Josh & Anna Smuggar: A Series of Unfortunate Events

[Albanyguy]

46 minutes ago, bigskygirl said:

What makes me sick is two of Josh's victims went to him for advice, and they went to their father also who did not protect them well enough from Josh.

I doubt if Jill and Jessa thought of this themselves. Michelle probably came up with the idea and made the girls do it; not because she thought they needed or wanted kissing instructions, but because it would stroke JB's and Josh's masculine egos.

[Natalie68]

25 minutes ago, TresGatos said:

So did I though I did have the help of Donny Osmond posters helpfully included in issues of Teen Beat magazine!

Defrauded by a Mormon!

It is deeply sick how the girls had to cater and kowtow to their molester and their parents, who knew about the molestation, were not only absolutely fine with it but seemed to act like it was somehow Josh's birthright to be catered and kowtowed to be his sisters, who he had previously molested.

It just blows my mind what passes for "good Christians" in this country! 

HA!  Donny Osmond.  There was a girl in my sisters class who had a huge crush on DO.  She had a single mom and the mom moved them to Provo in order to be closer.  Crazypants.  I had a cousin that looked a ton like Marie and when she lived in Utah the Osmond brothers came in to wherever it was she worked and said wow, you look like our sister.  This is my Osmond adjacent story.  :)

The louder they seem to be about how godly and christian they are the more likely (in my experience) they are to have some really sordid skeletons in their closet.  

[xwordfanatik]

Kissing advice from one's molester?  Beyond loathsome.  

That alone makes me amazed that not one of the sister victims broke free from that "devout Christian family."  To me, it's absolute proof that toxic parents/family can and do brainwash their unfortunate victims.  

In my experience, my so-called "Christian" co-workers were anything but.  Not only that, but they were the laziest in the building.

Thank you dad, for not forcing me to go to catechism when I decided at junior high age, that church wasn't my thing.  I know my mom was disappointed, because my older sister was confirmed, and I was not.  

I don't mean to disparage anyone who finds their place in the church or religion of their choice.  I loved my mom and sister, and I hope they are in the heaven they believed in.  I do think there is a God, but organized religion doesn't work for me.  As always, YMMV.

[bigskygirl]

My parents told me I should be nicer to my brother when he was being abusive, but they did not want to protect me. My mother actually told me I deserved the abuse, and there are things I have not told either one of my parents about because I know they will turn around and make me out to be the bad person. The worse part was when my PTSD started flaring up when my in-laws started their crap after we found out my husband was sick.

I can only imagine how Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy must feel like. Yes, I know they have "forgiven" Josh for his sins, but I still... I hope there is a very special place in hell for Smugs, Michelle and JB.

Edited June 21, 2018 by bigskygirl

[DragonFaerie]

Big Super Full Frontal Hugs and Tequilla to you @bigskygirl

My mother was, when I was little, physically abusive and as I got older it switched to mental and emotionally abusive.  My father, even though he lived in the home, had so much work - get that David Rodriguis?! that he was pretty much never around.  So yea, I'm 51 and I still am working through all the sh*t they put me through.  

[bigskygirl]

23 minutes ago, DragonFaerie said:

Big Super Full Frontal Hugs and Tequilla to you @bigskygirl

My mother was, when I was little, physically abusive and as I got older it switched to mental and emotionally abusive.  My father, even though he lived in the home, had so much work - get that David Rodriguis?! that he was pretty much never around.  So yea, I'm 51 and I still am working through all the sh*t they put me through.  

@DragonFaerie big super full frontal hugs and tequila for you too. Sad when a person gets older the effects from the abuse never really goes away. I still have triggers which can set off the anxiety, depression and PTSD. At least I do not have to be around my brother or my parents like Jill, Jessa, Jinger, and Joy are. At least Jinger got away from them.

[floridamom]

I, too, had a couple of Donny Osmond photos from Tiger Beat on my bedroom wall, but I was David Cassidy's 'girl'. I made my own bedroom wallpaper with his photos.

[magpye29]

9 hours ago, DragonFaerie said:

My mother was, when I was little, physically abusive and as I got older it switched to mental and emotionally abusive.  My father, even though he lived in the home, had so much work - get that David Rodriguis?! that he was pretty much never around.  So yea, I'm 51 and I still am working through all the sh*t they put me through.  

I still work every day on trying not to hate my mother (and I'm 58).  My father was abusive, and my mother figured out early on that if she kept his attention focused on us, he left her alone.  He was a long-distance truck driver, so he was gone for weeks at a time, and when he would come home, she would make up stories about what we supposedly had or hadn't done.  If we tried to protest, he would thunder, "Are you calling your mother a liar?!"  Well, yeah, Dad, actually we are.  What we learned was that it was better to shut up and take it, because not only did we have to deal with his weird code of solidarity with my mother, but when he would leave again, her long memory would kick in and there would be one hell of a retribution.  She could control us with a laser-like look of death that promised all manner of hell when she got us alone again.  The thing is, my father was beaten with a bull whip when he was a kid, and he genuinely thought he was doing what he needed to do to keep us on the straight and narrow.  He did eventually mellow out, and he apologized several times in his later years for being a right bastard when we were growing up.

My mother has never said she's sorry in her life (except in that sarcastic way people do when they're really not sorry but are pissed off that you called them on their crap).  My niece said something to her recently like "I know you guys were really hard on Mom and Auntie," and my mother's response?  "We weren't that hard on them, and besides, things were different back then."

Getting back on topic, I don't cut Josh slack on anything he did to his sisters, but when you're raised in a house of dirty secrets, you don't have a sense of normalcy.  The Duggs all spout the party line, because it's all they know.  Somewhere in his devious, sniveling little mind, Josh knows what he did was wrong, but he got away with it to all intents and purposes, and since JB and M gave him a pass on it with the lightest possible punishment, in his mind (and theirs) the horror of what he did has diminished over time.  They can keep reassuring themselves and each other that it wasn't so bad and Josh learned his lesson.  Meanwhile, the girls have all been heavily controlled and conditioned not to talk about it even amongst themselves, and urged to believe that they come from this special, wonderful family of godly people favored by the Lord.  If you keep everybody separate and you squelch privacy and true relationships among siblings, no one can think for themselves because they're too worried about what will happen if somebody figures out that they have doubts about the way they're being raised. 

The ninth circle of hell can't begin to compare to life in the Duggar compound.

[ginger90]

[bigskygirl]

Two words: damage control  If my in-laws said the same thing to me on my birthday after the crap they cause me after my husband's diagnosis, I would be rolling me eyes and digging out my bs monitoring machine.

[Albanyguy]

They have NEVER gushed over Anna like this before. Even when they've paid lip service to her role as a helpmeet and mother, they've always been slightly dismissive towards her. Something's up. I'll bet that Josh has screwed up again and they've decided they need to pull her in and close ranks in case another scandal hits the fan.

[Lukeysboat]

They forgot “forgiving.” 

[Jynnan tonnix]

18 minutes ago, Lukeysboat said:

They forgot “forgiving.” 

I think that was filed under "patient" which got first billing :)

[Temperance]

Maybe because it's a landmark birthday. Happy 30th Birthday Anna!

I agree though; something's up. I thought they were planning his comeback tour and instead we've barely heard from him. 

[bigskygirl]

2 hours ago, Temperance said:

Maybe because it's a landmark birthday. Happy 30th Birthday Anna!

I agree though; something's up. I thought they were planning his comeback tour and instead we've barely heard from him. 

He could hook up with Deredick and call the tour the Smugs and Dick tour with JD as the security manager. Jana could be the manager. Jill, Jessa, Joy Anna, Jinger can make appearances talking about how they have forgiven him. Anna can be the dutiful wife and talk about how to be joyfully available even when your husband is a molester and cheater. Ben could attempt to preach, and Jeremy could talk about the sins of masturbation.

[Barb23]

What happened to Daughter-in-"Love" that Michelle used to call her?

[madpsych78]

4 hours ago, Barb23 said:

What happened to Daughter-in-"Love" that Michelle used to call her?

That seems more like something Kelly Bates would do rather than Michelle. I seriously don't remember Michelle calling her that!

[Sew Sumi]

She did, in the early years.

[floridamom]

Yes, I remember Michelle using the 'daughter in love' term to describe Anna. It was early on with Anna and Josh that Michelle used it. I didn't care for the term at all.

[Albanyguy]

2 hours ago, floridamom said:

Yes, I remember Michelle using the 'daughter in love' term to describe Anna. It was early on with Anna and Josh that Michelle used it. I didn't care for the term at all.

And at the same time, Anna had to call Michelle "Mrs. Duggar". 

[EVS]

5 hours ago, floridamom said:

Yes, I remember Michelle using the 'daughter in love' term to describe Anna. It was early on with Anna and Josh that Michelle used it. I didn't care for the term at all.

Maybe that is short for “daughter-in-love with the smug, sister-molesting prince of our fake Christian castle”.

[Oldernowiser]

4 hours ago, Albanyguy said:

And at the same time, Anna had to call Michelle "Mrs. Duggar". 

The “your Royal Highness” is silent.

[Aethera]

We are still keeping the spirit of the redacted report on the molestation, and not naming the last victim nor allowing images of that victim when they were a minor. The sisters have come out and confirmed their identity, but the last hasn't and we are granting her that privacy. Some posts have been removed.

[irisheyes]

So, we should be on pregnancy watch soon, right?  Anna’s blessings are between 18-24 months apart. Plus, new season starts at the end of the month!

[ginger90]

5 pictures:

 

[allonsyalice]

“wonderful adventure” is one way to describe it. I would say a bad way. 

[BitterApple]

Josh and Anna have both dropped a lot of weight. 

I feel bad for the kid who's birthday cake consisted of candles stuck in a tub of ice cream.

[bigskygirl]

"Wonderful adventure" Her idea of a wonderful adventure and mine are totally different. It would be like me saying my husband's illness, dialysis treatments, transplant, and the last three years medical wise for me was a wonderful adventure for the both of us.

Btw, I have been watching the show Maude on youtube. When someone said something Maude did not like, she will say God would get you for that. Every time she said the line I keep thinking of the Duggars. I am sure Smuggly, Michelle, JB, and Derick would not like her because she was a liberal feminist who had an abortion. *gasp*

May God get Smugs for what he has done.

[frenchtoast]

In the first picture of the cake, I noticed in the background the dirty boot propped up by someone sitting on the couch. Then, in the same picture, I saw the dirty boot in the foreground hanging off the counter near the cake. Ew. 

[jcbrown]

8 minutes ago, frenchtoast said:

In the first picture of the cake, I noticed in the background the dirty boot propped up by someone sitting on the couch. Then, in the same picture, I saw the dirty boot in the foreground hanging off the counter near the cake. Ew. 

Yeah, WTH? Is someone kneeling on the counter next to the cake? What is wrong with these people?

[Lady Edith]

Anna is not smiling with her eyes.  She looks as if she is in pain in that pic of her and Smuggar (where he is kissing her).  

[Catlyn]

He looks like the Disney actor that played younger brothers and Toby Tyler on Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

[SMama]

I remember that wonderful adventure when a deer blindsided us and destroyed the side of our van. Or when I was in surgery and the doctors were certain I would not make it. At the same time my husband was having the wonderful adventure of holding our sleeping two year old, while scared out of his mind. Such fake, fucking stupid morons. ??

Redeem away Anna, keep putting lipstick on that pig you call husband. 

[Temperance]

Anna is wearing the same dress that Michelle wore to Si and Lauren's wedding!! She previously wore the same maternity dress as Joy when they were both pregnant. Do these people seem to buy multiple dresses of the exact same thing and pass them to the family? Or they buy clothes in two sizes (such as L and XL), keep the size that works the best, and give the other one to a relative?

[Readalot]

Interesting that the People article that covers their 10 year anniversary does not specifically mention the molestations nor the infidelity. https://people.com/tv/anna-duggar-past-10-years-wonderful-adventure-husband-josh/

[magpye29]

That Josie has a mouthful of freaky teeth.

[louannems]

All I could think of during Josie's singing was, yet again, Jordyn and Jennifer are non-existent, ignored, and shoved out of Michelle's existence.  

[Spencer Hastings]

Wonderful adventure? Oh, honey....

Anna is just one of those people I can’t help but feel sorry for.  My brain knows that she made all of the choices that got her to where she is, but I also think she lacks the personality traits and critical thinking skills that it would take to just leave that tool. She’s got a stronger personality than Priscilla, but she sure drank the rest of the Kool-aid before Suze could partake. 

[Ohiopirate02]

4 hours ago, Spencer Hastings said:

Wonderful adventure? Oh, honey....

Anna is just one of those people I can’t help but feel sorry for.  My brain knows that she made all of the choices that got her to where she is, but I also think she lacks the personality traits and critical thinking skills that it would take to just leave that tool. She’s got a stronger personality than Priscilla, but she sure drank the rest of the Kool-aid before Suze could partake. 

I also cannot help but feel sorry for Anna.  She made what she thought were the right choices based on how her parents raised her. 

[graefin]

5 hours ago, Spencer Hastings said:

She’s got a stronger personality than Priscilla, but she sure drank the rest of the Kool-aid before Suze could partake. 

I think Suz drank it and then spit it back out again when she didn't like the taste. 

[Minivanessa]

She's "celebrating" the 10th anniversary of their engagement. Engagement. Not marriage. 

Does anybody except the couple themselves, give a rat's arse about the engagement date? IMO it's pathetic and childish that a woman married this long makes a big deal out of the day she and the hubs got engaged. 

ETA: I don't think there's anything wrong with privately enjoying the "anniversary of our engagement" if you're so inclined, but putting it out there on public social media is just - stupid.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Jeeves
clarity re private vs. public celebrations

[irisheyes]

30 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

She's "celebrating" the 10th anniversary of their engagement. Engagement. Not marriage. 

Does anybody except the couple themselves, give a rat's arse about the engagement date? IMO it's pathetic and childish that a woman married this long makes a big deal out of the day she and the hubs got engaged. 

ETA: I don't think there's anything wrong with privately enjoying the "anniversary of our engagement" if you're so inclined, but putting it out there on public social media is just - stupid.

Ours was in September(?).  I couldn’t tell you the date if I tried. I mean, I guess engagements are more important in their world, since it’s like a Biblical betrothal where you’re 99% married.  

[satrunrose]

I can kind of see pointing out their 10th engagement anniversary if they were a more typical couple who were engaged for a year or two before the wedding and wanted an excuse to party early. It's still be eye-roll worthy, but I can see it. The thing is, Duggar/Gothard engagements last all of three months, so what on earth is the point of celebrating now and not on their actual anniversary?

[Mollie]

5 minutes ago, irisheyes said:

Ours was in September(?).  I couldn’t tell you the date if I tried. I mean, I guess engagements are more important in their world, since it’s like a Biblical betrothal where you’re 99% married.  

Anna and Josh were engaged on Anna's 20th birthday, so that is why it is easy for them to remember.  Her father made them wait until Anna was 20.  By the way, this year's birthday/anniversary was Anna's 30th birthday.  She'll probably have five more kids by the time she is 40.

[tabloidlover]

I’ll never be able to celebrate this very speshul  occasion  as I couldn’t tell you the date Mr T proposed.    Do I go to hell or the prayer closet for that?

[BitterApple]

2 hours ago, tabloidlover said:

I’ll never be able to celebrate this very speshul  occasion  as I couldn’t tell you the date Mr T proposed.    Do I go to hell or the prayer closet for that?

I couldn't either. I guess if it's on a birthday or holiday that makes it easier to remember, but it seems weird to publicly celebrate your engagement date. Or at least my personal experience is that couples tend to only celebrate their wedding anniversary. I probably should give Anna a pass, though. If I were married to Smuggar, I'd be grasping at straws as well.

Edited July 6, 2018 by BitterApple

[fonfereksglen]

17 hours ago, Catlyn said:

He looks like the Disney actor that played younger brothers and Toby Tyler on Disney's Wonderful World of Color.

Kevin Corcoran...Corky?

[madpsych78]

Heh, I only remember the date I got engaged because it was the night the White Sox won the World Series. October 27, 2005.

ETA: Hubby and I are Cubs fans.

Edited July 6, 2018 by madpsych78

[Natalie68]

13 hours ago, louannems said:

All I could think of during Josie's singing was, yet again, Jordyn and Jennifer are non-existent, ignored, and shoved out of Michelle's existence.  

That is the one thing that kept popping into my mind about Josie and her singing.  What have they done for Jordyn and Jennifer that is similar and is just them as an individual?  Perhaps they would like an opportunity to show off one of their talents.

10 hours ago, Spencer Hastings said:

Wonderful adventure? Oh, honey....

Anna is just one of those people I can’t help but feel sorry for.  My brain knows that she made all of the choices that got her to where she is, but I also think she lacks the personality traits and critical thinking skills that it would take to just leave that tool. She’s got a stronger personality than Priscilla, but she sure drank the rest of the Kool-aid before Suze could partake. 

I wish I could be so kind and pity her.  She knows his game and still is with him.  He has shit on their marriage, hurt his sisters and there she is talking about a wonderful adventure.  I could forgive an Ashley Madison thing (after a lot of time) but I could not and would not ever get over finding out my husband and father to my kids sexually abused his sisters.  No way, no how.

[xwordfanatik]

9 hours ago, Jeeves said:

She's "celebrating" the 10th anniversary of their engagement. Engagement. Not marriage. 

Does anybody except the couple themselves, give a rat's arse about the engagement date? IMO it's pathetic and childish that a woman married this long makes a big deal out of the day she and the hubs got engaged. 

ETA: I don't think there's anything wrong with privately enjoying the "anniversary of our engagement" if you're so inclined, but putting it out there on public social media is just - stupid.

I should be ashamed.  I didn't even write down the date Mr. Xword and I got engaged.  Of course, it was over 40 years ago, and I didn't keep a diary.

Honestly, if one has to document every moment of one's life, how does one find time to live their life?  I know, I'm old and out of touch.