoftwo]

Because he was an sideshow attraction that the FRC hoped would make them look good to a young audience (not really sure why; a rapidly aging twenty-something with a quiverfull of kids isn't going to be very interesting to most mainstream conservative teens and young adults even without the molestation scandal hanging over him). Now that the Duggar name has been tarnished, Josh is of no use to anyone, probably not even to his family.

Just have to point out, Josh is of use to his family. His kids probably love and need him, his wife probably loves and needs him. He is still a person and has value. (Just noting that this kind of language going through a person's head can be dangerous)

[nst]

Just have to point out, Josh is of use to his family. His kids probably love and need him, his wife probably loves and needs him. He is still a person and has value. (Just noting that this kind of language going through a person's head can be dangerous)

he is still a child molestor imo

[Gimme a Free RV]

My take on the video is pretty much like other FJers:

Stilted

Staged

Awkard

Embarrassing

Fake

PR-induced

Forced

Tragic

Anna reminded me of myself, if I were forced to act "normal" for a video when I was actually dying inside. She looked just like someone trying their best not to cry. The "adoring" stare was creepy and it seemed she was fixing her eyes on a focal point to avoid making eye contact with the camera, as much as possible.

Also interesting: the video didn't really show her baby bump.

I can only imagine how depressed Anna must be feeling right now, fighting the urge to be angry and lash out in lieu of "keeping sweet." It would be very hard to deal with these feelings so late in a pregnancy.

[FloraKitty35]

Oh, jeeze, the man boobs on Josh! ick

That was the first thing I noticed.

[awkwardblackchick]

I found more of the father day videos in this link that includes Jana, Jinger, joe and more.

duggarfamily.com/index.cfm?p=happy-fathers-day]http://www.duggarfamily.com/index.cfm?p=happy-fathers-day

[FloraKitty35]

I feel horrible for all of the kids and IMO cannot think of anything that will ever make JB palatable again.

Was JB ever palatable in the first place?

[Cleopatra7]

Just have to point out, Josh is of use to his family. His kids probably love and need him, his wife probably loves and needs him. He is still a person and has value. (Just noting that this kind of language going through a person's head can be dangerous)

I don't mean that Josh is of no value to his family from a relational standpoint, but given that the Duggar family is a brand in addition to a familial unit, Josh's actions have jeopardized the family business/"ministry" possibly beyond repair. The other Duggars, especially the older ones, probably resent Josh for causing their downfall when public interest in them was at its highest. They might make a show of forgiveness and solidarity for the media, but inter-family tensions have to be there. I'm reminded of how the Jackson family rallied around Michael when he was on trial, but bad mouthed him and asked him for money at the same time.

[Dandruff]

I can easily imagine the Duggars being angry (or whatever the fundie-approved term is) at Josh, though I think most of it should be directed at JB. Josh, supposedly, is forgiven. It's JB's handling of the situation that resulted in the records going public. Hope this isn't going over all of their heads.

A few years ago the Duggars helped create the Life United pro-life coalition. FRC is, or at least was, a partner in the coalition. I expect this was the reason for Josh's job.

[Cassielfsw]

I found more of the father day videos in this link that includes Jana, Jinger, joe and more.

link: duggarfamily.com/index.cfm?p=happy-fathers-day duggarfamily.com/index.cfm?p=happy-fathers-day

They misspelled Jana's name in the title of her video "Janna" :(

[marieantoinette]

I can't stand how they have to display every message they have for a family member for the world to see. Especially because they have such an abhorrence for tv, radio and the internet, supposedly! Even though they use more modern technology than I do and I've always been part of secular society, I'm just too busyto mmake and post video messages or take endless selfies. I can't believe these people don't realize that the majority of people can see right through their bs. And that video didn't have a hint of sincerity in it. Josh bothers me because he is like a Jim Bob clone and Anna, hate to say it but she gets under my skin just as much. I hate seeing women put on a pitiful show like that, like she's ready to worship the ground he walks on. I'm all for women treating their men like they're kings but I expect the man to treat them like a queen too. It's sad and pathetic watching her stare at him like he is some Greek god. Also it's one thing if your man is delightful to look at but Josh doesn't seem to have much goingon. SShe looks like someone who has been beaten down emotionally.

[rosalitta]

I thought Jana and maybe Jinger were the only ones who really spoke with convincing sincerity. And each time I hear Jinger talk (I don't really watch the show ever so I just see some clips online) I realize more and more how steeped in the Kool-Aid she is.

[bingbangboom]

Weird Duggarfam, weird...

Whichever poor fool that has been suckered into running the PR machine is not doing well...

Although, that assumes they could do well at all, and certainly that is a very strong improbability.

Somebody rescue these poor kids and kidults....

[JPop42]

Also, in watching those videos, I think there's an odd sense that you can tell which kids have more affection for JB. The ones who call him 'pops' seem less scripted somehow and Jason is the only one who really had anything to say about JB's personal influence on their lives. and then you have Jed (how old is he now, seventeen??) calling him 'Daddy' (which is weird to me all on its own) and going on about how he appreciates not being homeless and starving. Oh, and even the time they spend together. Thanks Daddy!

That's the part that caught my attention. He thanks them for giving them a "place to stay." Um, one of the very basic things a father should provide his family is a home. "A place to stay" is a very odd way to put it.

[mebeforee]

Jed and Jer always seemed like fairly sensitive and artistic kids compared to a lot of the others in the family (I'd also say that Justin seems very sweet and somewhat introverted, and so do Joy and Jordyn), and I wonder sometimes if they get less attention/feel less accepted because they're not so full of bluster and don't quite feel comfortable forcibly taking attention from their other siblings. It does take a certain personality type to shove yourself into the center of attention, and in a family that big with everyone trying to get some focus from their parents or sister-moms, I think it must be really rough on the kids who just aren't wired that way. They don't have being the oldest (role models) or being the youngest (precious babies) going for them, they're just kind of lost in there.

I wonder sometimes if the older ones who are more aware of why they are living in this way might have resentment toward their parents. I'm sure a lot of the kids have feelings they don't share but few of them seem likely to try and express those things. I remember once on one of the early specials it was Jason's birthday, and Josiah mentioned that he had always been a very 'nice' and 'quiet' boy who was starting to come out of his shell, and Michelle echoed that - he was 'quiet' but she's starting to discover he's funny. He was well past the age where people within his own family should have picked up on his personality. At this point he's one of the more irritating members of the family (in my opinion), he seems smug and sometimes mean-spirited. But maybe that's how he felt he had to be in order to get attention from the people around him, who apparently had no idea what he was like when he was around 9 years old.

IDK, to me this video is either an honest depiction of total detachment from his father on a personal level, or it's a passive-aggressive comment on his father's lack of presence in his life. :? Either one seems pretty undesirable but Jed seems smart enough to know that what he was saying was not a loving endorsement of JB as a 'great dad'.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

Also, in watching those videos, I think there's an odd sense that you can tell which kids have more affection for JB. The ones who call him 'pops' seem less scripted somehow and Jason is the only one who really had anything to say about JB's personal influence on their lives. and then you have Jed (how old is he now, seventeen??) calling him 'Daddy' (which is weird to me all on its own) and going on about how he appreciates not being homeless and starving. Oh, and even the time they spend together. Thanks Daddy!

I agree that his video is weird, but I don't know what's inherently weird about him calling JB "daddy." I mean, JB and Michelle both call him "daddy." Plus, I'm 28 and I still call my dad "daddy."

[mebeforee]

I think in a lot of cases I wouldn't find it weird, but especially in their particular culture, it seems bizarre that they wouldn't have stamped it out of him. They don't mind adult daughters calling JB 'Daddy' because they infantalize women anyway. But for a boy that age to be calling his father 'Daddy' would be unusual even in mainstream society, much less in their world where they seem to view men as extra masculine and have absolutely no tolerance for aspects of personality that they traditionally associate with women. It seems especially odd to me because his message to his dad WAS so noncommittal and unemotional, where I consider 'daddy' to be a very affectionate sort of nickname.

Again, I don't typically find it odd from adults depending on the way they use it. If it's used simply as a name for their parent, that's one thing, but it does bother me when I hear people use mommy/daddy in a simpering way that seems designed to manipulate their parent by appealing to their childhood relationship with them.

ETA: I said 'again' here because I remembered writing some stuff about why this particular use of the word bothered me. Now that I go back and look though it's apparent that I cut that bit from my original post before I submitted it. I tend to get wordy when I write posts and sometimes I clip things out before posting them if I think the post is getting too lengthy, so I guess that got cut lol.

[DigDugger]

In the South, it's pretty common for grown men and women to call their parents "Mama" and "Daddy". (For example, JR on "Dallas" did!)

[mebeforee]

In the South, it's pretty common for grown men and women to call their parents "Mama" and "Daddy". (For example, JR on "Dallas" did!)

I'm from the Great Lakes region, so I really don't know much about regional dialect stuff from the South, except what I've observed in the few people I've known who have moved up from that region/family who live there/things I've noticed consistently on interviews on television. Unfortunately no matter how much you watch and hear from select sources, a person can't really master a regional dialect without actually living there for some time. But I don't see that happening much in the Northern Midwest at all, and when I do hear it it's almost exclusively women who continue with those terms of affection. I am aware that there's nothing objectively wrong with using it and it's partially just that I'm not used to hearing it, though I do sometimes feel that people saying it with a particular tone to be very cloying and off-putting. That's not how I feel every time I hear it, and I think it's mainly when it seems like they're using it manipulatively that bothers me. That whole Veruca Salt thing doesn't just disappear when a spoiled kid grows up :lol:

I don't think Jed was using it that way, though. To me, it felt like a relic of his childhood - he had called his father 'Daddy' as a small child, and their relationship had not developed since then. He didn't have a new name for his dad because he doesn't really talk to his dad about anything. And so the context of him using it felt strange to me, especially considering the fact that most of his siblings above the age of 10-13 do not call their father Daddy.

[weirdemmaline]

IDK I don't find the older kids calling their dad "daddy" all that weird or squicky. I only started calling my dad "daddy" when I was in my early 20s. He's still listed in my phone as Daddy and any time I need him for anything it's "daddy help".

[Mama Mia]

I don't find " Daddy" or "Mommy" from adults strange. I don't hear " daddy" from adult men as much, but it's certainly not unheard of. Mommy and Mama from both adult men and women is very common.

And just based on television shows I can recall of the top of my head :lol: -- " daddy" seems pretty common in the south.

My adult kids each call me something different. Their Dad has " father" from one, "daddy" from another and " dad" from the rest.

Also, I think when adults talk about their parents it's probably more likely for them to use the most common " Mom" and " Dad" ( or whatever the most commonly acceptable terms are in their area) - but use whatever pet name when they are talking to them. Since the Fathers Day videos were directed to Jim Bob - singing his praises - using his pet name makes sense. To me.

[MatthewDuggar]

Every so often (usually in movies) I hear people call their dad "father", "Are you really going away, father?" - to me that's more strange than an adult calling their dad "daddy". I'm from the upper midwest US originally and the norm seems to be "Dad" but I wouldn't blink an eye if I heard "Daddy".

[shatteredreality]

Nope that's hunkydory, cos' you remembered to add in the 'in my experience' bit.

I always find that helps :D

My reading comprehension is also hunkydory thanks for your concern. :D

What an interesting post. As a researcher for a major pharma company selling anti-depressants, Prozac was revolutionary vs older medications. And there are many head to head studies showing the newer antidepressants work with less side effects than older ones and are generally better tolerated. Both SSRIs & older medications are still used in large volumes. There is no quick fix & it does take 6-8 weeks to get the full effect of any of the medications. It is also BEST to contact a physician for your individual treatment!! Many online websites such as WebMD are sponsored by pharmaceutical companies so the information is skewed to the benefit of the sponsors so it's NEVER smart to go along with what is written until speaking with your own healthcare professional - they will have YOUR best interest in mind.

I believe the original post was about Josh having a "flat affect" /no expeession which can happen with a multitude of drugs from anti-depressants, anti-psychotics, anxiolitics & anit-convulsants just to name a few so it's hard to just guess from a picture in the news. I do not care for the Duggars, appalled by Josh's behavior & the parents "sweeping it under the rug" but that is just a way to spread rumors about something we don't know about. JMO