Jill, Derick & the Kids: Moving On!!

[Lady Whistleup]

1 minute ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I don't remember the last time I saw Jill and Joy together. Jill was a no-show at Joy's wreath making day. I was sure they filmed that, but the one-off episode pretty much wrote off 2020 and resumed life in early 2021. 

Joy seems very black and white to me, and she spends lots of time at the Big House. As opposed to Jessa who can love her parents, yet still have room in her heart for Jill. 

Oddly enough Joy is the latest Duggar girl to start wearing pants on occasion, a trend Jill started.

[Tuxcat]

28 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I don't remember the last time I saw Jill and Joy together. Jill was a no-show at Joy's wreath making day. I was sure they filmed that, but the one-off episode pretty much wrote off 2020 and resumed life in early 2021. 

Joy seems very black and white to me, and she spends lots of time at the Big House. As opposed to Jessa who can love her parents, yet still have room in her heart for Jill. 

I assume that Joy supports Jill in several of her choices (pants, nose rings, even public school). But Joy liked a post (allegedly) that was about Derick being so public with his attacks against JB.

Joy is probably  not supportive of the alcohol or the public dragging on social media (by Derick). It may have also started when Derick announced via twitter  that Joy and Austin were leaving the show. That announcement went all over social media yet Joy never made mention of it.

[Lady Whistleup]

18 minutes ago, Tuxcat said:

I assume that Joy supports Jill in several of her choices (pants, nose rings, even public school). But Joy liked a post (allegedly) that was about Derick being so public with his attacks against JB.

Joy is probably  not supportive of the alcohol or the public dragging on social media (by Derick). It may have also started when Derick announced via twitter  that Joy and Austin were leaving the show. That announcement went all over social media yet Joy never made mention of it.

I wouldn't be so quick to assume Joy supports Jill in stuff like public school. Joy's husband Austin was homeschooled and his family is even more hardcore fundie than the Duggars (if that's possible).

Think it's also a case of the sisters growing apart in interests. Jill seems to have adopted a lot of the suburban mom interests (kombucha, a dog), while Joy seems to have adopted a lot of her husband's rural interests (hunting, hiking).

[GeeGolly]

6 hours ago, cereality said:

Why are Jill and Joy on the outs? I’ve only recently caught up with Jill’s life - when it became open knowledge that she goes to therapy, hasn’t been in her parents’ home in a few years. So I’m unclear - are they just distancing themselves from JB & Michelle or from all of Jill’s siblings? Or do her siblings just not want to be with her anymore bc she’s in therapy, drinks etc - and either they believe or JB&M are convincing them she’s a bad influence? I know they aren’t full estranged bc she posted a pic of her and Derick at Justin’s wedding, saying they came just for the day.

About a month ago Joy answered a question, maybe a video or an IG Story, about which sister she's closest to. She hesitated a bit and said, well it changes, right now I would say I'm closest to Jana. She also had her SIL at Evey's birth 9 months ago - not midwife, sister-mom Jill. Jill was at the baby shower for Evelyn though.

Jill and Michelle went to support Joy when lost Annabelle about 2 years ago.

The timeline has me thinking the fall-out didn't happen because they argued for, and received a payout, but happened after Derick started trashing JB on SM.

Can't say that I blame Joy or any other siblings for distancing themselves from Jill and Derick after that. No one wants to see their dad trash talked on SM. It seems Jessa has come around since Jill and Derick made a couple of reputation repair videos. Now that Derick is back to trash talking JB on SM who knows who will stick around.

Oddly enough, I think Michelle has maintained a relationship with Jill the entire time.

[GeeGolly]

It seems to me Derick continues to fight a fight that he's already won. IMO, there's two reasons for that - the first being Derick is immature and the second being, Derick knows he gains more fans by throwing JB under the bus.

Sadly, in the end Jill is the one who will be most hurt by Derick's actions. Fans on SM are just that - strangers who like you. Alienating Jill from her entire family is not healthy. Jill has said she wants healing and a relationship with them. The more Derick speaks out, the less likely that will happen.

It seems to me that Derick, who defines himself as a "Public Figure" on IG, is collaterally throwing his wife under the bus to gain approval and popularity from strangers.

[Future Cat Lady]

Derick keeps airing the Duggars dirty laundry in public. You can’t do that and expect them to welcome you in their homes for Christmas. I agree with GeeGolly that is acting like a child.

[Tikichick]

I wonder if Jill and Derrick have ever discussed his SM rants and if she's ever expressed concern or unhappiness about them?   I do think he should take her feelings seriously.

I'm not even a little bit surprised that Derrick is entirely scorched earth in regard to JB, his first real love in the Duggar family.   IMO his palpable anger shows how deep his wound is.   He does need to get over it at least to the point where he doesn't cause distress to his wife. 

[Lady Whistleup]

tbh though Joy doesn't seem close to any of her siblings anymore. She's closer to Carlin Bates.

[cereality]

34 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

tbh though Joy doesn't seem close to any of her siblings anymore. She's closer to Carlin Bates.

Yes the Joy and Carlin obsession has grown exponentially. IDK what that's about. I mean nice to have a friend but they each have 8000 sisters?! And they seem totally different to me -- with Carlin being much more of a wannabe suburban mom with the nice phones and roomba vaccums and whatever else and Joy being the rural hiking and laying floor in her husband's house flip type. They make a big deal about being childhood besties but I don't recall any huge friendship in the teenage years beyond fellowshipping with the whole families. And yet now Carlin & Evan fly to Joy & Austin like once every 2 mos and vice versa.

So Jill still didn't post for Mothers Day nor did Jessa; and Joy posted congratulating her own self on Mother's Day. Jana ended up doing a midnight post -- guess she felt guilted into doing that living in her parents' home; so Jing was the only one who posted not in the 11th hr though unlike prior years it wasn't some huge narrative it was just a wedding pic w/ her mom and Jana similarly posted just an old pic of Michelle and the kids.

[3girlsforus]

41 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

I wonder if Jill and Derrick have ever discussed his SM rants and if she's ever expressed concern or unhappiness about them?   I do think he should take her feelings seriously.

I'm not even a little bit surprised that Derrick is entirely scorched earth in regard to JB, his first real love in the Duggar family.   IMO his palpable anger shows how deep his wound is.   He does need to get over it at least to the point where he doesn't cause distress to his wife. 

Do we know she's unhappy about them? I think it's a little unfair to assume he's upsetting Jill if we don't know for sure she doesn't want him posting stuff? For all we know he's taking one for the team and she agrees with his posts but he posts them to take the flak instead of her. I really have no idea, but I guess that's the point. Unless I missed something, which is always possible, we really don't know. 

And I will say I do agree with some of Derick's recent posts slamming JB since they were in response to conversations about cancelling Counting On. The main argument against cancelling was that it would be punishing Josh's victims for Josh's actions. Derick was pointed out that JB, and consequently Josh, is the one who benefits financially from the show, not the siblings unless JB decides to give them something. I think that's a reasonable response to correct a very common misconception that the new show doesn't benefit JB. And we all know that if it benefits JB, it benefits Josh. 

[Lady Whistleup]

1 minute ago, cereality said:

Yes the Joy and Carlin obsession has grown exponentially. IDK what that's about. I mean nice to have a friend but they each have 8000 sisters?! And they seem totally different to me -- with Carlin being much more of a wannabe suburban mom with the nice phones and roomba vaccums and whatever else and Joy being the rural hiking and laying floor in her husband's house flip type. They make a big deal about being childhood besties but I don't recall any huge friendship in the teenage years beyond fellowshipping with the whole families. And yet now Carlin & Evan fly to Joy & Austin like once every 2 mos and vice versa.

I've seen Joy make solo trips to Carlin's. My GUESS is that Joy likes Carlin because Carlin is a way Joy can get away from the extremely rigid, no-fun life at home. At Carlin's Joy can probably enjoy a latte at Starbucks, watch some movies, MAYBE even sip some wine. 

Joy said something after one trip to visit Carlin: that it was so nice just to get away. I thought that was a weird comment for someone who claims that she and her husband are living the blissfully purposeful, Jesus-filled life: why are you so eager to get away for a weekend?

[Tikichick]

1 minute ago, 3girlsforus said:

Do we know she's unhappy about them? I think it's a little unfair to assume he's upsetting Jill if we don't know for sure she doesn't want him posting stuff? For all we know he's taking one for the team and she agrees with his posts but he posts them to take the flak instead of her. I really have no idea, but I guess that's the point. Unless I missed something, which is always possible, we really don't know. 

And I will say I do agree with some of Derick's recent posts slamming JB since they were in response to conversations about cancelling Counting On. The main argument against cancelling was that it would be punishing Josh's victims for Josh's actions. Derick was pointed out that JB, and consequently Josh, is the one who benefits financially from the show, not the siblings unless JB decides to give them something. I think that's a reasonable response to correct a very common misconception that the new show doesn't benefit JB. And we all know that if it benefits JB, it benefits Josh. 

I don't know, that's why I said I wondered and "if she's ever expressed concern or unhappiness".   If it's torpedoing her efforts to have a relationship with some of her siblings that she cares to remain close to, I would guess it's problematic for Jill, but I don't know what the situation is.    

[Tuxcat]

True, we don't know what Jill thinks but I know she must be sad about distant relationships. She said she never in a million years thought "it would come to this."

And here is the post Joy liked. 

[3girlsforus]

Just now, Tikichick said:

I don't know, that's why I said I wondered and "if she's ever expressed concern or unhappiness".   If it's torpedoing her efforts to have a relationship with some of her siblings that she cares to remain close to, I would guess it's problematic for Jill, but I don't know what the situation is.    

Yes I'm sorry - I just reread my post and I'm sorry it sounded like I was arguing with you. I didn't mean it that way. I really wonder too. I have seen some posts that specifically say he's hurting Jill with those posts which is why I said that was unfair. But it wasn't directed at you. 

Jill and Derick seem to have a decent relationship. I don't get the impression he completely dominates her actions or that she would cower at the thought of confronting him about something. So I kind of lean toward the idea that if it was bothering her, she would mention it and he would care about that. But who knows. I do agree that if the posts upset her, then he needs to stop or at least adjust what he says and how he says it. 

[Tuxcat]

3 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

Yes I'm sorry - I just reread my post and I'm sorry it sounded like I was arguing with you. I didn't mean it that way. I really wonder too. I have seen some posts that specifically say he's hurting Jill with those posts which is why I said that was unfair. But it wasn't directed at you. 

Jill and Derick seem to have a decent relationship. I don't get the impression he completely dominates her actions or that she would cower at the thought of confronting him about something. So I kind of lean toward the idea that if it was bothering her, she would mention it and he would care about that. But who knows. I do agree that if the posts upset her, then he needs to stop or at least adjust what he says and how he says it. 

My impression is that Derick is impulsive. Consider the rants against Jaz. I think once he gets going he just goes on these little tirades. I don't see Jill being happy about it but she probably realizes she couldn't stop him. As in the videos, when he gets going like that on the videos she looks tense and then tells him to "chill."  Then he stops for a while before the next run.

[queenanne]

6 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I've seen Joy make solo trips to Carlin's. My GUESS is that Joy likes Carlin because Carlin is a way Joy can get away from the extremely rigid, no-fun life at home. At Carlin's Joy can probably enjoy a latte at Starbucks, watch some movies, MAYBE even sip some wine. 

Joy said something after one trip to visit Carlin: that it was so nice just to get away. I thought that was a weird comment for someone who claims that she and her husband are living the blissfully purposeful, Jesus-filled life: why are you so eager to get away for a weekend?

Maybe Joy is a little anxious to get away from living in a cramped trailer from time to time? Also I imagine that the demonstrative and dramatic Carlin doesn't always ride Joy about "keeping sweet", a la her siblings.

[Lady Whistleup]

I don't think the Duggar girls were raised to expect HAPPINESS when they got married. There wasn't much or any happiness when they grew up, an they were drilled at any early age that they had to follow their headships no matter what.

So having not been conditioned to expect much from her husband, I think Jill takes a look at her life overall and decides it's a lot better than her life could have been so she keeps quiet about Derick's SM trolling.

1 minute ago, queenanne said:

Maybe Joy is a little anxious to get away from living in a cramped trailer from time to time? Also I imagine that the demonstrative and dramatic Carlin doesn't always ride Joy about "keeping sweet", a la her siblings.

Didn't they move out of the trailer into a flipped house? 

[Ohiopirate02]

I wonder how much JIll even knows about Derick's Twitter usage.  Derick seems to prefer Twitter while Jill focuses on Instagram or that is how they post.  Jill has a Twitter account, but her posts for the last few months are all about her Instagram posts.  Does she scroll thru her Twitter timeline on a regular basis?  Does she see Derick's tweets?  Does he regale Jill about his witty clapbacks after he has posted?  She may have no idea about his Twitter spats.

[Tikichick]

I don't necessarily put a lot of stock in everything Joy says.   She's not particularly loquacious to begin with, so I think sometimes she posts out of obligation and uses things she hears other people say or has seen them post.  i.e.  regarding her kids growing up so fast, etc.

[GeeGolly]

The thing about Derick saying only JB and Josh benefit financially from the show doesn't ring true to me. 

If we use the Seewalds as an example; their only jobs, up until very recently, was the show. Other than their tiny house, they live very nicely and spend money freely. I think if JB was so tight and inconsistent with the TLC income, we'd she the Seewalds living very differently.

I would think we'd see all the adult Duggar kids living very differently. Given Derick's propensity for lies, I don't put much stock in what he says, even more so when his spewing conflicts with what we see.

Edited May 10, 2021 by GeeGolly

[cmr2014]

11 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

The thing about Derick saying only JB and Josh benefit financially from the show doesn't ring true to me. 

If we use the Seewalds as an example; their only jobs, up until very recently, was the show. Other than their tiny house, they live very nicely and spend money freely. I think if JB was so tight and inconsistent with the TLC income, we'd she the Seewalds living very differently.

I would think we'd see all the adult Duggar kids living very differently. Given Derick's propensity for lies, I don't put much stock in what he says, even more so when his spewing conflicts with what we see.

I think that JB buys "things." He buys cars, macbooks, phones, and possibly groceries that are available to all of the households. I also think that they have an allowance that allows them to buy Starbucks and go on "date nights." The allowance is probably provided on some type of electronic money car which would send statements back to JB so he would know if they were buying something forbidden, or hording money in an attempt to make a break.

I think that's the issue with Derick who would expect to spend his earnings as he sees fit, and not under the auspices of an "accountability partner" like JB.

[Lady Whistleup]

I don't think the Seewalds live nicely. That tiny house for a family of soon-to-be six isn't going to cut it.  And they have the most no-fun life ever. When was the last time you saw the Seewalds do something fun together as a family? Take a trip? Go to a nice restaurant? 

Jessa only gets out when someone (like Jill) invites her out.

[Zella]

1 minute ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I don't think the Seewalds live nicely.

Even if Jessa lived in a mansion, my guess is the house would still be gross and dumpy. I am still traumatized by her birth couch and diaper mountain. Nearly gagging trying to type this thinking about them. 

[Heathen]

12 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Oddly enough Joy is the latest Duggar girl to start wearing pants on occasion, a trend Jill started.

Wasn't Jinger the first to wear pants? She started on her honeymoon. When did Jill start? 

[hathorlive]

36 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

The thing about Derick saying only JB and Josh benefit financially from the show doesn't ring true to me. 

If we use the Seewalds as an example; their only jobs, up until very recently, was the show. Other than their tiny house, they live very nicely and spend money freely. I think if JB was so tight and inconsistent with the TLC income, we'd she the Seewalds living very differently.

I would think we'd see all the adult Duggar kids living very differently. Given Derick's propensity for lies, I don't put much stock in what he says, even more so when his spewing conflicts with what we see.

But that in and of itself benefits JB.  He controls who gets what.  The TLC money keeps him in power as the doler of funds.  So even if it benefits Jessa in some way, it benefits JB even more by making her completely dependent on him.

[Tikichick]

15 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I don't think the Seewalds live nicely. That tiny house for a family of soon-to-be six isn't going to cut it.  And they have the most no-fun life ever. When was the last time you saw the Seewalds do something fun together as a family? Take a trip? Go to a nice restaurant? 

Jessa only gets out when someone (like Jill) invites her out.

Just a couple months ago they put up a video of going to Florida.   They even made the time to do devotions with the boys in the hotel before taking them to the beach. 

[GeeGolly]

3 minutes ago, hathorlive said:

But that in and of itself benefits JB.  He controls who gets what.  The TLC money keeps him in power as the doler of funds.  So even if it benefits Jessa in some way, it benefits JB even more by making her completely dependent on him.

Oh, I agree. If its true that JB is the keeper and giver of the TLC income, he benefits. I don't think its good that the adult kids don't have their owns contracts by any stretch. But I do know that not one adult Duggar kid is hurting for money. So however JB is doling it out, it seems to be working for them. And from the looks of it, TLC seems to be the primary income for all of them.

[Ohiopirate02]

5 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Just a couple months ago they put up a video of going to Florida.   They even made the time to do devotions with the boys in the hotel before taking them to the beach. 

Yes, JB doles out just enough money so that each kid feels okay about being under JB's thumb as adults.  It appears that only Derick has questioned JB's financial strategy.  The rest of them are willing to live in blissful ignorance about still being under Daddy's control.  

[satrunrose]

1 minute ago, hathorlive said:

But that in and of itself benefits JB.  He controls who gets what.  The TLC money keeps him in power as the doler of funds.  So even if it benefits Jessa in some way, it benefits JB even more by making her completely dependent on him.

Exactly! However JB is handling the money, if he's getting a lump sum from TLC and dividing it up, Josh directly benefits from the show (although that doesn't mean the other siblings don't also benefit). And as much as I say cut him off, that leaves either 6.5 kids and Anna without money or it leaves the poor, foolish, Rebers to pay for the waste of space for the next few months. Neither of those are fair either. 

The bottom line, for me, is that no matter how deep the pot is, it's not going to last to the 3rd + generation of uneducated slacker kids. Heck, it probably won't last generation 2 for their adult lives with the way they're reproducing and the amount that's going to pay Josh's fancy lawyer. Better to rip the bandaid off now and join us heathens in the real world than keep the Jimbob power trip rolling. 

[GeeGolly]

6 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Just a couple months ago they put up a video of going to Florida.   They even made the time to do devotions with the boys in the hotel before taking them to the beach. 

They've also traveled to CA a few times, but I think Jessa is more of a spender. Their house seems to have something new in it every week.

They also sent Ben's parents on an expensive anniversary trip a couple of years ago.

[Tikichick]

Just now, Ohiopirate02 said:

Yes, JB doles out just enough money so that each kid feels okay about being under JB's thumb as adults.  It appears that only Derick has questioned JB's financial strategy.  The rest of them are willing to live in blissful ignorance about still being under Daddy's control.  

Sorry, I was only being snarky about the "super fun" devotions Jessa and Ben had to be sure to feature in their video.   

IDK about the bar being set at just enough money to keep each kid accepting of being under JB's thumb.   For me it's just enough money to make sure they have no other options other than remaining under JB's thumb as adults -- unless any of them chooses to take a big risk, which I think is unlikely because I think they recognize if they swing and miss they'll be lucky to get back under JB's thumb and would find themselves living under even harsher strictures.   

[GeeGolly]

From the Duggar kidult perspective, I'm not sure they see it the same way we do. They likely trust their dad and live very comfortably for doing very little work.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but they probably think they have a pretty good gig going on.

I think Derick got a case of the 'Jeremies', thinking his presence on the show mattered more than it did. While it seems to be working okay for Jeremy right now, it didn't work so well for Derick at the time, but the Dillards are still living on JB/TLC's dime.

It does look like the Dillards will live financially free of JB in the future. And that's always a good thing.

[JoanArc]

 Derreck would like us all forget that they did go to court and get a payoff. So the money has been righteously doled out already. I am glad Jill got what was coming to her. I’m sure the courts would have ironed out anything over the contract with simultaneously did and did not exist and which did not pay for ministry which may or may not have happened.

 For a man over 30 with a doctorate, he needs to quit his bitching. Ain’t no one gonna care. 

[Tikichick]

4 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

From the Duggar kidult perspective, I'm not sure they see it the same way we do. They likely trust their dad and live very comfortably for doing very little work.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but they probably think they have a pretty good gig going on.

I think Derick got a case of the 'Jeremies', thinking his presence on the show mattered more than it did. While it seems to be working okay for Jeremy right now, it didn't work so well for Derick at the time, but the Dillards are still living on JB/TLC's dime.

It does look like the Dillards will live financially free of JB in the future. And that's always a good thing.

I think it would be interesting to hear the kidult Duggar's thoughts -- and those of the spouses.   Derrick's been pretty vocal, Jeremy's tried to keep quiet and keep distance, Austin seems like he might have some strong opinions.   I know the women don't matter, but I believe someone just recently mentioned that Abbie has expressed some concerns about adjusting to lack of budgetary planning.   I wonder if Lauren has opinions, or if she gets any input from her parents?   My opinion of Kendra is Kendra just goes along and would only open her mouth if convinced by her parents.   The new wives are unknown commodities to me, but also seemingly are used to a different standard of living. 

[CouchTater]

1 hour ago, Tuxcat said:

True, we don't know what Jill thinks but I know she must be sad about distant relationships. She said she never in a million years thought "it would come to this."

And here is the post Joy liked. 

The funny thing to me is that by liking this post Joy is doing the same thing that the post is alleging against Jill and Derek:  airing out family grievances in a public forum.  Sure, Joy isn't blasting them, but she's publicly liking the blasting.  Pot, kettle.

Edited May 10, 2021 by CouchTater

[Tuxcat]

44 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I think Derick got a case of the 'Jeremies', thinking his presence on the show mattered more than it did. While it seems to be working okay for Jeremy right now, it didn't work so well for Derick at the time, but the Dillards are still living on JB/TLC's dime.

When the show rebranded (and btw Derick, I wasn't deceived- it was obvious!), it was to be Jill and Jessa Counting On. I imagine at that point Derick really believed that this was going to be his gig for a good long while.  And I'm sure he also thought that he would get a larger share of the money given that he was "a star."

But Jinger, Joy, Anna, Jana, Josiah, JD, Joe... they were all on the very first show/season. It would be very difficult to argue that Jill should get more money than so and so. Then, Jinger and Jeremy became the center of the show for a while... then Joy and Austin... Then more and more the little kids and Michael and JB were back on too. 

TBH I can sort of understand why it would be really difficult to figure out who gets what share of what money. Would they factor it by minutes filmed or by minutes  appeared? Would they all start to do more and more provocative things to get air time?  

And of course the platform and the social media exposure from the show is the true payout - had that monetized all that correctly.

 

 

[Tikichick]

10 minutes ago, Tuxcat said:

When the show rebranded (and btw Derick, I wasn't deceived- it was obvious!), it was to be Jill and Jessa Counting On. I imagine at that point Derick really believed that this was going to be his gig for a good long while.  And I'm sure he also thought that he would get a larger share of the money given that he was "a star."

But Jinger, Joy, Anna, Jana, Josiah, JD, Joe... they were all on the very first show/season. It would be very difficult to argue that Jill should get more money than so and so. Then, Jinger and Jeremy became the center of the show for a while... then Joy and Austin... Then more and more the little kids and Michael and JB were back on too. 

TBH I can sort of understand why it would be really difficult to figure out who gets what share of what money. Would they factor it by minutes filmed or by minutes  appeared? Would they all start to do more and more provocative things to get air time?  

And of course the platform and the social media exposure from the show is the true payout - had that monetized all that correctly.

 

 

I've always had half a notion that JB used this idea to his advantage with the network.   Do you guys really want to put in all the legwork sorting this out?  We can just go forward with a family contract as always and I'll take care of the administration headache so you guys don't have to spend the time or the money.     

[louannems]

2 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I don't think the Seewalds live nicely. That tiny house for a family of soon-to-be six isn't going to cut it.  And they have the most no-fun life ever. When was the last time you saw the Seewalds do something fun together as a family? Take a trip? Go to a nice restaurant? 

Jessa only gets out when someone (like Jill) invites her out.

Even when they do go somewhere fun, they can't seem to have fun.  Remember that trip to the ocean where Ben has to sit the kids down on the couch and sermonize extremely boringly?  Not even in a language that kids can understand?

And no toys whatsoever on the beach?!!!  Come on Jessa!

And even if the kids do try to have fun, Jessa has to constantly ask them if they are indeed having fun.  Those poor kids!

[MargeGunderson]

1 hour ago, Tikichick said:

I think it would be interesting to hear the kidult Duggar's thoughts -- and those of the spouses.   Derrick's been pretty vocal, Jeremy's tried to keep quiet and keep distance, Austin seems like he might have some strong opinions.   I know the women don't matter, but I believe someone just recently mentioned that Abbie has expressed some concerns about adjusting to lack of budgetary planning.   I wonder if Lauren has opinions, or if she gets any input from her parents?   My opinion of Kendra is Kendra just goes along and would only open her mouth if convinced by her parents.   The new wives are unknown commodities to me, but also seemingly are used to a different standard of living. 

Another element in the mix is that some of these young adults have no experience of paying for living expenses. The women, except for Abbie, all lived at home under the eyes of their parents, and haven’t had to pay rent, utilities, food, etc. This is actually true of most of the guys too, with the exceptions of Jeremy, Derrick, and likely Austin. I don’t know if they have any idea what salary they would need to make out in the regular world to support their families. I doubt they have any idea about paying for taxes or saving for retirement (or higher education, not that they are interested in that). They are just ignorant of how it works for most working people, and it will be a rude awakening if JB’s finances take a turn for the worse.

[Lady Whistleup]

Jill looks amazing in these pictures of Derick's graduation:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COs6Rnwg2BR/

[Girl in a Cardigan]

2 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Jill looks amazing in these pictures of Derick's graduation:

https://www.instagram.com/p/COs6Rnwg2BR/

Someone needs to gift sunglasses in the "happy mail" to the Dillard family if they continue to insist on posing for photos in the blazing sun.

Also, I hate to continue to be "that guy," but why is Derick's mom, the cancer survivor, the only one NOT wearing a mask at the indoor ceremony? If little Sam can deal with it, so can Cathy!

[emmawoodhouse]

So, it's Public Interest law? I don't think I've heard that term. Anyone want to take a stab at it?

[Insert Username]

It's in her lap. Not only is she most likely vaccinated, but she probably only took it off for the photo

 

ETA: Is that Jackson with him? The younger Duggar boys are a blur to me

Edited May 10, 2021 by Insert Username

[GeeGolly]

3 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

So, it's Public Interest law? I don't think I've heard that term. Anyone want to take a stab at it?

Google says:

Public interest law loosely, refers to legal practices undertaken to help poor or marginalized people, or to effect change in social policies in the public interest, on 'not for profit' terms. In general terms it means a legal action initiated in the court of law for the protection of Public Interest.

Of course Derick's definition of protecting public interest is likely drastically different than a lot of folks.

[cereality]

So Jill posted graduation pictures. Looks like it was her, the boys, Cathy, Derick's brother and his wife and kids in attendance AND a Duggar brother -- it looks like James -- the one who used to chaperone for Jill & Derick a lot. Hmm I wonder why . . . does he want to go to law school? Does he want to break away from JB and the construction/car lot/towing/rental house type of work and he sees Derick's line of work/degrees as an option?? He's 19 but AFAIK he lives at the TTH -- I'm surprised he was allowed to attend . . . .

Litigator here -- public interest law can mean literally anything -- it can be working for some non profit or hate group supporting some cause he believes in, but it can also be working for the government (fed/state/local). It literally means serving the public interest/doing the public's work (not just clients who are paying you like in private practice). Given that lots/all of his law school internships were government (prosecutors; public defenders; state attorney general; circuit court etc), I wouldn't be surprised if that's what he's aiming for -- like getting into a new lawyers "honors" program that some gov't agencies have that allow them to hire grads right out of law school. It won't make him rich but it'll be a comfortable and stable life for him and Jill if he were to do that as the benefits are really good, those are the rare jobs that still have pensions etc.

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by cereality

[Zella]

I'm not seeing where public interest law is a specific category of specialty that U of A offers. You can get a certificate in criminal law or business law or an LLM in food law, for instance, but not anything in public interest law unless I'm missing something. But I don't see any other official way to note an emphasis. It does look like they offer a public interest externship regularly among their electives, so I wonder if he basically cobbled together electives that he thought would work for a public interest track? 

Edited May 10, 2021 by Zella

[cereality]

10 minutes ago, Zella said:

I'm not seeing where public interest law is a specific category of specialty that U of A offers. You can get a certificate in criminal law or business law or an LLM in food law, for instance, but not anything in public interest law unless I'm missing something. But I don't see any other official way to note an emphasis. It does look like they offer a public interest externship regularly among their electives, so I wonder if he basically cobbled together electives that he thought would work for a public interest track? 

Yeah you graduate with the JD, it's not like college where majors or tracks matter. People create tracks for themselves by taking a lot of 2L and 3L classes in whatever they want to do + making sure their internships reflect that they are on a certain track. If you're taking public interest type of classes but all of your internships are at private law firms doing corporate work, guess what your public interest track in law schools doesn't matter and you're only going to get hired for corporate work. In Derick's case, ALL of his internships are public interest type of things -- county prosecutor; county court; federal public defender; Arkansas Atty General's Office etc. so he's signaling that's where he wants to be, rather than the private law firm route or working for a multinational corporation doing business issues.

Edited May 10, 2021 by cereality

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, cereality said:

Yeah you graduate with the JD, it's not like college where majors or tracks matter. People create tracks for themselves but taking a lot of 2L and 3L classes in whatever they want to do + making sure their internships reflect that they are on a certain track. If you're taking public interest type of classes but all of your internships are at private law firms doing corporate work, guess what your public interest track in law schools doesn't matter and you're only going to get hired for corporate work. In Derick's case, ALL of his internships are public interest type of things -- county prosecutor; county court; federal public defender; Arkansas Atty General's Office etc. so he's signaling that's where he wants to be, rather than the private law firm route or working for a multinational corporation doing business issues.

That makes sense! The graduate English department there had much more clearly defined little subspecialties you could nerd out in, at least when I was attending, so that's what I was expecting. Definitely seems like he might be angling for a government job with that list, which I must confess I wouldn't have expected. I'd assumed he would have been drawn to something more partisanly political in nature. 

[Natalie68]

3 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

I think that JB buys "things." He buys cars, macbooks, phones, and possibly groceries that are available to all of the households. I also think that they have an allowance that allows them to buy Starbucks and go on "date nights." The allowance is probably provided on some type of electronic money car which would send statements back to JB so he would know if they were buying something forbidden, or hording money in an attempt to make a break.

I think that's the issue with Derick who would expect to spend his earnings as he sees fit, and not under the auspices of an "accountability partner" like JB.

I am of the impression JB runs it like the mafia.  No money but things that may or may not have 'fallen off the truck'/been given by sponsors and a house for your family.  Just follow along the script, don't embarrass us and you will be allowed to live just above the poverty line with minimal effort.

I am glad Derick and Jill have something JB cannot take away.  An education for Derick and a house they may have gotten through other means.  And freedom.  And a story that would make a ton of moola should they decide to spill.

[3girlsforus]

3 hours ago, hathorlive said:

But that in and of itself benefits JB.  He controls who gets what.  The TLC money keeps him in power as the doler of funds.  So even if it benefits Jessa in some way, it benefits JB even more by making her completely dependent on him.

Exactly - as long as JB controls the money it gives him the power. And it's not money he earned. Imagine you make an excellent salary but instead of a paycheck you get money doled out by your boss to buy specific things he decides and do only the things he deems appropriate for you. In addition, if you really suck up to your boss he'll choose better things for you than your co-worker. I can't imagine you would consider that acceptable even if the things you have are nice. If you work for your money you should get to choose what to do with your money, make your own decisions, choose your own priorities. For JB it's not just about having the money, it's about having the power that comes with it. So yes, the girls have access to some of the money but only as JB sees fit. If a husband was doing that to his wife, especially with the goal of making sure she couldn't leave or have any kind of independence, you would call it financial domestic abuse.