Why Bill Likes Pretty Teen Girls

[Alisamer]

2 hours ago, formergothardite said:

If Bill truly felt like this, he should have told the parents sending their children to him. He didn't, and I am 100% sure he just recently made this up in hopes of getting back some former glory by justifying how he surrounded himself with pretty teen girls. 

Reading through this thread has the song "The Beautiful People" by Marilyn Manson running through my head. Probably the exact opposite of what they hope people will think of, reading his excuses for surrounding himself with pretty teenagers.

Dude sounds like a full on predator, spending years grooming girl after girl to accept his abuse. I hope the girls all know it's not their fault!

[Evangeline]

Well, I, for one, agree with Bill. Who among us has not noticed that attractive people ALWAYS get the short end of the stick? They lack attention as children and have trouble finding marriage partners as adults. They struggle with finding jobs, and people just don't trust them. If you think about it, you have to admit the world is set up to oppress pretty people. Bill, as all good Christians should, is simply following Jesus' clear instruction to love the unlovely and minister to the "least of these." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. 

[nickelodeon]

This makes me think of the discussions we've had about the disproportionate emphasis on appearance for IBLP women vs IBLP men - the way the girls all seem to sculpt themselves into this very specific slim, wavy-haired "look" while the guys look like whatever. It makes a lot more sense now. If looking pretty isn't just about being pleasing to Gothard/daddy/#besthubbyever but actually being a more valuable, more holy person, the pressure to meet the ideal must be horrific.

[Lurky]

The idea that being conventionally attractive is a sign of God's favour is fine for the beautiful ones, but it must be devastating for the daughters who don't fit that mold.  And I didn't think I could hate the White mother making Heistheway diet, by linking her weight to her spirituality (and never mind that she's a growing teen with a tall and broad father, so chances are she wasn't even "putting on weight" but her body was getting ready for growth spurts) but now I'm even more sad for her. 

It's hard enough going through puberty and going from being a cute prepubescent to being a gawky/lumpy teenager and no one thinking you're in the least bit cute - but add in a belief that this is God punishing you, and adolescence gets so much worse.  I hope that, for example, the Boyers don't believe that their acne is a punishment from God - it's a kind of emotional torture raising children that way.

[Four is Enough]

I know the Catholic church has its problems, but I'm so glad that I was raised in it rather than IBLP. 

[Pecansforeveryone]

@Four is Enough, saying the Catholic Church has its problems is putting it midly. It engaged in a systemic coverup of predatory behaviour on children for decades much like IBLP did with Bill Gothard. Good Catholics deserve better than that.

I always thought mentoring was supposed to be done in fundie circles by a same sex person, anyway. So Bill Gothard should be "mentoring" young men like David Waller and picking godly women who will mentor young women, maybe even the plain ones. My head is spinning at fundie thought processes. 

[polecat]

Ugly girls definitely don't need protecting.

Signed, Ugly Girl

tw for harassment/csa content

Spoiler

 

Who

• Was molested in kindergarten, repeatedly, CoC sexual assault
• Had my breasts groped/brushed over/fondled multiple times by church bus captains and Sunday School teachers
• Had my butt brushed against/fondled/pinched/groped numerous times
• Found a picture of myself from the rear walking through a parking lot in the church treasurer's office
• Had to listen to a boy telling me in-depth information on how he "groomed" his pubic. hair

And that's just my girlhood/teen years. Haven't even remotely touched on my adult baggage.

 

 

 

But yeah, ugly girls don't need protecting.

[Howl]

On 10/17/2018 at 12:13 PM, PinkPrincess0213 said:

@nokidsmom, do you have links for the stories of the girls who thought Gothard was going to marry them? I would be really interested in reading them if they are available.

They might be buried in the archives at RecoveringGrace.org  This is fairly tedious reading.  What's more amazing is that the people who were putting the pieces of the sexual misconduct puzzle together back then (mid 1970s to early 1980s) did so in an environment that strongly discouraged independent thought and there was no email or internet to facilitate research and communication.  It was this type of environment:  "Who do you want to believe? Me or your lying eyes."

That web site is a treasure trove of information on Gothard, and you can see the seeds of later problems if you click on The Gothard Files tab and then select The 1980 Scandal.  The ostensible scandal is brother Steve Gothard's blatant sexual improprieties, but the real scandal is Bill Gothards cover up and lack of motivation to really do anything about it.

Even then, people were aware that Gothard was basically pre-empting the Bible with him own beliefs and extra-Biblical interpretations. 

Buried in that entire thing is this item: 

 The coordinator was well aware of Bill and Steve’s history, however, and continued to observe a marked familiarity between Bill and his secretaries when traveling. 

[purjolok84]

Well, I, for one, agree with Bill. Who among us has not noticed that attractive people ALWAYS get the short end of the stick? They lack attention as children and have trouble finding marriage partners as adults. They struggle with finding jobs, and people just don't trust them. If you think about it, you have to admit the world is set up to oppress pretty people. Bill, as all good Christians should, is simply following Jesus' clear instruction to love the unlovely and minister to the "least of these."   

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself. 

 

If you hadn't done it, I would have. Eventually anyway. Sarcasm keeps me going in terrible situations when I'd be crying otherwise. 

 

 

 

 

[formergothardite]

On 10/20/2018 at 11:25 AM, nickelodeon said:

. It makes a lot more sense now. If looking pretty isn't just about being pleasing to Gothard/daddy/#besthubbyever but actually being a more valuable, more holy person, the pressure to meet the ideal must be horrific.

While it was encouraged to have the Gothard approved look, Gothard wasn't actually teaching this whole idea that attractive teens were the princesses of God's court and needed his special instruction. He never said that he invited attractive teens to travel with him because he felt  being attractive meant that you were called to be in the front while the unattractive "blemished" ones needed to stay in the back. 

All of this is completely new and is only because he has been trying to find ways to justify how he behaved. He told parents that if you followed his teachings all your children would have "shining eyes",  people wold want to be around them and want them to be leaders. IMO, Gothard is broke and angry that the BOD has shut him out. Gothard is like Jill Rod, he craves being in the spotlight and having people listen to him, sitting at home is driving him crazy.  He still thinks he can rebuild his empire if he can just find the perfect way to justify how he surrounded himself with teen girls. This isn't the way, though, because anyone who isn't already a Gothard supporter is going to find this disturbing. 

[NachosFlandersStyle]

Interesting article on Bill from the New Republic. They interview a couple of former (and one current) IBLP employees.

https://newrepublic.com/article/151787/bill-gothard-fundamentalist-trap

[SamuraiKatz]

Gothard has the same ick factor as Warren Jeffs.

I can't believe anyone could fall for his schlock. There truly is a sucker born every minute.