Safe at Home 5: Something Happened in Arndtland and It's Finger Lickin' Good!

[HerNameIsBuffy]

20 minutes ago, Triplet3 said:

I think women are put off by the high levels of enmeshment in the family, plus Rick's weirdness.

The well adjusted ones, yeah.  But plenty of otherwise intellegent women marry into complete and utter shitshows of families thinking it will be different when they are married, or just having no idea how to gauge the depth of dysfunction under the surface.

[Howl]

On 5/18/2020 at 4:35 AM, Petronella said:

Yay!! Any hint as to when? I hope they don't plan to wait until it's all finished, as it likely never will be finished.

I'm hoping that the release of Vine Valley will coincide with the legalization of pot in Texas and that I'll still be alive when this happens.  I'll need to  smoke some reeeeealy good pot to be able to watch it, there's a snowball's chance in hell that either will transpire in the next ten years,  and I'm not getting any younger.  These people. 

[Four is Enough]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

I'm hoping that the release of Vine Valley will coincide with the legalization of pot in Texas and that I'll still be alive when this happens.  I'll need to  smoke some reeeeealy good pot to be able to watch it, there's a snowball's chance in hell that either will transpire in the next ten years,  and I'm not getting any younger.  These people. 

In ten years, I should have my marijuana card.. I'll join you..

[QuiverFullofBooks]

I know we’ve talked a little recently about Rick’s Facebook live videos, but I had failed to appreciate just how frequent and weird they are. He’s doing them twice a day, minimum, at 2:00 and 8:00 central time. Plus he sometimes does an extra one later at night. He’s usually driving around while he rambles. Sometimes it’s dark out. And apparently he’s getting thousands of views! I know people are bored, but good god. If this is what he’s like all the time, the rest of the family must encourage him to get out of the house.

[Howl]

12 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

He’s doing them twice a day, minimum, at 2:00 and 8:00 central time. Plus he sometimes does an extra one later at night.

 2 pm and 8 pm? This is not normal.  I know, I know, nothing about the Arndt borg collective/the Arndt progenitor are in any way normal or even normal adjacent.  But this is veering into mental health territory, including the driving around randomly part. 

Edited June 20, 2020 by Howl

[Queen Of Hearts]

37 minutes ago, Howl said:

 2 pm and 8 pm? This is not normal.  I know, I know, nothing about the Arndt borg collective/the Arndt progenitor are in any way normal or even normal adjacent.  But this is veering into mental health territory, including the driving around randomly part. 

Many of his videos are getting 100k+ views! This baffles my mind but if even a fraction of these viewers are sending his 'ministry' some sort of donation I suspect this is the best paying job he has ever had. It could be why he is filming so much.

[Flossie]

3 hours ago, Howl said:

 2 pm and 8 pm? This is not normal.  I know, I know, nothing about the Arndt borg collective/the Arndt progenitor are in any way normal or even normal adjacent.  But this is veering into mental health territory, including the driving around randomly part. 

You're just now thinking about the Arndt dad having mental illness issues?

[nokidsmom]

5 hours ago, Queen Of Hearts said:

Many of his videos are getting 100k+ views! This baffles my mind but if even a fraction of these viewers are sending his 'ministry' some sort of donation I suspect this is the best paying job he has ever had. It could be why he is filming so much.

Yeah, I am wondering about this also.   It may be that Rick found his "ministry" and it might be paying off to boot.   More money to continue Vine Valley ad infinitum.    Remember he's got 14 kids at home at a point where normally he would have around half that.   Money's gotta some in somewhere and Covid-19 has had to hit the wedding photography business.

Also consider that the working manboys have likely had their traveling / work curtailed plus no forays to the local gym which means they might be going stir crazy especially with rambling Dad in the house.   So getting Rick out might be a way to get some sanity, such as it can be in that household.  

[Suz8710]

The huge amount of views/activity on the streams appears to have happened recently, such as in the last month-ish. Could some of the ministry funds be going toward targeted ads or promotion? It definitely does not seem like a natural course of events. Rick mentioned a lot of the newer viewers are from overseas. 

[JenniferJuniper]

20 hours ago, Suz8710 said:

The huge amount of views/activity on the streams appears to have happened recently, such as in the last month-ish. Could some of the ministry funds be going toward targeted ads or promotion? It definitely does not seem like a natural course of events. Rick mentioned a lot of the newer viewers are from overseas. 

You could be right.  A few months ago they were barely getting any attention so something has changed. Or maybe the clever manboys have figured out a way to make it look better for Dad.

I can't understand why anyone would follow Rick on regular basis.  It's the same three videos over and over. Rick In The Living Room With The FamTeam, Rick Driving Around The Neighborhood During The Day, and Rick Driving Around The Neighborhood At Night (with the added bonus of his stopping for an extended period of time in front of lighted Jesus on the cross at the Catholic cemetery.)  Always saying the same things in more or less the same order.

[Howl]

On 6/20/2020 at 10:55 AM, Flossie said:

You're just now thinking about the Arndt dad having mental illness issues?

I don't often check in on the Arndt borg anymore and there's a certain ageless quality to everything Arndt:

• WTAF is going on with these people?
• penguin sheets
• room sharing and bunk beds
• timeless Vine Valley (pumpkin baths!)
• Mom's white shorts
• aging bachelorhood
• flinging washcloths
• has anyone ever gone on a date?
• etc.

So no, Rick being mentally ill, rather than just extremely eccentric, hadn't crossed my mind. 

Edited June 23, 2020 by Howl

[JenniferJuniper]

22 hours ago, Howl said:

So no, Rick being mentally ill, rather than just extremely eccentric, hadn't crossed my mind. 

I say small cult leader, with Cathy as the henchman enforcer, doling out guilt and shame (and chores) in large quantities. 

I don't know about him being mentally ill.  He's a narcissist for sure, and he very much benefits from the labor of all of his kids.  But he also seems very calculated and in control.  If we look at famous cult leaders,like Jim Jones, David Koresh, Manson, Donald Trump, I'm not sure they'd be categorized as mentally ill, beyond being malignant narcissists who are very skilled at manipulation.

But it always falls apart in the end. The manboys will begin entering their 40's in a couple of months with the advent of Paul's birthday. I know it seems to us that nothing will ever change with the Arndts, but things always change, whether we want them to or not.  Serious illness, death, financial problems, a younger "kid" suddenly running into a cute boy or girl at the DQ.   If a big enough thread gets pulled, I can imagine RickWorld falling apart. 

[Black Aliss]

So the possible second house for the rest of the boys has to mean that they have collectively decided not to marry. I'm willing to accept that it's virtually impossible that Rick and all the boys are carriers of some terrible genetic anomaly that inevitably leads to slow painful death, but I still suspect that Rick has convinced them all that he has a genetic disease and has passed it on to his sons, at least.

The boys will live together in the two satellite houses and Weezie will remain in the big house to care for Cathy and Rick.

But the foreign girls coming to visit are an interesting twist. Are they meeting GYW online and inviting them to come for a visit, which the GYW mistake for the beginning of a courtship?

Finally, I know many companies sell followers and likes and even comments on Facebooks and Instagram accounts, so I suspect the same is true for Youtube. Last time I looked, the price is quite reasonable, especially if you aren't buying comments.

[nokidsmom]

On 5/20/2020 at 8:24 AM, JermajestyDuggar said:

But I think pulling the trigger on marriage would be so hard in that family. I doubt many would make the cut. Therefore my theory is that there have been girlfriends, but no one has been good enough to throw a wash cloth over.

@JermajestyDuggarthis got me thinking about your view that some of the manboys have had secret girlfriends.    Traveling and being away overnight gives the perfect cover to see the "secret girlfriend" but marriage means bringing it all out in the open.   So manboy would have to come clean about this girlfriend, girlfriend would have to see finally how weird the family is and I think Rick especially would make a big deal about the girlfriend's suitability.   So it might just not be about someone being good enough to marry but good enough for manboy to endure a lot of upset in the family.  

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 minute ago, nokidsmom said:

@JermajestyDuggarthis got me thinking about your view that some of the manboys have had secret girlfriends.    Traveling and being away overnight gives the perfect cover to see the "secret girlfriend" but marriage means bringing it all out in the open.   So manboy would have to come clean about this girlfriend, girlfriend would have to see finally how weird the family is and I think Rick especially would make a big deal about the girlfriend's suitability.   So it might just not be about someone being good enough to marry but good enough for manboy to endure a lot of upset in the family.  

I totally agree. I would bet 1,000 penguin sheets that some of them have had secret girlfriends. 

[Gobsmacked]

I won't be shocked if secret wives and children appear one day. The guys spend time away with work so why not! 

[nokidsmom]

Regarding the whole secret girlfriend thing, I learned eventually that my sisters, while living at home during their 20s and into their 30s seemingly "boyfriendless" and appearing not to date all all, well it was not the case.  Come to find out they did date, they just kept the whole thing under wraps via traveling or "going out with friends".    While good that they weren't completely living like they were in a nunnery, but good grief, having to keep these things from Mom and Dad seemed ridiculous.  I suppose they did what they felt they had to do but both ended up with acknowledged boyfriends out of the blue when they decided to get married.   Really wonder if we will see the same with the manboys when they decide they have waited long enough, or found the person worth causing Rick's world to implode as @JenniferJuniperhas mentioned.

 

 

[JenniferJuniper]

It's hard for me to imagine middle aged - or near middle aged - men hiding girlfriends from their parents.  (Boyfriends in their world, well, that's another story!)

But it's just as hard for me to imagine a healthy, reasonably nice looking 40 year old guy never dating anyone.  So maybe the pressure to only see parent-approved women is so strong that they've been forced to keep things under wraps.  Problem with this is that I have no doubt the brothers are required to serve as accountability buddies for each other.  So even if Paul could trust John with a secret, could Mark be trusted if he found out?  With so many damn brothers around, how is anything kept quiet?

With that said, I've always had the perception that Rick is hyper-fixated on his four, maybe five, oldest sons.  It's understandable in a way.  He had more time with them when they were young, they were the first to begin working for him and helping to support the family with their physical labor, including building the house they now live in.  Maybe if there is less intense focus on the younger sons, they'll have a greater chance of breaking out before they turn 30.

As for Mary E., I'm afraid she'll have to find someone somehow and elope to Vegas.  No way are they letting her get away. 

 

[gustava]

Or secret boyfriends.....

[Howl]

1 hour ago, gustava said:

Or secret boyfriends.....

Oh, this.  

[Four is Enough]

Another perspective: something has to happen to catalyze these guys into action.

Case in point: my mother was raised by her grandparents. In the same household were her five unmarried uncles. These guys never left home, although their two sisters did...(both died young) my mother grew up and she and her grandmother basically took care of these guys' every need...

But then my mother graduated from high school, her grandmother died, and my mother, a few years later, got engaged, then married. These maiden uncles had nobody to take care of them, clean their house, cook for them. Nobody to boss around or insist  be home at a certain time. (9pm? for a 19 year old? ).. within two years, each one of the maiden uncles was married himself, and each one was in his 40s at the time. As long as there were wimminfolk to take care of them, they were content to live at home, like the manboys.

[Howl]

5 hours ago, Four is Enough said:

As long as there were wimminfolk to take care of them, they were content to live at home, like the manboys.

Yes, I think when Cathy and Rick cross the Rainbow Bridge, a lot of things will change, unless their sister steps in to take Cathy's place.  That said, Cathy looks like she could crank along in fine style until 80 or 85. 

I think the key to it all is Rick's Safe at Home refrain. Dang, to be a fly on the wall in that household for just one week. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

22 minutes ago, Howl said:

Dang, to be a fly on the wall

A fly with a teeny tiny go-pro so you could share!

[Howl]

So...anonymously send a large stuffed penguin with a hidden camera? 

[Naga Viper]

On it!