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Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events


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Really? All this crap going down and the first thing he does is update his Linkedin profile???  WTF???  Cause we all know people will be lining up to hire him.  

Just when I think he can't sink any lower he does.  What a vile excuse for a man.

I thought that too. Then I thought maybe it was a condition of his severance. It's just so totally off otherwise.

  • Love 2

Since he has resigned from his job, does this mean he will be moving back to Arkansas, and will his family now move in with one of the other married girls?   What makes me the craziest is with all the fall out and media, you just know that JB will be calling a family meeting and make those poor girls "pray" for Josh to get through this "trial".    If any of them speak about about resentment and hurt, they will be told to pray to get through it and to further forgive Josh. 

  • Love 6
(edited)

Jill posted a picture of herself and Jessa smiling on FB.

I'd feel better about knowing about this abuse if we knew how the victims felt about this all being released.

That is a fan page.

 

Edit to add this link:  http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/trending/Phila-TLC-Summer-Block-Party-event-removes-Duggar-family-from-lineup.html

TLC cancelled their block party appearance. 

Edited by truthtalk2014
  • Love 5
(edited)

I would venture a guess that neither Anna nor the Seewalds knew the whole story about Josh and were probably given the most watered down version of what happened.  I feel sorry for both of them as I think they were truely decieved by JB and Michelle. If I  were Anna and Jill/Derick, Josh would not come anywhere near my kids. I would not be surprised if Child Protective Services(or whatever they are called in Ark.) now gets pressured to get involved and do an investiagation of the whole family. Anna is now talking the party line but lets wait and see how long this continues. After all, there will now be two girls in the family.

A 14 year-old is old enough to know right from wrong. Even when raised in a crazy ass house like the Duggers. The fact that Josh and the girls recieved no real counseling is beyond sad, and the fact it was done a second time shows what  unfit parents(like we did't know) the Duggars were. I would guess it will not take too much longer for Mike Huggabee to retract his statement and issue a new one. His political career will depend on it.

Edited by NEGirl
  • Love 9

Ugh, the articles on why Josh deserves forgiveness are already making the rounds on FB. Sorry, can't figure out the quote procedure in my kindle. Some people are posting on the Duggar facebook that the incidents happened so long ago, it is a non issue. As an incest survivor it is never a non issue. I feel so very sorry for the children who went through this. I don't remember who posted that birth can be a trigger, but you are definitely correct.

I wish they would say that to victims of abuse. Its over it happened a long Time ago, get over it and forgive. They are the problem like the Duggars. Denying and making excuses.

  • Love 5

Absolutely. So many people are delighting in the downfall of the Duggars that they fail to realize it came at the expense of Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger's well being. It's awful to have something so hurtful and deeply personal served up as fodder for the public.

Respectfully, I disagree with this perspective. I, 100%, support the right of the victim to have the unredacted report quashed. The last thing she needs is to feel re-victimized. However, I don't believe for one second that any member of this forum are "delighting" in the reason the show might be cancelled. The blame for that falls entirely on Josh, Michelle, and Jim Bob. In fact, I think those girls might actually feel some level of relief that the truth is finally out there. I'm not suggesting they're doing cartwheels or secretly high giving each other, but living a lie, especially in front of millions, is exhausting. They may have truly forgiven their brother and it's entirely their decision to do so, but no one is delighted by the news that they suffered.

Actually, I don't think many of us are all that surprised that it happened. Where the outrage and desire to make this public stems from is, at least for me, in part because their truth and their protection were sacrificed for a television show and to line the pockets of Bill Gothard. Lies of omission are still lies and there are reasons these case files aren't destroyed after the minor turns 18- they build a history in case the molester continues to molest. The girls have a right to privacy, certainly. Unfortunately, as was in this case, the relationship of the molester to the victims was incestuous and made it difficult to disguise the victim. The only people who hold blame or fault here are the parents and Josh. Period. It's not a crime to shine light on a problem. It could've never been fodder if their assailant hadn't been sheltered by a cult mentality and if the parents had chosen to protect their daughters from a quasi-celebrity lifestyle. No one on this forum asked them to do a television show with the knowledge of sexual abuse in the home. No one here has said the girls deserved it or asked for it (unlike Michelle who equated the way one dresses with responsibility for a man s sexual purity). None of us knowingly supported putting their family on national television less than six months after that report was taken.

The victims deserve peace and healing. It's tragic that their parents chose celebrity over privacy knowing full well there were demons in the closet.

  • Love 18
(edited)

I have a former friend who recently broke up with her boyfriend who was a child molester. He was 27 and on probation/house arrest when they met. She was 29 years old, "of the world" and this was most certainly not her first boyfriend or the first guy she had talked to. She knew what she was getting into and her friends/family all tried to talk some sense into her. She was an otherwise smart girl but she was so stupid about this guy. Because sometimes girls are stupid about guys, even in the most normal situation.

Compare this case with Anna. We have an 18-20 year old girl who has never been allowed to even speak to a boy before Josh appears. She has been taught that her goal in life is to find a husband but not a day before she turns 20. Her father has to approve of everyone that comes through the door. This semi-cute guy gives her attention, he's "famous", has some form of income and a roomy house waiting for her, and the people who are supposed to weed evil guys out and protect her approve of him. She likely has no idea what "touching" entails because unlike the rest of us, she didn't have friends/tv/parents/school/the internet to teach her. I'm not saying she was totally ignorant about this situation but I think that if my otherwise normal friend can get caught up in this situation because girls get stupid sometimes, then Anna most definitely deserves a little slack, if only for the fact that everyone had failed her up to that point. Her dad probably prayed about it and said it was okay for crying out loud. That was all the approval she needed. I can't be too mad at Anna for marrying him because she did what she knew to do at that point in her life.

Edited by Spencer Hastings
  • Love 8

Since he has resigned from his job, does this mean he will be moving back to Arkansas, and will his family now move in with one of the other married girls?   What makes me the craziest is with all the fall out and media, you just know that JB will be calling a family meeting and make those poor girls "pray" for Josh to get through this "trial".    If any of them speak about about resentment and hurt, they will be told to pray to get through it and to further forgive Josh. 

Josh bought a home in Arkansas recently. Kind of a mini version of the TTH, smaller cape cod style house with the dormers. I wonder if he knew this was coming and knew he would be leaving DC. I would assume he will move there. The house was close but not in the same city as his parents and was on a pretty big lot.

  • Love 2

Alison Arngrim who played Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie is all over this on her twitter feed. For those of you who have not read her book - she was sexually molested by her brother for years. She never told her parents at the time, but she just begged them to not leave her alone with him. It was the 70s. Nobody was thinking of this at the time. She went public years later. Her parents believed her and were sorry they did not protect her. He brother is proud of what he did. EWWWWWWWW.

So yeah, she is supporting the victims and wishing that Josh got help.

Off topic but I kinda felt bad when she spoke out and that I hated her character. It's a sad story. I'm sure she understands what the girls might be going through

  • Love 2
(edited)

Given that all of this took place ten years ago,I'll admit I'm actually more interested in the stuff going on now. Who released this information (a misdemeanor charge in AR) and why? I'm fascinated that Huckabee came out so strongly for Josh out of the gate. I've always thought he liked and supported Josh, and always suspected he knew about this. So it wasn't someone in his camp who leaked it, which pretty much eliminates an inside AR job.

But someone who really wanted to take out the Duggars or someone close to them scored big time. And I'm curious about the timing as well.

Yes, it is intriguing. I'm doubtful that the motive was to bring down Huckabee. I don't think that he would be a GOP frontrunner next year. I can't remember where I saw it, maybe on another board, and I don't know how valid it is, but there was something about one of the victims requested that the unredacted police report be destroyed and that set the wheels in motion leak-wise. ???? Edited by SoSueMe
  • Love 1
(edited)

Respectfully, I disagree with this perspective. I, 100%, support the right of the victim to have the unredacted report quashed. The last thing she needs is to feel re-victimized. However, I don't believe for one second that any member of this forum are "delighting" in the reason the show might be cancelled. The blame for that falls entirely on Josh, Michelle, and Jim Bob. In fact, I think those girls might actually feel some level of relief that the truth is finally out there. I'm not suggesting they're doing cartwheels or secretly high giving each other, but living a lie, especially in front of millions, is exhausting. They may have truly forgiven their brother and it's entirely their decision to do so, but no one is delighted by the news that they suffered.

Actually, I don't think many of us are all that surprised that it happened. Where the outrage and desire to make this public stems from is, at least for me, in part because their truth and their protection were sacrificed for a television show and to line the pockets of Bill Gothard. Lies of omission are still lies and there are reasons these case files aren't destroyed after the minor turns 18- they build a history in case the molester continues to molest. The girls have a right to privacy, certainly. Unfortunately, as was in this case, the relationship of the molester to the victims was incestuous and made it difficult to disguise the victim. The only people who hold blame or fault here are the parents and Josh. Period. It's not a crime to shine light on a problem. It could've never been fodder if their assailant hadn't been sheltered by a cult mentality and if the parents had chosen to protect their daughters from a quasi-celebrity lifestyle. No one on this forum asked them to do a television show with the knowledge of sexual abuse in the home. No one here has said the girls deserved it or asked for it (unlike Michelle who equated the way one dresses with responsibility for a man s sexual purity). None of us knowingly supported putting their family on national television less than six months after that report was taken.

The victims deserve peace and healing. It's tragic that their parents chose celebrity over privacy knowing full well there were demons in the closet.

I know I'm likely putting this on the wrong thread but wanted to quote Maisie's momma here. I don't for a minute think MEchelle waxing poetic about her defrauding the neighbor in that episode that aired this week was any accident. They all knew this was coming. All but the little ones. They all looked uncomfortable in that interview. JB not so much cus he is the original sideshow barker who is so full of himself and his perceived power and control that he was actually too STUPID to be nervous. He thought he still had control of this puppy. He sure found out didn't he?

SHAME on them,the pair of them. You are there to protect your children. If the danger is coming from INSIDE your house, then you remove that danger. That "kid" should have been placed in an inpatient treatment or counselling centre some sort or sent to stay with family or friends with NO contact with minor children. PERIOD.

Edited by MarysWetBar
  • Love 4

Since he has resigned from his job, does this mean he will be moving back to Arkansas, and will his family now move in with one of the other married girls?   What makes me the craziest is with all the fall out and media, you just know that JB will be calling a family meeting and make those poor girls "pray" for Josh to get through this "trial".    If any of them speak about about resentment and hurt, they will be told to pray to get through it and to further forgive Josh.

Yes it makes me crazy to think about a family meeting too. I can just imagine the girls being told to forgive because after all, they must have tempted or defrauded Josh in some way.

  • Love 2

Everybody seems to believe Josh should have been sent away from the house when this happened. I am not sure I agree with this or not. Certainly, precautions should have been taken. But they are his family and where exactly could they have sent him to live for at least 4 years? He couldn't go to Aunt Deanna as she had a teen daughter to think about. Michelle never seemed particularly close to her family, so that probably wasn't an option. For all Jim Bob and the kids talk about friends they don't seem to have a really close extended support system.

Josh is still their son think of the scrap that would have been heaped on the Duggars if they just abandoned him.

I don't have any solutions, I just can see these as valid reasons they wouldn't have sent him away.

  • Love 3
(edited)

Alison Arngrim who played Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie is all over this on her twitter feed.   For those of you who have not read her book - she was sexually molested by her brother for years.   She never told her parents at the time, but she just begged them to not leave her alone with him.   It was the 70s.   Nobody was thinking of this at the time.   She went public years later.   Her parents believed her and were sorry they did not protect her.  He brother is proud of what he did.   EWWWWWWWW.

 

So yeah, she is supporting the victims and wishing that Josh got help.

 

I read her book when it was the daily deal for kindle awhile back  -  she is awesome, smart and wickedly funny.  

 

I think it's really, really sad that this seems to be one of the only, maybe the only site where Josh is universally condemned.  Was just reading news on MSN and they had an article about the show being pulled; the number of comments excusing what he did because he was just a kid or it was his hormones or. just straight up bible quotes about judging and he who's without sin.................it's just sick and I can't figure if it's "Christians" who follow them and must defend them at all costs or if it's people who think that molesting someone is just a little touching and no big deal.  Maybe a combination of both but some of the comments they make trying to excuse him are just so horrible and I feel like I want to just smack them all down but at the same time you can't get into an argument with every one of them.

 

But if that's how strangers are reacting and how little sympathy they have for Josh's victims then I just can't imagine how the family who wanted to pray it away and sweep it under the rug made those girls feel.  I hope they sneak onto the right sites and find they have a LOT of support and a lot of people who put no blame on them at all.

Edited by sigmaforce86
  • Love 7
(edited)

Huckabee doesn't have a shot in hell at the Republican nomination, let alone the White House, so I agree Josh wasn't the small fish used to get the big fish. I also don't think the FRC was the target either considering their supporters are likely the same people supporting the Duggars now.

This whole thing feels more personal, I don't think it was a Duggar who blew the whistle but someone closely affiliated with the family.

Edited by BitterApple
  • Love 3

I'm feverishly trying to get through all these pages... I keep thinking of Jinger, at Jessa's rehearsal dinner, expressing her lack of worth. And then again in the video with Ben.

Yes I picked up on that too. Poor kid, she was probably feeling undeserved guilt and she and Jessa were each other's support system. She said something about Jessa helping her in her lowest moments....

  • Love 4

After reading everything for the last two days it leaves you wondering if he touched anyone else that he didn't admit to? I had to ask because it's really a fucked up situation all around.

 

Yes it is... horrible.

 

I couldn't stop thinking about these poor girls when I was trying to sleep last night and something else occurred to me. We talked a bit yesterday about whether this was it or just the tip of the iceberg.  I'm convinced personally that there was probably more to it for a number of reasons - the escalation, the amount of time between incidents, etc.  But then it also struck me, in reading the police report it basically reads as though there was one incident per girl who was touched.  I don't believe that for a second.

  • Love 11

Nothing was pushed in our faces, we chose to watch them, they didn't make us.

I watched a few episodes and chose not to continue to watch. I do read here because I'm entertained by the astute and respectful posters. I will say that the Diggers are, in fact, pushed in our faces every time they enter the world of politics and try to legislate what they deem as moral and sinful. I take no glee in the harm that has happened to the girls. I am satisfied that the hypocrisy of the parents was exposed.

  • Love 19

Wouldn't it be kinda weird for a "family friend" to write a letter about the abuse and put it in a book in the Duggars' home? Why would they do this? It's far more likely it was one of the children who did it as a cry for help.

Jana?

Could explain why she's so despised by her own mother and why she continually gets singled out and sent to Gothard's camp for girls.

  • Love 6

How? How is this a tragedy for Jim Bob and Michelle? If they had taken legitimate action to try and fix this,  or at least tried to help the girls and even Josh , then I could feel sorry for them. Instead the covered it up and did nothing to help their daughter. And then they went on TV an exposed the family in public knowing full well this could come out. I wonder how  those girls feel today about this being known to the whole world. If the parents wanted to protect their daughters they would have kept them off TV . It was a tragedy for the Duggar parents 12 years ago. Everything after that is caused by their own choices.

I wrote a LONG post about this and of course my computer deleted it or lost it or something.  I just don't see it the way many of you do.  I feel compassion for every member of that family.  I believe JB and Michelle raised their children in the way they thought was best, whether we agree with that or not.  I can't imagine taking my 14 year old son to the police station to report this behavior, not knowing what the consequences might be (even if they waited).  I'm not worried about their financial future.  They are a wealthy family.  I know I cannot explain my compassion to the satisfaction of most posters here, but I think this will bring their family closer (yes, closer).  And I still think this is a tragedy for every member.  As I said before I cannot be gleeful about all this. I can't say they deserve it.  I just can't even though I have basically disagreed with many of their child rearing methods.  I hope that their faith will sustain them through all of this.  Just my opinion.

  • Love 4
(edited)

Josh should have been removed from the house if they had actually done what they should have done. His parents are abominable. It's not abandoning the abuser it's protecting the abused. The abuser is then placed in foster care or in the care of family who has NO CHILDREN so to prevent further incidents (I only know about this in my state so your state may vary). It's so totally not abandoning the kid accused it's protecting everyone involved. The kid then gets therapy with and without the parents.

There is something so vile about this family and those poor girls will be made to feel responsible for this media storm.

 

Ugh forgive me for the "totally".

Edited by Chicklet
  • Love 11

Everybody seems to believe Josh should have been sent away from the house when this happened. I am not sure I agree with this or not. Certainly, precautions should have been taken. But they are his family and where exactly could they have sent him to live for at least 4 years? He couldn't go to Aunt Deanna as she had a teen daughter to think about. Michelle never seemed particularly close to her family, so that probably wasn't an option. For all Jim Bob and the kids talk about friends they don't seem to have a really close extended support system.

Josh is still their son think of the scrap that would have been heaped on the Duggars if they just abandoned him.

I don't have any solutions, I just can see these as valid reasons they wouldn't have sent him away.

Imho, I don't think sending him to live elsewhere is the point. The problem, as I see it, is that, rather than get the boy REAL help, from a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist, they sent him to do manual labor. They also had Josh mentored by a, as it came to light, a pedophile and sex offender who would end up spending years in prison. I have a hard time believing it's coincidental that this whole "intervention" took place three years after Josh first confessed and AFTER Jim Bob lost his political bid for US Senator. Rather than protect his daughters by having Josh go through appropriate counselling (and, at the same time, giving his girls a safe place with a licensed therapist and victim's advocate), Jim Bob let it go unreported for years and sent his son to a sex offender. Jim Bob also refused to allow Josh to give a statement and tried to obtain a defense attorney for Josh. Maybe, instead of plopping out more potential victims, Michelle and Jim Bob should've admitted there was serious dysfunction in their family. If they hadn't been so concerned with their carefully manicured image, they might've actually protected their daughters by never allowing Josh to be alone with the kids. Michelle made a robo call demonizing transgender people under the umbrella of protecting her daughters... and, in her heart of hearts, she knew the reality of the threat being within her own khakis-and-polos offspring.

  • Love 23

Imho, I don't think sending him to live elsewhere is the point. The problem, as I see it, is that, rather than get the boy REAL help, from a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist, they sent him to do manual labor. 

And the sad part is that scumbag JB probably got money from the work he did.

 

Not speculating at all and it is just my sincerest wishes that none of the boys were victims as well.  I sincerely hope not.  I just know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if JB had been told that they were, he would NEVER in a million years reported that to church officials or his law enforcement buddy.  That would even be too much for PervymacPerv to admit. 

  • Love 1

How nice that the Duggars were able to conveniently handle this by going to church "elders" to mete out discipline, then quite awhile later, contact a "buddy" who was w/the Sheriff's Dept.    Then they are the ones who decide where/when Josh goes to receive Christian rehab.    No CPS authorities come to the house for a full blown investigation, remove the children - especially the VICTIMS - until a thorough investigation is done.    Three months hard labor and counseling - I don't think so.    How nice that their moral superiority allowed them to decide what was and wasn't the appropriate thing to do.   

 

Let's just imagine if a non-Christian outsider who happened to be working at their house (or let's go further and what if a member of the production team) had molested one of their kids!   They would be in jail, and the Duggars would be out in front of the cameras saying the legal system has to take it's course, but they will pray for the "sinner".  

  • Love 17

Ugh. Now I am realizing I have friends on Facebook who actually support Josh, believe he got counseling for his wrongdoings, and is now completely rehabilitated. I also got reamed out for saying there's no way that is the case since fundies like the Duggars don't believe in real counseling. They believe in Gothard and the girls keeping sweet....that's in no way psychologically helpful. I also mentioned that Anna probably didn't get the full story about what happened and she might be in a state of serious marriage regret....and was told I am stupid for judging her for marrying him. I don't think it's stupid at all, since I'm sure it was under some sort of false pretenses. What kind of woman (even a naive one) or her parents would want to marry a man(boy) who divulged that he molested 4 of his sisters? Considering they always need chaperones while courting I have no doubt that Josh never told the Kellers the real story. It was probably some glossed over, watered down, fluff bit like he was "playing doctor"and got caught.. Something that sounds innocent, even though it wasn't. How can Anna not be wracking her brain about all the times Josh was alone with Mack and wondering if he ever did (or will do) anything to her? I know I'd be doing that for sure.

  • Love 9

And the sad part is that scumbag JB probably got money from the work he did.

 

Not speculating at all and it is just my sincerest wishes that none of the boys were victims as well.  I sincerely hope not.  I just know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if JB had been told that they were, he would NEVER in a million years reported that to church officials or his law enforcement buddy.  That would even be too much for PervymacPerv to admit.

I've already seen a few memes heralding the "good news" - "At least he's not gay!"

What will we all talk about when they are canceled forever?

We can continue to discuss the Duggar family.  Josh will end up having to do "celebrity" boxing like Danny Bonaduce in order to keep the lights on.

 

I wonder if Anna has peeked at the 33-page offense report document?  Would you if your partner were in a similar position?

  • Love 7
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