The Kelly File: Duggar Interview 2015.06.03

[brandyelf]

Thanks for posting.

I don't hear lesbian at all. I hear "figure there must be some kind of agenda"

Yeah, I heard "there must be an agenda". I'm old though, so take that for what it's worth :-)

[TheRealT]

Regarding the police report, even if it was obtained legally I still think the Duggars have every right to be furious. The redactions did nothing to protect the victims. I don't agree with their political views, but to me their position on gay rights doesn't justify releasing graphic information detailing the molestation of minor children. Whoever jumped through hoops to obtain the report is a sick person.

The Duggars stated several times that they are upset about the release of the police report because of the damage it did to Josh, not the girls. They are planning to advocate to have juvenile criminal records sealed, but they said nothing about advocating to protect victims' privacy. The comment that their daughters were more victimized by the recent media attention than by the molestation seemed to be intended to defend Josh and was the only time that I remember Michelle getting choked up about the damage that has been done to her daughters (by the media, not Josh or their parents).

[questionfear]

If she said "it must be an agenda" then she needs serious enunciation lessons. It was a very mush mouthed statement no matter what she said.

 

And because a coworker asked me this morning, I will share where "destroy the Duggars" sits in the actual Lesbian Agenda:

 

1) Make Obama supreme leader of all (this is #1 on all seekrit agendas, across all groups, of course.)

2) Make the WNBA happen.

3) Destroy the Duggars.

 

See, they're barely a priority!

[Lemur]

Regarding the police report, even if it was obtained legally I still think the Duggars have every right to be furious. 

 

The only people they should be furious with is themselves.  As both the perpetrator and the victim were within the same household they had complete control of the dissemination of this information. Any one of those girls could have petitioned, while still a minor, to have the report destroyed as part of the shield laws to protect victims of sexual assault.  They failed to do that until after the report because public knowledge.  If they has done so three years earlier or after Josh's judicial petition to have his CFS case file closed and sealed, they would not be going through this now.  I'm not sure if it's hubris on their part, believing no one would ever get their hands on the police report, or ignorance.  But I'll tell you this much, if you ever consider going on a reality show, pay the extra money for the premium background check with a PI.  

Edited June 4, 2015 by Lemur

[Marigny]

I'm sure others have expressed similar sentiments (I've read a lot of posts, but can't keep up with every single one) but---the fact that a grown-ass (27-year old) man has to be defended on national TV by his parents, instead of coming on and answering the tough questions HIMSELF is nauseating to me.

 

I guess there might be legal ramifications to him speaking publicly, and a lawyer somewhere probably advised him against it?  

 

 

 

 

ALL.OF.THIS! 

 

If there were legal ramifications to him speaking out, why would he give a statement where he admitted to the accusations? If he truly believes that he has been washed of his sins by God, why not stand on that and do the interview? 

[galax-arena]

"I do want to speak up in his defense against people who are calling him a child molester or a pedophile or a rapist, some people are saying,” [Jessa] told Kelly. “I’m like, ‘That is so overboard and a lie really.’ I mean people get mad at me for saying that, but I can say this because I was one of the victims.”

Defending Josh against accusations of pedophilia or rape? Fair enough. But child molester? No. If Jessa's referring to herself as a victim, then that means that Josh is a child molester. Otherwise, what is Jessa a victim of? Besides the liberal media and the lesbian agenda, that is. (FWIW, I heard "I figured there must be some kind of agenda" too.) 

 

They can't have it both ways. The Duggars want to trot out Jessa and Jill and insist that their words have more validity than anyone else's because they're two of Josh's victims, and yet they refuse to still call a spade a spade. If Josh isn't a molester, then Jessa and Jill aren't his victims. Words mean things. 

[Wildcat]

This sure sounds like "lesbian agenda" to me.

 

Thanks so much for that link - I really didn't want to have to watch the whole interview!

 

I don't hear "lesbian agenda" at all - it sounds like "must be an agenda" to me.

[Sunnybobs]

ETA: Lawyer question based on the above: Can one of the victims file civil claims against him? Not that it would happen, just wondering.

Oops just quoted without comment but what I meant to say was I thibk this is a really interesting point because I think Ben Seewalds dad was pointing towards this as a possible option in his piece about the scandal. If he was and it was possible I wonder if this might be an option for any of the victims (dependent on public responses to the Friday interview perhaps?)

Edited June 4, 2015 by Sunnybobs

[NextIteration]

@TomServo, I defer to you, I was going by what I've read here and not the report.  I can't read the report all the way through or I'd be in a fetal position from being a triggered disaster.

[Fallacy]

This sure sounds like "lesbian agenda" to me.

Thanks for posting.

 

I don't hear lesbian at all.  I hear "figure there must be some kind of agenda"

I heard "figure there must be an agenda." I listened three times. The Duggars are guilty of plenty without adding to their persecution complex with false stories.

[andromeda331]

JB & M, yet it gave them all the rope in the world to hang themselves with.

 

 

Which they did. If their goal was to get people sympathetic to them and/or get their show back they failed with their answers. In the interview where their defending Josh's molestations if we believe JimBob's story Josh confessed every single time after he molested someone. So they did nothing when Josh confessed the after the first time, or the second or third. Do they really believe people hearing them say that on tv, their going to feel sorry for them? How about hearing Michelle saying its comment since to protect girls when defending her Robocall comment when she didn't protect her girls?  You would have thought they'd have come up with more sympathetic answers instead of what they said.

[Bella]

Have we debated the "must be some kind of agenda" versus "lesbian agenda" phrasing enough?

 

I think we probably have. Regardless of what she said, we know Michelle's views on the LGBTQ community.

 

So let's move on.

 

Thanks!

[CajunGirl]

Regarding the police report, even if it was obtained legally I still think the Duggars have every right to be furious. The redactions did nothing to protect the victims. I don't agree with their political views, but to me their position on gay rights doesn't justify releasing graphic information detailing the molestation of minor children. Whoever jumped through hoops to obtain the report is a sick person.

I can't see Josh's actions as anything but repulsive, however, I've been torn on the release of the report. I could care less about Josh's ruined reputation, but I feel terribly for his sisters and his wife and children. I can't believe Jessa and Jill have to defend his heinous actions and tow the family line - in my opinion, thats worse than having people wonder if one of them were molested - by having to defend their brother by deflecting and diminishing, they're being made victims all over again. And most importantly, it reaffirms how f'd up J-Bob and Michelle are as parents.

On the other hand, what if someone has knowledge that Josh's "tendencies" have occurred more recently? I'm not actually speculating that may be the case, but it's food for thought. Sometimes there IS no right or left-wing agenda and things just are what they are. J-Bob and Michelle want to play the victim card now that it serves their purposes. But maybe someone was trying to do what he/she felt was morally and ethically right by releasing the redacted report. We really have no proof of motive one way or the other.

[Churchhoney]

Does anyone else think that the reason Jill and Jessa are going to be interviewed is because they are married and it won't hurt their chances?  

I just wish their husbands had enough cojones to say no, no interview, you have suffered enough, and you certainly DO NOT have to defend your dirtbag brother.

 

Sigh.

 

That's probably part of it.

 

But I think that it's mainly because they really really really want their new show/gravy train. And they are really really mad that this event is threatening to keep them from what they thought just a month or so ago was a wonderful done deal.

 

I can't say I blame them for feeling mad. I'm sure they're very disappointed and worried, too, wondering how they're going to pay the chain-restaurant-for-dinner-several-times-a-week bills if the spinoff is canceled. (I'd even argue that there's probably buried anger over this whole sad chain of events begun by Josh and their parents years ago that's fueling what I'm sure they see entirely as righteous anger over what the police and the media have done to them.)

 

Nevertheless, I hope they eventually reflect on the fact that nobody is guaranteed reality-tv show cash. And, hopefully, someday even reflect on what i think is indisputable -- that being on reality tv is a way to mess up your life by forcing you to falsify and pretty it up and not, in the long run, any kind of a good thing. Long time if ever till they think that, though, I'm sure.

[glowlights]

I purposed not to watch the interview and am getting the gist of it from online discussions, mainly this thread because the posters (and mods!) here are the best I've found, and I really really mean that - many different backgrounds, views, and reactions, but you guys are being great.

 

My question pertains to something from the Kelly interview so I'll post it here: regarding JimBob's assertion that Josh was not a pedophile because Josh wasn't 16 at the time he was caught molesting.... does anyone know if there is some sort of teaching or belief in the Duggars' milieu that delineates 16 year olds from 15 year olds in such a fashion? Like, what is the basis for that differentiation? Out of all the bullshit in the interview, that has stuck out to me as particularly odd. My sincere apologies if it has already been addressed and I failed to catch it - these messages are moving quickly.

 

I think my brain has chosen to focus on specific details like that because the interview's over-arching message of minimizing, discounting and misdirecting is just too sad and sickening for me.

[graefin]

Defending Josh against accusations of pedophilia or rape? Fair enough. But child molester? No. If Jessa's referring to herself as a victim, then that means that Josh is a child molester. Otherwise, what is Jessa a victim of?

His bad choices?

[Sunnybobs]

I purposed not to watch the interview and am getting the gist of it from online discussions, mainly this thread because the posters (and mods!) here are the best I've found, and I really really mean that - many different backgrounds, views, and reactions, but you guys are being great.

My question pertains to something from the Kelly interview so I'll post it here: regarding JimBob's assertion that Josh was not a pedophile because Josh wasn't 16 at the time he was caught molesting.... does anyone know if there is some sort of teaching or belief in the Duggars' milieu that delineates 16 year olds from 15 year olds in such a fashion? Like, what is the basis for that differentiation? Out of all the bullshit in the interview, that has stuck out to me as particularly odd. My sincere apologies if it has already been addressed and I failed to catch it - these messages are moving quickly.

I think my brain has chosen to focus on specific details like that because the interview's over-arching message of minimizing, discounting and misdirecting is just too sad and sickening for me.

I too think this is really odd mainly because didn't Jill (pre scandal) say that she hoped her baby would have the characteristics of her siblings aged 12 and up - and then she specified 12 because that's when your character is considered formed and below that excuses "little kid" untrained behaviours? In which case Josh would have been considered by his own sub culture to be nearly adult at 14 surely?

[yogi2014L]

I never noticed how much Boob and Jill sounded a like...just their weird way of speaking/verb-age/diction/

[PrincessSteel]

I don't see any problem here. The screen caps capture minute moments in time when Josh was holding McKynzie. She was acting like a 5-year-old would, squirmy and a little bored. There was nothing more there than a Dad trying to keep his kid out of trouble.

 

FWIW, his kids seems to genuinely respond very warmly to him - seems like there's a lot of love in that family. We don't know what happens behind closed doors, but the kids' behavior doesn't send any sigenals to me.

You are absolutely right. I am so spun out by this whole thing that I'm seeing what I want to see. Sorry for being alarmist.

[bencr]

I'm not sure I'm at all interested in what Josh Duggar would say in an interview with Megyn Kelly. If he were interviewed, he'd just give us more of that sin and redemption bullshit we've already heard. He probably won't give us more details about the molestation and its aftermath than what we already know. And he's in no position to tell us why he did what he did because he did not go through the hard work of trying to understand why he molested those children. 

 

Frankly, the only thing I'd be interested in hearing from Josh Duggar is why he chose to work at the FRC given the skeletons in his closet. Doesn't he see the hypocrisy? And I'm willing to forego even that if I never again have to see his face or hear his voice.

[graefin]

But I think that it's mainly because they really really really want their new show/gravy train. And they are really really mad that this event is threatening to keep them from what they thought just a month or so ago was a wonderful done deal.

I have to think, based on her previous interviews, that Jill especially is upset at the loss of the show. She seemed to want Derick to quit his job and be home full time, and the loss of this income makes that much more difficult.

[Churchhoney]

I have to think, based on her previous interviews, that Jill especially is upset at the loss of the show. She seemed to want Derick to quit his job and be home full time, and the loss of this income makes that much more difficult.

 

Absolutely. And with Jessa and Ben -- well, I think he probably does/did hope to parlay his new associates' degree into a pastors' job or the like.

 

I don't blame them for being furious and miserable over having all those things made so much more difficult if they don't get their show. I'm sure that in their brainwashed state they're consciously blaming the wrong people. But I wouldn't really expect them to be able to do otherwise, either.

 

One more thing that's very sad about all this. (ETA): Even though I think that being on reality tv has been and would continue to be a bad thing for them rather than a good one, all things considered.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Churchhoney

[AnJen]

I haven't watched the interview, just seen clips and quotes around the internet thus far, but the Jessa and Jill preview has been driving me nuts, and I've been stewing about it. The frustrating thing to me is that they seem to genuinely believe what they're saying (and I do believe that all the Duggar kids truly believe their parents' version of everything, not just repeat it. I guess we'll have to wait and see, but I've never gotten the impression that any of them wanted to get out, let alone would even try if they had half a chance); which, if they really are saying what they believe on the topic, their tears and anger are all projected towards...well, us. The media, the people reading and talking about this story, and the people who are angry with Josh and the parents for not protecting these girls.

 

It's just frustrating to realize that there's so much care and concern here for all of these girls and what they went through, and not only do they have no idea the type of support that is there for them, they also think we're the Godless heathens who ruined their life and not, you know, their molester. Or their parents who didn't prevent this or stop it when they knew it was happening.

 

I'm torn between feeling incredibly sad for them...and just wanting to be done with this family and their wacko beliefs and wanting them to fade away from the media forever. 

[Wellfleet]

After reading so many comments on Facebook defending this family and endless posts about how God is the only judge and no one is free from sin, I came here looking for some sanity.  Thankfully, I found it!

 

It really pisses me off/makes me sad to hear Michelle and Jill say that the victims are now being re-victimized thanks to the media and the reports coming out.  While I agree that bringing this up especially so publicly has to be terrible for the victims, none of this would be happening if it had been handled properly from the start, which to me falls back on the parents.  They can believe that God forgives and God is the only judge as much as they want if that's what helps them sleep at night, but here on planet Earth we have these pesky things called laws.  Josh was a minor himself but this happened more than once and he obviously had/has a problem. He should have been removed from the home and everyone should have been in counseling by trained professionals, not just helping some dude remodel his house.

 

I do not watch this show but it makes me wonder how the Duggars and their supporters feel about murderers?  Or domestic abusers?  Or really anyone who commits a crime?  Do they just say God is the only judge so we should just let them be and leave them alone?  I highly doubt it.  So why does Josh get a pass??  Makes no sense.

 

IMO, Josh gets a pass from the supporters because he's a Duggar. Plain and simple. And because even the leghumpers cannot admit they've made a mistake. They were sucked into the whole Duggar world, hook line and sinker - never questioning anything they did or said. In the last 2 weeks I've read 100s of comments both pro- and anti-Duggar, but I haven't seen any that sound as though they were from a leghumper whose mind had been changed. I find that really sad and sadly, really predictable.

[Churchhoney]

[ galax-arena, on 04 Jun 2015 - 2:42 PM, said:

    Defending Josh against accusations of pedophilia or rape? Fair enough. But child molester? No. If Jessa's referring to herself as a victim, then that means that Josh is a child molester. Otherwise, what is Jessa a victim of?]

 

 

His bad choices?

 

Having really crummy parents.

[glowlights]

I too think this is really odd mainly because didn't Jill (pre scandal) say that she hoped her baby would have the characteristics of her siblings aged 12 and up - and then she specified 12 because that's when your character is considered formed and below that excuses "little kid" untrained behaviours? In which case Josh would have been considered by his own sub culture to be nearly adult at 14 surely?

 

Someone just emailed me a link to the exact quote, and apparently JimBob said:

I think [Michelle] actually said pedophile in that, and actually a pedophile is an adult that preys on children. Joshua was actually 14 and just turned 15 when he did what he did. And I think that the legal definition is 16 and up for being an adult preying on a child. So he was a child preying on a child.

 

So, I guess it's just JimBob leaning on what he "thinks" the legal definitions are to weasel his way around the issue. But yes, it's pretty interesting that his own daughter has been taught that 12 is when the character is formed. Weasel, weasel, weasel.

[galax-arena]

His bad choices?

What was the word that Gothard used? "Offended"? 

IMO, Josh gets a pass from the supporters because he's a Duggar. Plain and simple. And because even the leghumpers cannot admit they've made a mistake.

Yeah, one comment I read and agreed with said that so much of it has to do with pride. Some fans don't want to admit that this family they placed on a pedestal didn't deserve said pedestal. I think some people could stand to read Proverbs 16:18 again... 

[Anastasia]

Considering that TLC probably knew about this earlier and their refusal to cancel the show,after all the prior TLC show sleaziness, and now after last night's Duggar shit-show, I wish my cable company would drop the  whole TLC channel from the lineup. The whole channel now just has an Ick Factor that skeeves me out.

[hathorlive]

Apparently, Anderson Cooper just said you can't be a good parent with 19 children.  Gee, Anderson, that might have had an impact if you'd said it to their faces years ago during that joke that passed as an interview on your own show. 

[Potato511]

For whatever reason, I'm re-watching (I will ff through commercials so it does not count in their ratings)... 

 

JB just said that Josh went to, quote, "a little training center".

 

(that is all)

 

 

[truthtalk2014]

See, I think Mr and Mrs Duggar are looking at the wrong scapegoat when it comes to Josh's exposure to the world. Because, to me, the real question behind the release of the report is who exactly tipped off InTouch that the report existed in the first place? 

 

According to the woman with family nearby (that received a robo call from MEchelle), she openly and proudly proclaimed that Intouch contacted her (asking why she hated the Duggars so much) regarding her kissing photo in front of the TTH  and that she gave them the dirt on the Duggars.

 

 If I lived in that town and knew the dirt on the prodigal son (as many seemed to), I would be telling every news source that would listen.

 

I still really, really want to know where 15 year old home schooled Josh who, by their own statement, had never been away from home before they sent him of for "treatment" found the money when he did come home to pay for his own "accredited" counseling.  Let's be generous and say they found someone who charged a sliding rate of $50 a session and that Josh only went once a week.  That's still $200 a month.  He didn't make that from an allowance or sweeping out rental/flip homes for JB.  If he went to fewer sessions or only went once or twice then he didn't really get counseling the way they want us to think he did.  I still feel the claim of paying his own way was another spin to make it sound like he took responsibility for all of it so they can try and get us to think how wonderful and repentant he was/is.

Why didn't they make Joshie boy pay for all the siblings?  Kidding.  I know he didn't pay for any treatment- either real or dreamed up by the PR staff.

[Literata]

USA Today weighs in on interview reaction.

 

So. Much. Word.

 

Prior to the interview, I was of the "don't get rid of all the Duggars; focus on the girls" school. Now I just want them gone. All of them.

 

What did it for me: "It wasn't like this was rape or anything," Boob says.

 

Sorry, Boob. Let's see: Among other atrocities, your son touched the breasts and vulva of your 5-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER as she sat on his lap. As a psychologist stated on CNN last night, Josh could very well have been grooming his victims; "Come here; let me read you a story." What little girl wouldn't be all about being read to by a much-adored older brother? So sad, and so sick.

 

Also, "Josh was curious about girls." Excuse me while I vomit. Teenage boys who are "curious about girls" steal Playboy and Penthouse from the local convenience store. They don't molest preschoolers.

 

In what universe would parents in this situation not move hell or high water to protect their daughters?

 

There is no rehabilitating this family.

 

TLC, if you want to retain any credibility at all, get rid of them. Permanently. Today.

[Wellfleet]

So if we take the interview at face value, are we to believe that these parents have not taught their children about what is "proper" and "improper" as far as their bodily boundaries are concerned? Something has to have gone seriously awry in their upbringing if adolescent girls do not understand that being touched on the breasts and genitals by your brother isn't wrong. Don't they realize how much worse they are making themselves look?

 

No, they honestly don't - IMO. They haven't lived in the real world for so long, I honestly believe their frame of reference is entirely whacked.

[truthtalk2014]

Well, you see that just shows how skeptics like us just don't get it. Getting treatment doesn't work. But getting no treatment that informed people would recognize as such, on the other hand, works perfectly. 

OMG- I wish I could like this post more times.  SO TRUE!

[brandyelf]

I'm sure everyone was wondering what Sarah Palin thinks about all this, so here:

http://onpolitics.usatoday.com/2015/06/04/palins-duggars-sexual-assualt-oh-my/

[JoanArc]

I too think this is really odd mainly because didn't Jill (pre scandal) say that she hoped her baby would have the characteristics of her siblings aged 12 and up - and then she specified 12 because that's when your character is considered formed and below that excuses "little kid" untrained behaviours? In which case Josh would have been considered by his own sub culture to be nearly adult at 14 surely?

In the past Jim Bob's said that they consider the kids to be adults at 13. He even said most of his family is adults now (when they weren't, to anyone with eyes).

 

With Jessa's reaction, I just don't see how this interview could possibly drum up support for a spinoff. Jill & Jessa, out in the world, loving God, having married hijinx, defending molesters, hating gays, etc... just no.

[Cherrio]

Why should Josh never find a job again? Legally he was never convicted of a crime and if he had been his record would have been sealed anyways. There's also no evidence he's continued to reoffend into adulthood.

Regarding the police report, even if it was obtained legally I still think the Duggars have every right to be furious. The redactions did nothing to protect the victims. I don't agree with their political views, but to me their position on gay rights doesn't justify releasing graphic information detailing the molestation of minor children. Whoever jumped through hoops to obtain the report is a sick person.

I wouldn't ever hire a lazy religious zealot hate mongering man who has also molested children and imo never received real treatment/help. Oh and he is also woefully under educated.    And, he might be very very bad for business.

[wanderwoman]

This really is one thing I hate about the conversation over motivation of the media- it doesn't matter who released what or what Michelle or Jim Bob say - the only thing that needs focus and attention is that a 14-16 year old young man (old enough to drive and old enough to work in Arkansas) molested little girls. His parents, to this day, protect the molester.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Bella
minor edit to remove something that we cautioned against

[mbutterfly]

Michelle's comment that they were failure as parents-Yes you are in so many ways. You chose to protect your son and yourselves over your daughters. They were informed and did nothing over and over until he worked his way to their youngest daughter.

"Its just common sense"-so is protecting your daughters. By removing your son after the first incident and getting him the help and treatment he clearly needs. Protecting your daughters and getting them the help they need. 

Claiming they were asleep-That makes little difference they were still molested and Josh still did the wrong thing. Also the police report lists the laundry incident and the book one. Josh clearly started with sleeping sisters and got bolder as time went on. I wanted her to ask about those incidents.

When they said how many were victims I wondered if there are more out there. Ones who they can't control and if their worried they will come forward.

All these years of reading Michelle's instructions on good parenting, I never for a moment suspected she saw herself as a failure as a parent. I feel really bad for parents who come to feel that way. And I actually feel bad for her, even their lagging in getting help for Josh the first time. But when it happened again, and then again -- she lost my sympathy. 

[Wellfleet]

Apparently, Anderson Cooper just said you can't be a good parent with 19 children.  Gee, Anderson, that might have had an impact if you'd said it to their faces years ago during that joke that passed as an interview on your own show. 

 

Agree. But in fairness to Anderson, I'm not sure the Duggars were being vocal with their anti-everyone-but-people-exactly-like-us type comments at that time. Or if they were, he wasn't aware of it yet. I seriously doubt they would have appeared on his show if he'd known then what they were really all about.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Wellfleet

[Bella]

A little more firmly this time:

 

We are not talking about whether Michelle said "lesbian agenda" or something else.

 

We're not.

 

Thanks for complying.

 

Posts that don't comply will be edited or hidden.

[Churchhoney]

Until now I don't think the main stream media gave a damn about the Duggars.  They were just a reality side show.  So why would there be an apparently high placed agenda to topple them? 

 

 

Because thinking that makes the Duggars feel very important?

 

And they're all about seeing themselves as Message of Very High Importance.

 

Now, when it comes to such any such evil liberal agendas existing in the real world? Not a chance. You aren't that important, Duggars. Never were.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Churchhoney

[Wellfleet]

In the past Jim Bob's said that they consider the kids to be adults at 13. He even said most of his family is adults now (when they weren't, to anyone with eyes).

 

With Jessa's reaction, I just don't see how this interview could possibly drum up support for a spinoff. Jill & Jessa, out in the world, loving God, having married hijinx, defending molesters, hating gays, etc... just no.

 

They may believe them to be adults at 13, but clearly Boob doesn't start treating them like adults until they are well-and-truly married. Not 18 or 21, not courting, not engaged. And even then he is far too involved in his children's lives. This, I believe, is specifically a Boob deal and not something peculiar to most Gothard/Quiverfull dads.  

[Wildcat]

My question pertains to something from the Kelly interview so I'll post it here: regarding JimBob's assertion that Josh was not a pedophile because Josh wasn't 16 at the time he was caught molesting.... does anyone know if there is some sort of teaching or belief in the Duggars' milieu that delineates 16 year olds from 15 year olds in such a fashion? Like, what is the basis for that differentiation? Out of all the bullshit in the interview, that has stuck out to me as particularly odd. My sincere apologies if it has already been addressed and I failed to catch it - these messages are moving quickly.

 

I haven't personally read the DSM on this, but I believe a psychiatric diagnosis of pedophilia requires the person to be 16 or older.  Happy to be corrected by someone more knowledgeable if I'm wrong, though.

[Happyfatchick]

I.AM.A.CONSERVATIVE.CHRISTIAN.

There you go: black and white.

I've snarled repeatedly about the various holes in their stories since this news first broke. I'm not conservative enough to back them without research. But I watched that interview with the tiniest bit of "hope" that they would say SOMETHING to make me feel even a microbe better.

I don't. I can't even wrap my head around it, I just want to cry. And cry and cry. They are so so delusional, it hurts my heart. I hated seeing Jill cry, I really did. I wanted to hug her with my fluffy grandmotherly self and protect her from the hurt.

So much in my head, so much said already. In short (SO MANY MANY MANY THINGS wrong with that bit of junk called an interview) but these two for me: it doesn't matter who gets sued for releasing that information. It really doesn't even matter who did what. The cats out of the bag and up a tree. Doesn't matter. Cat's out and Smugs confessed.

For some reason,mint REALLY jumped out at me when Michelle was saying a line about "what our family has gone through - and what many families have gone through..."

I'm sure she was looking for (had been advised) to interject that very line. "Many other families have gone through..."

Maybe because I raised a "negotiator" for one of my kids. I always had to steer around "well, Jimmy did it" or "mom, Stevie does it all the time" or "hunters mom lets us do that all the time".

I did not want to hear that line in particular. We aren't TALKING about Jimmy or Stevie or Hunter. We're talking about YOU.

UGH. what a disaster.

[truthtalk2014]

I needed a shower after watching Josh.

 

 

Looking at this photo, it really reinforces in my head that something bad was coming.  Maybe Intouch contacted them and asked for a comment or something of that nature.  I'm sure it had happened before and they blew it off.  Everyone was so weird and appears so solemn in the video.  It was the calm before the storm.

I might have the timelines wrong, but if there was a baby-sitter, that just implies to me that the other kids were just too young to be left in charge alone at home. If Josh was 15 when the incident with the outside person occurred, Jana and JD would have only been 13. I can see JB and M wanting to be sure there was someone in the house who was a little bit older. They might have even wanted to be sure that the baby-sitter would have been able to drive somewhere in case of emergency.

I think you can legally drive at age 8 in Arkansas.  Kidding!  

[Darknight]

I think JimChelle needs a shrink asap. Their lack of concern and empathy towards their girls is frightening. I think there's a lot more to the story than what they're telling us. Jessa and Jill has Stockholm syndrome. They're both just robots for their parents. They need real therapy not to be on tv defending Josh.

[Missy Vixen]

IMHO of course, but has Jim Boob and J-Chelle considered what will happen if they file suit against the city, county, whoever for obeying the FOIA laws and releasing the reports? Maybe the lawyers here could correct me if I am wrong, but isn't there a little thing called (and I wish I could make this light up and tilt) DISCOVERY? And I'm not talking about a TV network.

 

The crap that could (and will) come out in any type of lawsuit as a result of discovery will make the past two weeks look like a walk in the park for the Duggar family. My spidey sense has been tingling for a long time about that household, and I really think there's more than meets the eye. And Jim Boob better get on his knees and pray that police chief doesn't decide to sue HIM for slander.

 

Hey, Jim Boob and J-Chelle, I have some crisis PR management advice for you. I'm as qualified as anyone else that watches Scandal to make this pronouncement.

STFU. Seriously. You threw your four daughters under the bus on national television. You informed millions of viewers that they're not worth protecting and you won't discuss how the molestation affected them. There will never be enough money for the therapy they're going to need when they figure out that they were nothing more to you than forced labor and a meal ticket. You did whatever you had to do to save your Golden Boy. You are a contemptible, detestable waste of human skin, and there is NO walking back from this debacle. If there is such a thing as Hell, I hope you burn in it for forcing your two molestation-survivor daughters onto (again) national TV to preserve the family income!

 

Get off of the TV. Figure out how you're going to live on the cell tower and "rental house" proceeds, because your TV "stars" income is over. Let the over 18's have the money you've been making off of them for the past ten years so they can move out, go to college or train for a career. And find a licensed counselor, NOT someone affiliated with ATI. The littles are going to need it when they find out what happened in their family.

 

And there were "other families" who "had much worse"? Great. Call the local PD and NAME THEM, you assholes. Just because you don't give a shit about your daughters doesn't mean the daughters of other families aren't worth getting the help they need as survivors.

[lottiedottie]

Aren't Jim Boob and Michelle wearing the same tops in the above pictures that they wore last night? It looks like he is wearing the same shirt, but hers might be different.

Edited June 4, 2015 by lottiedottie

[SopranoKris]

ALL.OF.THIS! 

 

If there were legal ramifications to him speaking out, why would he give a statement where he admitted to the accusations? If he truly believes that he has been washed of his sins by God, why not stand on that and do the interview? 

 

Because he knows he'd get roasted alive if he did an interview.