The Duggars: In the Media and TLC

[sometimesy]

JB in the Meredith intro video, introduces himself and ma as the parents in 19 kids and counting (let it go), then lists the number of current grandchildren and one on the way. I find that so strange. Why not, if you have to make a video, just welcome the new baby and congratulate the parents?

 

I think the 'reality' television thing has become his reality. He can't turn it off.

 

Kids we are having a spontaneous moment and want to capture good bye.. face the camera and pray.

Welcome Meredith, here is your number. Jill please put a chalk line on the board.

[Julia]

Torn on her name, kinda old sounding.

 

I kind of love it. Partly because her nickname will most likely be Merry, which sounds happy, and partly because (as all good Stargate: Atlantis fans know), it was originally a man's name. It means Lord of the Sea in Welsh. They essentially just named their daughter Poseidon.

[JoanArc]

 

They essentially just named their daughter Poseidon.

Heh. This needs to end up on their official FB page.

 

 

(as all good Stargate: Atlantis fans know)

I thought of McKay as well. ;)

[Churchhoney]

JB in the Meredith intro video, introduces himself and ma as the parents in 19 kids and counting (let it go), then lists the number of current grandchildren and one on the way. I find that so strange. Why not, if you have to make a video, just welcome the new baby and congratulate the parents?

 

 

Kids are like money to him. In fact, I guess, kids are money to him. All that matters is how much or many you have. And one dollar bill is the same as any other. He's one of those who know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Churchhoney

[DangerousMinds]

"I am Jazz" is on TLC. I watched it and loved her and her family. If people were even a 10th as supporting and open minded as the Jennings family the world would be a much better place.

I waded into the Hell of the Duggar official FB page and the hatred spewed by the humpers towards Jazz was disgusting. They are horrified that a good, God fearing family was replaced by these sinners. Child molesting and evading legal prosecution for the crime is fine bexause Jesus forgives. But no forgiveness for this deviant child!!! I was nauseous after just a few comments.

The times they are a changin'. Too bad so sad.

[Defrauder]

I wonder if JB and J'go to hell, think of Jazz as a blessing just like they think all of their wonderful children are.  Go Jazz!  

[Defrauder]

I don't understand why the Duggars are continuing to publicize everything that happens to their family. I assume that in the past it was to promote their TV show. What benefit is it to them now?

They'll try to say it's all to glorify their Lord but all I see is them trying to glorify themselves constantly.

[Julia]

It's hard to monetize your social media if you don't have followers. If you want followers, you post. 

[GeeGolly]

TLC said they are not continuing with 19 Kids and Counting. TLC still be planning to work with the married couples and/or have some specials planned in the future. So in addition to feeding his ego and wallet, JB might be trying keep his family present so interest doesn't wane. 

[Defrauder]

TLC said they are not continuing with 19 Kids and Counting. TLC still be planning to work with the married couples and/or have some specials planned in the future. So in addition to feeding his ego and wallet, JB might be trying keep his family present so interest doesn't wane. 

I don't know why but when I read this post I just thought of JB saying - Please don't forget our son is a molester. 

[Missy Vixen]

I think they could be a fit at CMT. But they have to certainly honor a non-compete, so a new show wouldn't air for about a year from last May. OR, they can't film for that year? Depends on the terms of their contract, of course. 

I can't wait for the first "Duggars Meet Dog & Beth" special... I also can't wait until the Lost Boys get a look at Beth. J-Chelle will have to invest in eye protection by bulk.

 

NIKE!

[duggarshow]

It was inevitable. There is an online petition to bring them back. The website is SupportTheDuggars.com. Without them, there is nothing to watch with your children! (Clutch pearls as needed.)

 

 

Yep. I signed it!!

[Sew Sumi]

TLC said they are not continuing with 19 Kids and Counting. TLC still be planning to work with the married couples and/or have some specials planned in the future. So in addition to feeding his ego and wallet, JB might be trying keep his family present so interest doesn't wane. 

He certainly has Jason busy filming bad videos.

[Defrauder]

I never delved into the actual police report myself but since it was reported to the police some time after the incidents occurred so the statute of limitations had time to run out I have some questions.

 

Why did Josh obtain a lawyer back when these things were reported and why did JB and Chelle refuse to let him be further questioned.

 

Was the non family babysitter actually ever questioned by the police or was this event reported the way JB wanted it handled.

 

Did the non family babysitter ever see the actual police report before the story broke?  Could she have not 'been sleeping' 'under the clothes'?

 

Why has Jana not said anything?

 

The incidents that occurred where the victims were NOT sleeping and it was UNDER the clothes are the victims that aren't saying anything, why?  Would it look bad for Josh so they're keeping quiet?

 

I wonder if the babysitter incident is really as they reported it or something different and if that was the first time the babysitter actually saw the report.

[GEML]

I'd really encourage you to read the full report. Really encourage it.

First, one of the reasons JB never brought Josh in was that they couldn't find an attorney who would handle the case. That could be a real issue (that's an ugly case in a small town) could be money (these are my fees - I think those fees are too high) could be a stalling tactic - could be a number of things, but the child did not have adequate legal representation and he therefore was not and certainly should not have been required to have said anything to law enforcement.

I'll be honest. In the same position, I would have done a lot of things differently, but probably not that. Once a child goes into the legal system the parent loses control over how things happen. I wouldn't have done what the Duggars did, but that doesn't mean I think turning a child over to the courts is the only way to handle it.

Others can feel free to disagree and probably do. But you don't have to go to the police to get therapy for a disturbed child.

Second, the police report was out quite awhile before "the babysitter" (assuming this is the person bringing the lawsuit) said anything at all. But she said something almost immediately after the interviews. Is she angry at the abuse or the co-opting and brush off of her story? Both? We don't know.

And why would anyone say anything? Thus far, every person who had spoken has only made matters worse for everyone. What could Jana say that would make it "better" and "better" for whom?

I think what people want is for someone to come out of the Duggar family and say they hate their parents, their childhood was all a lie. They were starved and beaten and abused and molested. And until someone does that, anything they say is just "brsinwashing" and "guilt" and "fear".

When maybe the truth was never quite as simple as "the perfect Christian family" or "Tonitown Hell."

[Defrauder]

I have to disagree, not looking for every kid to say they were beaten within inches of their lives and they hate their parents, just looking for the other victims truth about what really happened that's all.  Like the babysitter and the people who were awake and their perceptions of it all.  

Also Josh wasn't a child when they reported it and he lawyered up.

[GEML]

My kid is 19. I would be acting the same way. You bring a warrant, and I get an attorney. Or he doesn't say one word.

And I thought at the time, the Duggars were foolish for doing ANY interviews given at least one non family member is involved. (And who knows if there are others.) In a world of civil lawsuits, you shut up. Looks like they've finally learned that. You can talk about everything else, but due to the advice of your attorney, you cannot comment on that at this time.

Because really, it's not as though any of us have a right to know, either.

[kokapetl]

Were JimChelle obliged to present their daughters to be interviewed by the police?

[NextIteration]

If there is a chance that because of previous experiences don't read the report, it's triggering.

[GEML]

There were probably stalling tactics, but you might risk an obstruction of justice charge. But this is where I don't think that the Duggars are quite as guilty of a black and white "cover up" as some people would like to accuse them of being. To me, and this is probably because I'm an attorney's wife, there is an enormous difference between participating in an investigation and handing my son over to the police, even if he were over the age of 18. You are more than welcome to despise me for that position. And I don't agree with the choices that were made along the way or how they handled the counseling - things like that. But I'd have to be pretty confident that my child were irredeemably and sociopathic out of control damaged before I'd turn him over to our current justice system, given the way sex offenders are treated in prisons and must register for life. And that has nothing to do with Josh Duggar.

That said, I would have made many other changes along the way. But I'm also more aware, more educated and not part of a cult of authority.

[NextIteration]

given the way sex offenders are treated in prisons and must register for life. And that has nothing to do with Josh Duggar.

 

There are problems with technology and on the fringes of statutory rape (17 year olds with 15 year olds consensually sort of things), the problems with the Duggar situation is that they actively from a legal perspective swept it under the rug for it seems like the better part of a year.  And Josh deserved real treatment immediately for his issues and his victims deserved real therapy immediately as well.  Had Josh had proper treatment, he may not have escalated.

[Ilovemylabs]

There were probably stalling tactics, but you might risk an obstruction of justice charge. But this is where I don't think that the Duggars are quite as guilty of a black and white "cover up" as some people would like to accuse them of being. To me, and this is probably because I'm an attorney's wife, there is an enormous difference between participating in an investigation and handing my son over to the police, even if he were over the age of 18. You are more than welcome to despise me for that position. And I don't agree with the choices that were made along the way or how they handled the counseling - things like that. But I'd have to be pretty confident that my child were irredeemably and sociopathic out of control damaged before I'd turn him over to our current justice system, given the way sex offenders are treated in prisons and must register for life. And that has nothing to do with Josh Duggar.

That said, I would have made many other changes along the way. But I'm also more aware, more educated and not part of a cult of authority.

I, too, would not hand over a 14 year old to the legal system.  NO WAY!!!  IMO Josh KNEW what he had done was wrong and confessed it.  It sort of make sense to me as he was raised in that repressed household (except for the parents, of course).  JB and Michelle said they were horrified, as any parent would be.  This is where I depart from them.  I would have immediately gotten the child professional help.  And I mean someone who specialized in that sort of behavior.   Hopefully that would have prevented the second series of events from happening.  Again, IMO Josh is not a threat anymore to anyone, including his own children.  I am sorry that his experience did not modify his attitude toward gays, etc., but that is what it is.  Honestly, I really believe the family when they say they had put this all behind them.  I don't think Jill and Jessa were forced by anyone to speak to Megyn Kelly.  Again, I may have rose colored glasses but I think they love their brother and wanted to defend him from some of the more scurrilous attacks being made against him.  If ANY good has come out of all this it is an awareness that child molestation is more widespread than people realize.  Just my opinion.

[Defrauder]

Just wondering if the actual babysitter was questioned or if the babysitter incident as reported to the police was only JB's version of events.

[GEML]

I believe the non-family member spoke to police on her own behalf at the time of the police report. She was also an adult (over 18) by that time.

Where the Duggars spoke for her, as I understand it, was during the Fox interviews recently.

[mizkat]

But I'd have to be pretty confident that my child were irredeemably and sociopathic out of control damaged before I'd turn him over to our current justice system, given the way sex offenders are treated in prisons and must register for life. And that has nothing to do with Josh Duggar.

 

This and 

IMO Josh KNEW what he had done was wrong and confessed it.  It sort of make sense to me as he was raised in that repressed household (except for the parents, of course).

 

this. 

 

I don't think Jana should say anything. I don't think Jill and Jessa should have said anything. But I do believe Jana has not said anything because she's not considered a "star" (i.e. married and had child/with child). JMO and probably a reach, but since value is assigned to Duggar children according to their worth as procreators or as the latest baby to add to the pile, I think Jana is lost in the shuffle. Which is probably a good thing for her at this point. 

 

Ugh, this whole thing just sucks for all these kids, their spouses, their grandkids, etc. Honestly JB just be a good father and put the kibosh on family pimping for a while--or forever. Believe it or not people can make a living without being famous. 

[GEML]

I think there are differences between treating someone who HAS committed a sex act (ie, treating Josh) and treating someone who is undergoing CURRENT sexual assault (ie, treating one of the daughters who was still being abused) and mandatory reporting. Not sure, but I think the lines are drawn that way.

[Ilovemylabs]

Are therapists mandatory reporters? If they put Josh in therapy immediately, without involving the police, would the therapist have involved law enforcement anyway?

Not sure.  I think therapists must report if they feel the person they are treating is an imminent threat to someone.

Edited July 21, 2015 by Ilovemylabs

[Marigold]

You know there is going to be a book.  A few of them.  Certainly Jessa and Jill.  Possibly Josh. Possibly Michelle and Jim Bob. 

 

Jim Bob is a shrewd business man.  He is keeping his family in the public so they can get another deal of some sort.  Books or another channel. Or both. 

 

Question: What happens to all the filming they did for the "new" season? Can that be released online or something? 

[Churchhoney]

Are therapists mandatory reporters? If they put Josh in therapy immediately, without involving the police, would the therapist have involved law enforcement anyway?

 

In most places, yes. Don't know about Arkansas. Reporting can be to something like child protective services, though, not to the police directly.

[kokapetl]

You know there is going to be a book. A few of them. Certainly Jessa and Jill. Possibly Josh. Possibly Michelle and Jim Bob.

Jim Bob is a shrewd business man. He is keeping his family in the public so they can get another deal of some sort. Books or another channel. Or both.

Question: What happens to all the filming they did for the "new" season? Can that be released online or something?

They could always release it on iTunes. I watched the show that way, and the show is still available on there. The show will not be renewed, but TLC may still owe Figure 8 Films and perhaps the Duggars for any current contract. The Enlows and the rest of the sycophantic crew probably expect their contracts to be honored. Edited July 21, 2015 by Kokapetl

[doodlebug]

 

Are therapists mandatory reporters? If they put Josh in therapy immediately, without involving the police, would the therapist have involved law enforcement anyway?

 

 

Yes, they are.  They would be required to report it to the nearest child protection agency, not the police, though.  If someone at Children's Protective Services (or whatever it is called there) felt that there was imminent danger to children or ongoing criminal activity, then it would go to law enforcement.  Childrens' Services really does their best to keep families intact, from what I've seen and, if Josh had been receiving therapy from a reputable provider who was willing to attest that he was not at risk to molest any other kids, they would've probably left it alone.  That, of course, presumes he got therapy initially. If it took them a year to do anything, as it did in real life, CPS would have taken into account the fact that the parents were not being appropriately protective of the victims and might've decided to get him out of the house.  Even then, there are inpatient treatment facilities and foster care options for minors. it is extremely unlikely that Josh would've ever been jailed or even placed in the juvenile system at that point.

[GEML]

It does need to be said often and then more often that there ARE options for even extremely difficult children and young adults that do not involve turning them over to the criminal justice system. Yes, because there are holes in many of our social services net, sometimes that is the only way (and I don't think that speaks very highly of us, actually, especially if we are going to release reports like this into society of anyone who is really a juvenile offender, and again, this is not about Josh Duggar).

[Anne Elk]

That is why the Fox interviews were so awful. If JB and M had said "We didn't want to risk putting our 14-year-old son in prison, so we chose to handle it ourselves, and we got everyone professional help and we got through this as a family," then I think many people would have been sympathetic. That would have fit in with their family-values, good-parenting image.

 

But instead, they minimized the abuse. They made unfounded accusations and tried to make it all about themselves. That is what really turned people against them, I think. They acted like they were more concerned with their public image than anything else, including what actually happened to their kids. They acted like people who had something to hide.

[GEML]

Even saying that would be a disaster, though. Because it still makes you sound above the law to every person who got caught up in it - and I don't fault those people. I think the laws that destroy people's lives at those ages are heartbreaking and crushing.

There is nothing you can say that makes you sound truly sympathetic. Not on a mass scale. You're damned no matter what. Which is why you say NOTHING.

No political instincts at all. None. (Jim Bob. It's worth noting Josh and Anna continue to say nothing.)

[kokapetl]

Even saying that would be a disaster, though. Because it still makes you sound above the law to every person who got caught up in it - and I don't fault those people. I think the laws that destroy people's lives at those ages are heartbreaking and crushing.

There is nothing you can say that makes you sound truly sympathetic. Not on a mass scale. You're damned no matter what. Which is why you say NOTHING.

No political instincts at all. None. (Jim Bob. It's worth noting Josh and Anna continue to say nothing.)

Had this happened in Australia, Child Protection would have been alerted, but it's unlikely Josh would have been prosecuted, let alone given a custodial sentence. And any media outlet that identified child offenders, convicted, sub judice, or speculatively, would be in serious legal trouble.

I read about American kids sending "sext" messages, and subsequently being convicted of child pornography offences and registered as sex offenders as a result. I can see why JimChelle didn't want Josh to face the criminal justice system.

Edited July 21, 2015 by Kokapetl

[frenchtoast]

Folks, we have been discussing the whole how it's been mishandled and how screwed up the justice/legal system is for months. The horse, he be dead. Pretty soon we'll be reported to the authorities for equine abuse. Also, it's getting waaay off topic, too. Let's bring it back to the Duggars and the media and TLC. If there is nothing new, there is no requirement to post.

[Joe Jitsu913]

Folks, we have been discussing the whole how it's been mishandled and how screwed up the justice/legal system is for months. The horse, he be dead. Pretty soon we'll be reported to the authorities for equine abuse. Also, it's getting waaay off topic, too. Let's bring it back to the Duggars and the media and TLC. If there is nothing new, there is no requirement to post.

Equine abuse? Bahahahaha!

[Jordan Baker]

Speaking of media . . . I was watching a segment on MSNBC about John Kasich's entry into the race for the Republican nomination. The caption?   16 Candidates and Counting.

[Gweilo]

The Duggars are heartbroken:

www.people.com/article/duggars-heartbroken-over-tlc-cancellation

So, they believe in an old Testament God, who is into smiting and wrath-ing and all those old-timey things, but when it comes to spreading His word, he's totes up with the TV trends of 2015.

[galax-arena]

"The Duggars want to return to TV because they truly believe it was part of God's plan for them to spread the word about their faith," the source says.

But their faith was completely whitewashed on the show...

[CofCinci]

God's plan for them to have a Tv show? Was it also God's plan for Jim Bob and Michelle to let their son continue to molest other children?

[Darknight]

God's plan. Wtf? Was it God's plan to discriminate and allow your daughters to be abused.

[Aja]

Gee, how coincidental that God's plan and what the Duggars feel they're entitled to are so in synch.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Aja

[Churchhoney]

The Duggars are heartbroken:

www.people.com/article/duggars-heartbroken-over-tlc-cancellation

 

 

is it just me, or is that article absolutely disgusting? Whiny, arrogant, entitled idiots.

 

And .... if the tv show was their God's plan, I guess he isn't planning too well, is he? Or maybe it was your plan, Duggars.

[Fuzzysox]

That article is a complete boohoo moment for them to get the leghumpers to petition the show get back on the air!

[kokapetl]

But their faith was completely whitewashed on the show...

Exactly. Dentistry got atleast ten times as much airtime on their show.

[Oldernowiser]

Okay, Duggars...let's call your bluff. If this is only about the platform for your ministry, let's see you offer to do it for free.

Crickets..

[3 is enough]

So they are "heartbroken"  because they considered the show to be a means for showcasing their faith?  Then maybe they should have done it for free.  We all know they are really heartbroken because the money has stopped.

 

And I am sorry, but how stupid are they?  They moved on, so everyone else should too?  

 

I just don't understand how women wearing pants, normal bathing suits, and kissing you fiance(e) is so horribly wrong, but fondling your little sisters is no big deal.

 

This article just made my blood boil.

Edited July 22, 2015 by 3 is enough

[FairyDusted]

That mush-mouthed, random word generator, sanctimonious festival of religious cliched crap that is their response makes me stabby.

So now because they're such experts at handling sexual abuse they think they're going to be some kind of consultants for this documentary????!!!!

Words fail. I'm so sputteringly pissed at their arrogance.

Dear Duggars: YOU GOT FIRED. FIRED. GET THAT?

Sincerely, Reality.

Sheeeeeeeeeeeit.

I ADORE YOU!

 

Merry Part! Duggers! Merry Part!

[barbedwire]

Okay, Duggars...let's call your bluff. If this is only about the platform for your ministry, let's see you offer to do it for free.

Crickets..

Amen.

 

So God can only use your preaching if you are paid for it?  Where is that in the Bible?  Do it for free.  Pass out lunches to the homeless while you are preaching.  Be on time when you go places!  All of these things speak God's love to other people.