DeusExMaraschino

Does anyone else think the baby they're referring to is Kody? 🙂 What an asshat. I have been mildly amused, infuriated, confused, and entertained by his ridiculous ego and antics, but at this point in time I have finally moved to being disgusted and appalled at his character. What an insufferable ass.

I agree. For a lot of people, religion is a part of their life, like a community or a social outlet. For some people, religion serves a much deeper function. Religion (and the doctrine) is the center of your life and your community, school, family et al and guides every aspect of your life. If you grow up in a family like this (I did) it is not as easy as just dismissing one church and going to the Baptist church down the road. It's your entire life and the filter through which you see the world. I don't particularly like Mariah, but I will say that her coming out as gay probably was very difficult. Admitting to something that she likely has been told her entire life will send her to hell must be tough. Kody and Meri and her siblings may have been supportive but I guarantee that various cousins, aunts/uncles, church friends etc probably were not. And that must sting.

I adore this show. I am ashamed of it, yes, but holy shit it makes me feel like a smart, productive, non-piece of shit contributor to society. The idiocy of these people and the rage they inspire in me makes me feel alive!!!!

It's really interesting how these towns that based their entire economy on manufacturing have evolved. If you close your eyes, and go back 50 years ago, there's a Mayberry vibe. But with the loss of relatively well paying jobs that require no higher education, it has a tendency to turn into Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. Most of the Rust Belt (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan) are in this situation. But I doubt even they are desperate enough to turn to polygamy or the Brown family as a solution.

I thought it was maybe to get an idea of how long this had been going on. There are some religious folks who think you can "catch" being gay by just surrounding yourself with friends and yielding to peer pressure. (?!?!) I assumed Kody was trying to see if this was truly something that she had been struggling with since childhood or if she was just caught up in a college phase of women's lib and exploring her sexuality.

I thought maybe the weird response from Christine's mom (Annie? Is that her name?) was because she's not usually involved in filming and it was a nervous reaction. Or maybe it's because she's excited that yet another kid is rejecting polygamy. If I remember right, she's pretty vocal about her leaving polygamy and the harm it can cause. Either way, I hope she's supportive. New Thread Title? The Only PLanet I'm Applying to is ...my own lady planet *&%# the Patriarchy?!?!? :)

It all comes down to personality. Some people never have the intiative to think for themselves, and just coast along with what they're told. Some people react with fear to any questioning of faith, and double down on their religious convictions. Others swing wildly to the other side of the pendulum and make really poor, angry decisions (many of my friends did) and some of us just settle and struggle in the middle. It's really interesting to see how differently people react to the same experience. That could be too. There's a reason the "preacher's kid gone wild" stereotype exists. The more pressure and the more visibility as an "example" a kid goes through, there can be that extreme of a rebellion.

Same here. I will give any of these kids a pass because I had a similar college experience. I grew up in a Fundamentalist Christian home and I am ashamed of some of the things I said and did, just following the lead of my church. When you have very little exposure to "normal" people, you are nothing but an echo chamber for the adults in your life. And if you church defines your life, you blindly spout off what you have learned your entire life. I applaud anyone who breaks out of their religious dogma to learn what they believe FOR THEMSELVES. (whether you continue to be religious or not). It is not easy to see that your parents are fallible, and more importantly, they are WRONG about things. Almost everything you've learned is a lie. So you're stuck in this defensive mode of "us against them" (because you didn't grow up like "them", so you feel more comfortable around your bubble) but also angry because you've been denied a normal childhood and being able to learn and grow for yourself. But you also love your family and your friends, and you have an affection for the way you grew up because it's familiar to you. It's tough and confusing and I don't know that a lot of people get it unless you grew up in an alternative social construct. Some people may see it as hypocrisy,and yes, maybe at its simplest that's what it is. Saying one thing and doing another. But it's not as easy as either be a liberal lesbian OR be a polygamist loving puritan. I think a lot of Mariah's issues with Meri are likely to do with finding out that her parents marriages are not perfect, a lot of what she's been taught is a lie, being her Mom's weird quasi-spouse, and the humiliation of her Mom having an emotional affair and involving Mariah in it. So I have a lot of empathy for these kids. I think it's great that they're growing up and making their own decisions even if it goes against their upbringing. But I see where to some people it could seem like hypocrisy. But thank goodness, I'm not anywhere near the same person I was at 21 or 22. And I think most people have grown and learned a lot since they were 21 or 22 as well.

I think the kids have been able to keep a relatively low profile all things considered. I'd be really surprised if Mariah came out on the show just because they haven't addressed at least 2 of their kids living "in sin". The Browns wouldn't exploit Mariah's sexuality (if she is gay) I don't think. I think they'd encourage her to keep it private because the reaction among family would be more disadvantageous than the advantage of tv ratings. She seems to have at least developed her own opinions instead of turning into a polygamous or LDS robot girl. The nose ring encouraged me when I saw it.

Mixed feelings about this episode. I think all brides are beautiful, all weddings are wonderful, and all grooms are handsome. That being said, Ugh to the parents of the bride. Caleb's family seemed cool and the other Browns even seemed relatively normal. But honestly you can't start working on the service at your daughter's wedding until the day before? I mean, it's not rocket science. And it's not about you, asshole. But Kody with his frantic need to be the class clown just made me cringe like I was watching Michael Scott on the office again. So completely un-self-aware (is that a word lol) and clueless about social norms. And these idiots act like they've never been to a non-plyg aka pathetic heathen monogamous wedding. Robyn AND Janelle's first weddings were monogamous. STOP IT. You are not such special snowflakes that only your wedding ceremonies have meaning or spiritual context. ASSHATS. And way to go Janelle. You summoned up some tears for your daughter giving you a gift. And then you gave the WORST toast ever about how you're going to be miserable but hang in there and *spoiler alert* maybe 25 years into your relationship you can get into counseling and figure out that the two of you communicate differently!!!!! WOW!!! #polygamybenefits I hate Janelle so much, I hate her more than Kody I think. These other women were conditioned and brainwashed into polygamy but this is a full grown adult woman who set her hat on a married man and pursued him, even switching religions so she could have him. Anyway, congrats to Maddie and Caleb. They are a cute couple and I hope she continues her education. Having kids makes it way more difficult but not impossible. I would be surprised but thrilled if Mariah came out as gay. Maybe she is just a strong LGBTQ ally, and that is reflected on her social media. I'm pleasantly surprised that the kids have as much sense as they do. They've turned out pretty well in spite of their parents and I really think that moving to Las Vegas is the reason. They were forced to interact outside of their little plyg bubble and have seen that there is a huge world outside of the AUB and Utah. Good job on raising good kids, I guess.

I totally agree with this. First off, Mariah is dealing with college. She is discovering that the things her parents told her growing up are lies. Maybe you CAN get into heaven without being miserable your entire life. Maybe non-FLDS people aren't all evil. Maybe not all monogamous people are jealous and want to break up families. Maybe Polygamy is anti-feminist and anti-family. Maybe women ARE more than just a womb. Maybe not all kids are quasi-peers/stand-in spouses for their absent fathers. So she's reeling with looking at other kids and comparing her upbringing to theirs, the foundation of her beliefs are being shaken. Then her Mom very blatantly turns out to be not happy in her super happy polygamous marriage that makes everyone better. In fact, eager to get out of it and find a man who makes her happy and fulfilled. IN HER OWN WORDS. So I think Meri is just a stand in for Mariah's anger at the whole situation. Growing up in a cult, with a dumb big-kid dad, being told you're "only" a woman whose job it is to stay pure and have babies...I get it. I have a lot of sympathy for Mariah, having had a similar college experience. Religious polygamy is ultimately not good for anyone, man or woman. It's not fair to ask a woman to share her marriage for religious reasons, and it's not fair to expect a man to be able to fulfill multiple roles to multiple women and not drop the ball. It's a tremendous amount of pressure. And it's bullshit.

You know, She's at least trying. I am glad she's not moping around the house, pining away after Sam and sobbing about how no one trusts her enough to babysit. I'm sure the empty nest thing was an eye opener as to the state of her marriage and her relationships with her sisterwives. I dislike any and all of these con artists but Meri at least seems to have had some sort of self actualization since Mariah left home.

Much as it pains me to somewhat side with these idiots, I can see their point about home births being easier than hospital births for polygamists. In Utah, and a couple other areas, polygamy is such a problem that they actually had laws on the books prohibiting some co-habiting situations. So yes, maybe now it's not a big deal, and maybe 10 years ago in Ohio or Georgia or Texas or wherever it wasn't a big deal to live together and have a child while legally single. But in Utah, until recently, authorities actually monitored this tpye stuff. Hospitals automatically file paperwork. Until recently, I think home births were not quite so formal with paperwork. So while I"m sure it feeds into their martyr complex and makes them feel super persecuted and special, they may have a point. I think it's a state to state regulation. You can leave it blank in some states, and in some states it is automatically your husbands name, in some states the father has to supply his own name. I think it's so you can't just say, Barack Obama/Donald Trump/Colin Farrel is the father of my baby. Also, you can leave the birth certificate blank, but supply the father's name on other documents like WIC, Child Support, etc.

Re Baby Showers, most people I know have a baby shower for each baby. Yeah, you can pass down changing tables and furniture, but things like diapers, clothes, bottles etc are always needed as they don't last long. I wouldn't begrudge anyone a baby shower. And obviously the super hot 2nd honeymoon with the therapist in tow did rekindle the romance. Or, more likely, Christine is on anti-depressants. And Meri pulling her stunt probably made everyone else look good in comparison. I mean, can you honestly compare being bitchy or wanting your husband to spend more time with your kids to having a very public emotional online affair? The catfish is probably the best thing to happen to Janelle, Christine, and Robyn's marriages ever.

I think the quote things are because Mormonism has its own subculture. When your education, worship, social interactions, family et al all revolve around the exact same people, you don't have much contact with the outside world. When everyone you know has quotes on their wall, and the faith/love/hope/prayer/scriptures is what their house is decorated with - that's your normal.