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

[doodlebug]

46 minutes ago, DangerousMinds said:

Those pictures are terrifying. How the hell do they afford braces for these kids?

As I recall, they have a fundie orthodontist who gives them a deal (probably provides them for free).  Jill has plugged him on their blog.

Edited June 17, 2017 by doodlebug

[BitterApple]

Good Lord, in one of the pictures where Kaylee is turned to the side you can see her shoulder blades popping out of her dress. Do these children ever get fed? She looks emaciated and anemic. 

[Sew Sumi]

5 hours ago, queenanne said:

Internship, volunteer, or job?  Maybe one of those combinations will yield a salary and thus money to buy food.

ETA:  The fundie bump is the true nightmare in the equation, making Kaylee look like a cadaverous 50-year-old.  Maybe a 65-y-o who dyes.

Jill just said that she'd be "working" there. I seriously doubt the Pearls pay, unless it's just to get the money back for living expenses. I have no idea how those kids feed themselves or what the living conditions are like. 

Pretty much anything is a step up from the RV, maybe even the Pearls' place.

[Nysha]

7 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Pretty much anything is a step up from the RV, maybe even the Pearls' place.

I'm pretty sure, if nothing else, she'll at least be fed. None of the Pearls are emaciated like the Rodrigues children. If the Pearls run a fundy internship, maybe there's a chance she'll find her headship there. 

[Sew Sumi]

I think they've already sent Nurie there. Not sure about Timothy.

[Arwen Evenstar]

#feedtherodiguii

[lianau]

Nurie just "graduated" (wearing something that looks like a cheap lab coat) and is thanking her parents for protecting her from the evils of public schools in her very own facebook post.

[Celia Rubenstein]

Well.  In all honesty, I have to say that Nurie comes across as somewhat brighter and more articulate that the average Duggar. I realize that is a damn low standard but ... whatever. I'm throwing the kid a bone.  

Lord knows she could probably use the few calories she might glean from gnawing on it. Poor skinny thing. 

[ginger90]

It's sentences like this

I am truly SO grateful that they protected me from the counsel of the ungodly and decided to homeschool me.

that grate on my nerves. Why put others down? That seems "ungodly", to me.

[GeeGolly]

2 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

It's sentences like this

I am truly SO grateful that they protected me from the counsel of the ungodly and decided to homeschool me.

that grate on my nerves. Why put others down? That seems "ungodly", to me.

It is mean spirited isn't it! 

[Churchhoney]

She's brainwashed as all hell. The parents are to blame for that, not this poor starved manipulated young girl. I can't look at a Rodriguez kid without weeping and throwing heavy objects. Their parents have destroyed them, outside and in, and there's probably only a slim chance that any of them will ever be able to retrieve themselves. The fact that people keep saying they want this hellish situation put on tv for their entertainment stuns me. And, once again, I realize that empathy only extends to situations that we've experienced the like of ourselves. Seems to be little ability in anybody who hasn't lived something like this to realize how helpless Nurie's been in forming what she is now.  No wonder we're doomed as a damn species. 

[RedheadZombie]

How that man can stand smiling with that huge gut ........  No matter how insulated they are, he must hear cracks about his poor starving children.  Do they stare drooling while he scarfs down 99% of the family's helpings?  Not that Jill is missing out.   They are shameless. 

[louannems]

Having watched all the Rodriguez kids' videos, I can just imagine poor Nurie reciting that peice in her breathless, sing-songy, high-pitched voice!  Emphasizing all of those SOOOOOO's.

Really, how much teaching did her parents do?  With all those pregnancies, all that constant travel, all those people squeezed into an RV, how is it even possible to provide teenagers with an even marginally acceptable education?

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, ginger90 said:

It's sentences like this

I am truly SO grateful that they protected me from the counsel of the ungodly and decided to homeschool me.

that grate on my nerves. Why put others down? That seems "ungodly", to me.

Maybe Nurie hopes if she pimps the party line, she'll get an extra spoonful of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese at dinner.

[ginger90]

When homeschooling is done on the road, so to speak, what state monitors it? 

[Arwen Evenstar]

2 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

She's brainwashed as all hell. The parents are to blame for that, not this poor starved manipulated young girl. I can't look at a Rodriguez kid without weeping and throwing heavy objects. Their parents have destroyed them, outside and in, and there's probably only a slim chance that any of them will ever be able to retrieve themselves. The fact that people keep saying they want this hellish situation put on tv for their entertainment stuns me. And, once again, I realize that empathy only extends to situations that we've experienced the like of ourselves. Seems to be little ability in anybody who hasn't lived something like this to realize how helpless Nurie's been in forming what she is now.  No wonder we're doomed as a damn species. 

I wanted them aired NOT for my amusement, but so child welfare groups would take one look at those sickly kids and intervene.

[Annb67]

8 hours ago, lianau said:

Nurie just "graduated" (wearing something that looks like a cheap lab coat) and is thanking her parents for protecting her from the evils of public schools in her very own facebook post.

Where would you be now you ask? You would be texting/facetiming your new college roommates. You would be excitedly making list of things to get for your dorm room, enjoying your summer with friends before college and getting ready to experience the world with all of its heartaches and joy. The world would be yours for the taking. That's where you would be Nurie if your parents weren't in a shitty cult.

Edited June 18, 2017 by Annb67

[RazzleberryPie]

3 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

She's brainwashed as all hell. The parents are to blame for that, not this poor starved manipulated young girl. I can't look at a Rodriguez kid without weeping and throwing heavy objects. Their parents have destroyed them, outside and in, and there's probably only a slim chance that any of them will ever be able to retrieve themselves. The fact that people keep saying they want this hellish situation put on tv for their entertainment stuns me. And, once again, I realize that empathy only extends to situations that we've experienced the like of ourselves. Seems to be little ability in anybody who hasn't lived something like this to realize how helpless Nurie's been in forming what she is now.  No wonder we're doomed as a damn species. 

Nurie and all the Rodruigii kids are far more brainwashed than all the Duggar and Bates kids. The Rodruigii haven't had the benefit of filming crews, travel and social media. Despite their constant road trips - only to other very strict churches - the Rodruigii kids are far more isolated than the Duggars, etc. Those kids scare me.  If putting them on TV actually brings in enough money and attention to feed them and maybe intervene a little, I'm all for it. 

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

I wanted them aired NOT for my amusement, but so child welfare groups would take one look at those sickly kids and intervene.

Yep -- I shouldn't have implied that everybody wants them to be shown for entertainment! Some do, though. ....  But of course, the possibility of authorities seeing them and reacting is the real reason that nobody will ever show them, I expect. If they showed them -- and they'd be doing it for the entertainment dollars, since documentaries earn zilch and tv, cable networks especially, are in it for the Benjamins only -- there's way too much possibility that authorities and the public would see the tv people as implicated in the abuse. 

Edited June 18, 2017 by Churchhoney

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, ginger90 said:

When homeschooling is done on the road, so to speak, what state monitors it? 

Only a handful of states monitor homeschooling at all, no matter where it's done, actually. Their state of permanent residence has the jurisdiction, to the extent that there is any jurisdiction. .... In other words, nobody's going to monitor their schooling at all. And, for the most part, homeschooling law continues to move ever farther in the direction of allowing parents to homeschool however they choose, especially if they're homeschooling for religious reasons. 

What interstate or federal backup there is for child abuse and neglect committed on the road I don't know. 

But if anything were to snag the abusing Rodrigui it wouldn't be the schooling. 

[queenanne]

51 minutes ago, RazzleberryPie said:

Nurie and all the Rodruigii kids are far more brainwashed than all the Duggar and Bates kids. The Rodruigii haven't had the benefit of filming crews, travel and social media. Despite their constant road trips - only to other very strict churches - the Rodruigii kids are far more isolated than the Duggars, etc. Those kids scare me.  If putting them on TV actually brings in enough money and attention to feed them and maybe intervene a little, I'm all for it. 

Yeah, I was gonna say... it's kind of ironic considering we're very willing to say that a TV show is likely to have ruined the Duggars, and to list all the myriad of ways in which this is possible - at least the R's are odd enough to make good watchable TV.  #feedthefundies

[Churchhoney]

2 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Maybe Nurie hopes if she pimps the party line, she'll get an extra spoonful of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese at dinner.

I'm sure she no longer thinks this consciously. But when it comes to that general feeling driving her actions overall -- damn right it is. 

[Churchhoney]

57 minutes ago, RazzleberryPie said:

Nurie and all the Rodruigii kids are far more brainwashed than all the Duggar and Bates kids. The Rodruigii haven't had the benefit of filming crews, travel and social media. Despite their constant road trips - only to other very strict churches - the Rodruigii kids are far more isolated than the Duggars, etc. Those kids scare me.  If putting them on TV actually brings in enough money and attention to feed them and maybe intervene a little, I'm all for it. 

Given what's gone in that situation already, why would we think that any money that came in there would go to the kids? Or that having the kids be performing seals would make the parents less likely to continue to brainwash them? Yeah, there'd be a camera crew around some of the time, but they're not there all the time, and abusive and neglectful people are quite capable of making up in private time for whatever they may hold back from in the moments they're watched, in my experience. 

I have to say, though, that in my opinion -- and contrary to the view of literally everybody else, I think --  the Duggars are anything but saved by the tv show. In my opinion, the Duggarlings' situation was worsened by the tv show. Their parents have had all the more reason to force the kids to falsify themselves and their lives and the tv show has provided money so that with the show the parents ended up with not just a stick but with a very big implicit carrot. In addition, the parents have been able to convince the kids that the fact they're being filmed proves that the Duggar way is a great and ideal way. And the combination, in my opinion, actually made it quite a bit less likely that any kid would see the light and walk. Among the abused people I've known, those from well off and prominent families have often been the most trapped because they don;'t have the added spur of need to wake them up and make them want out. I'm about 99 percent sure that, had the tv show never existed, at least several Duggarlings would have made their escapes by now. And having one escape can sometimes give courage to others to do so. 

[Scarlett45]

8 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

Given what's gone in that situation already, why would we think that any money that came in there would go to the kids? Or that having the kids be performing seals would make the parents less likely to continue to brainwash them? Yeah, there'd be a camera crew around some of the time, but they're not there all the time, and abusive and neglectful people are quite capable of making up in private time for whatever they may hold back from in the moments they're watched, in my experience. 

I have to say, though, that in my opinion -- and contrary to the view of literally everybody else, I think --  the Duggars are anything but saved by the tv show. In my opinion, the Duggarlings' situation was worsened by the tv show. Their parents have had all the more reason to force the kids to falsify themselves and their lives and the tv show has provided money so that with the show the parents ended up with not just a stick but with a very big implicit carrot. In addition, the parents have been able to convince the kids that the fact they're being filmed proves that the Duggar way is a great and ideal way. And the combination, in my opinion, actually made it quite a bit less likely that any kid would see the light and walk. Among the abused people I've known, those from well off and prominent families have often been the most trapped because they don;'t have the added spur of need to wake them up and make them want out. I'm about 99 percent sure that, had the tv show never existed, at least several Duggarlings would have made their escapes by now. And having one escape can sometimes give courage to others to do so. 

I agree with you whole heartedly. The material comforts the tv show has provided The Duggars is the BEST tool to keep the kids in line. Safety and comfort are universal desires, especially for those that remember the very lean years they would never want to go back to that. 

 

With tv no show Josh would've been gone at 18/19- they wouldn't have been able to buy him a wife and a "business", along with the distaste of some of his older siblings (Jana, JD and Jessa clearly do not like him) there would've been no reason to stay. Jill may have met some similar fundy-guy or done something substantial with her midwifery because they would've needed her income. Jessa and Jinger would've left together with or without husbands/potential husbands because I believe those two look out for each other no matter what. Jessa has little tolerance for what she believes is BS and is old enough to remember those lean times. Josiah has been a misfit in that family, he and Joy may have bounced together as well by this point. 

 

Look ok at The Bates family, the kids haven't "left" (granted I think there is more genuine affection in that family compared to the Duggars) but they all aren't towing the party line the same way their parents are- they are individuals. 

Edited June 18, 2017 by Scarlett45

[lianau]

3 hours ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

I wanted them aired NOT for my amusement, but so child welfare groups would take one look at those sickly kids and intervene.

And maybe the money would go to their food budget .

[ariel]

3 hours ago, Annb67 said:

Where would you be now you ask? You would be texting/facetiming your new college roommates. You would be excitedly making list of things to get for your dorm room, enjoying your summer with friends before college and getting ready to experience the world with all of its heartaches and joy. The world would be yours for the taking. That's where you would be Nurie if your parents weren't in a shitty cult.

If she was away at college, she'd probably get 3 meals a day.  Nurie would benefit from the Freshman 10 lbs that many students gain.

[Genevrier]

3 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

Yeah, there'd be a camera crew around some of the time, but they're not there all the time, and abusive and neglectful people are quite capable of making up in private time for whatever they may hold back from in the moments they're watched, in my experience. 

Yes, that's my experience also.

[farmgal4]

"...they protected me from the counsel of the ungodly..."  WTH does that even mean?

7 hours ago, BitterApple said:

Maybe Nurie hopes if she pimps the party line, she'll get an extra spoonful of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese at dinner.

It's obvious that the parents are eating well.

[Churchhoney]

17 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

"...they protected me from the counsel of the ungodly..."  WTH does that even mean?

It's obvious that the parents are eating well.

You betcha. 

Psalm 1, KJV .-- It's one that sticks with you, apparently.

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Hoping that turns out to be true for Nurie and the rest of the pitiful Rodrigui. But doubting it. 

Edited June 18, 2017 by Churchhoney

[Mollie]

15 hours ago, lianau said:

Nurie just "graduated" (wearing something that looks like a cheap lab coat) and is thanking her parents for protecting her from the evils of public schools in her very own facebook post.

That cap and gown looks like a little kid's Halloween costume they bought on Amazon.  If they are so proud of their fricking homeschooling, why do they pretend she had a real graduation like real schools have?  Their world is all make-believe:  make-believe you went to school, make-believe your mom is a qualified teacher, make-believe you are educated and make-believe you graduated with a make-believe diploma that your dad printed on his printing press.  

[xwordfanatik]

37 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

"...they protected me from the counsel of the ungodly..."  WTH does that even mean?

It's obvious that the parents are eating well.

Dad, anyway.  Beer gut, anyone?  

Those poor kids.

[Scarlett45]

Nurie looks SO MUCH like her Mom. Exact same face shape and features, just a different hair color. 

[ariel]

Nurie looks much older than her years & not in a good way. I'm not blaming her,  I am blaming her shithead, white trash parents for this.

[Jeeves]

1 hour ago, Mollie said:

That cap and gown looks like a little kid's Halloween costume they bought on Amazon.  If they are so proud of their fricking homeschooling, why do they pretend she had a real graduation like real schools have?  Their world is all make-believe:  make-believe you went to school, make-believe your mom is a qualified teacher, make-believe you are educated and make-believe you graduated with a make-believe diploma that your dad printed on his printing press.  

I hate to say it, but yesterday I followed a link above to Jill R's facebook page. Scrolled down through some recent posts. As far as I can tell, Nurie participated in a big "graduation" ceremony held at a homeschooling convention in the Richmond, VA area. I didn't look for the deets, but I assume all that was needed for a kid to "graduate" was some kind of parental claim that the kid had completed their high school homeschooling studies. I seriously doubt that any of those "graduates" had to do anything serious, like for instance pass the test to get their GED. 

Edited to add: Because I'm a glutton for punishment, I just now looked up the deets. The Rodriguii were at the HEAV annual convention. Here's the page with info about the graduation ceremony: http://heav.org/convention/graduation/  Note the big "DONATE" button at the top right corner of the page. Heh.

Edited June 19, 2017 by Jeeves

[Jynnan tonnix]

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

Nurie looks SO MUCH like her Mom. Exact same face shape and features, just a different hair color. 

And her mom's hair color is (or at least was), no doubt pretty similar once upon a time as well...that doesn't strike me as natural blonde.

[Mollie]

32 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

I hate to say it, but yesterday I followed a link above to Jill R's facebook page. Scrolled down through some recent posts. As far as I can tell, Nurie participated in a big "graduation" ceremony held at a homeschooling convention in the Richmond, VA area. I didn't look for the deets, but I assume all that was needed for a kid to "graduate" was some kind of parental claim that the kid had completed their high school homeschooling studies. I seriously doubt that any of those "graduates" had to do anything serious, like for instance pass the test to get their GED. 

Edited to add: Because I'm a glutton for punishment, I just now looked up the deets. The Rodriguii were at the HEAV annual convention. Here's the page with info about the graduation ceremony: http://heav.org/convention/graduation/  Note the big "DONATE" button at the top right corner of the page. Heh.

From that website: "The Commonwealth of Virginia does not prescribe a curriculum or course of study for Virginia homeschoolers. It is up to the parents to decide the course of study."  What a joke!

[Churchhoney]

18 minutes ago, Mollie said:

From that website: "The Commonwealth of Virginia does not prescribe a curriculum or course of study for Virginia homeschoolers. It is up to the parents to decide the course of study."  What a joke!

Even worse, it's pretty much the same joke in almost every state. 

[Sew Sumi]

2 hours ago, Mollie said:

From that website: "The Commonwealth of Virginia does not prescribe a curriculum or course of study for Virginia homeschoolers. It is up to the parents to decide the course of study."  What a joke!

The  HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association),  which attorney Doug Phillips used to co-chair, has its main offices in VA. Surprised? NOT! 

https://www.hslda.org/highschool/diploma.asp

They pretty much admit that most homeschool diplomas that their crowd doles out are pretty much useless. 

Edited June 19, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[Pinke]

15 hours ago, ginger90 said:

It's sentences like this

I am truly SO grateful that they protected me from the counsel of the ungodly and decided to homeschool me.

that grate on my nerves. Why put others down? That seems "ungodly", to me.

Now now. Those fundies can't partake in any of the sinful activies us ungodly heathens enjoy. You wouldn't deprive them of their only joy and satisfaction, would you?

[Celia Rubenstein]

17 hours ago, ginger90 said:

It's sentences like this

I am truly SO grateful that they protected me from the counsel of the ungodly and decided to homeschool me.

that grate on my nerves. Why put others down? That seems "ungodly", to me.

 

17 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

It is mean spirited isn't it! 

Awww, Baaaaabe! I already ordered us matching "Just Say NO to the Counsel of the Ungodly!!!" t-shirts from CafePress to wear on our Fundiemoon!  Shucks. 

I guess I will go and try to cancel them.  I will see if they have any of those "I SURVIVED ROE vs. WADE" shirts instead!

[Sew Sumi]

Davia is my spirit animal. Check out BOTH pics. LMAO

 

[GeeGolly]

3 hours ago, Celia Rubenstein said:

 

Awww, Baaaaabe! I already ordered us matching "Just Say NO to the Counsel of the Ungodly!!!" t-shirts from CafePress to wear on our Fundiemoon!  Shucks. 

I guess I will go and try to cancel them.  I will see if they have any of those "I SURVIVED ROE vs. WADE" shirts instead!

I ordered these for our Fundiemoon.

[Celia Rubenstein]

And on the back of the shirt it says .... "because if we'd had sex before our wedding, we would NEVER have gotten married! We have ZERO sexual chemistry!"  

This is fun.  Here is another .... "because if we had, I would have realized I was gay and had leave our cult so I could live my truth!"

[RazzleberryPie]

10 hours ago, Mollie said:

From that website: "The Commonwealth of Virginia does not prescribe a curriculum or course of study for Virginia homeschoolers. It is up to the parents to decide the course of study."  What a joke!

They live in West Virginia, not Virginia. 

[Mollie]

38 minutes ago, RazzleberryPie said:

They live in West Virginia, not Virginia. 

The Home School Legal Defense Association is located in Virginia.  If she went to their graduation, it was held in Virginia.  They will give anyone a 'diploma' for $30.99.  Members can buy one for $25.99.  It doesn't matter what state you live in.

Would you like to 'graduate with honors'?  No problem:  

Double Honor Cord to wear with cap and gown: $15

Honor Medallion: $16.99

Gold Honor Stole: $17.99

Edited June 19, 2017 by Mollie

[ginger90]

How sad for the people who do actual homeschooling, to fall under such crap.

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, RazzleberryPie said:

They live in West Virginia, not Virginia. 

And West Virginia is slightly more picky. They'd like the schooling person to have a GED or something kind of like it, and so on .    BUT HSLDA is working hard to change all those things. No kidding. 

Virginia, by the way, has a rule that if you're homeschooling for religious reasons you have absolutely zero requirements and oversight. If you homeschool for another reason, then there's a tiny bit of regulation.

[Buggin]

I bet it would blow their minds to know there are Godly people in public schools. 

[BitterApple]

I can't get over Rebekah marrying a guy that looks like her grandfather. I get why financial security would be appealing to a divorced mother of two who grew up in a double-wide, but yikes.

Paul is a really cute kid. Davia always looks constipated.

[Churchhoney]

3 hours ago, Mollie said:

The Home School Legal Defense Association is located in Virginia.  If she went to their graduation, it was held in Virginia.  They will give anyone a 'diploma' for $30.99.  Members can buy one for $25.99.  It doesn't matter what state you live in.

Would you like to 'graduate with honors'?  No problem:  

Double Honor Cord to wear with cap and gown: $15

Honor Medallion: $16.99

Gold Honor Stole: $17.99

Guess Nuries was just an average student. Doesn't look like they bought her any stoles, cords or medallions.