Sweet Fellowship: Duggars and Friends (aka the Bates Family and Other Featured Families Thread)

[Sew Sumi]

Check out the money grab over there on the right counter, complete with box for donations. 

eta: Just got a gander at his FB. His argument about KJV vs. NIV (I definitely prefer the latter) fails inside of one sentnece when the "writer" can't properly spell a word that 4th graders should be able to spell properly. 

SOTDRT FAIL! You'd think that by 44 one would have a grasp on these things, but I suppose he's as Gothardite as the rest of them. And, for some perspective, I know that I am the same age as Chad's dad, and that if Tim is 44, he's less than 10 years younger than his future FIL. Ick. 

Edited January 4, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[Arwen Evenstar]

Tabitha is a bit long in the tooth by Fundy standards and the pickings are likely slim. Widowers and divorcés are pretty much a more likely scenario. No doubt the circumstances behind the divorce would have been investigated by her family prior to allowing this relationship.

[RazzleberryPie]

48 minutes ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

Tabitha is a bit long in the tooth by Fundy standards and the pickings are likely slim. Widowers and divorcés are pretty much a more likely scenario. No doubt the circumstances behind the divorce would have been investigated by her family prior to allowing this relationship.

Or newer, overzealous converts that are looking for a woman who fits the 'holy' mold - long skirt, big LJV Bible, long hair, meek voice, SAHD, obedient, subservient, on the desperate and needy side - who cares what her personality is actually like. 

Bless her. Sometimes those guys are 10x worse than those born into it.

[MamaR]

Is that really toilet paper on the banner and sign???

Sorry don't know why my words were crossed out, silly iPad! 

[GeeGolly]

On his FB page Tabby posted on a lot of his pics. They've been courting/dating since at least October. Looks like he went all out romantic for the proposal.

[riverblue22]

I don't think he has been married previously.  He said something about how it was so worthwhile to wait for the perfect person.  I find him creepy.  I'd rather see Tabitha with John David.   But at least Tabitha will live near cool brother Chad and can hang out with the Bates crew.

[FakeJoshDuggar]

Wow. Just wow. That guy is a real peach. Tabi should be asking herself why he's so old and hadn't had any takers...

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, FakeJoshDuggar said:

Wow. Just wow. That guy is a real peach. Tabi should be asking herself why he's so old and hadn't had any takers...

Yeah, that would be red flag number one. It wouldn't bother me if a guy hadn't been married but experienced a normal dating life which included long term relationships, but that's not the vibe I'm getting here.

[queenanne]

3 hours ago, riverblue22 said:

I don't think he has been married previously.  He said something about how it was so worthwhile to wait for the perfect person.  I find him creepy.  

Aw, now see, I can't help but like him a little now, for at least surface-recognizing the aged-19 fundie male/female glom-fest isn't the only way to go about finding a mate.

[Rabbittron]

Just saw that Bringing Up Bates new season starts tomorrow. 

[Portia]

I'm crossing my fingers that he's just shy and awkward, and it took him a long time to find a woman who made that not matter any more. I know some folks like that who married successfully later in life.

[lookeyloo]

1 hour ago, Portia said:

I'm crossing my fingers that he's just shy and awkward, and it took him a long time to find a woman who made that not matter any more. I know some folks like that who married successfully later in life.

My husband's fraternal twin brother is one of them.  We are married 34 years and he is married almost 20.  We love his wife.  He is still a little awkward, (as is Mr. lookeyloo sometimes) but, not evil.  They have an 18 year old child and have a nice life.  

[RazzleberryPie]

16 hours ago, queenanne said:

Aw, now see, I can't help but like him a little now, for at least surface-recognizing the aged-19 fundie male/female glom-fest isn't the only way to go about finding a mate.

Yeah, maybe he's just as socially awkward as Tabitha, and isn't weird scary creepy. 

[laurakaye]

8 minutes ago, RazzleberryPie said:

Yeah, maybe he's just as socially awkward as Tabitha, and isn't weird scary creepy. 

So maybe there's hope for JD after all - socially awkward but not weird scary creepy?  Come on, JB and Michelle, there's your tagline!  Marry that boy off!

[Arwen Evenstar]

5 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

So maybe there's hope for JD after all - socially awkward but not weird scary creepy?  Come on, JB and Michelle, there's your tagline!  Marry that boy off!

I preferred "Free to a good home".

[Rabbittron]

I prefer you take him and we will give you a free house with a wonderful view of the city dump.

[JoanArc]

5 hours ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

I preferred "Free to a good home".

" not a molester a weirdo, we promise! "

[riverblue22]

I know the Bates come from the same cult but they sure seem to present different attitudes from the Duggars.  They were surprised Alyssa was pregnant--they thought she was going to wait until Allie was 3 or 4.  Lawson is traveling the country touring with his music.  Trace wants to try out for the Dixie Stampede but they think they might have to get him dancing lessons first.  Gil decided Bobby was an okay boyfriend for Tori because he took it so well when Gil pushed him in the lake.  I don't think Gil demands pages and pages of Gothard speak from suitors.  And of course, the men and sons-in-law have real j.o.b.s.

[BitterApple]

Gil and Kelly don't seem to hold their kids back the way Boob and Michelle do. Although the girls are basically going to Clown College to find husbands, they're still allowed some freedom out of the house and the opportunity to socialize normally with their peers. The only one who struggled to find a courting partner was Michael, and I think that's because she made the unfortunate choice of clinging to the Fundie Frump while surrounded by gorgeous sisters. In terms of the husbands, Zach, Brandon, Chad and John all have big boy jobs and bring home paychecks that aren't signed by Gil. I know these people are Kool-Aid drinkers, but they aren't miserable failures at life the way the Duggar children are. 

[Sew Sumi]

Look at Lawson quoting one of the most liberal people who ever liberaled. Bless his heart. 

[Zahdii]

Is that a picture of him?  I don't see his headphones.  How will I ever recognize him without his headphones?

[Sew Sumi]

Well, his ears are covered, and on my phone I can't tell if it's just a neck covering pulled up or the dreaded headphones. LOL

[queenanne]

11 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Look at Lawson quoting one of the most liberal people who ever liberaled. Bless his heart. 

Well, the Bateses seem like people who study the people who say these things, so I'm not surprised.  

Which may in fact be the fundamental difference between the Bates and the Duggars.  The latter segregates their schooling to rote drills, and/or includes a heaping fundy helping of judgment to the pot, in any situation where they're forced to elucidate off the top of their heads on any historical character, situation, etc.  The former, aren't averse to knowledge for knowledge's sake and apparently think you can decide on your own a la carte once you learn about it, if something is appropriate to cite as an influence or not.

[Sew Sumi]

Guys, I have some sad news. RIP Clown College. It must now be referred to by its real name as it gained real accreditation this past November. Carlin and Josie, if they stick it out, will have legitimate degrees; the school also covers Patrick Henry and PCC. Graduates of those schools have gone on to secular colleges for post-grad education (ie. Harvard Law!). I'm not sure how Tori's degree will pan out, since the school was in the process of accreditation during half of her academic career. Not that she's going to grad school or anything, but it may help her if she wants to teach outside of private Christian schools. 

http://thecrowncollege.com/about-crown/tracs-accreditation/

[Arwen Evenstar]

19 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Guys, I have some sad news. RIP Clown College. It must now be referred to by its real name as it gained real accreditation this past November. Carlin and Josie, if they stick it out, will have legitimate degrees; the school also covers Patrick Henry and PCC. Graduates of those schools have gone on to secular colleges for post-grad education (ie. Harvard Law!). I'm not sure how Tori's degree will pan out, since the school was in the process of accreditation during half of her academic career. Not that she's going to grad school or anything, but it may help her if she wants to teach outside of private Christian schools. 

http://thecrowncollege.com/about-crown/tracs-accreditation/

Nah, not really. We can still make fun of it since it was the only place the Bateses kids had been allowed to go to. It's reputation won't disappear overnight. Private colleges, be they religious or secular are very expensive to attend. Anyone who goes and spends that kind of money to go to one, should have more to show for their money and hard work than a degree they can't  actually use or leverage to get a decent job.

Edited January 7, 2017 by Arwen Evenstar
Typis

[Sew Sumi]

One of the Harris twins (of Do Hard Things fame) went to Patrick Henry and on to Harvard Law. I think he did pretty well for himself. I was surprised to see PCC on the list. Is Moody accredited? I can't remember, but if it is, it isn't through this body. 

[MunichNark]

Thing is, it doesn't matter where they go, since none of them will ever go and work. It is to their credit that they do go and study, so maybe their children won't be half as ignorant as the Duggars and their ilk, but in the end, it really makes no difference.

[IndianPaintbrush]

Erin is using her degree to teach piano, so that's something. In their world a woman's primary job will always be wife and mother, but at least they have opportunities to supplement the family income if they choose to.

[Sew Sumi]

Suze Keller is engaged to her long-time boyfriend (not the babydaddy). I've never seen pics of the boyfriend at Chez Keller, so I wonder how that's going to work out? She still seems religious, but definitely mainstream, based on her Instagram posts, which include her daughter in clothes befitting a 3 year old, including real swimsuits. 

In keeping with the engagement ring talk, she got a honkin' rock, looks about 1.5 - 2 carats, probably faux, but that's okay. I wear a fake set because I live in a place where I could get mugged on a busy street 3 blocks from my house. I'd rather they take the fake stuff than the real. I love my pretty sparklies, and I'm not going to let some criminal force me to wear something I don't want to. :)

Edited January 8, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[Nysha]

A degree is a degree, for the most part. As long as no one checks into it, an accredited degree from Clown College is as good as a non-accredited one. My daughter dropped out of high school and got a "diploma" from some Internet school for $250 that she was able to use to get a CNA certificate. She showed them the dipolma, said it was from an online charter school, and, nobody checked any further. A small Christian school wanting a music teacher probably wouldn't look any further, either.

[Sew Sumi]

No, it wouldn't matter at any private school. In the case of Tori, it's unlikely she's going to do any teaching other than her own kids, so the point is moot. I was just curious about whether students like Tori who are in the middle of their matriculation can get into legitimate colleges for post-grad work, like the kid whose example I used above. 

Depends on the school that they plan to attend, I suppose. Harvard Law would have different requirements for incoming students than a student in a CNA program. 

[Arwen Evenstar]

5 minutes ago, Nysha said:

A degree is a degree, for the most part. As long as no one checks into it, an accredited degree from Clown College is as good as a non-accredited one. My daughter dropped out of high school and got a "diploma" from some Internet school for $250 that she was able to use to get a CNA certificate. She showed them the dipolma, said it was from an online charter school, and, nobody checked any further. A small Christian school wanting a music teacher probably wouldn't look any further, either.

Accreditation does matter for some professions: medicine, law, engineering, but not too many Fundies aspire to those careers, and those that do would no doubt make sure they actually could find a job once they got done.

[Sew Sumi]

Accreditation definitely matters in Education as well, if one's goal is to teach in the public school system. At least one year of post-grad study is required to get in required student teaching hours. Ask me how I know (hint: I did some post-grad work in this field.) I was bored one day and checked Tennessee's requirements, and they follow this mandate in order to teach in that state. 

[MyPeopleAreNordic]

If you ever want to go to graduate school, accreditation absolutely matters. (Doubt any of the fundies do, though)

[GeeGolly]

Accreditation matters to go to grad school and it also matters in any field where licensure is required, including mental health therapists.

[Nysha]

Yes, it matters for a lot of things, but not so much in the Duggar/Bates world, where the diploma is going to be accepted "as is" or in a lot of regular jobs. I live in Idaho, if someone applied for a local job as an accountant, using their diploma from Clown College as a credential, very few places here would research whether it was valid or not. Someone working for themselves as a music teacher, accountant, tutor, whatever...would hang up their diploma and very few customers would research it.

[Sew Sumi]

Trust me, I've worked as a tutor. Credentials are VERY important; the job around here is VERY competitive. And my credentials, hobbies, etc. were all splashed online for parents to see. The student tutors at the community college where I work now may not have a degree yet, but they have recs from professors and are active in school activities, including government. In my department (English), the VAST majority of tutors have at least a bachelors. We get retirees who love language. We have a couple working on post-grad degrees that have nothing to do with English, but they are great writers and teaching skills. I don't know who is coming back for Spring, but last semester, every tutor had at least an AA, and only one was working on a Bachelors; the rest of the tutors were pretty much over-educated and underpaid, but there because they wanted to help an underserved population. 

Sorry, but dissing on tutors is a sore spot for me. I've done it, and I have gotten so many hugs when kids come back with A's on their papers. 

Back on topic, which is where we need to be, Tori might be able to tutor if she excels at math, science, english at a lower level (and looking at Crown's curriculum, it is). She doesn't strike me as a savant in any of the basics, which leads me to think she is pursuing an elementary school diploma (but again, this in NOT a license to teach in her state). Most states don't even offer Education majors at the undergrad level any longer. I had to search for a school that even offered a Masters. My alma mater recently even dropped the PhD program. I had to settle for an Ed minor (no longer an option, either). No Ed major at my alma mater, which one would think would have education stamped all over it! (My avatar hints to my undergrad) :)

Edited January 9, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[ariel]

19 minutes ago, Nysha said:

I live in Idaho, if someone applied for a local job as an accountant, using their diploma from Clown College as a credential, very few places here would research whether it was valid or not. Someone working for themselves as a music teacher, accountant, tutor, whatever...would hang up their diploma and very few customers would research it.

That's very sad that your state doesn't have regulations to check these things out & that the residents aren't interested in researching it.

[GeeGolly]

1 hour ago, Nysha said:

Yes, it matters for a lot of things, but not so much in the Duggar/Bates world, where the diploma is going to be accepted "as is" or in a lot of regular jobs. I live in Idaho, if someone applied for a local job as an accountant, using their diploma from Clown College as a credential, very few places here would research whether it was valid or not. Someone working for themselves as a music teacher, accountant, tutor, whatever...would hang up their diploma and very few customers would research it.

Wouldn't a self-employed accountant have to be licensed? And pay taxes?

[Sew Sumi]

Hmm...CPAs are licensed (with additional post-grad education like teachers). An accountant? I guess it depends on the situation. Triple D crunched numbers for WalMart, so there is a niche for entry-level college grads. 

[ariel]

4 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Triple D crunched numbers for WalMart, so there is a niche for entry-level college grads. 

Triple D  got a little help from his mommy getting his foot into the WalMart door.

[Arwen Evenstar]

8 minutes ago, ariel said:

Triple D  got a little help from his mommy getting his foot into the WalMart door.

But Jill wouldn't get to feed Derick like a baby bird every lunch time...

[Sew Sumi]

I can't imagine how much Jilly hated Triple D going off to a 9-5 M-F. Going to invade him at lunchtime every.fucking.day speaks to a deep insecurity in her life. Married 2 1/2 years, I don't think she's learned to let that go. She still clings to him like a sad limpet. 

[GeeGolly]

8 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Hmm...CPAs are licensed (with additional post-grad education like teachers). An accountant? I guess it depends on the situation. Triple D crunched numbers for WalMart, so there is a niche for entry-level college grads. 

I was wondering about self-employed. I'm thinking one can't just hang up a sign and work as an accountant - legally anyway. Or maybe they can hand a diploma on the wall and be open for business. I just figured it would be regulated.

[ozziemom]

3 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

I was wondering about self-employed. I'm thinking one can't just hang up a sign and work as an accountant - legally anyway. Or maybe they can hand a diploma on the wall and be open for business. I just figured it would be regulated.

In most states you can work as an accountant without being a CPA, either self employed or for a company. Just can't hold yourself out (use CPA after your name) or advertise that you are a CPA without proper licensing. Derick probably doesn't meet all the requirements to even take the CPA exam but he could still work as an accountant for the rest of his life, but sure doesn't seem likely that is his plan.

[frenchtoast]

Let's nudge this back to family friends of the Duggars. Also, there is a Duggar World topic to discuss schooling and finance etc. but the discussion about CPA and credentials has run its course.

Thanks!

[GeeGolly]

Yikes, sorry, sometimes I forget to look at the topic heading.

[Arwen Evenstar]

J-Rod is at it again.  She's posted pictures mugging with Xanaxia and lots of strange shots of her kids...they look like stretched out cardboard cutouts.

[Fuzzysox]

12 hours ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

J-Rod is at it again.  She's posted pictures mugging with Xanaxia and lots of strange shots of her kids...they look like stretched out cardboard cutouts.

Ugh you made me look at the Kim K. of the Fundie world. Jill sure has been a busy bee being a celebrity in her circles.

[louannems]

JillR's boys singing in the teen choir look like walking skeletons. The begging in her newest blog are most palpable.  She is SOOOOOOO proud of attending Jinger's wedding and getting her picture with Michelle!  In that picture, Michelle looks absolutely exhausted.

I cannot figure out why the JillRods are constantly on the road.  They do have a nice house and the printing of religion tracks seems to have taken off. Those poor kids.  They must suffer so much, 14 people crammed into an RV.  Not to mention their piss poor educations on the road.

Edited January 10, 2017 by louannems