The Duggars: In the Media and TLC

[Catfin]

4 hours ago, MichaelaRae said:

Bigskygirl is not saying that the court would. The point is that regardless of what the court does, law enforcement tends to be a very tightknit community with their own customs and mores. JD is in law enforcement and his immediately family is suing a law enforcement agency. This could be frowned upon by LE officers in the community, who could see his family as attacking law enforcement and shun JD as a result. I've seen it happen with the blue line for far less.

JD, in a volunteer, non-degreed and minimally trained LE adjacent role is in no way part of the LE community.  There is an enormous divide between sworn and non-sworn people. DH is a LEO. A heirarchy absolutely exists in the LE world. 

[Sew Sumi]

He was elected to his post in the last election, IIRC. Not sure if he is paid, but he is certainly a cut above "volunteer" Constable. 

[Mollie]

3 hours ago, Kokapetl said:

Why does Bauer Media keep getting sued?

The good news about that article is that Bauer Media is fighting the case in court instead of negotiating a quick settlement.  Since the 4 Sisters started this lawsuit, I really want them questioned on the witness stand about life in the Duggar household.

[GeeGolly]

"NBC has reportedly paid over $100,000 for exclusive interviews with high-profile headline makers."

Only Jim Bob would believe the above statement applies to any of the Duggar family.

[kokapetl]

12 minutes ago, Mollie said:

The good news about that article is that Bauer Media is fighting the case in court instead of negotiating a quick settlement.  Since the 4 Sisters started this lawsuit, I really want them questioned on the witness stand about life in the Duggar household.

The magazine's lawyers advised the editor not to publish that story, but she did anyway, and now the magazine is being predictably sued. How is it good that the magazine is not settling, but fighting what they obviously know is a legitimate claim against them? 

[Whyyouneedaname]

On 5/20/2017 at 7:27 PM, bigskygirl said:

Please keep the conversation on the lawsuit and not if or when Josh will molest his own daughters or younger sisters. Thank you.

I'm totally out of the loop, what lawsuit is this referred to??? I know about the molestation when he was younger & I've saw the DG pic of someone that resembles Josh but didn't know of a lawsuit. Thanks in advance.

[Mollie]

16 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

The magazine's lawyers advised the editor not to publish that story, but she did anyway, and now the magazine is being predictably sued. How is it good that the magazine is not settling, but fighting what they obviously know is a legitimate claim against them? 

Bauer Media does not believe there is "a legitimate claim against them."  You can find a lot on line about that trial.  Here are comments from a lawyer representing Bauer Media:

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2017/05/22/rebel-wilson-begins-defamation-lawsuit-against-publisher.html 

[GeeGolly]

19 minutes ago, Whyyouneedaname said:

I'm totally out of the loop, what lawsuit is this referred to??? I know about the molestation when he was younger & I've saw the DG pic of someone that resembles Josh but didn't know of a lawsuit. Thanks in advance.

Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy are suing NWA town officials and In Touch magazine for releasing the report about the molestations.

[Marigold]

I think John David is gonna get the side eye when he arrives at his constable job. 

He is not a real PO but it's a small town and everyone knows his famous name & family. 

Indirectly, JD got dragged into this media-lawsuit mess too. 

[Catfin]

2 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

He was elected to his post in the last election, IIRC. Not sure if he is paid, but he is certainly a cut above "volunteer" Constable. 

Do a quick google of Constable in NW Arkansas. Volunteer, unpaid. I understand the need for the role in rural Bumfook where they live. Different guidelines on training across each area. Not real law enforcement, not confidence inspiring. Great role for a duggar.  

 

My hubs just returned from a week training on cold case methodology, negotiation and interview technique.  

[Sew Sumi]

It also looks like he was the incumbent for his district. I have no clue how often Constables come up for re-relection, but when I looked at the primary results, JD was listed with his title. He also smoked all comers, both in the closed primary as well as the general election. I guess name recognition is positive where they live, which is why if I were the defense, I'd ask for a change of venue. 

But yeah, he likely got a bit of shrapnel sent his way by the real cops whose pensions could be affected by a big Duggar payday. 

Edited May 24, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[bigskygirl]

JD is being portrayed as the great Duggar son catch since Josh has taken a major, major fall. He is the Barney Fife of the local law enforcement community where he lives. I do not think the local officers would try to hurt him, but I bet dollars to donuts, they do not care for him too much before and after he was voted in. In my opinion, he is an embarrassment to the uniform.

If JB was smart (yes, I said that,) he would take any lawsuit money and get his children a decent education. He has to control his children even after they get married. I seriously doubt he would get what he is asking for, plus the lawyers will probably take a big chunk of it. He helped create the Josh molesting monster, the truth came out because he is a big time famewhoring machine, and damaged his own daughters because he thought he was his very own version of God. He has paid the price and now wants to profit off what happened to his daughters. I do not agree the girls' names should have came out, but JB and Michelle have only themselves to blame for it. Let the famewhoring families out there beware!

[ginger90]

Arkansas Constable

http://arconstableassociation.com/what-is-a-constable/

Pennsylvania Constable (for some comparison of description)

http://www.co.berks.pa.us/dept/constables/pages/jobduties.aspx

Edited May 24, 2017 by ginger90

[ariel]

9 hours ago, Kokapetl said:

 Stuff like this is probably also unfamiliar because it wouldn't happen in Canada, I'm almost certain a Canadian publisher would never attempt something similar to what InTouch did in the first place, publishing identifying information about child sexual assault victims, it would be unlawful.

This did not "happen" in Canada. What does Canada have to do with this issue?

Edited May 25, 2017 by ariel

[Absolom]

6 hours ago, Kokapetl said:

They wouldn't have knowingly let him have all that screen time, or followed him to D.C. if they did.

Such innocence is awe inspiring.  TLC will skip past a lot to make money.  They didn't bother to stop filming Honey Boo Boo until there was viewer outrage.  They stage scenes all the time that are lies to the audience.  They don't want to know the seamy side of the families they air and even if they know disgusting things are going on, they will continue to film and air the shows until they get hit with public knowledge, outrage, and campaigns as long as the shows make money. 

Edited May 25, 2017 by Absolom

[doodlebug]

Just now, Absolom said:

Is that what the plaintiffs allege?  The defense may have a different perspective.  Actual truth my be yet different.

Even if one set of lawyers did advise not to publish, it's quite possible that they weren't the only legal opinion sought.  Lawyers disagree on stuff all the time.  As to how the Duggars and their attorneys would have gotten access to the legal opinions of the publisher's lawyers (which are protected by attorney-client privilege, I believe), I guess they are psychic.

[andromeda331]

8 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Such innocence is awe inspiring.  TLC will skip past a lot to make money.  They didn't bother to stop filming Honey Boo Boo until there was viewer outrage.  They stage scenes all the time that are lies to the audience.  They don't want to know the seamy side of the families they air and even if they know disgusting things are going on, they will continue to film and air the shows until they get hit with public knowledge, outrage, and campaigns as long as the shows make money. 

Yes, exactly. TLC never once wondered why the Duggars never appeared on Oprah when they were schedule to be on her show? Oprah or well her staff were the ones who forward the information to the authorities prompting the investigation but somehow TLC had no idea? The same TLC that dragged its heels to cancel the show and then did everything they could to bring it back? The same TLC who is currently on their what fourth show regarding sexual abuse (or is it fifth)? There was Honey Boo, Duggars, the Cake Boss and the Willis show (is their another show I'm forgetting)?

[PikaScrewChu]

Gil Bates being on the ATI/IBLP board when Gothard was molesting women. Does that count?

TLC is just as bad as the tabloids. At least you know what you're getting with the tabloids.

[Marigold]

I think it's possible that TLC didn't know anything way back during 14 Kids and Counting.  

But when they found out?  They swept that shit right under the rug.   

[kokapetl]

11 hours ago, ariel said:

This did not "happen" in Canada. What does Canada have to do with this issue?

The poster who I was repying to had said:

Quote

If I seem naive, I must acknowledge that I'm Canadian and therefore not as well-versed as some of my southern neighbours may be with a culture of apparently frivolous litigation. No offense intended.

[questionfear]

19 hours ago, bigskygirl said:

True, but he was raised to believe it is or was the woman's fault aka it is Anna's fault Josh was cheating on her and looking at porn, and it was his sister's fault because they tempted Josh to molested them. I doubt he is going out or assisting on serious calls as a volunteer since it takes more specialized training and experience.

 

19 hours ago, Kokapetl said:

He went on the (TV) TLC record and renounced the respect he once had for Josh. 

Exactly, and I wouldn't be surprised if JD was equally upset about the molesting but JB would never allow that to be shown on TLC. It seems pretty clear JD has a driving need to keep busy, even if it is filling his time with elected constable roles and flying the Duggar family plane. He seems like the type of guy who, in a normal family, would have grown up to be a moderately successful contractor/plumber/electrician, something where he worked with his hands that provided steady work he enjoyed. Instead, JB keeps him on such a short leash that the best he can get is flying the plane and playing with heavy machinery. And yes, we can all argue he would be far better off telling JB to go pound salt, but he's probably under an enormous amount of pressure to appear to be a good, dependable son.

I'm not saying I would want to spend any serious time with JD, but the fact that he keeps reasonably busy and has some earned skills tells me he's not quite as dumb or listless as some of his brothers. 

Plus, it wouldn't shock me if behind the scenes he's sitting in his own home kicking back with some cold Buds and a PS4. 

[MaryAnneSpier]

I record "What Not to Wear" from TLC, and my episodes last 28 days before being deleted. I watched an episode a few days ago (from some time in the past 28 days) that had ads TLC made about preventing abuse. What the hell?? That network want to have their cake and eat it too. They have several abuse situations with the families they film, but then do PR crap to do damage control, like they're bringing awareness to abuse and helping victims speak out. What a crock of crap. 

[Rabbittron]

They should sue TLC for putting them on tv. If they didn't have a show we would not know about them and everything would of been private. 

[lascuba]

I'm dying for something like the Sony hack to happen to TLC. I'm convinced they knew about Josh from very early on--they were filming right around the time that the family was being interviewed by police. Let's see those emails, internal memos, etc. that prove it.

[Marigold]

I never really think about JD because he is a male and in their group, men have it easier. 

However, after this lawsuit and his job as a constable, I feel sorry for him too.  JD tries to get a normal job, paid or unpaid, and now he is ONCE AGAIN, publicly dealing with blowback of his creepy and sick older brother.  

I always notice how Jana appears very stuck in Duggarville.  Seems JD is pretty stuck too now. That's a tight leash Jim Bob has on the twins. 

[SMama]

Where's Annonymous when you need them? I'm also waiting for them to release certain tax documents. 

[bigskygirl]

JD did not try to get a normal job, he picked jobs JB and Gothard would approve of. I would not be surprised if JB had a hand in him getting his elected volunteer constable job. In my opinion, I do not think he has a driven need to keep busy. He has a lot of pressure on him to be the perfect son since Josh turned out to be a major embarrassment. Of course, JD being busy means less dealing with JB and Michelle.

I hope the magazine and police department lawyers point out the fact about JB and his famewhoring needs by putting his family on television and saying gays, lesbians, and certain others are child molesters lead to the molestation scandals hitting the fan. Once again his ego took center stage and four of his daughters paid the price.

[ginger90]

Quote

I hope the magazine and police department lawyers point out the fact about JB and his famewhoring needs by putting his family on television and saying gays, lesbians, and certain others are child molesters lead to the molestation scandals hitting the fan. Once again his ego took center stage and four of his daughters paid the price.

 

 

Just about everything they are "against" , in some way is related to sex, imo.

[ginger90]

I was looking for something else, and came across this. Some language would be considred strong, so if you're not in to that, skip the link.

https://defamingduggars.wordpress.com/

[Celia Rubenstein]

On 5/24/2017 at 8:29 AM, MichaelaRae said:

The point is that regardless of what the court does, law enforcement tends to be a very tightknit community with their own customs and mores. JD is in law enforcement and his immediately family is suing a law enforcement agency. This could be frowned upon by LE officers in the community, who could see his family as attacking law enforcement and shun JD as a result. I've seen it happen with the blue line for far less.

I totally get where you are coming from with the thing about LEO's being a tight community.  People who have to back each other up in dangerous situations the way cops do can tend to stick together and I don't fault them for it, for the most part. 

But I've seen many police officers who were quite disgusted with the actions of their fellow officers and their own police departments and in no way fell in line with the "group think" mentality thing.  Police officers don't check their ability to be offended by poor performance or corruption at the door just because it was another cop who did it.  It's entirely possible that many Springdale police officers think what their chief (and the city attorney) did was bullshit.  They may even applaud the Duggar girls for not just letting what was done to them slide.  I've just seen too many cops with an incredible amount of compassion for assault victims to not know that lots of them would find the way this report thing was handled careless and insensitive and adding needlessly to what the girls have already been though and be quite offended by it. 

I understand you are not saying it's a given that all cops will necessarily feel a certain way about JD (which is why I bolded the word "could" in your post ... I don't want to twist what you said in any way, Michaelrae).  But I've been getting a vibe from reading this thread that many people think all the cops will automatically hate on JD over this lawsuit, and I just want to emphasize that it is not at all a sure thing.  I am sure some will, but it is just as likely that a great number of cops won't have a problem with it.  They may not say so publicly, but I don't believe they will all feel the need to punish JD for his sisters suing the department as has been hinted at.

 

Quote

I hope he is not called on more serious calls aka domestic abuse calls where a woman is being beaten or sexual assaulted because of his narrow mind thinking she deserves it.

The idea of JD being biased and unfairly judging women who are victims of domestic violence or sexual assault due to his religious upbringing is unfair in my opinion.  He stands out among his siblings as being a person with his own opinions, at least to an extent.  He is the only one who said one word against his brother for his actions. That means something to me.  And I would not be surprised if encountering women who have been victimized while he is on the job wouldn't do a whole lot rectify any thinking like that he may tend engage in rather quickly.  I would imagine that dealing with even one such call might make the Gothardian general principle of blaming the victim a whole lot harder to hang onto.  It may be easy to believe that kind of thing in the abstract, but looking into the eyes of a woman who has been beaten and assaulted and dealing with her perpetrator might change one's belief system pretty damn fast.

[Marigold]

33 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

JD did not try to get a normal job, he picked jobs JB and Gothard would approve of. I would not be surprised if JB had a hand in him getting his elected volunteer constable job. In my opinion, I do not think he has a driven need to keep busy. He has a lot of pressure on him to be the perfect son since Josh turned out to be a major embarrassment. Of course, JD being busy means less dealing with JB and Michelle.

I hope the magazine and police department lawyers point out the fact about JB and his famewhoring needs by putting his family on television and saying gays, lesbians, and certain others are child molesters lead to the molestation scandals hitting the fan. Once again his ego took center stage and four of his daughters paid the price.

Ok, well a somewhat normal job within the confines of what he is allowed to do. The other Dugg boys are doing pretty much zero.  Out of all the boys, the only one who has a job that I can actually name is JD.  He can actually put down "constable" as job experience. I give him credit for that, at least.  He must show up to work on time, do whatever it is he does, get along with different people and be somewhat responsible.  Contrast that to the other Dugg boys who do who knows what all day but I can guarantee they are all running on Duggar time and only interact with a small group of people, mostly each other. He might even interact with people who went to...COLLEGE! (gasp!) 

The ONE Dugg male who has his toe sticking into the real world, has to get stuck with yet another media mess.  His job must be miserable now as is most of his life as a Duggar. 

 

Edit to add:

Celia Rubenstien, I totally agree that not all the LE will be angry with him. Some will. Some won't.   But I think just having your name dragged into a discussion must be miserable.  JD seems to be a quiet guy and was never a camera hog.  He must hate hearing any discussion about his family, his pervert brother and the lawsuit being discussed to his face or behind his back. 

Edited May 25, 2017 by Marigold

[bigskygirl]

Ironic how JD is considered the hardest working male in the family when you take a look at his brothers and brothers-in-law. I think he was more disgusted by what Josh did by cheating on Anna instead of the molestation. I also think a part of his anger and frustration comes from the fact he is now being compared to Josh and is expected to the be the Duggar male shining star.

And in the case of JD going on domestic abuse or sexual abused calls involving female victims, law enforcement officers usually call back up officers if they can for support if things start to turn more violent and ugly because sadly a lot of officers are killed or injured in the line of duty during these types of calls. JD may not be called out on these type of situations since he is a volunteer unless there are no other officers able to take the call.

I am not saying JD is dealing with hated among his fellow officers, but I am sure there are a few who do not care for his or his family's beliefs. Yes, they may not like the idea his sisters were molested by Josh, but I would not be surprised if a few think JB and Michelle did a crappy job and did not get Josh and the girls the help they need and deserve.

[Celia Rubenstein]

5 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

Ironic how JD is considered the hardest working male in the family when you take a look at his brothers and brothers-in-law.

... anyone would be considered hard working compared to his brothers and brothers-in-law.

[Churchhoney]

3 minutes ago, Celia Rubenstein said:

... anyone would be considered hard working compared to his brothers and brothers-in-law.

Hey, you're not accusing the Sluggard...I mean Duggar family of flaking off, are you? 

[PikaScrewChu]

It seems Jim Bob and Michelle are not well liked in Springdale. Not sure about their offspring. If Josh's behavior was an open book, obviously Jim Bob and Michelle asking for donations and feeding their kids rice three times a day while JB spent a quarter of a million dollars on a failed political campaign was well known too.

It seems like Josh got the golden child treatment while the others got the short end of the stick. I'd be pissed if I were JD too. Second fiddle to Golden Boy all his life as Golden Boy did whatever he pleased. Second fiddle to Golden Boy who got a six figure job in DC for being the eldest Duggar boy. Second fiddle until all the scandals broke. Now he has to be the one to step up. I'd be resentful as hell towards Josh if I were JD. Josh gets to screw up time and time again but be rewarded while JD more than likely had to toe the family line. Then everything finally catches up with him, all hell breaks loose, and Josh gets to go slink off to the car lot. "Hey JD. Sorry about treating you like a second class citizen. Can you take Josh's place now? Kthx."

I recognize that those Duggarlings are now adults and are still fundamentalists but I do feel sorry for them that they ended up always covering for Josh. Every single one of them.

[bigskygirl]

31 minutes ago, PikaScrewChu said:

It seems Jim Bob and Michelle are not well liked in Springdale. Not sure about their offspring. If Josh's behavior was an open book, obviously Jim Bob and Michelle asking for donations and feeding their kids rice three times a day while JB spent a quarter of a million dollars on a failed political campaign was well known too.

It seems like Josh got the golden child treatment while the others got the short end of the stick. I'd be pissed if I were JD too. Second fiddle to Golden Boy all his life as Golden Boy did whatever he pleased. Second fiddle to Golden Boy who got a six figure job in DC for being the eldest Duggar boy. Second fiddle until all the scandals broke. Now he has to be the one to step up. I'd be resentful as hell towards Josh if I were JD. Josh gets to screw up time and time again but be rewarded while JD more than likely had to toe the family line. Then everything finally catches up with him, all hell breaks loose, and Josh gets to go slink off to the car lot. "Hey JD. Sorry about treating you like a second class citizen. Can you take Josh's place now? Kthx."

I recognize that those Duggarlings are now adults and are still fundamentalists but I do feel sorry for them that they ended up always covering for Josh. Every single one of them.

I see your point of view, but JD does not mind JB sitting him up with airplanes, using the Duggar name to get elected as a volunteer constable even with the possibility of no one running against him, and being portrayed as the next best Duggar son. He may not be happy with Josh in some ways, but he has enjoyed the fame and money from the television show while his family hiding the fact their number one son and brother molested four of his sisters and cheating on his wife and judging others because they did not go along with their beliefs. Guilt by association.

A person can always hope the Duggar clan as learn a lesson from all of this, but I seriously doubt it. They judged others, but someone(s) turns against them, JB will turn it into a battle for fame and money.

[kokapetl]

48 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

I see your point of view, but JD does not mind JB sitting him up with airplanes, using the Duggar name to get elected as a volunteer constable even with the possibility of no one running against him, and being portrayed as the next best Duggar son. He may not be happy with Josh in some ways, but he has enjoyed the fame and money from the television show while his family hiding the fact their number one son and brother molested four of his sisters and cheating on his wife and judging others because they did not go along with their beliefs. Guilt by association.

A person can always hope the Duggar clan as learn a lesson from all of this, but I seriously doubt it. They judged others, but someone(s) turns against them, JB will turn it into a battle for fame and money.

"Guilt by association" is not considered a valid argument.

[PikaScrewChu]

Guilt by association is a bit harsh. We do not know what goes on in his head. We know he has been taught to obey above all else and purposely kept under-educated in order to stay under his parents' thumb. Just because he "enjoys" the perks of Duggar life doesn't mean he should be judged by his fellow members because he's a Duggar. We truly don't know if he actually enjoys those perks or if JB and Michelle have made the decisions for him that he will enjoy those things.

I'm not excusing that they are adults but there's a high probability the adult Duggars do not understand that as adults they have agency and the ability to make choices.

There's a lot of grey area between "He's a Duggar, terrible" and "He doesn't know any better". It's not as simple as that.

[louannems]

4 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I was looking for something else, and came across this. Some language would be considred strong, so if you're not in to that, skip the link.

https://defamingduggars.wordpress.com/

4 hours ago, ginger90 said:

I was looking for something else, and came across this. Some language would be considred strong, so if you're not in to that, skip the link.

https://defamingduggars.wordpress.com/

Thanks for helping me to waste a whole, rare, sunny Seattle afternoon going down that (wonderful) rabbit hole!

[kokapetl]

I love the jimbob photoshop

[SMama]

And there's the open bible to remind us he is Godly, better than the rest of us. Rectum.

[Churchhoney]

11 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

I love the jimbob photoshop

Oh, if I only believed that that's what they were actually seeing. 

[SMama]

I think that is a yes for Jeremy.

[GeeGolly]

When the Duggars agreed to filming way back when, did that somehow obligate them to share the molestations? They're a family that have and promote what I and many consider skewed beliefs. I'm not understanding how not openly announcing on camera what had happened is hiding what Josh did.

I know a few families who have dark secrets and they prefer to keep them as secrets. One friend of mine was molested by a priest. He was encouraged to come forward during the time this was all being made public. He didn't. He openly practices Catholicism and is a Deacon in the church. Is he obligated to share this? Or would he be if he was on TV?

[ginger90]

I don't feel they were obligated to share. My difficulty lies with the hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is not flattering. Most of it has Josh at the root, which is interesting to me.

[RazzleberryPie]

10 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

I don't feel they were obligated to share. My difficulty lies with the hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is not flattering. Most of it has Josh at the root, which is interesting to me.

All this. It may have even made them relatable if they'd been honest with the whole thing.

[floridamom]

GeeGolly, I understand your point there.  What makes the Duggars hypocrites in hiding the "josh" matter to me, is that they went on TV as a family who flaunted their perfect family, 'encouraged' others to be like them. They also have implied that their strict Gothard system turns out 19 perfect cookie cutter children, who in their adolescence would never give their parents any hint of trouble or rebellion. They had all the answers to a perfectly happy life....which obviously, they DIDN'T. Michelle went on to make those robocalls saying that "those depraved, sexual predators, the homosexuals, out there in the world are the ones who want to sexually molest your children...she neglected to mention that she had a sexual predator right there in her own home. She was NOT protecting her own daughters from that, was she? It's this type of hypocrisy that bothers me. I don't like them very much at all, but I hate no one.

[Mollie]

6 minutes ago, floridamom said:

GeeGolly, I understand your point there.  What makes the Duggars hypocrites in hiding the "josh" matter to me, is that they went on TV as a family who flaunted their perfect family, 'encouraged' others to be like them. They also have implied that their strict Gothard system turns out 19 perfect cookie cutter children, who in their adolescence would never give their parents any hint of trouble or rebellion. They had all the answers to a perfectly happy life....which obviously, they DIDN'T. Michelle went on to make those robocalls saying that "those depraved, sexual predators, the homosexuals, out there in the world are the ones who want to sexually molest your children...she neglected to mention that she had a sexual predator right there in her own home. She was NOT protecting her own daughters from that, was she? It's this type of hypocrisy that bothers me. I don't like them very much at all, but I hate no one.

Josh Duggar after Ashley Madison scandal: "I have been the biggest hypocrite ever." 

[lascuba]

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

When the Duggars agreed to filming way back when, did that somehow obligate them to share the molestations? They're a family that have and promote what I and many consider skewed beliefs. I'm not understanding how not openly announcing on camera what had happened is hiding what Josh did.

I know a few families who have dark secrets and they prefer to keep them as secrets. One friend of mine was molested by a priest. He was encouraged to come forward during the time this was all being made public. He didn't. He openly practices Catholicism and is a Deacon in the church. Is he obligated to share this? Or would he be if he was on TV?

Agreeing (actively seeking out a TV show is more accurate) to filming didn't obligate them to share the molestations. The molestations COMMITTED BY THEIR SON obligated them to not seek out a TV show where they could promote their beliefs; it obligated them to NOT use their fame by going around campaigning for politicians and maligning opposing candidates by implying or outright accusing them of immorality; it obligated Josh to not take job with a conservative political group that actively fought to impose conservative "values" on the populace. That they did all that made them fair game. It's like when anti-LGBTQ politicians get caught having gay sex. The resulting shaming isn't because of the gay sex per se, it's because of the hypocrisy of their beliefs abuse of political power, and because the people who go on about how deprave LGBTQ people are the same ones who forgive those politicians simply because they vote for the hateful policies they like.

Context matters. 

[Churchhoney]

2 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

When the Duggars agreed to filming way back when, did that somehow obligate them to share the molestations? They're a family that have and promote what I and many consider skewed beliefs. I'm not understanding how not openly announcing on camera what had happened is hiding what Josh did.

I know a few families who have dark secrets and they prefer to keep them as secrets. One friend of mine was molested by a priest. He was encouraged to come forward during the time this was all being made public. He didn't. He openly practices Catholicism and is a Deacon in the church. Is he obligated to share this? Or would he be if he was on TV?

In my opinion, yeah, if you bring your family, including numerous young children, onto a REALITY show in which your lives are depicted as being the second coming of the sweet-ass Waltons, which is exactly what Jim Bob and Michelle and TLC did. Then if you're hiding something that could actually be criminal, that you as parents clearly swept under the rug until you were forced to kinda sorta face it because a non-family-member became a victim, that you as parents obviously have coached your kids to sweep under the rug right along with you,  then you are committing an evil act if you sign up to have your lying facade put on television in the New Waltons REALITY SHOW.

And you're especially committing something evil if you and your molesting kid parade about the country giving public speeches accusing other people of molestation, lousy parenting, bad sexual mores, etc. etc. etc.! The Duggar parents -- and TLC and the Gothard enterprise -- have consistently held themselves and their family life up as HUGE Christian role models for others, while at the same time having a big fat festering mess that they never ever honestly dealt with stuck under there in hopes nobody would ever see it. To me, deliberately -- and constantly -- putting yourself out there as an international role model demands that you not be covering up some very big questionable judgments you as parents have made regarding the family that you're proudly declaring you've raised in about the best way possible. 

I don't see how this situation is similar in any way shape or form to your friend's story! He was a victim, not a perp, nor a person in power who spent time covering for the perp and shoving the victims aside. And he still believes in his faith and his Church, which unfortunately has produced some horrible people but clearly isn't horrible in every regard -- so he works in the Church. I expect that, while he may not tell the truth about his past, if he were to suspect that another child was being abused by someone in the Church, he'd try to do something about that, right? And he is not putting himself on tv as a role model for how to handle things!

The Duggars, by contrast, deliberately, and at a time when they really really really had reason to know what a lie it was, put themselves on tv as role models for how to have a wonderful family that doesn't suffer from the ills that afflict the rest of the world, especially the sexual ills, and as people who "somehow make it all work."  They have over and over again proclaimed themselves role models for this. They still do. In what way was that ever true?!!! How have Josh's outcomes illustrated that it's true? And yet they go on putting themselves out there proclaiming it! 

Not the same as your friend in any way, shape or form, as far as I can tell! 

Edited May 27, 2017 by Churchhoney