19 Things I Hate About You: How the Duggars Infuriate

[RazzleberryPie]

What most high on their horse religious folks forget about that scene with Jesus is the prostitute is what he said before go and sin no more.   He said "He is without sin, cast the first stone."   IN other words, no one is sinless so you don't get to judge others.    Boy do the Duggars like to judge.

That's actually 2 separate stories. The Samaritan woman at the well was the one who had had multiple husbands and wasn't married to the one she was currently living with, and he told her to go and sin no more. It was a woman caught in the act of adultery (married and having sex with someone who was not her husband) who was about to be stoned. It isn't indicated if she's a prostitute or just a married woman caught having sex with man who was not her husband.

 

So, not the same passages of scripture or moral lesson. But, the whole 'love the sinner, hate the sin,' usually means that they love people in spite of their sin, and love or care about them enough to inform them that even good people have some sinful actions, but can recognize their sin, repent and be forgiven. I personally can't fault the Duggars for wanting people to stop behavior they sincerely think is destructive, offends God and will send them to eternal punishment. The intentions are good. 

[maraleia]

So the Duggars visited another college this week. Again, too bad none of their kids will be allowed to attend such institutions. So so tragic and maddening.

[Darknight]

Anything For money

[Ljohnson1987]

Showing the suffering of others for amusement. 

[floridamom]

Ok, I'll bite. Why did the Duggars visit a college? Another college? What gives? Why are they on this higher educational "tour" when they don't believe in attending high school away from the family table?

[Joe Jitsu913]

What are you talking about? The Duggars do this out of the goodness of their hearts! They don't charge money. This is their ministry!

(Yes, someone actually said this online.)

[floridamom]

Joe Jitsu913: What are you all referring to? I lost something somewhere up there. thanks

[Joe Jitsu913]

Joe Jitsu913: What are you all referring to? I lost something somewhere up there. thanks

I'm referring to the Duggars public speaking they do at various universities. They get paid to speak at these places.

I've had leghumpers tell me the Duggars do this out of the goodness of their hearts.

[ms.o]

They went to College of the Ozarks in Hollister, MO (outside of Branson). It's a small Christian school in middle of nowhere

Edited November 15, 2014 by ms.o

[Jellybeans]

I'm referring to the Duggars public speaking they do at various universities. They get paid to speak at these places.

I've had leghumpers tell me the Duggars do this out of the goodness of their hearts.

Who talks, and what do they talk about?

[Jellybeans]

Their award winning home schooling, and how it helps the Duggar kids in college.

There are Duggar kids in college??? Josh is enrolled in an on-line college I think (?) but .... who is in college?

[Jellybeans]

I was being facetious

LMAO!!!

[NausetGirl]

What most high on their horse religious folks forget about that scene with Jesus is the prostitute is what he said before go and sin no more.   He said "He is without sin, cast the first stone."   IN other words, no one is sinless so you don't get to judge others.    Boy do the Duggars like to judge.

 

IMO, Jim Bob & Michelle Duggar are monumentally-insecure individuals. For whatever reasons, they both grew up feeling badly about themselves. And it's difficult to live that way. But the Duggars found a way out. They learned that the easiest way to feel better about themselves is to talk about how bad most everyone else is.

Edited November 16, 2014 by NausetGirl

[GEML]

Let's say, just for sake of argument, that homosexuality is a sin. And the Duggars are right to point that out. What about making your wife live in a house under conditions that are so unbearable that she admits to having a breakdown while doing laundry? And then turning around and spending the quarter million dollars you'd planned on your dream home on some chance to run for the US Senate? Because, see, I think that's pretty self-centered too. And self-centered behavior is, in my opinion the root of all sin. The problem with the church and homosexuality is they get up there every week and condemn one group of people and tell them that they AND THEY ALONE are the sinners and the sin worth hating, conveniently overlooking all the sins being committed in the pews by everyone else - the ones that might lead your wife to have a nervous breakdown for instance.

And what I hear from them about that is PRIDE, not repentance. So I'm not terribly impressed about their internal moral compass about anyone else.

Edited November 15, 2014 by GEML

[Darknight]

Their award winning home schooling, and how it helps the Duggar kids in college.

What schooling and what college? The Duggar kids are dumb thanks to mom and dad

[floridamom]

Thanks, Joe Jitsu913. It's ironic that this family would speak at an institution of higher learning isn't it? I would think they are speaking there to make a point to the students: "stay in school and graduate, for you may end up like these people". I'm also quite sure that there is a fee involved to hear the wisdom of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar as they are "all knowing". Too bad they can't be in all places at once, then they would be JUST LIKE the Supreme Being, God.

[Jellybeans]

I was being a smartass

Go to the prayer closet now. You're confusing us all. :-)

[BradandJanet]

I just heard this on pbs, it really hits the mark the Duggars miss: Good parenting includes letting kids explore their natural instincts.

OMG. I saw PBS and Duggars in the same sentence and thought the world had ended. Please confirm that PBS, my lifeline on my long commute, is not covering the clown family.

[wovenloaf]

I don't even understand what they would talk about at the colleges? It wouldn't even make sense for them to talk about education, because as we all know no amount of Duggar homeschooling is going to change the fact that procreation is the only real life goal worth having. *barf*

 

Is it just some sort of "celebrity appearance" type thing? Do they drag a gaggle of unkempt children up there on stage with them? Or just let Jana tend to them at the homestead?

 

The problem with the church and homosexuality is they get up there every week and condemn one group of people and tell them that they AND THEY ALONE are the sinners and the sin worth hating, conveniently overlooking all the sins being committed in the pews by everyone else 

This is an overgeneralization that, even if applicable to certain groups, is wildly untrue for many, many churches and many, many Christians. And that's all I have to say about that!

[GEML]

I'm sorry. I mean churches like the Duggars. Want to make this clear. There are indeed many churches and many, many Christians (including myself) who do not believe this way.

[galax-arena]

I personally can't fault the Duggars for wanting people to stop behavior they sincerely think is destructive, offends God and will send them to eternal punishment. The intentions are good.

I can, when their beliefs are rooted in a whole lot of crap and messy logic. Like when Michelle was stumping to defeat an anti-discrimination ordinance that would allow transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponded with their gender identity, saying that it would give license to pedophiles to molest children in bathrooms. 

 

Good intentions are not a "get out of jail free" card. If Michelle does truly believe that transgender people are child molesting sickos and her intentions are "good" in that she wants to protect the children, I'm still gonna fault her because her "good intentions" are grounded in grade-A bullshit.

Edited November 17, 2014 by galax-arena

[WTFFF]

Agreed.  Good intentions aren't worth fuck-all if they hurt people while helping no one.

[alt0233]

There's been quite a bit of footage, especially in the boys dorm, that has shown bare mattresses with maybe a blanket on them but no sheets. No fitted sheets, no flat sheets, no mattress pads. It's happened often enough that people were starting to wonder if the kids were wetting the beds all the time or whether the Duggars were just too lazy to put sheets on the bed. 

 

I thought there were always fitted sheets, but no flat sheet/top sheet?  My memory was fitted sheet and a comforter, but nothing else.

[Kellyee]

There is a smugness to the Duggars that just makes me want to smack them. It used to just be Jim Bob and Michelle and Josh, but now its the girls too. You can just tell they look down on people. And what have they really accomplished in life? Not one of the Duggar children has gone to college, or pursued any profession and actually finished it. There was hope for Jill, but the midwife thing is over now that she's going to be staying home to just breed. I really wonder if Jana and John David are avoiding marriage because they secretly don't want 20 kids. But what are they doing in the meantime? Nothing. Josh is hanging out in DC looking for ways to discriminate against homosexuals. That's about all they have going.

 

I really wonder what Michelle's family thinks of all this. When they showed them a few seasons back, you could tell they were normal people. Were any of them at the weddings?

[Darknight]

I don't know why they would look down on others. Almost everyone in the real world can survive in the real world. My children wants to attend college and have careers. Who am I to stop them. If God forbid anything happens to me or my husband my kids will be taken care of. So JimChelle needs to shut it

[WTFFF]

I thought there were always fitted sheets, but no flat sheet/top sheet?  My memory was fitted sheet and a comforter, but nothing else.

Not always; the boys are often sleeping on bare mattresses, but some do use fitted sheets. 

[GEML]

They look down on people because otherwise what would be the point of keeping all of the rules that they do? Why dress a certain way, and wear your hair a certain length and put your life on the line having child after child in most cases that you can't really afford and live in houses that are overcrowded and eat cheap food and force your oldest children to assume adult responsibility before they are in double digits if you don't get to look down on people who don't do these things?

[Gweilo]

Their constant attention-whoring is so annoying.  One thing that I was thinking about: when they take their international trips, what do they do about the onboard entertainment system?  I'm guessing it's about 12+ hours from America to Japan, so what do they do with all their kids for the whole flight?  (It's not like they're going to tell them to read a book instead.) Ban them from turning on the TV?  Make them watch the flight tracker the whole time?  What if the passenger next to them, or in the row in front is watching 'smut'?  The flight attendants would have CONNIPTIONS if some weird family started blathering on about how they don't watch TV, and everyone needs to turn off their screens so their kids don't start imploding from lustful thoughts.

 

When I was 9, I had to set separately from my mum on a flight with the old-school TV screens at the front of the cabin, and watched my way through "The hand that rocks the cradle", which only slightly traumatised me, haahaa!  But the Duggar kids probably would be traumatised watching an episode of Mr Bean.

[mbutterfly]

But the Duggar kids probably would be traumatised watching an episode of Mr Bean.

Oh, I want a show where the Duggar kids watch Mr. Bean! 

[mimionthebeach]

Oh, I want a show where the Duggar kids watch Mr. Bean! 

 

To be totally defrauded by the turkey!

[Joe Jitsu913]

What do the Duggars do when they go to Wal Mart and hear secular music on the stereo system? Likewise for trips to Aldi and Starbucks. Do they block their ears?

They are such a freakshow.

[mimionthebeach]

Not always; the boys are often sleeping on bare mattresses, but some do use fitted sheets. 

 

I thought I saw bare mattresses and sleeping bags on some of the beds. Maybe it's because the boys just don't want to make the beds. The girls seem to have real bedding.

[ninjawirehead]

I just finished watching the Hellsing anime.  Let  see the Duggars process that one.

[WTFFF]

From what we've seen on the show, the kids behave like little beasts on the plane, yelling and moving around constantly.  But you know that by now each of those kids has an iPhone or tablet loaded with "Godly" television. 

 

I go back and back to this as being something that pisses me off about the Duggars, but right now I can't get the Jubilee fiasco out of my head.  An acquaintance of mine just found out that a little boy in her family was diagnosed with a malignant brainstem tumor.  Turns out there's a pretty widely-read blog by the moms of a little girl who had the same type of cancer, who greatly outlived the doctors' predictions for her (they chose not to pursue treatment and instead spent their energy preserving quality of life).  Sixteen months of knowing that their child is slowly deteriorating and will inevitably die.  Watching their healthy two year old lose the ability to play, move, speak, eat, even defecate on her own.  They put their little girl's funeral on Youtube for extended family, friends and readers who were unable to attend in person, and I watched the mothers' eulogies.  Watched them laugh and cry their way through memories of their little girl's life before cancer, the horror of her diagnosis, and the time she had afterward.

 

And then - completely unbidden, as Duggar thoughts are wont to be - I thought of Jubilee.  Of renting out a megachurch for a 16-to-18-weeks-along fetus.  Of forcing their children to view this as the greatest tragedy in the world and then forcing them to live it on camera.  Of Michelle's sickly-sweet voice in her "open letter."  Of, when all was said and done, how that "baby" was buried in an ammo box.  Of their sheer lack of gratitude for the 19 children they have.  Of knowing that if, god forbid, one of the kids from Jedidiah to Jordyn passed away, the eulogy would be a few pat phrases about character qualities.  For people who claim to be "pro-life," they don't cherish life in the slightest, and it infuriates me to no end.  All this drama and fanfare over a miscarriage, while their 19 children are stacked up like they're surplus in a warehouse, fending for themselves and raising each other. 

 

Somehow, framing it with the genuine tragedy that befell people who knew and adored their firstborn child and only daughter makes it so much worse. 

Edited November 18, 2014 by WTFFF

[Andrews m]

I was watching the godawful episode where SlumBob and MEchelle celebrated their 29th anniversary. It really bothered me that they were thrilled to have their kids serve them at dinner. As a mom, Imwould have been concerned about whether the kids had eaten, if they were hungry, wanting them to sit with Mr. Andrew m and me. Their priorities are so messed up.

[mimionthebeach]

I was watching the godawful episode where SlumBob and MEchelle celebrated their 29th anniversary. It really bothered me that they were thrilled to have their kids serve them at dinner. As a mom, Imwould have been concerned about whether the kids had eaten, if they were hungry, wanting them to sit with Mr. Andrew m and me. Their priorities are so messed up.

Silly Andrew m. Once the kids hit 6 months of age, feeding them is no longer MEchelle's jurisdiction.

[BitterApple]



  All this drama and fanfare over a miscarriage, while their 19 children are stacked up like they're surplus in a warehouse, fending for themselves and raising each other. 

This is probably going to send me to hell in a handbasket, but when Michelle had the miscarriage I felt like a lot of the Duggar kids were faking being upset over it. It seemed like they were reacting how their parents wanted and expected them to react versus truly being sad over the loss of Jubilee. I'm not saying they weren't upset, but I don't think they were as traumatized as Boob and Michelle claimed them to be. I also don't doubt that the J'Slaves felt a smidgen of relief that they weren't going to be saddled with another child to raise for the next 18 years.

[Joe Jitsu913]

I wonder how they (they being Duggars as a whole and as individuals) as well as Tlc/storyline would handle if the Duggars (and not just JBoob n MeChelle) had a severely disabled infant?

They would milk it to the last drop. Michelle could finally be "the Martyr" that she's always wanted to be.

[BitterApple]

They would milk it to the last drop. Michelle could finally be "the Martyr" that she's always wanted to be.

It's funny you say that. Over the summer I was watching the reruns on TLC that covered the period when the family moved to Little Rock to be with Josie. My mother, who only knows of the Duggars peripherally, was watching with me. Upon watching the scenes where Michelle is endlessly catered to and fawned over at Arkansas Children's, my mother said "Boy she plays that martyr role to the hilt doesn't she? I've never seen a woman so happy to be in the NICU." I totally agree Michelle would milk the situation to the last drop, all while the J'Slaves cared for the kid round the clock, of course...

[wanderwoman]

I wonder how they (they being Duggars as a whole and as individuals) as well as Tlc/storyline would handle if the Duggars (and not just JBoob n MeChelle) had a severely disabled infant?

Oh. I have no doubt they would milk it and parade that child out at every pro-life event and political rally in the south.

[LoLo]

When the show first started it was interesting to see how such a large family did things without spending tons of money. I don't care about their beliefs or how many kids they have. In the beginning the girls & Michelle all dressed & had hairstyles much like the FLDS members. They said they dress modestly to draw attention to their faces. But now the girls have their hair much like every other girls & they wear so much make up. I don't get it. They can't show a calf or upper arm but can put on makeup like a model.

 

What drives me the most insane is that they never allow us to see them behaving normally. Never a scene where they have a difference of opinion or disagree with Jim Bob. The women & girl children all look at him like he's God. The married women or the one's courting all nod with a frozen smile while their men talk. It's like they worship the man & bow down to him.

 

Lastly, I cannot stand how the entire family has to be in on the courtships. They act all giddy & giggly about it, even the little ones. It's beyond corny & uncomfortable to watch Jim Bob talk about his daughter's wedding night.

[merylinkid]

As I was quilting tonight, my thgoughts wandered to the Duggars.   Hey, quilting is kind of a fundamental thing to do.   I know the girls used to sew their own clothes, but did they ever quilt?   It's a very feminine thing to do and you wind up with wonderful quilts for the home.   Very womany.   Plus, you could sell them (and the girls could have their own money).   Which, yeah, that's why it will never happen.   It's a group activity when you all sit around and quilt the layers of the quilt together.   It would be an acceptable way for the fundie girls to get together to joke and giggle while properly supervised by the older women -- except Mechelle of course  she'll be doing something else for attention.  YIf the Duggar girls were allowed to have friends, of course.   Instead we get endless scenes of them packing for another trip to someplace they don;t appreciate.

[Joe Jitsu913]

I get annoyed by the fact that no one ever has a bad day. No one is ever pissed off. Everyone is happy 24/7/365. No temper tantrums, no PMSing, no minor squabbles are shown ever. Are we really expected to believe these robots get along perfectly? Just once I'd like to hear an F-bomb...even a 'shut the hell up!' would suffice. It's shiny,happy people 24/7 in the Duggar household and that is NOT normal.

Edited November 19, 2014 by Joe Jitsu913

[GEML]

Quilting is very much appreciated and encouraged in many Fundy circles (even I did a baby quilt.). That Gothard types don't do it shows how isolated he prefers to keep individual families. A lot of things are said by women who gather over a quilting frame!

[heebiejeebie]

I think it is the overall smug sense of being superior simply because they bred like cats.  I remember the first episode I sat mostly through was nothing but the smug glee every single talking head was how they needed more cabs than regular families and how people don't understand how many loaves of bread they eat.

 

Well first of all most of us actually can do simple math and are NOT amazed that if you have a bigger family you need more food than a smaller family does.  Or how many people fit into a cab.  Note to dumbass Duggars.  It is what people who accept fact as such and not opinion (cave men walking with dinosaurs, natch) call "division".    And the reason people were looking at them was because no, two adults and how many umpteen children WITH CAMERAS FILMING them, is not stunning but simply eye catching. 

 

The smugness that somehow they have a better grasp on things and things especially that matter because they can breed.  When in fact the very simplest element of their smugness escapes them.  That if every other couple decided to take the all we can breed approach to baby making, much of what the Duggars have enjoyed would not have been afforded them.  They are part of the carnival freak show that is TLC.  People notice them and are interested in them not because of their superiority but from the fact that they are not the norm to the point of being, since it is all by choice, freaks.  Yet they act and try to sell the notion that people are interested in them and stunned by them due to envy of their "lifestyle" and finding them to be aspirational.

 

And another things that bugs the hell out of me was for years I saw them on the Today show and they acted like they were so much more in tune with living as a family and being self sufficient.  Which is a load of crap.  A huge load as the video evidence over the years supplies.  Back in the day during the aftermath of WWII my great grandmother raised nine orphaned kids as well as her own five from all over Europe.  She sent them to college, every single one.  And she raised almost all her food as well as worked as a doctor (the first woman doctor in her county) well into the late 1980s.  When I first saw one of their food shopping episodes I was appalled at how much they bought instead of raised themselves.

[Jellybeans]

As I was quilting tonight, my thgoughts wandered to the Duggars.   Hey, quilting is kind of a fundamental thing to do.

I think I know why they do not quilt. As a child I went with y grandmother to quilting bees. I was too young to quilt but old enough to eavesdrop. Things were said that would be very good for a Duggar female to hear. One thing I remember is every woman agreed they should hide cash somewhere hubby could not find it. LOL. And lots of sex talk but ... I was young.

[Jellybeans]

I think Jellybeans needs to spend time in the prayer closet.

No, and you can't make me go. :-)

[ghoulina]

I get annoyed by the fact that no one ever has a bad day. No one is ever pissed off. Everyone is happy 24/7/365. No temper tantrums, no PMSing, no minor squabbles are shown ever. Are we really expected to believe these robots get along perfectly? Just once I'd like to hear an F-bomb...even a 'shut the hell up!' would suffice. It's shiny,happy people 24/7 in the Duggar household and that is NOT normal.

 

Same here. And, on the flip side, I don't think I've really ever seen them genuinely overjoyed about something. Maybe the little ones, or Jill with her engagement/wedding. But a lot of their happiness feels very forced, very Stepford. This mild, "Everything is cool" kind of vibe. 

[mbutterfly]

Quilting is very much appreciated and encouraged in many Fundy circles (even I did a baby quilt.). That Gothard types don't do it shows how isolated he prefers to keep individual families. A lot of things are said by women who gather over a quilting frame!

Once again geml you've given us information that I would never have guessed. 

[Jynnan tonnix]

But they have enough females in their family that they could have a quilting circle without the risk of hearing an outside opinion on anything. If they know how to sew in general, how hard would it be to get into quilting? As has been mentioned upthread, it would give them something useful at the end. They could use the quilts themselves or sell them, or even donate them to shelters or something. It's a wholesome activity to bring the family together and actually produce something. What else do they do all day? Well, other than MEchelle's housekeeping and child care. And homeschool and prayer, I guess. But quilting could be taught to some of the younger kids as a way of keeping them busy and out of trouble. A two-fer of child care and actual productivity. And lessons, either scholastic or religious, could be taught at the same time. Multitasking at its best!