Oh the Duggars... don't even get me started..

[supernova8610]

Hey, long time lurker, first time poster here! I'll get straight to the point... I do not care for the Duggars very much at all. I think their kids have tons of potential; if JB & Michelle/Mullet would only allow their kids the academic freedom to really learn and whatnot, they could go quite far. I think it's sad that M hands the responsibilities of raising the younger kids off to the older ones. I think JB & M hold their kids off in several other ways, too, though I won't talk about that just now... I'll wait for a more opportune moment (ie, the right thread) in which to do that. Unlike me, my mom likes them, but even she thinks M is crazy for having 19 (soon to be 20) biological kids; enough of that, however. I know several other people who like the Duggars as well, but I usually try to keep my Duggar-opinions to myself when they're around (what I have to say about the Duggars would cause them to be angry at me... lol).

 

I am by no means a fundy. I was raised going to church, it's true, and yes, I did go to a fundy church for 6 years; but I left about a year ago for one of those heathen liburul (typo intentional) churches... at least, that's what the people at my ex-IFB church believe it to be. Oh well, that's their problem, not mine. I consider it to be a learning experience in the craziness of fundy-ism. Plus, it really helped to open my eyes regarding the kind of B.S. that can/does occur (I could go on and on about that point, too, but I won't...not right now, at least).

[supernova8610]

I apologize if my posting reads oddly... my house feels like the arctic inside, so I'm not paying as much attention as I probably should to grammar, syntax, etc, etc.

[Buzzard]

I apologize if my posting reads oddly... my house feels like the arctic inside, so I'm not paying as much attention as I probably should to grammar, syntax, etc, etc.

I dont think the issue is how it reads. I just dont really know how to respond! Yup - the Duggars are fuck ups!

[supernova8610]

Probably just seemed odd to me, then... I'm kind of hard on myself. But anyhow... the Duggars definitely have room for improvement, that's for sure.

[formergothardite]

I think we pretty much all agree on that. Not to speak for the hive vagina because I'm sure that there are some members here that think the Duggars are perfect, but most don't.

[browngrl]

Other than the usual fundie shackles how else do you think the Duggars hold back their children? Do you have some dirt to dish? Oh, and welcome!

[supernova8610]

Sadly, no, I don't have any dirt on them.. I was referring to the normal fundy shackles, in any case. But that doesn't change the fact that I think the J'Kids are being held back from their full potentials (academically and otherwise).

[Buzzard]

I think we pretty much all agree on that. Not to speak for the hive vagina because I'm sure that there are some members here that think the Duggars are perfect, but most don't.

Teh Duggars are my herowz! Tey are so smert and purday and holi and tey teaches teh childrenz so goods!

[formergothardite]

Teh Duggars are my herowz! Tey are so smert and purday and holi and tey teaches teh childrenz so goods!

I won't correct your spelling or grammar because to do so is wrong according to zccccr. So instead I will follow Jamama and offer hugs and flowers. Let's hold hands and sing Amazing Grace now. Just like the Duggars

[Buzzard]

I won't correct your spelling or grammar because to do so is wrong according to zccccr. So instead I will follow Jamama and offer hugs and flowers. Let's hold hands and sing Amazing Grace now. Just like the Duggars

Only if I get to hold my violin the whole time but not play it!

[formergothardite]

If you are anything like the Duggars, please, I insist that you just hold it and don't play it.

[Buzzard]

If you are anything like the Duggars, please, I insist that you just hold it and don't play it.

I like to stroke it nice and slow.

:violin:

(sorry, I couldnt resist)

[supernova8610]

I've got a better idea... let's all canoe down the river away from all the craziness! Although I'd suggest running in the opposite direction if you hear banjoes...

[Mais Pourquoi]

Long time lurker here as well. I think I found Free Jinger because I wanted to find a place that discussed the Duggars that wasn't all "God bless you and your show!" (I'm looking at you, 19 Kids and counting Facebook page). Because, well, I do like the Duggar kids. I'm curious about their lives, and I've read JB and J'chelle's first book. I would grin very awkwardly and stupidly if I got to meet them (the family, not just the parents!) in person.

But I also disagree with a lot of the things they promote on the sly in their show. Courting, for example, is something that JB and J'chelle didn't do; instead, they found each other and fell in love on their own terms. Why shouldn't their children be allowed the same choices if it clearly worked out alright for their parents? Obviously there are a lot of other, worse things about fundie lifestyle to be upset about, this is just something that's been on my mind lately. Mostly I'm just nervous about what the QF lifestyle is doing to the children... after watching their show for so long I just want them to grow up to be happy, and I fear that won't happen for most of them.

[supernova8610]

I should clarify.., when I say I don't care for the Duggars, I mean the parents. The kids (most of them, anyway) are a different case.

[Mama Mia]

I liked the Duggars at first. But I started thinking badly of them when I noticed that the J'slaves

( love that term ) are all still there. It seems like the parents aren't even being true to what they say they want for the girls -- for them to become wives and mothers. Instead they are keeping them home to take care of all those little brothers and sisters.

Then I came here and found out about all these other creepy abusive things.

[annalena]

At first, I thought they seemed nice and actually said stuff like "Leave them alone, they can have as many kids as they want".

But when you look into it, they really shouldn't, since they're abusing their daughters as extra mothers.

I could go on, but it's all obvious.

[annalena]

One more thing: The hipocrisy. 'Nuff said.

[Mais Pourquoi]

I liked the Duggars at first. But I started thinking badly of them when I noticed that the J'slaves

( love that term ) are all still there. It seems like the parents aren't even being true to what they say they want for the girls -- for them to become wives and mothers. Instead they are keeping them home to take care of all those little brothers and sisters.

Then I came here and found out about all these other creepy abusive things.

This is where things started getting weird for me too. Especially since Josh was off and married by the time he was 18. Granted John David is still around (I have a feeling he's not as Gothardy as they'd like him to be though), but it's kind of weird that one kid would have this big grand wedding and then four years go by without so much as an inkling of an outside relationship for anyone else. Even Jinger is "of marriageable age" at this point. Why haven't any Prince Charming's come to take the girls away yet? Because Mommy and Daddy need all the "help" they can get.

[Guest Anonymous]

Long time lurker here too....I found free jinger some time ago after watching a special and Michelle talked about blanket training. Something seemed off about it, so I started reading what I could find then. Seems like that part has been scrubbed from the special in re-airings though. Definitely put me off though. The latests thing that really threw me was when Michelle said that they observed the sabbath on Friday and some of the Jewish holy days. I never have understood why some Christians feel the need to co-op another religions holy days for their own attention grabbing craziness.

And for the record, I'm a college educated former teacher. I currently stay home with our 3 kids, 5 and under, am a Christian, feminist and, according to my husband, am left of Lenin.

[QueenNocturne]

Hey supernova8610, the Duggars were my gateway fundies as well. I originally watched the specials out of curiosity, wondering how the hell a family could handle 14 kids and still want more. At first they didn't look too offensive, but once I started researching the Quiverfull movement and noticing that it was really the J'slaves that were actually raising the younger ones while Jim Bob and ofJim Bob smiled for the cameras and made more kids.

My issue is not so much with a family having lots of kids or having conservative values. (For the record, I'm Christian, but a very socially liberal feminist one). My problem is that the Duggars are just popping out kids willy-nilly without any concern for Michelle's health, the overall health of the family, how to raise them outside of pushing them on the older daughters, etc. I also don't like the fact that the Duggars and other families and groups like them seem to have a strong interest in pushing these choices on the rest of us.

If I ever met them in person, I would probably tell the Duggar parents to focus more on their damn kids than what's going on in my and other women's uteruses.

[ChickeyMonkey]

You know how they offer a family photo to strangers on the street when they're anywhere but home? The first NY episode comes to mind. Anyway, what if JB offered someone their picture and the person just flat out said no? How would he respond? Probably the usual with "bless you" or some shit, but I really want someone to just be like, "why would I want a family picture of people I don't even know? Or like?"

One can dream, I guess.

[freejoytoo]

This family drives me insane. They are revolting. I heard of them a while ago and looked them up, and could tell they were beyond insane but didn't know quite how much until I read about the ATI/Gothardism stuff. What kills me is how so many people think they are the best family in the world and how we should all try to be them. Because pushing out as many children as you can and letting your daughters raise them is something to aspire to.

The rules this family has makes me want to pull my hair out. Like how they say you shouldn't dance because it's arousing and thus totally ignoring religious dance, cultural dance and dancing in plays and soforth and aside from that, the family doesn't KNOW anyone outside of their own relatives so do they think dancing with your siblings is sexual? And what about the time one of the boys was dancing to a Fisher Price toy and the mum or dad turned it off because a CHILD dancing is abhorrent?! For a family so freakily obsessed with modesty they certainly like to make everything about sex and sexualise every little thing, like the Nike thing, which is so offensive I don't know where to begin. I'll just say that the boys would not have even noticed what they weren't supposed to see had Joy not covered the TV and Joy didn't even understand what she was covering and why she had to do it, which is even worse. They are so unbelievably narrow-minded, like how the girls parrot off that they could wear pants if they wanted to but choose not to, and how all of them choose not to listen to the Beatles because it's not 'their style', when in reality, everyone knows that it's because they have never had the option of wearing trousers or listening to any non-religious music. Then they make these vague statements about how Jill or Jana could be nurses (of course not doctors) when they have not had any kind of adequate education and none of them read anything outside purity books which may as well have been written in Saudi Arabia. None of the girls have real choices.

I watched the Duggars' trip to England and that made my blood boil too. I can't believe they came to my country and didn't appreciate any of it and could only talk about the weird food and the 'wrong side of the road'. No, YOU'RE driving on the 'wrong' side here and it's the OTHER side. And I would kill for my own personal tour of Stonehenge and I don't see why they should have got one simply for having a billion children. What I would have given to have seen the archaeologist tell them about the druids who still come there. The face the children pulled when the Scottish guy said he didn't believe in God was hilarious. I'd love to debate philosophy with Jim-Bob, though I don't know what to expect, seeing as he took his children to a creationism museum which is an oxymoron in itself.

Michelle is just as bad as Jim-Bob if not worse. What is with the baby voice and the whole 'I'm Mother of the Year but stopped raising the little ones a long time ago' act? And you just know she's a cow off-screen.

The worst thing about the Duggars though is how they are such total hypocrites. Michelle loves to spout the line of how 'it works for us, so don't judge, we won't tell you how to live your life' yet her husband tried to pass a bill banning birth control. Oh yeah, that's really live and let live, taking away women's reproductive rights. I am so glad that they are not in the same country as me.

Sorry for the long rant, but I've wanted to get that off my chest for a long time and as they're not that well-known here no one knows who they are and thus I can't really bitch about them. I don't know why I watch stuff about them - I have this weird fascination with fundies and can't seem to not look at the crazy. I always think that it can't get worse and it inevitably does. I've lurked for a while and read the TLC forums and would have posted there, but couldn't be bothered getting involved with ChrisLukas and her 'if you're pro-choice, move to China,. bitch' posts. I don't think she can be real. No one that ridiculous can live and have so many life stories oh-so similar to the Duggars. I think my favourite post was her saying that teaching teenagers safe sex is like telling them how to safely rob a bank.

Still, what would I know? I'm agnositic, leaning towards atheism, liberal, pro-choice female from England which has da ebil NHS and not only did I kiss someone I didn't intend to marry, I had premarital sex with my EX boyfriend whom I had no intention of marrying. How very defrauding!

[Austin]

to all the new posters!

[hapamama]

I'm not a big fan of Jim Bob and Michelle, but I find the Duggar kids interesting. That said, I find the tendency here to assume the worst about Jim Bob and Michelle's motivations to be more than just a little disturbing.