To The Bate Defenders

[EmmieJ]

I should have written Bates' horses. Sorry about my stupid typo.

Honestly, southern pride concerns me. I don't understand worshipping a group of people who wre traitors to their country. And the KKK was a terrorist orgnaization. The fact that they had a photo of the founder of the Klan makes me wonder what is lurking beneath their sweet demeanor.

LOL - no worries. It's hard to figure out how to "pluralize" names that end with "S"

To me, the KKK and anyone who admires any figure from that organization, cannot turn around and call themselves Christian. That is about as far as you can go from any teachings of Christ or biblical beliefs. If any Bates saw the actual Jesus Christ walking down the street toward them today, they'd probably cross to the other side and make fun of his long hair and sandals.

The fact that they have a picture of a KKK founder on their wall negates any pretense that they are truly Christian followers. They are pretenders who have a fixation on having an over-abundance of children; and have no remorse for the fact that they choose not to work at jobs that would bring in sufficient income to feed all of those children and provide them with basic health coverage. I find absolutely nothing - AND I MEAN NOTHING - to admire about Ma and Pa Bates. Being more "hands on" in your approach to stunting your children's lives and opportunities does not make Kelly a better mother than Michele - only one that is more pro-active in her wilful hurtful choices for her children.

[asinglevoice]

Putting cheese on your salad is no where near as evil as indoctrinating your daughters into believing that they can't choose their own future and must be obedient to their husbands.

I think you're reading way too much into it, honestly. My comment wasn't a way to express my love for the Bateses and their lifestyle and absolve them from any other wrongdoing because they let their kid go to school outside of the home. My point was that yes, in that particular aspect, I think that they are better than the Duggars, who would never allow that under any circumstance. The "cheese" thing was more a remark to people who get in a snit because, well, the school isn't accredited.

Yeah, it sucks that they have to have Lawson help them out with buying groceries. I've had to do that in my own family on occasion, and I've only got one other sibling. It's not fun, but if it means that there's food on the table, well...you gotta do what you gotta do. Should Kelly have had less kids? Probably, but she didn't. Should Kelly, as a parent in a relatively low-income family, be working to support those kids? Probably, but with all of the young ones at home right now, what's she supposed to do? It's easy to say, "Well, they shouldn't have had all those kids then!" Shoulda-coulda-woulda, but that's not their reality right now.

Do I agree with their lifestyle? Absolutely not. They probably wouldn't agree with mine, either. Do I believe that they are somehow innately evil human beings? No. I look at Gil Bates - and to an extent, Jim Bob - and I see a patriarch, for sure, but I also see someone who, if I were falling off of a cliff, would probably do something to try and help me, regardless of my religious beliefs or lack thereof. Could I say that about someone like the PP or Zsuzsanna? Razing Ruth's father? No freakin' way!

I just don't see things as completely black-and-white, I guess. Good thing I live in a faction of society that believes I'm as entitled to my opinion as everyone else is to their own!

[deelaem]

I should have written Bates' horses. Sorry about my stupid typo.

Honestly, southern pride concerns me. I don't understand worshipping a group of people who wre traitors to their country. And the KKK was a terrorist orgnaization. The fact that they had a photo of the founder of the Klan makes me wonder what is lurking beneath their sweet demeanor.

I really believe that faction of the South suffers from a massive inferiority complex. They refuse to accept that they lost the war and that their cause was unjust. They want to cling to the clan lifestyle and be isolationists. One of the things I see around here quite often that gives me a laugh is a car that has two bumper stickers (at least), one is a Confederate Flag and another is some reactionary "Amur-uh-cun" rah-rah shit. I feel like asking them, "which is it - are you a Confederate or an American patriot?" Except that I really don't want to hear their ignorant response. :roll:

[fluttershies]

I really believe that faction of the South suffers from a massive inferiority complex. They refuse to accept that they lost the war and that their cause was unjust. They want to cling to the clan lifestyle and be isolationists. One of the things I see around here quite often that gives me a laugh is a car that has two bumper stickers (at least), one is a Confederate Flag and another is some reactionary "Amur-uh-cun" rah-rah shit. I feel like asking them, "which is it - are you a Confederate or an American patriot?" Except that I really don't want to hear their ignorant response. :roll:

I think you're right. It reminds me of Germany after the Treaty of Versailles, and we all know what happened next :roll:

[FloraDoraDolly]

I agree that Gil seems to have rage always simmering just below the surface. Obviously this is hypothetical, but if I were to have one-on-one conversations with both JB and Gil, I think it'd be weird with JimBob but not such a big deal (to me, lol), but there's no way in HELL I'd want to be alone with Pa Bates!!

Neither one of them creeps me out to the point where I'd be afraid to be alone in a room with them. But generally speaking, it's hard to tell from TV vs. a real life situation where a creepy person stares at certain parts of your anatomy, violates your personal space, and ignores all of your attempts to politely extract yourself from the conversation.