Michelle and JimBob aka J'Chelle and Boob

[JoanArc]

Hitting with a ruler is about the most mild thing I've seen, actually. About the Duggars. Between a Fundy childhood and growing up with the last generation of children educated by nuns, I honestly thought you were going to tell me something shocking. I suppose everyone's idea of "whitewashing" must be different though.

These were infants. Infants! It's not okay because nuns do it too. I doubt there are nun alive that would strike a neonate.

Edited July 19, 2015 by Bella

[Satchels of gold]

One of my favorite quotes is "Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children" by William Makepeace Thackeray. No wonder they find God so vengeful.

[Bitter Betty]

Such "parenting techniques" are shocking because, even if you believe in such punishment for children, there is absolutely no reason or justification for striking an infant. Infants don't have the capacity to learn from such discipline, so really, all you're doing is causing the baby pain for absolutely no reason. That's beyond reprehensible. Additionally, it teaches the baby that they can't trust you or bond with you which can lead the child to be distrustful of you once he's older. It can even lead to problems with the child being able to properly trust or bond with people once they are adults.

[frenchtoast]

It's the weekend and it's getting a little heated in here. Can't we all just get along? Like these cuties?

[FakeJoshDuggar]

Once upon a time, the Duggars endorsed the Pearl's book on their website... complete with links for which I'm sure they received some sort of compensation. I would say that their connection to Debi and Michael Pearl was more than passing.

And to a lesser extent, the Duggars are also friends with the Jeubs who have hosted the Pearls in their home many times from the accounts of the Jeub kids who blog.

[GEML]

I'm saying we've heard that the Duggars have done a LOT of terrible things to punish their children. Yes, hitting a child with a ruler is awful. But it's not particularly any MORE shocking than hitting them with pipes, with belts, with tree branches, with wooden spoons, with hair brushes (bristles up) or with plain old fashioned paddles.

There have been accounts of parents screaming so loudly at the children neighbors could hear. There were thoughts that they dressed "modestly" to hide the bruises on their arms.

I'm just saying its a world of conspiracy theories out there. But all we ever get is "blanket training". Ok, so for what was probably a period of time, and probably shorter than we think (although JB and Michelle probably said it was longer on quiverful type boards because they are always desperate to fit in, but no way we're they that hands on - pardon the pun - about raising thei own kids) that did include some blanket training which is talked about in their best selling book and is easy to find.

[Bella]

If other people do worse, it doesn't negate the bad that the Duggars do.

[GEML]

Not at all. But I think so many people have waited for the blanket training shoe to drop, and it's just not going to drop. At least once a month or so we go through this. "If only the REAL story could come out!" But even if you took the most vicious rumors, and the ruler is hardly, to me, the most vicious, I don't think it's going to be more than a drop in a bucket.

[MichaelaRae]

It's the weekend and it's getting a little heated in here. Can't we all just get along? Like these cuties?

 

:::happy sigh::: I'm just going to sit and stare at this beautiful photo and try not to think about nasty ol' Michelle and Jim Bob for a minute...

[JennyMominFL]

Doeesn't the police report state that  the kids were hit with a rod?

Edited July 19, 2015 by JennyMominFL

[Satchels of gold]

What "baffles" me is the minimization of abuse, where the Duggars exaggerated punishment to fit in, or only hit with a ruler and only for a few years. People have been waiting for the molestation shoe to drop and it finally did. In the fullness of time we will see what shoes eventually drop.

[Seashell Lover]

Ok Boob 6 grandchildren down including the one not born yet. Only 194 more to go to get you 200 grandchildren wish.

[Flowers]

Too funny in the baby announcement vid how Michelle keeps trying to talk in the beginning and JB just keeps talking.

And Michelle is doing that bug-eyed, nodding, grinning thing. What a nutcase.

[GEML]

I kept looking at how her hair was two different colors, now that she's growing it out.

[Sew Sumi]

She doesn't realize that she's affecting the ombre trend. LOL

[GeeGolly]

Just checked out the video announcement. Michelle's hair looks like it belongs to two different people. Wonder if she stopped dying or perming it or if the long curls are extensions. She could rock some vibrant blue highlights to go with all her blue tops though.  ;)

[JoanArc]

That video was so out of place. Seems like a a video the parents should do. Didn't David Waller do a video like 2 hrs after Pris gave birth?

 

Of course, Josh will be forever radioactive.

[Aja]

Yeah, nobody wants to see Josh. Even JimBob and Michelle aren't that stupid.

[Happyfatchick]

For some reason, Michelle's voice grated my nerves in this video even more than usual. It was in the stratosphere screechy, and then suddenly dropped to a whisper several times. What's UP with that? Does her voice go weird when she's nervous?

And I'm thinking if JB is determined to keep the "name" out there with these home videos, maybe he should spring for Si to take some practical filming classes. The videos are kinda painful after years of being on camera. In my family, we have these AWFUL grainy home movies with me and sibs wobbling along on roller skates (and fighting). Then we got a nicer camera. And a nicer one. And then a video recorder, and even better cameras. Seems like the Duggs did that in reverse.

[Fuzzysox]

Aren't they leaving for their vacation err I mean visit to Jill and Derrick mission trip this week? Wonder which of the girls will stay behind to nanny for Anna.

[Sew Sumi]

Aren't they leaving for their vacation err I mean visit to Jill and Derrick mission trip this week? Wonder which of the girls will stay behind to nanny for Anna.

A mission trip just started yesterday, so if they're going, they'd be leaving for the trip that starts next Saturday. I figure Jana is there to wait on Anna, so she stays. Joy goes. Other than that, I got nuthin'. 

[GEML]

I think JB and Michelle really believe it when they say "it's not a show, it's just our life" and honestly can't see the difference. JB has never understood that scripting something, giving him lines, multiple takes and staging are part of the illusion, not who he really is. The lighting and make up isn't to make him look better or more appealing, it's just to bring out who he is and help the audience see more clearly. But it's not NECESSARY.

Political (small p but it starts the sentence) instincts of a baboon.

[CofCinci]

https://youtu.be/HRL0zP9NQQ0

It's Jim Bobs birthday and it looks like they cut Jordyns hair

Considering that hair cuts are for punishments.... I wonder what that kid did?

[zenme]

Considering that hair cuts are for punishments.... I wonder what that kid did?

 

I really think her hair is in a ponytail.  I think we all may be thrown off by the fact that someone actually brushed her hair.

[GEML]

I really think her hair is in a ponytail. I think we all may be thrown off by the fact that someone actually brushed her hair.

Howling

[redlaces]

Considering that hair cuts are for punishments.... I wonder what that kid did?

 

People would lose their ever loving minds if one of their hair was chopped off like that. Could you imagine?

[SmallTownMom]

I'm sure others have watched Boob and Mechelles announcement about Meredith's birth.

 

WTH is up with Michelle's voice?  "Her best labor yet" and "Say Baby Meredith" both made my ears bleed. Both of them need to shut up and go away.

 

LOVE the name Meredith.

[Broken Ox]

"We love our grandkids."

 

Translation: F-U Interwebs.

[Defrauder]

Considering that hair cuts are for punishments.... I wonder what that kid did?

Could she have cut her own hair?

[kokapetl]

I think Jordyn's hair is just mostly tied back, and she's also's outside with a significant "headwind".

[Defrauder]

Maybe Michelle cut it hoping that she would turn into a baby again.  Jordyn is the one that's the second youngest after Josie right?

[Defrauder]

In the Jim Bob counting for us birth announcement he starts off with- this is Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar parents of 19 kids and counting.  What happened to Michelle's open letter to Jubilee for her funeral, where Michelle says that from now on she will say she has 20 children, 19 here and 1 in heaven. (She redid that letter to say 21 children 19 here and 2 in heaven after she remembered her first miscarriage), but anyway - now they have 19 children again?  What happened to Michelle's letter to Jubilee? 

[Bitter Betty]

In the Jim Bob counting for us birth announcement he starts off with- this is Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar parents of 19 kids and counting.  What happened to Michelle's open letter to Jubilee for her funeral, where Michelle says that from now on she will say she has 20 children, 19 here and 1 in heaven. (She redid that letter to say 21 children 19 here and 2 in heaven after she remembered her first miscarriage), but anyway - now they have 19 children again?  What happened to Michelle's letter to Jubilee? 

Poor Jubilee is a victim of the Branding Bus. It's not their brand to be known as "20 Kids and Counting" or "21 Kids and Counting." Their brand is everything to them.

[JoanArc]

 

Maybe Michelle cut it hoping that she would turn into a baby again.

No, this is how Michelle spends most of her days now, or will once the fairweather friends disappear, money gets tight, and NO ONE CARES about her anymore.

 

[farmgal4]

I'm sure others have watched Boob and Mechelles announcement about Meredith's birth.

 

WTH is up with Michelle's voice?  "Her best labor yet" and "Say Baby Meredith" both made my ears bleed. Both of them need to shut up and go away.

 

LOVE the name Meredith.

"Her best labor yet." Honestly, WTF says that? Is it some kind of competition? Do they video every L&D and then compare them all to decide which is the "best"? These sick assholes really are obsessed with pregnancy, childbirth and babies. I've never seen anything like it. I'm still waiting for Michelle to become a surrogate for the daughter/daughter-in-law that can't get pregnant.

[duggarshow]

I'm a liker. I actually like them. But I'm baffled by the conspiracy theories about them, how devious or stupid people think they are, or how popular and influential people think they are. To me, they are sort of like a phase. A C list phase at that. They could be completely gone tomorrow and they would have made no impact on the world at all.

I'm a liker, too. What I'm baffled by is the exaggerations people make about this family. I can't believe otherwise intelligent people think that the Duggar parents still pay their children $0.03 per chore when they said that at least a dozen years ago when the children were small. But folks on this board still snark about it as if they pay that wage today. Or like when folks say Jim Bob stated over and over again that Josie was conceived on Father's Day. He said it once and the episode was aired repeatedly. I sincerely find that very odd. Snark, if you will, but if the Duggar's were really snark worthy, you either wouldn't watch them or wouldn't need to exaggerate about them.

 

One thing I really admire about the Duggar family, though, is that they haven't let the pressures, comments etc of the world change their beliefs, views or teaching. Nice!! Whether I agree with them or not, I have a great admiration for anyone who has the courage of their convictions.

[kokapetl]

I'm not certain, but the laser printer looks to still be on that bench in front of the playroom, and there's even more crap with it. The playroom looks like it's got crap piled up to the ceiling. The next time we see Michelle on TV, it will be on Hoarders. Here's how it used to look:

[galax-arena]

I have a great admiration for anyone who has the courage of their convictions.

I have admiration for those who possess enough humility to occasionally take a step back and reassess their beliefs instead of following them blindly.

[kokapetl]

I'm a liker, too. What I'm baffled by is the exaggerations people make about this family. I can't believe otherwise intelligent people think that the Duggar parents still pay their children $0.03 per chore when they said that at least a dozen years ago when the children were small. But folks on this board still snark about it as if they pay that wage today. Or like when folks say Jim Bob stated over and over again that Josie was conceived on Father's Day. He said it once and the episode was aired repeatedly. I sincerely find that very odd. Snark, if you will, but if the Duggar's were really snark worthy, you either wouldn't watch them or wouldn't need to exaggerate about them.

One thing I really admire about the Duggar family, though, is that they haven't let the pressures, comments etc of the world change their beliefs, views or teaching. Nice!! Whether I agree with them or not, I have a great admiration for anyone who has the courage of their convictions.

But are their steadfast beliefs due to their moral strength, or is it due to their isolation and indoctrination?

[Defrauder]

I honestly don't see the Duggars as having any courage in their convictions but as people who change their convictions to suit their lack of courage.  

[JoanArc]

 

One thing I really admire about the Duggar family, though, is that they haven't let the pressures, comments etc of the world change their beliefs, views or teaching. Nice!! Whether I agree with them or not, I have a great admiration for anyone who has the courage of their convictions.

Or common sense, expert opinions, the law, public opinion, good taste, proper manners, or the actual rules of their proclaimed faith.

 

They've changed a lot since getting on TV, and not for the better. It's a gradual decay, but it's there.

Edited July 21, 2015 by JoanArc

[kokapetl]

Or common sense, expert opinions, the law, public opinion, good taste, proper manners, or the actual rules of their proclaimed faith.

They've changed a lot since getting on TV, and not for the better. It's a gradual decay, but it's there.

I thought JimChelle were loosening up, and changing for the better, but Ben and Derick made me question that.

[Cherrio]

"I can't believe otherwise intelligent people think that the Duggar parents still pay their children $0.03 per chore when they said that at least a dozen years ago when the children were small. But folks on this board still snark about it as if they pay that wage today."

 

I think Bin gets $0.06 a toilet and a bonus of $0.01 if he remembers to use the brush.      :)

[Julia]

From what I've seen, the Duggars have gotten a good deal of financial support for modeling the quiverfull lifestyle in a telegenic way at the same time as their adherence has gotten significantly less strict. There is no way in the world Jessa's cap-sleeved figure-flattering wedding dress, while it was pretty and appropriate to my eyes, would be at all acceptable to the "radical modesty" her mom was bleating about at Kleinfeld's (or even the standards Michelle was holding a toddler to at the reception), and while no reasonable standard of modesty would hold her bathing outfit from last week to be inappropriate it clearly doesn't match the guidelines the family claims to use.

 

So they have the courage of their convictions when they're paid to, but when not when they want to be more popular?

[Aja]

Their convictions would probably be a lot easier to adhere to if they even knew what they were. For example, is child molestation punishable by death, or is it no big deal and anyway Jesus forgives everything so shut up and move on? Do they let God control the size of their family, or do they all obsessively chart Michelle's menstrual cycles and do everything short of cloning to ensure that they have as many children as humanly possible? Is the media evil and liberal and trying to tear them down because everyone hates Christians, or do they appear on the cover of People every other week and on the Today Show every time there's another blessing and happily accept all the income and swag from their evil, liberal media television careers? I'd be genuinely interested to hear a Duggar response to any of those questions--but that will never happen, because their 'convictions' are so carefully staged and orchestrated that I very much doubt they take a whole lot of time to actually think about what they mean.

[kokapetl]

Their convictions would probably be a lot easier to adhere to if they even knew what they were. For example, is child molestation punishable by death, or is it no big deal and anyway Jesus forgives everything so shut up and move on? Do they let God control the size of their family, or do they all obsessively chart Michelle's menstrual cycles and do everything short of cloning to ensure that they have as many children as humanly possible? Is the media evil and liberal and trying to tear them down because everyone hates Christians, or do they appear on the cover of People every other week and on the Today Show every time there's another blessing and happily accept all the income and swag from their evil, liberal media television careers? I'd be genuinely interested to hear a Duggar response to any of those questions--but that will never happen, because their 'convictions' are so carefully staged and orchestrated that I very much doubt they take a whole lot of time to actually think about what they mean.

The thing that really ruined them was that they obviously learnt nothing from the ordeal. Had Josh not taken that FRC job, and Michelle not done that robocall, they probably would still have a show, even if InTouch released the report.

[Joe Jitsu913]

Their convictions would probably be a lot easier to adhere to if they even knew what they were. For example, is child molestation punishable by death, or is it no big deal and anyway Jesus forgives everything so shut up and move on? Do they let God control the size of their family, or do they all obsessively chart Michelle's menstrual cycles and do everything short of cloning to ensure that they have as many children as humanly possible? Is the media evil and liberal and trying to tear them down because everyone hates Christians, or do they appear on the cover of People every other week and on the Today Show every time there's another blessing and happily accept all the income and swag from their evil, liberal media television careers? I'd be genuinely interested to hear a Duggar response to any of those questions--but that will never happen, because their 'convictions' are so carefully staged and orchestrated that I very much doubt they take a whole lot of time to actually think about what they mean.

Michelle, Jim Bob and Josh blather on about 'accountability'. Josh has not been held accountable for his actions and neither have the elder Duggars. Do they actually believe in accountability or not? Or does it only apply when it's convenient for them? They spout the Gothard bullshit word for word, but of course they don't actually practice what they preach.

[JoanArc]

 

The Duggars basically just tell their sons to stuff it.

They also told their girls, even a 5 year old, that they were sluts just asking for it.

[Julia]

They also told their girls, even a 5 year old, that they were sluts just asking for it.

 

Frankly, I find it even more frightening that they told their son that some girl who showed ankle was responsible for him fondling a five year old.

[JoanArc]

To be clear, they didn't say the word 'sluts' but look at all the stirring up desires talk, the modest dress, the crazy rules, etc. It was as much the victim's fault, as Josh's (to JB&M, anyway).