The Lonely Js Club: James, Jackson & Johannah

[Tikichick]

23 hours ago, IndianPaintbrush said:

This whole situation is infuriating. I get that someone needs to be held legally accountable, but it should be the PARENTS. Do we have confirmation that DHS is investigating?

Those poor kids. A father in prison and a neglectful idiot mother.

IF the speculation were to be correct that it was Josh and Anna's youngest and IF Anna had in fact been the one to lose track of the child or IF she in fact left them all in the care of her eldest child Anna could find herself the subject of CPS investigation and some supervision.  

Explaining that away to authorities by stating Jana was the one Anna left in charge wipes away Anna's problems as Jana is a close adult relative deemed capable of caring for children.   It puts Jana a bit on the hotseat, but the odds of any real permanent consequences to Jana is small.

No idea if this is at all close to what actually happened, merely based on the speculation being discussed and further speculating given the family circumstances and recognizing they likely want CPS firmly on the outside of their gates.  It's not much of a stretch to see Anna herself being the one falling asleep and losing track of her child -- very pregnant, very stressed, maybe not getting very good rest at night, etc.  

[thehorseofpower]

I suspect Jana has been chosen as the potential "heroine" of the Duggars because she has kept so generally silent in interviews and on social media, so people are able to project their "escape" or dissatisfaction fantasies onto her. The fact that she is still single at 31 also adds some fuel to the idea that maybe she doesn't buy into the family lifestyle in the same way as her sisters. Because each time a sister has married, started having children and posting on social media, the fantasy that any of those sisters would agree with or fit into our own outside perspectives on what life should be like quickly dissipates. Even Jill, who has been the closest to a real "breaking away from the Duggar mindset" heroine, is a source of controversy because she hasn't broken away from an overall conservative religious viewpoint to the extent that some wish to see. Jana's quietness still leaves room for doubt.

Personally, I think if Jana were to speak openly about her views everyone would come to dislike her as much as any of the other sisters. There have been statements from the family about Jana being super strict in her dealings with the kids, and apparently there was a clip from the show where she tried to stop a very small child from daring to dance to music (don't know details on this but am sure someone else does). I suspect she has bought into the Gothard style of parenting just as her parents taught her.

Her seemingly close association with the bizarre Laura, a grown woman who apparently has worked for a living but chooses to live with the Duggars, is also interesting. If Jana were I terested in separating herself from the family, it seems she and Laura could have worked together on a business or living arrangement but she has chosen not to do this.

Essentially....I guess I don't feel all that sorry for Jana or think she is being forced to do what she does any more than the other stunted adult children. If she was cited for child endangerment, I tend to think there's a reason for it. The behavior seems all part of the same poisoned family tree and she is no more innocent than any of the other Duggars we've seen doing questionable things.

[dariafan]

On 12/12/2021 at 7:23 AM, GeeGolly said:

I know, right!? This is was happens when you release immature folks to the world.

Do they really think there is some campaign out there against Jana? Are they so confused they think the wish to see Josh punished for his disgusting behaviors is now transferred to Jana? Jana (allegedly) lost one kid. Considering she's been helping keep an eye on a dozen plus kids for the last 20 years, I'd say its surprising she hasn't lost track of more.

She’s got a better track record than her mother 

[Minivanessa]

50 minutes ago, thehorseofpower said:

I suspect Jana has been chosen as the potential "heroine" of the Duggars because she has kept so generally silent in interviews and on social media, so people are able to project their "escape" or dissatisfaction fantasies onto her.. . .

Essentially....I guess I don't feel all that sorry for Jana or think she is being forced to do what she does any more than the other stunted adult children. If she was cited for child endangerment, I tend to think there's a reason for it. The behavior seems all part of the same poisoned family tree and she is no more innocent than any of the other Duggars we've seen doing questionable things.

For brevity, I didn't quote your whole post here, but I agree with all of it. Well said - especially about people projecting their own ideas and opinions onto her. And this is after we've seen the other kidults get married and get their own social media accounts, where we can see the reality of their opinions and mindsets. And see that projections of rebellion and breaking away, were fated to be disappointed.

[Guest]

38 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

For brevity, I didn't quote your whole post here, but I agree with all of it. Well said - especially about people projecting their own ideas and opinions onto her. And this is after we've seen the other kidults get married and get their own social media accounts, where we can see the reality of their opinions and mindsets. And see that projections of rebellion and breaking away, were fated to be disappointed.

I do think we get glimpses of Jana's thoughts though as well, but not as direct as the others. And from what I've seen, I don't think she's heroic or better than the others. One example, she edited someone's clothes in a picture she posted on IG because it didn't meet her modesty standards.

[Tikichick]

1 minute ago, deaja said:

I do think we get glimpses of Jana's thoughts though as well, but not as direct as the others. And from what I've seen, I don't think she's heroic or better than the others. She edited someone's clothes in a picture she posted on IG because it didn't meet her modesty standards.

I agree, she's no better than the rest.   I see her as being either cowed and brainwashed, or a complete idiot if she thinks she cannot walk away and manage to survive and force JB to allow her access to her siblings if that's what she really wanted.

She's had plenty of time outside the compound and constant monitoring to be very aware the emperor has no clothes.    The only way I can see that not being true would be if in fact Laura is JB's eyes and ears on Jana.  If so you'd think she would have been onhand to help Jana and avoid the whole endangering the welfare of a minor incident.     

[louannems]

Yes, Jana quickly chided a two year old child for dancing to a musical toy in a thrift store.

[65mickey]

Good grief.

[merylinkid]

49 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

 I see her as being either cowed and brainwashed, or a complete idiot if she thinks she cannot walk away and manage to survive and force JB to allow her access to her siblings if that's what she really wanted.

Or she is just fine and believe as her parents' do of her own free will.   She might be exactly as she says she is -- just fine staying with her parents and caring for the other kids.   

Sure we WANT someone to break away.   But they may not want to.   They may have genuine belief in this system and not want to change.    

[GeeGolly]

I agree with all that about Jana. I would be feeling the same way if any of the sisters were charged for child neglect for this particular incident. I would have empathy, but still expect them to suffer the consequences.

[SJC]

5 hours ago, deaja said:

she edited someone's clothes in a picture she posted on IG because it didn't meet her modesty standards.

What ?! 😱

[lampshades]

5 hours ago, louannems said:

Yes, Jana quickly chided a two year old child for dancing to a musical toy in a thrift store.

I thought it was JB who quickly shut it down but it was in front of the camera and he left to allow Jana to awkwardly explain the family dancing rule.

[Zella]

Personally, I think Jana is a true believer in her parents' teachings. In my opinion, she wouldn't have the position of responsibility that she has in the house (as well as some of the relative freedoms she has) if she weren't trusted absolutely by her parents. She has had property and LLCs in her name for a long time. I don't know of any of the other unmarried daughters who had that, and I think if Jim Bob and Michelle had any doubts about Jana, she wouldn't have been given that.

Ultimately, the LLCs may be meaningless and the property may not be much, but I think the symbolism is pretty important. She's been rewarded, in a sense, and that's clearly not automatic with Jim Bob.  

Edited December 14, 2021 by Zella

[SJC]

5 minutes ago, Zella said:

She's been rewarded, in a sense, and that's clearly not automatic with Jim Bob.  

Very good point.
I suspect that Jana is a true believer & therefore JB trusts her more.

Wouldn't it be a riot if Jana was secretly saving money for a "rainy day" and left chez Duggar and bought her own home ?! 😂

[Zella]

2 minutes ago, SJC said:

Very good point.
I suspect that Jana is a true believer & therefore JB trusts her more.

Wouldn't it be a riot if Jana was secretly saving money for a "rainy day" and left chez Duggar and bought her own home ?! 😂

It would be hilarious, but I really don't think she has sleeper cell potential! LOL 

[SMama]

9 minutes ago, lampshades said:

I thought it was JB who quickly shut it down but it was in front of the camera and he left to allow Jana to awkwardly explain the family dancing rule.

I don’t recall JB being present. They were at a thrift shop, Jackson played a musical toy and moved his body to the music. A producer (jerk) told Jana, who did go to the child, and shyly said the kid was full of the spirit, or some other nonsense. I do recall Michelle holding one of the lost girls (1 or under) who was moving to music in an Indian restaurant.

[mynextmistake]

18 minutes ago, Zella said:

Personally, I think Jana is a true believer in her parents' teachings. In my opinion, she wouldn't have the position of responsibility that she has in the house (as well as some of the relative freedoms she has) if she weren't trusted absolutely by her parents. She has had property and LLCs in her name for a long time. I don't know of any of the other unmarried daughters who had that, and I think if Jim Bob and Michelle had any doubts about Jana, she wouldn't have been given that.

Ultimately, the LLCs may be meaningless and the property may not be much, but I think the symbolism is pretty important. She's been rewarded, in a sense, and that's clearly not automatic with Jim Bob.  

I don’t disagree that Jana is a true believer, but I don’t know if we can conclude anything from the property or LLCs. All of the other adult daughters were married very young — Jill was the oldest at 23, and Joy was only 19. JB and Michelle might have concluded they were too young to manage companies or property while they were still single. Plus, most of them started courting as soon as they reached a marriageable age, so JB and Michelle probably figured their husbands would provide for them. 

I think a lot of fan support for Jana stems from the belief that she sacrificed herself by staying single to protect her younger sisters from Josh. I’ve seen a number of people mention that both here and on Reddit. It’s possible that the theory is correct, but I don’t think we have any evidence to judge that one way or the other. It seems just as likely to me that Jana has other reasons for not wanting to marry — being gay or asexual, not wanting to have to run her own household, not wanting to have eleventy billion kids. 

[Zella]

3 minutes ago, mynextmistake said:

I don’t disagree that Jana is a true believer, but I don’t know if we can conclude anything from the property or LLCs. All of the other adult daughters were married very young — Jill was the oldest at 23, and Joy was only 19. JB and Michelle might have concluded they were too young to manage companies or property while they were still single. Plus, most of them started courting as soon as they reached a marriageable age, so JB and Michelle probably figured their husbands would provide for them. 

But not all the boys get them either. 

[SusanM]

11 minutes ago, mynextmistake said:

, not wanting to have eleventy billion kids. 

I'm going to go with this one.  She's already spent almost 30 years looking after kids.  Seriously I am betting she was wiping dirty little noses when she was 2.  Anyway the last thing I bet she wants is to get married and spend another 20 years raising kids...and then helping raise another generation of grandkids.

[lampshades]

1 hour ago, SMama said:

I don’t recall JB being present. They were at a thrift shop, Jackson played a musical toy and moved his body to the music. A producer (jerk) told Jana, who did go to the child, and shyly said the kid was full of the spirit, or some other nonsense. I do recall Michelle holding one of the lost girls (1 or under) who was moving to music in an Indian restaurant.

I think this is the incident and you’re right JB doesn’t turn it off and the producer is kind of a jerk. Can’t tell which one of the older boys did turn off the music.

 

[drafan]

48 minutes ago, SusannahM said:

  Anyway the last thing I bet she wants is to get married and spend another 20 years raising kids...and then helping raise another generation of grandkids.

Isn't this what she's supposedly doing right now?

I'm so bored with this Jana is arrested story. Jana is just so boring. Even her being arrested is boring.

[SusanM]

1 hour ago, drafan said:

Isn't this what she's supposedly doing right now?

I meant her own grandchildren, but fair point, as long as there are Duggars there will be Duggars procreating - and really it's about the only thing most of them do well - she was always be looking after kids.

Edited December 14, 2021 by SusannahM

[Guest]

2 hours ago, mynextmistake said:

I think a lot of fan support for Jana stems from the belief that she sacrificed herself by staying single to protect her younger sisters from Josh

This is one of those long lasting, pervasive theories.  I don't see any direct evidence to back it up; I also think in some ways, the girls are trained (for lack of a better word) to expect to be swept off their feet and she might not have experienced that. I also think she might know that she has a lot more freedom now than she would if she were to marry and have kids.  

Maybe she is staying home as a martyr for others, but I think that is just speculation and I don't personally see any evidence of that. 

[SJC]

12 minutes ago, deaja said:

I also think she might know that she has a lot more freedom now than she would if she were to marry and have kids.  

I am still holding out hope that Jana will break free & she will be the one to write a tell-all book. Hopefully it will be titled - 
Jana Duggar: 
Wearin' Pants, Shunning Marriage
My True Story.

Edited December 14, 2021 by SJC

[Tuxcat]

[emmawoodhouse]

Oh, she told us! 🙄

[Zella]

I've not seen the mainstream media sensationalizing it. I don't think Jessa knows the difference between WOACB and the Washington Post. . . . 

[emmawoodhouse]

And Jess, y'all chose to be in the public eye. You claim you were paid. There are drawbacks to that choice, KJ being one of them. 😁

[lascuba]

24 minutes ago, Zella said:

I've not seen the mainstream media sensationalizing it. I don't think Jessa knows the difference between WOACB and the Washington Post. . . . 

I just said this in Jessa's thread, but she or anyone else could have just said that a kid slipped out the door as soon as the story broke and they'd have avoided all the speculation. Speculation that has been quite kind towards Jana, I might add. 

[skatelady]

Well, here's MY theory: one of the OLDER M's decided to run away from home, and Jana happily packed his/her bags. Police were called after someone saw a pre-teen trudging down the road with a suitcase, and Jana realized she had to come up with a different story.....

[Zella]

1 minute ago, lascuba said:

I just said this in Jessa's thread, but she or anyone else could have just said that a kid slipped out the door as soon as the story broke and they'd have avoided all the speculation. Speculation that has been quite kind towards Jana, I might add. 

Agreed. It's been more speculation than sensationalism. I mean, not that speculation can't be sensational, but I think this is hardly the crucifixion of Jana that they seem to be envisioning it as. 

[Zella]

3 minutes ago, skatelady said:

Well, here's MY theory: one of the OLDER M's decided to run away from home, and Jana happily packed his/her bags. Police were called after someone saw a pre-teen trudging down the road with a suitcase, and Jana realized she had to come up with a different story.....

Eh I'm not sure that's how that would play out. I ran away as a 9 year old with my 11 year old brother because we didn't want to live with our mom. We were gone all day. End result was we ended up getting a ride in the back of a police car and then hanging out in the local police station while being harangued by some uppity bitch who worked at the courthouse. Nobody got a citation for us running away. I think the age of the child is probably pretty key to the citation. 

Edit: we also got some mandated therapy over it, and that guy was also less than helpful because he didn't like our answers about why we ran away. 🙄 But we got labeled as troubled rather than having bad adult supervision.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Zella

[Cinnabon]

31 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

And Jess, y'all chose to be in the public eye. You claim you were paid. There are drawbacks to that choice, KJ being one of them. 😁

Keep crying, Jessa. If you want privacy, stop sharing the minutiae of your life with millions of complete strangers. 

34 minutes ago, Zella said:

I've not seen the mainstream media sensationalizing it. I don't think Jessa knows the difference between WOACB and the Washington Post. . . . 

Those Qnuts are obsessed with the ebil MSM! 😂 All lies, I tell you.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Cinnabon

[Cinnabon]

9 minutes ago, Zella said:

Agreed. It's been more speculation than sensationalism. I mean, not that speculation can't be sensational, but I think this is hardly the crucifixion of Jana that they seem to be envisioning it as. 

They’re being persecuted, as usual, lol.  I bet Jessa would see it differently if one of her toddlers has been the one to escape and ended up drowning or being hit by a car.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Cinnabon

[Nysha]

I am betting that Jessa is getting an avalanche of messages & comments and she's tired of them. But, as @lascuba pointed out, they could have stopped the speculation by simply posting the truth as soon as it was public. I'm not sure if they didn't b/c they wanted to see what the fall-out was going to be or if they were hoping this would make everyone forget about Sex Pest. Instead, just about every article I've read has had 2-3 sentences about Jana and then 2-3 paragraphs about the family sex offender.

[lascuba]

6 minutes ago, Zella said:

Agreed. It's been more speculation than sensationalism. I mean, not that speculation can't be sensational, but I think this is hardly the crucifixion of Jana that they seem to be envisioning it as. 

What kills me is that there have been plenty of insane speculations that I think any of the Duggars would have been perfectly justified giving a snarky response (I'm not one who think that choosing to be in the public eye means one shouldn't respond to the rudeness and batshit fuckery that gets thrown their way). But this Jana situation isn't one of them. 

[Cinnabon]

I bet she’s been frantically deleting messages for days. Darn.

[Guest]

42 minutes ago, lascuba said:

I just said this in Jessa's thread, but she or anyone else could have just said that a kid slipped out the door as soon as the story broke and they'd have avoided all the speculation. Speculation that has been quite kind towards Jana, I might add. 

Yep. It seemed plausible that they were leaking the “kid slipped out” narrative because it would be seen as an innocent mistake and covering something worse. Once a narrative is out there, it is hard to correct. 

[Gweilo]

Sure Jessa would trust Jana with her kids, but that's not exactly the high bar she thinks it is.

[CalicoKitty]

On 12/12/2021 at 1:16 PM, GeeGolly said:

This whole saga has me thinking of Jill letting her boys climb on stacks of rider toys and Jessa and Joy with their barefoot children near sharp objects. Those incidents were intentional. At least Jana's was a mistake.

Another one that they posted:  using an infant seat on top of a stroller.  Jill said at the time that her mother had shown her how to do that.

 

[CalicoKitty]

4 hours ago, Zella said:

But not all the boys get them either. 

I always have had the feeling that The Umbrella is just using his kid's names to have a "safe" place to put assets.  I don't think that the kids "own" much of anything.

[Zella]

4 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

I always have had the feeling that The Umbrella is just using his kid's names to have a "safe" place to put assets.  I don't think that the kids "own" much of anything.

That's probably true, but they don't all get them, so I really do think there is an element of favor and trust for the ones who get it. He's not going to give them things if he fears they'll actually use them against him or for their own benefit. 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Zella

[BitterApple]

Miss Jessa Blessa is conveniently leaving out two facts: 1. Jana lied to a police officer, and 2) She fell asleep (allegedly) while she was supposed to be watching the kids. I've read comments here, on Reddit, FJ and other places and everyone has generally been supportive of Jana. Most believe it was an honest mistake, and while Jana has to take accountability, it certainly isn't the crime of the century. 

Jessa's just pissed because her gravy train is over.

[emmawoodhouse]

I wonder how these incidents will affect the girls' feeble attempts at influencing? Money is money.

[Zella]

I think the biggest problem for them influencing-wise isn't really their fault, but they're famous because their parents marketed them as a wholesome, perfect family. And other than the most fanatical of Duggar supporters, everyone has been very strongly disabused of that notion, way more so than even in 2015 when the molestations first came to light. 

I think it's just inevitable now that any media write-up/publicity about them is going to include a mention of Josh. It's not fair, but it's understandable. They were marketed as a unit and not as individuals. Some places may not say it openly, but I'm not sure that they'd want to be associated with a Duggar. Even if they are sympathetic and share similar worldviews--nobody is going to be talking about your product. They're just going to be talking about how J Duggar was pitching it and here's 5 very graphic paragraphs about Josh's very disgusting crimes or hundreds of comments on the post about Josh and Jim Bob. 

I think a big part of why TLC finally broke with them is they saw the writing on the wall. They knew that there was no coming back from a trial where even more awful family secrets are unearthed. 

The other problem, of course, is none of them are particularly good at influencing to begin with, which doesn't help matters. Some public figures excel at reinvention. But you kind of have to be good at the PR game for that to work out for you. 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Zella

[mynextmistake]

32 minutes ago, beckie said:

I still don't get why this was an offence punishable by law. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Leah from teen Mom 2 have a similar thing happen with her toddler a few years back? If I'm remembering correctly, she wasn't paying attention and somehow the little one got out, AT NIGHT, was found wandering the streets. She was returned safely, but Leah got a lecture not an arrest. So I'm still confused. 

And yes, I know, different state, but not so different situation.

I guess I don’t understand what you don’t get? A police officer felt like Jana’s conduct fell within the conduct prohibited by a criminal statute so she was charged with violating that statute. The fact that someone from Teen Mom might not have been charged for similar conduct is irrelevant. A lot of people who break the law never get charged, but that doesn’t mean we can’t charge anyone.

[Snow Fairy]

15 hours ago, SusannahM said:

I think for some Jana has been chosen as the potential break out heroine of this sad, sorry tale.  I'd love it if at least one Duggar would completely break free and live a happy non fundie life.  Ideally with a tell all book thrown into the mix.  If not Jana then hopefully one of the others sooner or later.

I do not think Jana will ever break free. She is in it from the beginning, one of the older children.

But I do hope at least one of the younger (sadder looking) girls do break this "headship-giving birth-homeschooling" circle - Johannah, Jennifer or Jordyn. I don't think Josie would be any different than her parents.

[Boston]

16 hours ago, thehorseofpower said:

I suspect Jana has been chosen as the potential "heroine" of the Duggars because she has kept so generally silent in interviews and on social media, so people are able to project their "escape" or dissatisfaction fantasies onto her. The fact that she is still single at 31 also adds some fuel to the idea that maybe she doesn't buy into the family lifestyle in the same way as her sisters. Because each time a sister has married, started having children and posting on social media, the fantasy that any of those sisters would agree with or fit into our own outside perspectives on what life should be like quickly dissipates. Even Jill, who has been the closest to a real "breaking away from the Duggar mindset" heroine, is a source of controversy because she hasn't broken away from an overall conservative religious viewpoint to the extent that some wish to see. Jana's quietness still leaves room for doubt.

Personally, I think if Jana were to speak openly about her views everyone would come to dislike her as much as any of the other sisters. There have been statements from the family about Jana being super strict in her dealings with the kids, and apparently there was a clip from the show where she tried to stop a very small child from daring to dance to music (don't know details on this but am sure someone else does). I suspect she has bought into the Gothard style of parenting just as her parents taught her.

Her seemingly close association with the bizarre Laura, a grown woman who apparently has worked for a living but chooses to live with the Duggars, is also interesting. If Jana were I terested in separating herself from the family, it seems she and Laura could have worked together on a business or living arrangement but she has chosen not to do this.

Essentially....I guess I don't feel all that sorry for Jana or think she is being forced to do what she does any more than the other stunted adult children. If she was cited for child endangerment, I tend to think there's a reason for it. The behavior seems all part of the same poisoned family tree and she is no more innocent than any of the other Duggars we've seen doing questionable things.

The thing is..  we don't know jack shit about Jana (I have been one who has just suspected).. You are correct.. Jana's life swings both ways.. you either hate her or love her.. but again, no one knows the real story.

[LuckyMommy]

18 hours ago, louannems said:

Yes, Jana quickly chided a two year old child for dancing to a musical toy in a thrift store.

Yea but wasn’t she a child herself when she did that? If I recall correctly it was Jackson and he was a little one then…..

[quarks]

14 hours ago, mynextmistake said:

It seems just as likely to me that Jana has other reasons for not wanting to marry — being gay or asexual, not wanting to have to run her own household, not wanting to have eleventy billion kids. 

My personal theory is that meeting the men her sisters married put her off marriage for life.

(points in Jeremy's general condescending direction)