Wellfleet

IMO, that's just a female thing. Me-chelle might very well have been vicious and rude to you - wouldn't surprise me at all actually. But I very much doubt she'd given you what-for if you were a man...

Of course - the women are allowed to do anything that would advance what the men want.

Good grief, Happy. I can only echo what everyone else has already said. What an effing nightmare! Most of the time I feel badly that I don't have kids of my own, because I know I missed out on a lot of wonderful things. But a story like yours puts being childless in a little perspective too. It would be just my luck to end up in a situation like this. I think you're bearing up very well, considering. I'd be twice as mental. Hopefully this whole deal will not work out in some way and your daughter and grands will remain Stateside. The SIL can go wherever he wants, however. As my best friend's Jewish grandmother always used to stay [about her ex-husband] "Wherever he is, he should only stay there..." Take care and God bless.

Preaching to the choir, friend - and welcome. Now you're one of us... :>)

Josh will probably be pretty much business as usual, but I imagine Ben and Derick will be less than warm and congenial.

100% agree. My Dad had emphysema for 10+ years and our family was well-acquainted with - and grateful for - respiratory therapists. I was a college graduate but until Dad needed oxygen for his condition, I hadn't ever heard of respiratory therapy as a specialty. I'm spreading the good word now, though!

While some of the anger out there now is most definitely directed at the Duggars for their outspoken LGBT views, the vast majority comes from the fact that for 10 years, the Duggars displayed themselves on national TV - and what's more felt they deserved to be there because of the size of their family and the incredibly good and godly way they lived. All the while knowing that it was not all good and godly. The double-edge sword analogy does apply here. The Duggars cannot say "Look at us..." and then turn around and say "But not at this part - this was in the past..."

Agree. Josh has had years to compartmentalize this, rationalize this, basically forget this. With all the Crown Prince support he's received from his parents, I'm fairly sure he sees this as a "glitch" of his own and has pretty much set it aside. I agree that he's probably not self-aware enough to be humiliated or despairing of this.

Other than "Hey, it's the Duggars..." I got nothing. Been watching from the beginning but am still amazed at the odd things I learn about them. This is just one more. If it's actually true that Josh paid for his own "treatment", I might add. Someone else posted that she has the feeling another shoe is going to drop, and increasingly I'm beginning to feel that way myself.

Very good point about HBB's sister Anna. All I've seen of HBB have been brief glimpses while surfing the dial, and TLC commercials for it. But the leghumpers do need to explain why the Duggars deserve privacy, consideration and a chance to start over, and the HBB family didn't. As far as I know, none of the Boo-Boo family have been bashing LGBT individuals, working for hate groups etc.

This fact has been very surprising to me too. Who the heck do people THINK Josh abused? He was never around girls other than his sisters! Once a year they all went to the homeschool conference but that was about it. There weren't any other opportunities to be in the vicinity of sleeping females, were there? It wasn't because of poor redacting or InTouch magazine that the nation knows who Josh's victims were. Any bright five-year old who could read could have figured this out.

Nope - but thank you for offering. :>)

I find myself in the exact same position. Don't know what to say other than it sounded totally coached, which of course is not surprising. Jessa spoke of things that up until this incident, I'm sure she had no idea existed. If there wasn't a well-paying television show in the mix here, neither one of these girls would have appeared on TV to do what they did tonight. Just the idea of it would have mortified their parents.

Congratulations, wander! Great to find this news here after that depressing, delusional Jessa & Jill interview. Give Maisie a tickle from me so you get to hear her laugh agaiin. Love that - "twinkle laugh" So cute. Reminds me of my Mom. She had a major thing for laughing babies and if she'd experienced the Internet, would have needed a 12-step program to kick a powerful "laughing babies" YouTube addiction. :>)

Excellent points all. IMO, Boob and Me-chelle are incapable of wrapping their minds around these concepts, and it's necessary for them to understand this in order to move on and get the kind of professional help the entire family needs. But I don't think that even someone they trusted and respected to get this across to them.

Excellent points all. IMO, Boob and Me-chelle are incapable of wrapping their minds around these concepts, and it's necessary for them to understand this in order to move on and get the kind of professional help the entire family needs. But I don't think that even someone they trusted and respected to get this across to them.

Welcome back, Barb23. Your name was one of the first I got to know here - hope you feel much better and glad to see you back.

I do think it's completely possible both girls are furious about potentially-losing their potential TLC incomes. Not sure about volunteering to do this interview, but then again I don't imagine they put up much resistance, if any, when Momma and Daddy started prodding them to defend Josh and fight to keep the show. I do believe the girls see "outsiders" - as a whole - as being "against them."

I think no matter who Jill holds responsible in her heart, it's the media, local officials, the person who leaked the report etc who will get the blame tonight. Because that's what Momma and Daddy have ground into her is necessary to save the show and the Duggar reputation. While it might save the show, because the non-viewing public will not realize how brainwashed these children have been, I think the reputation ship officially sailed two weeks ago.

Which, to me, makes his flailing attempts to cling to the TLC show even worse. He's parading the victims - his own daughters - on TV to drum up sympathy for keeping the show. And, incidentally, a nice healthy paycheck for already-wealthy Boob.

I believe there already are clear-cut indications of arrested development with all the Duggar children. Frankly I don't know how it could have been avoided, considering how they were raised, and by whom.

100% agree. if this scenario is what Jill and Derick actually want, this would be the way to handle it. Instead of coming forward on TV crying as a survivor of her brother's abuse. But Boob doesn't have the savvy needed to think of this himself. Again, the isolation he had mandated for himself and the family has come back to bite him in the bee-hind. There's no one in "his world" capable of thinking of this very reasonable option, and he doesn't trust anyone whose not part of his world. The stupid just goes on and on with the Duggars. They could serve as poster-children for public school education in the US - "Don't let this happen to your kids..." Children need to learn how to live in the real world, especially if they're going to rely on it for their living...

FWIW to the IT staff - I'm on a MacBook Pro and not having any font or size issues - at least at the present time - with the site. Sounds like it's mostly those folks on a mobile device.

I want to believe her too, but while both Jill and Jessa may sincerely want the show to continue, for whatever reasons, I can't believe they volunteered to do this. Although they may have volunteered AFTER Boob and Me-chelle pleaded their case, wringing their hands and crying about how the family would be depending on them etc.

Two words: Stockholm Syndrome. Two more words: parental coaching.