Pick A Reason Kelly Bates Is A LOUSY Mother

[HerNameIsBuffy]

Has it ever been verified that the stupid change one letter for free was a real rule?  That sounds so weird to me - what would be the logic in that?  

And even if true why didn't G&K just pick what they wanted to call her and stay consistent?  Even on the shows it's different from one to the next, right?  So her given name is Michael and they want to call her Michaela, Michaella, MyFirstSisterSlave, or Cindy....just call her that and worry about the paperwork when you have a couple of nickels to rub together.  Pick one!

[TShirtsLongSkirts]

I remember on the wedding episode, Michael/l/a said to someone who was designing something with her and Brandon's names on, she specifically wanted it spelt "Michaela", and that's their website URL as well. So I would guess that's her preferred spelling but maybe she doesn't feel she has the authority to tell everyone that's what she wants to be called, or to change her name.

[Arix]

5 minutes ago, TShirtsLongSkirts said:

I remember on the wedding episode, Michael/l/a said to someone who was designing something with her and Brandon's names on, she specifically wanted it spelt "Michaela", and that's their website URL as well. So I would guess that's her preferred spelling but maybe she doesn't feel she has the authority to tell everyone that's what she wants to be called, or to change her name.

Interesting. Their Instagram is Brandon loves Michael.

[OrchidBlossom]

13 hours ago, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Has it ever been verified that the stupid change one letter for free was a real rule?  That sounds so weird to me - what would be the logic in that?  

And even if true why didn't G&K just pick what they wanted to call her and stay consistent?  Even on the shows it's different from one to the next, right?  So her given name is Michael and they want to call her Michaela, Michaella, MyFirstSisterSlave, or Cindy....just call her that and worry about the paperwork when you have a couple of nickels to rub together.  Pick one!

I would guess that the logic is that corrections are okay but changes aren't. It is entirely possible, in fact, that that is the policy but the Bates heard "you can't change it, you can only correct it" and in their heads that translated to "add or change a letter for free".

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

17 hours ago, TShirtsLongSkirts said:

That's really interesting! Is Michal pronounced the same as Michael then? In my head I'd always pronounced it "mi-KAL" and Michael as "MY-kal" but I might be wrong as I've never heard Michal pronounced irl... 

Bible scholars generally pronounce  Michal as mee-shawl. I think they mispronounced it as Michael, which just made things worse when they realized Michal wasn't someone to be emulated and made the spelling change. 

[QuiverDance]

On 9/17/2016 at 10:06 AM, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Has it ever been verified that the stupid change one letter for free was a real rule?  That sounds so weird to me - what would be the logic in that?  

And even if true why didn't G&K just pick what they wanted to call her and stay consistent?  Even on the shows it's different from one to the next, right?  So her given name is Michael and they want to call her Michaela, Michaella, MyFirstSisterSlave, or Cindy....just call her that and worry about the paperwork when you have a couple of nickels to rub together.  Pick one!

 

IDK if the one letter thing was true then, but it is not true now.  

The Bateseseses could've applied for a correction to the birth certificate before Michael(a)'s first birthday, and there would have been no fee associated with changing the BC.  From Tn.gov:

 

Quote

 

If any of the following circumstances are true, a court order is needed to make a name change on the birth certificate:

A is on file in this office.

A new birth certificate was created due to an adoption or a court-order of parentage (this does not apply if the amendment is necessary because of a keying error made when creating the new certificate).

The name on the certificate has been amended previously.

If none of the circumstances listed in item 1 are true and  the child is less than one year old, this office will need:

A notarized affidavit, signed by all parents listed on the birth certificate, which shows the child's full name, date of birth, the incorrect name as it is listed on the certificate and the name as it should be correctly listed.

No fee is required to amend a certificate that is less than one year old.

If none of the circumstances listed in item 1 are true and the registrant is more than one year old , this office will need:

A notarized affidavit showing the child's full name, date of birth, the incorrect name as it is listed on the certificate and the name as it should be correctly listed.

Documentary evidence that supports the change being requested (see examples of acceptable documentary evidence).

A check or money order for the required amendment fee. If you want a certified copy of the amended certificate please include an additional fee for the copy.

- See more at: https://tn.gov/health/article/vr-corrected-certificate#sthash.8XZM7FLx.dpuf

 

 

They could have done a name change in court as well.  This requires a simple petition, a filing fee, and testimony from the applicant (or their parent) that they're not chaning their name to avoid creditors or The Law.  The filing fee is probably minimal.  Whatever it costs to file a petition in probate court (chancery court in some counties), maybe 150-200 dollars.

[Italiangirl]

Maybe they coudn't explain the reason why they want to change the name. Can you immagin when they ask the reason? "Oh we just realize that is not a good name for our baby girl, you know we discover she is not a good person in the bible"

[Ace3]

On 9/17/2016 at 8:06 AM, HerNameIsBuffy said:

Has it ever been verified that the stupid change one letter for free was a real rule?  That sounds so weird to me - what would be the logic in that?  

And even if true why didn't G&K just pick what they wanted to call her and stay consistent?  Even on the shows it's different from one to the next, right?  So her given name is Michael and they want to call her Michaela, Michaella, MyFirstSisterSlave, or Cindy....just call her that and worry about the paperwork when you have a couple of nickels to rub together.  Pick one!

Ours were $40 if we could do it in office, but we could only do changes that did not change the pronunciation of the name. Court orders to change were far more costly and require a lot more stuff. The only other time you can make a change (in my state) is when there is no father on the birth certificate and you add one. When you do the affidavit ($40 also) you can change the whole name to whatever you want...and I have seen some CRAZY shit. So you could just change the kiddos last name or you can change their entire name. That wouldn't work for the Batesses. 

I would totally share them but the names are so outrageous that I that there seriously can't be many of them...and just in case those kids belong to someone on FJ...

[Melissa1977]

You don't have a few dollars to change a (normal) name.

You change your daughter's female name for a male one. Because the money.

You have 17 more kids.

[QuiverDance]

20 hours ago, Italiangirl said:

Maybe they coudn't explain the reason why they want to change the name. Can you immagin when they ask the reason? "Oh we just realize that is not a good name for our baby girl, you know we discover she is not a good person in the bible"

 

I mean, it would be perfectly acceptable to say "Name as spelled is incorrect."  That would be technically correct.  (The best kind of correct.) #winningatlawyering

[Italiangirl]

59 minutes ago, QuiverDance said:

I mean, it would be perfectly acceptable to say "Name as spelled is incorrect."  That would be technically correct.  (The best kind of correct.) #winningatlawyering

Mmmm ok i give up you win 

[actuallyjessica]

Perhaps the name doesn't bother Michael enough to change it?

I've noticed she generally goes by Michaela in situations where her name is written and her gender may be confused. Same as Kelly... For some reason on this show she goes by Kelly Jo in her talking heads etc.

[QuiverDance]

So this is weird.  My dad's name is ______ Jr.  He is called by his family and EVERYONE (and he is a professor so knows a lot of people...) by a completely different name.  It was given as a nickname and has nothing to do with given name in any way.  He had an older sister named ______ and there were characters in popular readers named _____ and _____.  Daddy got the nickname of the other character and it stuck. 

[December]

7 hours ago, actuallyjessica said:

Perhaps the name doesn't bother Michael enough to change it?

I've noticed she generally goes by Michaela in situations where her name is written and her gender may be confused. Same as Kelly... For some reason on this show she goes by Kelly Jo in her talking heads etc.

I'd assume the possibility for gender confusion would've been reason enough for a change, considering their views on gender roles. I'm genuinely surprised that wasn't enough to make them cough up the few hundred dollars it'd take to change all the relevant paperwork. 

[CorruptionInc.]

On 9/21/2016 at 3:02 PM, Melissa1977 said:

You don't have a few dollars to change a (normal) name.

You change your daughter's female name for a male one. Because the money.

You have 17 more kids.

Fundie Logic at it's best!

[jqlgoblue]

There isn't actually a clear reason to change it legally. She / her parents could have just started to call her any name they chose and it could have been a non-issue if they were consistent. Why not just call her Michaela and spell it Michaela, never mention it and be done with it?

I guess maybe the TV show would have needed her legal name at some point and it would have come up BUT that is besides the point given Kelly calls her Michael half the time and pronounces it "Michael-a" the other half.

[Gillyweed]

13 hours ago, jqlgoblue said:

There isn't actually a clear reason to change it legally. She / her parents could have just started to call her any name they chose and it could have been a non-issue if they were consistent. Why not just call her Michaela and spell it Michaela, never mention it and be done with it?

I guess maybe the TV show would have needed her legal name at some point and it would have come up BUT that is besides the point given Kelly calls her Michael half the time and pronounces it "Michael-a" the other half.

I've been trying to follow this thread and I'm  a bit confused. Is the name on her birth certificate Michael or Michael(l)a? 

[VelociRapture]

1 hour ago, Gillyweed said:

I've been trying to follow this thread and I'm  a bit confused. Is the name on her birth certificate Michael or Michael(l)a? 

Her legal name is Michael Christian Keilen. 

When she was born, she was named Michal Christian Bates. Her parents realized they didn't like the Biblical Michal she was named for. For whatever reason - they've stated it was due to a filing fee or something - they wound up changing the name slightly to Michael instead. Which is odd to many of us given their high emphasis on traditional gender roles and tendency to choose more gender specific names.

So legally she is Michael. To her friends and family there are a ton of variations used - Michael, Michaela, Michaella, etc. 

[Arix]

Carlin has said [the family] call her Mikey.

[mango_fandango]

On 8/24/2016 at 10:45 PM, Palimpsest said:

 

Quite.  Absofuckinglutely!

It also interests me that a thread asking us to pick reasons that Kelly is a lousy mother devolves into "but she is better than Michelle."  No, they both really stink as mothers in much the same ways.  Kelly just somehow manages to look a little less insane on her unReality TV show.

However, if we absolutely must do comparisons - how do Kelly and Michelle score against Jill R, Teri Maxwell, Lori Alexander, Lisa Pennington, Zsusanna Anderson, Beall Phillips, Erica Shupe, and Esther Shrader?

Granted that lot aren't on TV but there is plenty of evidence gathered here on FJ that the Fundie way of life =/= good mothering or good parenting.

There is a whole wide world of Fundie comparisons out there and in some ways the evils of IBLP, Kelly, and Michelle are just the tip of a rotten to the core iceberg of the Christian Patriarchal Movement.  

Hooooooo this could be interesting.

JILLROD: Is nuts. I don't know much about them, but we don't hear much from David (right?). Plus none of her kids are of marriageable age yet. However, I do see her allowing all her kids to marry, if only for more space in the RV. We don't really know much about their homeschool. 

TERI MAXWELL: say no more. What amount of her actions are done out of her own convictions versus having been beaten down by her wankbadger husband so that she is a mere vessel for her husband is anyone's guess. Out of all the above (who I know enough about, so bar Beall and Esther) I'd say she's easily the most passive. Pass-agg, yes, but more passive than the others. However this does not really excuse her from what she has done/does now.

LORI ALEXANDER: is bats. Posts about the same four-ish topics all the freaking time. Don't know as much about her but seems to be less vitriolic than say Zsu. Very pass-agg especially about her kids (Alyssa *cough cough*)

LISA PENNINGTON: we know about her too. Only loosened up when Faith escaped, and likely would not have done if Faith had stayed, but it is a loosening nonetheless. In regards to this loosening I'd lump her in with the likes of Kelly.

ZSUZSANNA ANDERSON: is apeshit. Out of all the fundie families (who aren't on TV so the Bateses/Duggars), she and her asshat husband are probably the most equal when it comes to spouting their disgusting beliefs. Beats her children. Promotes batshit medical advice.

ERIKA SHUPE: also bats. Is as anally-retentive about scheduling as the Maxwells, and also posts controversial posts, albeit without the same sort of vitriol as Zsu. Has loosened up recently- her oldest girls wear pants on occasion and Karen even has a job. Does at least let her kids watch secular moves and read secular books (within certain guidelines of course *beam*). Promotes Ezzo methods eg only feeding teeny tiny babies three/four times a day and making them sleep through by three months.

Can't post about Beall or Esther and not so up on JillRod, Lisa or Lori. 

In conclusion, I don't think it's so much as to who's the worst mother (they're all bad in one way or another), but more which family I'd least like to be part of. I'd say it's a tie between the Maxwells and the Andersons.

[devoe364]

On 8/16/2016 at 5:44 PM, Adrienne83 said:

Whoa!!! Is there anything to read about that? I don't think Whitney actually listened to her, did she?

I admittedly dropped the ball on that. With my oldest, he almost had the name of a politician. I realized it when I said the name together. So, I picked a different name. Husband liked it, so, yay. Except, I didn't realize that it was the name of a football player. *headdesk* Husband knew but didn't care. Ah well.

One of the first names I liked for Baby Devoe (if a girl) was Charlotte Elizabeth. Then I realized that the little Princess of Cambridge is Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. Scratch that. 

[BeccaGrim]

On 9/24/2016 at 9:05 PM, mango_fandango said:

Hooooooo this could be interesting.

JILLROD: Is nuts. I don't know much about them, but we don't hear much from David (right?). Plus none of her kids are of marriageable age yet. However, I do see her allowing all her kids to marry, if only for more space in the RV. We don't really know much about their homeschool. 

TERI MAXWELL: say no more. What amount of her actions are done out of her own convictions versus having been beaten down by her wankbadger husband so that she is a mere vessel for her husband is anyone's guess. Out of all the above (who I know enough about, so bar Beall and Esther) I'd say she's easily the most passive. Pass-agg, yes, but more passive than the others. However this does not really excuse her from what she has done/does now.

LORI ALEXANDER: is bats. Posts about the same four-ish topics all the freaking time. Don't know as much about her but seems to be less vitriolic than say Zsu. Very pass-agg especially about her kids (Alyssa *cough cough*)

LISA PENNINGTON: we know about her too. Only loosened up when Faith escaped, and likely would not have done if Faith had stayed, but it is a loosening nonetheless. In regards to this loosening I'd lump her in with the likes of Kelly.

ZSUZSANNA ANDERSON: is apeshit. Out of all the fundie families (who aren't on TV so the Bateses/Duggars), she and her asshat husband are probably the most equal when it comes to spouting their disgusting beliefs. Beats her children. Promotes batshit medical advice.

ERIKA SHUPE: also bats. Is as anally-retentive about scheduling as the Maxwells, and also posts controversial posts, albeit without the same sort of vitriol as Zsu. Has loosened up recently- her oldest girls wear pants on occasion and Karen even has a job. Does at least let her kids watch secular moves and read secular books (within certain guidelines of course *beam*). Promotes Ezzo methods eg only feeding teeny tiny babies three/four times a day and making them sleep through by three months.

Can't post about Beall or Esther and not so up on JillRod, Lisa or Lori. 

In conclusion, I don't think it's so much as to who's the worst mother (they're all bad in one way or another), but more which family I'd least like to be part of. I'd say it's a tie between the Maxwells and the Andersons.

When I first read this I thought you wrote the one you'd like to be the part of the most (more coffee needed). Phew. LOL.  The Maxwells scare me the most.  I don't know why.  Just...gut reaction. But they are scary to me. 

[Dandruff]

I haven't gone down the Lori/Lisa/Erika rabbit holes, so can't comment on them.  Jill R. doesn't scare me - I see her as a not-too-bright narcissistic twit, and would find it an effort to not laugh in her face if I ever met her.  But I do feel very sorry for her kids.  The Maxwells seem a bit brighter, and scarier, but I suspect I could temporarily derail their raving if I pointed out a speck of dust in their home or a stain on one of their outfits (and I would also find this amusing).  The Andersons are another story.  I view them as toxic insanity; active hate magnets.  He seems really unstable, and not actually religious at all, but consistently propelling badness outward vs. inward.  Based on what just happened in Africa, however, I'm hoping that the poison bubble is starting to deflate. 

I wish, as I'm sure many others do, that none of these families had had children...nothing against the beleaguered kids though.

[feministxtian]

What is up with everyone wanting give their girl children the middle name Elizabeth? My parents pinned that on me along with an 8 letter first name and an 11 letter last name. I swear my name was longer than I was at birth (35 weeker, barely 6lbs and not quite 18" long). When I got my driver's license...in VA they put your WHOLE name on it and it ended up taking 2 lines. Thank God my dad filled out my birth certificate. If my mother had had her way, my name would have been even longer. 

Name those kids with short names...not long ones and not ethnic ones. My maiden name is VERY ethnic and ALWAYS mispronounced. 

Kid #1 - First and middle name...13 letters

Kid #2 - 9 letters total

Kid #3 - 12 letters total

Me? Grand total of 28 letters. 

[VelociRapture]

3 hours ago, feministxtian said:

What is up with everyone wanting give their girl children the middle name Elizabeth? My parents pinned that on me along with an 8 letter first name and an 11 letter last name. I swear my name was longer than I was at birth (35 weeker, barely 6lbs and not quite 18" long). When I got my driver's license...in VA they put your WHOLE name on it and it ended up taking 2 lines. Thank God my dad filled out my birth certificate. If my mother had had her way, my name would have been even longer. 

Name those kids with short names...not long ones and not ethnic ones. My maiden name is VERY ethnic and ALWAYS mispronounced. 

Kid #1 - First and middle name...13 letters

Kid #2 - 9 letters total

Kid #3 - 12 letters total

Me? Grand total of 28 letters. 

... we're naming our daughter Anna Elisabeth when she's born in January... Both are variations of family names that honor women that are incredibly dear and special to me:

- My Great-Aunt who was my favorite person had the middle name Anna.

- My late Aunt, who I adored and who died when I was 5, had the middle name Elizabeth.

Her full name will be 21 letters. My full name at birth was 19 letters. It's not something that ever bothered me or concerned me. My husband and I don't really care about the length of her name either - honoring the memory of my loved ones is far more important to us.