Since joining FJ

[jojo]

I think I came to FJ via TWoP, and lurked a bit in the Yuku days, but for whatever reason I did most of my Duggar snark/commentary at the former until the heavy-handed modding by Howard became too much to bear. For some reason, my computers never liked the Yuku site (I got a lot of unwanted porn when I tried to get on), which was another reason I tended not to linger. Also when I first discovered FJ, I was involved in a bunch of my own religious drama and was too confused to really get into the snarking spirit. I joined once and for all after I decisively became a "born-again atheist" (I was raised secular, became Catholic, then went back to being an atheist), and was ready to go full-throttle against fundies. Interestingly, I first learned about VF from the Catholic Answers Forum, because a bunch of homeschoolers liked their catalog, although some of the more astute posters noted VF's anti-Catholicism and positions on gender that were too extreme even for them.

I totally believed Razing Ruth until she played her hand too far with the dead father with no obituary and the supposed confrontation at the library. I feel stupid for not having doubts about her when her lies seem to obvious in retrospect, but I guess like a lot of posters, I was desperate for insider info on the Duggars and wanted to support someone who had escaped ATI. Who knew that the real secret the Duggars were hiding was wilder than anything RR could have thought up? At least I was too broke to send her money.

The Burris thing still stuns me. At least RR was playing us for money, but I don't get what was motivating Burris for such an epic and bizarre flounce involving claims of genocide, the ICC, and being a fugitive of international justice. If she needed to take some time off from posting, why not just do that or just join another board if she was tired of FJ? I guess we'll never know.

Could Burris and Razing Ruth be the same person? No money, but epic/bizarre and luring us into the story by baiting bit by bit. (Well look at that accidental alliteration!)

[Whipple]

I quit FJ for a while over Razing Ruth. I had doubts about her but quit believing when her fundie sister had a baby, adopted the baby to a lesbian couple, and then went to Disneyland. Something about the way the story was told didn't pass the smell test. (Not that I didn't send the woman a little money before that.) Anyway, when I posted about my doubts, I got slammed by what I assume were RR sock puppets and other voracious defenders. Not just me, but it seemed as if every time someone did express a doubt, there would be two or three strong posts to mitigate. Not that I mind when someone disagrees with me but it was just crazy.

I wasn't around for Burris and I also have mild ADHD and don't pay attention so I cannot give an opinion as to where she and Razing Ruth were one and the same.

It seems now the environment here is so much better, even with netiquette violations. I would much rather deal with a few pages of infighting than blind allegiance.

[nokidsmom]

I didn't follow RR enough to really think about whether she was fake or not. I did read the story of her escape and while I felt some parts were rather dramatic, I still found it plausible in some ways. The story of her sister having a baby, having a lesbian couple adopt the baby, then the sister going back in quick succession did raise some doubts but I knew not to mention them here because there were so many posters who believed her story. When she started the whole "i am moving to Chicago" saga this was where I thought we would find out whether she was real or not, given posters wanted to honestly help, including me. I had no idea what outing her would expose. :o

[Drtwinkstutu]

Since joining FJ, I think the biggest thing that has changed is I am more aware of how many of these fundies there are. Eleventy times eleventy1!111!!. I knew about the Duggars and all the fellowship friends but I didn't realize there are are many more where they came from. The country seems to be more and more divisive with more people taking sides and claiming religious persecution. Maybe just the timing of the SCOTUS decision and Joshgate 1.0 and 2.0 and the whacked out Kentucky County Clerk and, and, and... All of these events occurring in within the past few months have made a reasonable discourse with reasonable people an unreasonable and unrealistic expectation. All the crazy seems to be bubbling to the surface. I'm scared that this is only the beginning.

[Columbia]

Woah, I just now saw the Burris thing. That's crazy.

[Cleopatra7]

Could Burris and Razing Ruth be the same person? No money, but epic/bizarre and luring us into the story by baiting bit by bit. (Well look at that accidental alliteration!)

I don't think so. Burris was posting at the same time that RR was, and it would have been pretty easy to determine if the former was a sockpuppet of the latter or vice versa. Plus, Burris and RR had completely different writing styles.

[acheronbeach]

It's kind of shocking for me to realize that I've been on this site since 2009.

For me, the big shockers have been:

- Alectogate and the merry band of bitches

- Vyckie's defense of con artist Ruth and of her rapist ex

- DPIAT's sex scandal with a WOMAN

- That BRADRICK, the Visionary Daughters, and Jasmine B. have sort of faded into obscurity after what was very diligent fame-whoring for several years

[VodouDoll]

Doug's scandal being with a woman was a huge shock to me.

My happiest FJ moment is Liz Munck bolting while she still could. Team Liz. The fact that years later, while Joseph is married to someone else and they're expecting a baby, Steve Maxwell is still ranting about Liz to his audiences makes me love her even more. She caused that psycho a narcissistic injury and he still isn't over it years later.

[bean]

Is anybody willing to explain what TWOP is? I've seen that referenced a million times, but have never seen what the acronym stands for.

I came across FJ after dating a guy who said his brother had recently married a girl who wanted to have "as many kids as she possibly could." I had no idea that was a real thing! She happened to have a blog, which happened to have comments from Wissmann girls and Sarah Nicole Smith and I followed out to their blogs. I was completely enthralled by these people (the girls only wear skirts? WHY? They have 12 children and travel on a bus? WHY??) and googled to see if anyone else was talking about them after one of the Wissmanns got engaged. Totally didn't work out with the guy, which is a real blessing, lol. And I think his brother has 6 or 7 children by now. Yowza.

I've mostly followed the Maxwells, Alexanders, and Rodrigueses here. I generally haven't had the stamina to delve into the Duggars, although I've done more reading over in their realm since the molestation story broke.

[Rebelwife]

Is anybody willing to explain what TWOP is? I've seen that referenced a million times, but have never seen what the acronym stands for.

I came across FJ after dating a guy who said his brother had recently married a girl who wanted to have "as many kids as she possibly could." I had no idea that was a real thing! She happened to have a blog, which happened to have comments from Wissmann girls and Sarah Nicole Smith and I followed out to their blogs. I was completely enthralled by these people (the girls only wear skirts? WHY? They have 12 children and travel on a bus? WHY??) and googled to see if anyone else was talking about them after one of the Wissmanns got engaged. Totally didn't work out with the guy, which is a real blessing, lol. And I think his brother has 6 or 7 children by now. Yowza.

I've mostly followed the Maxwells, Alexanders, and Rodrigueses here. I generally haven't had the stamina to delve into the Duggars, although I've done more reading over in their realm since the molestation story broke.

TWOP = Television without Pity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_Without_Pity

[bean]

TWOP = Television without Pity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_Without_Pity

THANK YOU!! :)

[Sydney Fox]

I fell down the FJ rabbit hole while researching the quiverful movement, back in the Yuku days. I didn't join up until after the rapture though and continue to mostly lurk.

To me it's amazing to see how crazy the Maxwell's appear now and how their brand has faltered. I belonged to a homeschool board that was promoting the Maxwell's MOTH book way back when, and I even bought one to take a look. They were really big in the early 2000's and in demand at their homeschool conferences. Only Nathan was married at the time and they looked like a family to admire. I think Liz Munck's runaway bride caused more than a few cracks in their foundation and I don't see them recovering.

Sadly, I arrived on the scene after Emily and Dna, but I read everything I could about them. That was real crazy. It is my dream that she returns to blog.

The DPIAT scandal was a big shock to me. It all seemed to collapse so quickly. I miss the anaconda hunts and BRADRICK!

I didn't trust RR, so wasn't surprised that she was a con. I don't know what to say about Burris. I'm still scratching my head about that, even after reading the entire thread.

Those are the things that come to mind looking back.

[FaustianSlip]

I've been here off and on since the Yuku days. I was more active back then- to this day, I wonder whatever became of Emily and Dna. I actually saw Dna at my local Wal-Mart, because they lived not far from me. Poor guy- I hope they got some help and aren't still living in poverty.

I'm reading through the Burris thread now. What. The actual. Fuck. This is completely bonkers, just for the record.

[adidas]

I've been posting (irregularly) since Yuku days when Carrie's baby Benaiah died. That case hit me hard, his death was so preventable.

I'm surprised that Emily and Dan have stayed so quiet.

[nelliebelle1197]

I don't think so. Burris was posting at the same time that RR was, and it would have been pretty easy to determine if the former was a sockpuppet of the latter or vice versa. Plus, Burris and RR had completely different writing styles.

I found out some identifying info on Burris that I did not share publicly so as to avoid doxing and I also know who RR is. They are not the same person. I think Burris has a rather depressing life and is a fairly sad person. I think she also thought she was smarter than the rest of us. The character was a way out of a depressing life. Considering her sporadic posting here, I would bet she has several other games going.

[Palimpsest]

TWOP = Television without Pity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_Without_Pity

TWOP was better before it was sold to Bravo/NBC when a lot of the sting went out of the snark. I used to love the Top Chef thread and recaps there but when Bravo took over they got rid of a lot of good staff.

TWOP was famous for its hatred of thread drift and heavy handed moderating. FJ was originally created by people who wanted to discuss Fundie things other than the Duggars.

You will also see references here to TWOP Howard, a particularly vicious moderator who single-handedly drove many people to FJ from the Duggar thread. Some of them determinedly went off topic so many times in the TWoP Duggar thread that they got banned.

The original founders of TWOP - Wing Chun, Sars, and Glark - later formed Previously TV. When TWOP finally folded we got a lot of new members and so did PTV. PTV doesn't allow thread drift. We like it! :)

[Cleopatra7]

TWOP was better before it was sold to Bravo/NBC when a lot of the sting went out of the snark. I used to love the Top Chef thread and recaps there but when Bravo took over they got rid of a lot of good staff.

TWOP was famous for its hatred of thread drift and heavy handed moderating. FJ was originally created by people who wanted to discuss Fundie things other than the Duggars.

You will also see references here to TWOP Howard, a particularly vicious moderator who single-handedly drove many people to FJ from the Duggar thread. Some of them determinedly went off topic so many times in the TWoP Duggar thread that they got banned.

The original founders of TWOP - Wing Chun, Sars, and Glark - later formed Previously TV. When TWOP finally folded we got a lot of new members and so did PTV. PTV doesn't allow thread drift. We like it! :)

What was really hilarious about TWOP Howard was that when the whole site was about to shut down, posters were forbidden from talking about it, because it wasn't directly related to TV or whatever. :cray-cray:

[Palimpsest]

It's kind of shocking for me to realize that I've been on this site since 2009.

For me, the big shockers have been:

- Alectogate and the merry band of bitches

- Vyckie's defense of con artist Ruth and of her rapist ex

- DPIAT's sex scandal with a WOMAN

- That BRADRICK, the Visionary Daughters, and Jasmine B. have sort of faded into obscurity after what was very diligent fame-whoring for several years

Yes, I agree with all of these. One thing that wasn't a shocker (except that it took so long) was the fall of Bill Gothard. Neither is it a surprise that he is attempting a comeback.

I badly miss following the Manly Men on their unHazardous Journeys. They all seem to have gone very quiet too after the Fall of the Tool.

[treemom]

I've been posting (irregularly) since Yuku days when Carrie's baby Benaiah died. That case hit me hard, his death was so preventable.

I'm surprised that Emily and Dan have stayed so quiet.

I lurked on and off since about 2006, but lurked regularly since the Carrie is having twins story in 2009. I posted the first time that December.

The Carrie story is one of the saddest ones and also hit me hard. In 2007 my company I worked for sold my division to another company where I proceeded to languish until I left in 2011. I had a lot of time at work and nothing to do, and the board was so less active then I was much more prolific. Since 2011 I joined a non profit, really love my job, and had a series of promotions, so I mostly try to catch up on FJ nights and weekends. And on my constant vacations :)

[treemom]

Alectogate was shocking to me...although I'm not sure it should have been. So much has happened the last two years with DPIaT, Gothard, duggars, I think these last two years have been the most surprising.

My hated of Steve and Teri Maxwell hasn't changed though. It's been pretty consistent since I started posting.

[Coco]

Since joining FJ, I think the biggest thing that has changed is I am more aware of how many of these fundies there are. Eleventy times eleventy1!111!!. I knew about the Duggars and all the fellowship friends but I didn't realize there are are many more where they came from. The country seems to be more and more divisive with more people taking sides and claiming religious persecution. Maybe just the timing of the SCOTUS decision and Joshgate 1.0 and 2.0 and the whacked out Kentucky County Clerk and, and, and... All of these events occurring in within the past few months have made a reasonable discourse with reasonable people an unreasonable and unrealistic expectation. All the crazy seems to be bubbling to the surface. I'm scared that this is only the beginning.

The beginning of enlightenment hopefully, nothing to be scared about. It would be nice if the next generation of Americans lean more toward European worldviews. The fundies' system is built on brainwashing and trapping people in the cult. If their hordes of children, the Joshua generation, wake up to reality, all it takes is a moment and thousands of second generation fundies entire lifestyle and choices will change. Ex-fundies are some of the most liberal people, they know the ugly pain of being judged harshly.

Add Michael & Debi Pearl the will-blow-wide-open list. Something, maybe a lot of really ugly somethings, are wrong there.

ITA, the Botkins seem so cold. So emotionless. Somehow it seems like they bought into their own hype too much, thinking they're chosen to be superior or something, idk. There doesn't seem to be real humbleness there.

imo Michael and Debi Pearl's ugliness is from weird power trips and making women believe they are second to men and that men owns women's bodies. It takes intentional self-deception for a woman to want to keep living that way. And maybe inescapable poverty brought on by too many kids and limited work opportunities so to stay sane the woman has to invent heavenly rewards for going through hell. But for friends/family i've known trapped in that, most of the time the woman has to want to keep on being used. A lot of the women think they're less intelligent just because they're women. It just takes a little freedom and outside help for them to realize there are so many people willing to help them break out. There's a sick undercurrent in the Pearls' child-training that children are inherently willfully evil and have to have their wills broken by submitting to what's basically bullying by parents. All the parents need is to learn about gentle parenting that puts the parents on the same side as the kid instead of at odds, to get out of that awful way of thinking. Respect toward the child starts with respecting women and men as equals, imo. That whole culture has a revolting preoccupation with dominating other people though. All the taking dominion crap, obeying a fallible male as if they have the authority of God and God will bless someone who submits to abuse. So wrong. Diseased thinking. Teaching a child to obey without question sets them up to be perfect cult followers. It's just disguised as holy submission.

The downfall of Vision Forum was the most astonishing FJ moment for me. When Doug Phillips (who is a tool) fell, he took enture organizations with him--his church, his business, his personal and religious allies, and the many people associated with them. People lost their jobs and their reputations from their association with him. Yes, the Duggar Downfall is more publicly spectacular, but I think the Vision Forum implosion was much more deeply damaging on a religious and political level. I don't think we've heard the end of it yet.

Plus, Doug Phillips is a tool.

So true. VF being exposed for a fraud changed my life and saved my hubby and our kids from years of going in frustrating stupid circles trying to make fundie lies work. Well, that and gaining access to balanced information on sites like SSB, Recovering Grace, and so many others. But in particular FJ and the community here.

[acheronbeach]

The Carrie story is one of the saddest ones and also hit me hard. In 2007 my company I worked for sold my division to another company where I proceeded to languish until I left in 2011. I had a lot of time at work and nothing to do, and the board was so less active then I was much more prolific. Since 2011 I joined a non profit, really love my job, and had a series of promotions, so I mostly try to catch up on FJ nights and weekends. And on my constant vacations :)

Me too. Prior to the rapture, I racked up around 1200 posts. I was a depressed grad student with lots of free time. Then I got a full time job and just can't keep up with a lot of the threads anymore... (Joshley Madison, for instance)

I remember you being a VERY prodigious (and entertaining) poster back then! Glad you slowed down for happy reasons :)