Dillards 26 - Grifting All The Way!

[nokidsmom]

Had been ignoring the Dullard threads for a while simply because the name is self explanatory.  But I had to take a look today.

Personally, I don't care for missionaries except for those who are in the mission field strictly for humanitarian reasons, not to convert.  So I see nothing admirable in the Dullards' new adventure.

Not surprised that there's yet another foray into the mission field complete with grifting and stupid risks.  While Jill with her midwife training should know better than go into an area that poses a risk to pregnant women, she's going to forge ahead anyway.  Derick who should know better, is going along with all the stupidity.  

I am not surprised about Jill, but really expected better of Derick.  He wasn't raised this way. I know that some of us had hopes he might get Jill out of her FOO's craziness and perhaps away from fundie life in general.   But perhaps to be fair, he might not have had a chance.   Seems that the Duggar machine will swallow up anyone who marries into the family as in the case with Anna, Derick and Ben.  It remains to be seen with Jeremy but I don't have high hopes given the odds so far.

Also, I never understood this "personal relationship with Jesus" thing.   With my Lutheran upbringing, I never heard of the phrase until my teens when interacting with more fundie / evangelical types.   My ex-fiance who was Lutheran-turned-evangelical mentioned it a lot, to the point I thought that marrying him would be a threesome.

 

[Denim Jumper]

1 hour ago, Snarkle Motion said:

This conversation about personal relationships with Jesus reminds me of an anecdote that I think was from David Hume. A Catholic missionary is questioning a young pagan boy he is trying to convert and asks, "how many gods are there?"

The boy responds with "none."

This confuses the missionary who  has been teaching him about Catholicism for several weeks so he asks why the boy believes this.

The boy responds with: "You told me there was only one God. And then I ate him."

That reminds me of when my then 5 year old sat in on Communion for the first time. My other son explained to him what the wine symbolized, and he yelled out in a horrified voice "They're drinking god's BLOOD???!!!"

[Analytica49]

I had another thought about the $24,000 for which the Dullards are shamelessly begging.

We've been assuming they'll be in Danger Murika for four months, so $6000 per month. But did they say that? If so, where?

Even if they did, how likely is it they will stay for four months?

My guess is, they'll return after three months, maybe sooner. Jinger will be pregnant or Joy will be getting engaged, or even married, or the myriad health problems the Dullards have will somehow draw them back to Arkansas.

If I'm right about this, then their sheer gall is even greater: They could be asking for what amounts to $8000 per month ($24,000 over three months). Or $12,000 a month for two months.

And even if it DOES turn out to be four months, basically they are begging for what amounts to an annual income of $72,000. I bet there are hundreds of thousands of families that would be thrilled to have an income like that.

The vast majority of us have to EARN the money that keeps us alive. Not the Dullards.

 

[Dandruff]

3 hours ago, nokidsmom said:

I am not surprised about Jill, but really expected better of Derick.  He wasn't raised this way. I know that some of us had hopes he might get Jill out of her FOO's craziness and perhaps away from fundie life in general.   But perhaps to be fair, he might not have had a chance.   Seems that the Duggar machine will swallow up anyone who marries into the family as in the case with Anna, Derick and Ben.  It remains to be seen with Jeremy but I don't have high hopes given the odds so far.

Agree about the Duggar machine, though D-wreck was the one who wanted Jim Bob as a prayer partner and ended up with Jill as an added bonus.  AFAIC, he walked right into it.  I find it hard to gauge if they're really happy though - since the situation with them has gotten so weird and Jill won't quit smiling - but I suspect they aren't as joyful as anticipated.  For the sake of Israel and Dillbaby2, I hope things turn out essentially OK.

[onekidanddone]

23 hours ago, Analytica49 said:

I want to second this. When I think of all the years my grandparents, my parents, and then my spouse and I struggled to get by with very little money, it just annoys the heck out of me that the Dullards are shamelessly asking for money.

My grandparents survived the Depression, raising their children with very little money, no new clothes or shoes for the kids, using very last bit of food they could obtain. My parents survived WW II, then raised three kids during the 50s. There were NO second helpings, clothes were worn as long as they could last, we lived in a tiny house and shared bedrooms and the one bathroom.

I can't imagine anyone in my family begging for money. My grandparents and parents had dignity. They based their lives on the idea that if you can manage to scrape by, then you do so, with as much independence as you can manage. Sure, people who are desperately poor deserve to be helped. But, speaking as a person who comes from a working class background, we would have been ashamed to beg for money the way the Dullards are.

They have no shame.  Grifters to the core

[HarleyQuinn]

They probably stare at their paypall account and pray for funds.

[Snarkle Motion]

33 minutes ago, Dandruff said:

Agree about the Duggar machine, though D-wreck was the one who wanted Jim Bob as a prayer partner and ended up with Jill as an added bonus.  AFAIC, he walked right into it.  I find it hard to gauge if they're really happy though - since the situation with them has gotten so weird and Jill won't quit smiling - but I suspect they aren't as joyful as anticipated.  For the sake of Israel and Dillbaby2, I hope things turn out essentially OK.

I hope I say this as delicately as possible, but as someone who thinks in very logical economic terms I wonder if he feels Jim Bob left out information in the fine print of his marriage arrangement? He submitted the duggars ridiculous application, obeyed all modesty rules to the point that a mistaken front hug was a huge deal. Yet there was this family secret that became public knowledge about for literally the whole world to know that he likely was never informed about.

Moreover, he believed that Jill wanted a missionary lifestyle. But Jill had no ability to live on her own in Arkansas let alone a foreign country. Guess what? Dating isn't always about "pieces of your heart" it's about whether you actually make sense as a couple long term before being tied to a person for life that you ultimately can't stand, didn't know their family, and dont work well together.

[nokidsmom]

1 hour ago, Dandruff said:

Agree about the Duggar machine, though D-wreck was the one who wanted Jim Bob as a prayer partner and ended up with Jill as an added bonus.  AFAIC, he walked right into it.  I find it hard to gauge if they're really happy though - since the situation with them has gotten so weird and Jill won't quit smiling - but I suspect they aren't as joyful as anticipated.  For the sake of Israel and Dillbaby2, I hope things turn out essentially OK.

 

50 minutes ago, Snarkle Motion said:

I hope I say this as delicately as possible, but as someone who thinks in very logical economic terms I wonder if he feels Jim Bob left out information in the fine print of his marriage arrangement? He submitted the duggars ridiculous application, obeyed all modesty rules to the point that a mistaken front hug was a huge deal. Yet there was this family secret that became public knowledge about for literally the whole world to know that he likely was never informed about.

Moreover, he believed that Jill wanted a missionary lifestyle. But Jill had no ability to live on her own in Arkansas let alone a foreign country. Guess what? Dating isn't always about "pieces of your heart" it's about whether you actually make sense as a couple long term before being tied to a person for life that you ultimately can't stand, didn't know their family, and dont work well together.

ITA, D-wreck walked into it.   He would have never crossed paths with Jill if he didn't seek out Jim Bob.  I am guessing that D-wreck (naively) thought Jim Bob was on the up and up, I wonder what he thinks now?  So many discoveries that he should have known before he married Jill, between her inability to cope on her own, separation anxiety and the possible PTSD from the fucked up family secret that he probably learned about along with the rest of the world. 

He was on a decent track before he married Jill.  University education, some missionary work, seemingly decent job with a major company.  Seems that a lot has been thrown away in favor of grifting, dubious missionary work.  So far, marrying into this family seems to be a curse in some shape or form.  It will be interesting to see how Jeremy fares.   I personally find the social media silence from Laredo a good sign.

[Snarkle Motion]

6 hours ago, Kittikatz said:

I can't stand missionaries on general principle. I'll give a reluctant pass to the missionaries who are qualified in something useful, and who are doing real work to actually help people regardless of their faith, but the gall of the completely useless Dillards preaching their version of Christianity to Catholics is just stunning. I also can't fathom why they think it's a good idea for JillyMuffin to head into a Zika zone while pregnant. Also, if FSM forbid she goes into labour or has some sort of complications, I would imagine that the language barriers/cultural differences would make her even more reluctant to seek medical help if required. The stupid is just off the scale with these two.

That said, I was approached by a very young looking LDS Missionary once whist out having lunch at a food cart. He was polite, but his opening gambit was something along the lines of "Would you be interested in hearing more about a faith that would enable you to spend all eternity with your earthly family?"  I literally laughed in his face, and told him I'd already had quite enough time with them - and an eternity sounded like hell... I'll never forget how his face fell, and I thought he was going to cry. It was almost enough to make me feel bad.

I had a relationship with an LDS guy when I was younger before he went off on his mission. I will always be sympathetic to morman missionaries because of the enormous social pressure they are under to complete their missions and the loneliness that I remember this guy describing. 

This guy was half skeptical but also a people pleasing rule follower. When I appealed to his skeptical side regarding mission work he informed me that, "If you can learn to sell God, you can sell anything."

That always stood out to me. I don't know their inner workings but I know that he had like 6 months of language training and orientation prior to be sent into the field. It's very much run like a business. You'd think that the other fundy religions would catch on that this type of organization of resources would yield better results. There's a reason why LDS is one of the fastest growing religions. Not that I advocate for this type of thing and perhaps their ineptitude is their saving grace. 

[luxfilia]

2 hours ago, Analytica49 said:

My guess is, they'll return after three months, maybe sooner. Jinger will be pregnant or Joy will be getting engaged, or even married, or the myriad health problems the Dullards have will somehow draw them back to Arkansas.

 

Seeing someone use "myriad"  correctly is so satisfying (and rare)!

[Dandruff]

13 minutes ago, nokidsmom said:

 

ITA, D-wreck walked into it.   He would have never crossed paths with Jill if he didn't seek out Jim Bob.  I am guessing that D-wreck (naively) thought Jim Bob was on the up and up, I wonder what he thinks now?  So many discoveries that he should have known before he married Jill, between her inability to cope on her own, separation anxiety and the possible PTSD from the fucked up family secret that he probably learned about along with the rest of the world. 

He was on a decent track before he married Jill.  University education, some missionary work, seemingly decent job with a major company.  Seems that a lot has been thrown away in favor of grifting, dubious missionary work.  So far, marrying into this family seems to be a curse in some shape or form.  It will be interesting to see how Jeremy fares.   I personally find the social media silence from Laredo a good sign.

I think he believed that Jim Bob would help him to find out what he really wanted and get it.  Instead, I'd say he ended up with what Jim Bob really wanted, and has realized there's no going back.  He seems ill, is grifting, is in a covenant marriage with a clingy wife and a second child on the way in a country that has Zika.  I also suspect that his prayer partner is suddenly out of ideas, except maybe leave and cleave.

[nastyhobbitses]

43 minutes ago, Snarkle Motion said:

I had a relationship with an LDS guy when I was younger before he went off on his mission. I will always be sympathetic to morman missionaries because of the enormous social pressure they are under to complete their missions and the loneliness that I remember this guy describing. 

This guy was half skeptical but also a people pleasing rule follower. When I appealed to his skeptical side regarding mission work he informed me that, "If you can learn to sell God, you can sell anything."

That always stood out to me. I don't know their inner workings but I know that he had like 6 months of language training and orientation prior to be sent into the field. It's very much run like a business. You'd think that the other fundy religions would catch on that this type of organization of resources would yield better results. There's a reason why LDS is one of the fastest growing religions. Not that I advocate for this type of thing and perhaps their ineptitude is their saving grace. 

If nothing else, LDS missionaries come out of the two years with (presumably) good language skills (Jon Huntsman speaks fluent Mandarin in part because he spent two years in Taiwan on mission) and some pretty crazy sales skills; if you can get people to switch religions, you can get some startup to buy your software design service or whatever. I'm still against proselytizing, but I figure that if I were raised LDS and had the same/similar attitude towards the practice of it that I have of Judaism (it's part of my culture and heritage, but I just don't believe), I'd probably do a mission because hey, if I come out of it fluent in something and good at selling a concept, I'm super fucking employable.

[Fundie Bunny]

16 hours ago, Denim Jumper said:

That reminds me of when my then 5 year old sat in on Communion for the first time. My other son explained to him what the wine symbolized, and he yelled out in a horrified voice "They're drinking god's BLOOD???!!!"

My cousin did something like that when he was 5 or 6. When the priest started saying ''the body of christ'' he yelle, ''wait, is that for real?'' I think people brushed it off as a normal kid thing, but the lady behind me din't really like how i laughed my ass 

[OyToTheVey]

I don't mind missionaries so much if they actually served a purpose. I know by definition missionaries are sent to convert people to whatever brand of religion they deem correct. But Jill and Derick serve absolutely no purpose. Derick doesn't teach the little kids, Jill can't midwife, they have no use. Neither speak the language. 

I'm all for teachers, doctors, and nurses giving up their lives for a year to go to impoverish countries and truly help the community. These people contribute to the well fare of society. Jill and Derick have none of those skills at all. I mean if a teacher lives in a village and she's a missionary but at the same time spent a lot of time actually teaching people to read and write and just the basics, it's not too bad imo. The line is very thin tho. 

[nokidsmom]

12 hours ago, Dandruff said:

I think he believed that Jim Bob would help him to find out what he really wanted and get it.  Instead, I'd say he ended up with what Jim Bob really wanted, and has realized there's no going back.  He seems ill, is grifting, is in a covenant marriage with a clingy wife and a second child on the way in a country that has Zika.  I also suspect that his prayer partner is suddenly out of ideas, except maybe leave and cleave.

To the bolded: I think you nailed it here.   Frankly, for some time, I have gotten the feeling that Derick may realize he's trapped and is trying to make the best of it but there's not much to work with. 

[Gobsmacked]

Love the D-Wreck monicker. Who nailed it?

[Dandruff]

23 minutes ago, Gobsmacked said:

Love the D-Wreck monicker. Who nailed it?

That would be me, thank you.

[treehugger]

I've mentioned this before on fj, but my parents were missionaries.  My mom was an RN, and my dad had an agriculture degree.  They ran a small hospital in a very rural area (think 9 hour drive from the nearest hospital, when they started) for almost 20 years. The hospital grew considerably while they were there with ER, OR, laboratory, L&D, and pharmacy services. My parents were the only foreigners consistently at the hospital (surgical and dental teams would come from overseas for a couple weeks at a time), all the other staff and medical personnel were from the area. Every week the hospital would send out medical teams into the surrounding villages to provide local dr visits.

My Dad also started and oversaw an agriculture program.  He trained a few local men who then gave weekly classes to the farmers about topics like irrigation, terracing, crop rotation, etc. 

My mom was really involved with a nutrition program that they started as well, where the local women got classes on safe food prep, nutritionally balanced cooking (they also received meals there, we were in an incredibly poor area), and child development.  

My parents left after they found a local doctor who was able and willing to take over the administration for these projects. So everything is now comepletely locally run. 

Dereck and Jill make me want to scream and throw things against the walls.  They are utterly useless and inept "missionaries", who are doing untold amounts of damage with their cavalier, uneducated attitudes and foolhardy, pointless trips.  

[nokidsmom]

@treehugger, your parents are the type of missionaries that honestly do a good service to the population they serve, and further to that, when they leave the people are self sustaining / locally run and better off.  Kudos to them.  

What gets me about Derick and Jill is that Derick has done missionary work before he married Jill.  It seemed that he honestly accomplished something while in Nepal and for two years, how does he reconcile the useless objectives of his current mission with what he did in the past?  

[Bad Wolf]

5 minutes ago, nokidsmom said:

@treehugger, your parents are the type of missionaries that honestly do a good service to the population they serve, and further to that, when they leave the people are self sustaining / locally run and better off.  Kudos to them.  

What gets me about Derick and Jill is that Derick has done missionary work before he married Jill.  It seemed that he honestly accomplished something while in Nepal and for two years, how does he reconcile the useless objectives of his current mission with what he did in the past?  

He's been Duggared. 

[VelociRapture]

7 minutes ago, nokidsmom said:

@treehugger, your parents are the type of missionaries that honestly do a good service to the population they serve, and further to that, when they leave the people are self sustaining / locally run and better off.  Kudos to them.  

What gets me about Derick and Jill is that Derick has done missionary work before he married Jill.  It seemed that he honestly accomplished something while in Nepal and for two years, how does he reconcile the useless objectives of his current mission with what he did in the past?  

I don't think we ever actually found out what he did in Nepal. Did you read anything about his time there? And, if you still have the link, could you share it? I'd be interested in taking a look to see just how different the experiences may be.

[Flossie]

11 minutes ago, VelociRapture said:

I don't think we ever actually found out what he did in Nepal. Did you read anything about his time there? And, if you still have the link, could you share it? I'd be interested in taking a look to see just how different the experiences may be.

Derick went to Nepal as a stealth missionary.  His work permit said he had a job giving tours and leading hikes for tourists, and I think he actually did that.  But his real purpose was to get to know the local population on his time off and hint around about his religion.  Hopefully someone would ask him more and he could then legally tell them all they wanted to know.  I don't know if he actually converted anyone, but it appears he really enjoyed wandering around Nepal, talking to the local people, sharing meals with them, etc.

[2manyKidzzz]

Derick is a zealot. He is obsessed. As has been said, they have nothing to offer the people they say they serve. It is ridiculous. He LOOKS like a zealot. Asking for that money is over the top horrible I can't believe it. Now I am just ranting. Ha ha

[Bad Wolf]

I think Jill did have a "heart for mission". She just didn't realize that there was more to it than handing out cheap toys and candy and singing carols n English.

[MamaJunebug]

"Stealth missionary."  If only if read that before breakfast, I would've lost my appetite and avoided the calories!