19 Things I Hate About You: How the Duggars Infuriate

[Sew Sumi]

Even more ironic is that they bought that Pool House pretty much next door to them. I don't know the lay of the land overall (Koka was the expert at that), but I do know that the house is pretty much the closest property to them in any direction. Once they got Venessa into that place to tether Jill's work, it was a short jump to buy the place the second Venessa was outed as a charlatan. 

[Churchhoney]

3 hours ago, kassygreene said:

I'd give them the not playing outside thing.  That house is apparently on a public road with absolutely no covering trees or hedges.  It also seems to be hard-scrabble dirt.  And of course whatever is leaching over from the landfill.  If it were me, my kids not only wouldn't play outside at that site, but they wouldn't live in that neighborhood either.

And of course this raises the question why people who really really want (at least) 19 kids -- supplemented around the house with as many "grandbabies" as possible -- would deliberately buy a house that many would feel wasn't a good place for said kids to play outdoors.

Oh, I remember. These world-famous child-loving people don't really give a flying crap about the actual needs and wants of children! At all! In the least! Why would kids need to play outside? And who cares if they drink and bathe in landfill water? Cause Jesus!

[kokapetl]

25 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Even more ironic is that they bought that Pool House pretty much next door to them. I don't know the lay of the land overall (Koka was the expert at that), but I do know that the house is pretty much the closest property to them in any direction. Once they got Venessa into that place to tether Jill's work, it was a short jump to buy the place the second Venessa was outed as a charlatan. 

I am Kokapetl. I changed my name, I'm waiting to change it back. 

[GeeGolly]

1 hour ago, ingenting said:

I am Kokapetl. I changed my name, I'm waiting to change it back. 

Really????? Koka?! 

[Sew Sumi]

22 hours ago, ingenting said:

I am Kokapetl. I changed my name, I'm waiting to change it back. 

You gave an Aussie hint, but I sort of blew it off. I should know better by now! 

[Barb23]

On 5/20/2016 at 0:25 PM, kassygreene said:

I'd give them the not playing outside thing.  That house is apparently on a public road with absolutely no covering trees or hedges.  It also seems to be hard-scrabble dirt.  And of course whatever is leaching over from the landfill.  If it were me, my kids not only wouldn't play outside at that site, but they wouldn't live in that neighborhood either.

But from what we've seen on the show, they have a nice backyard with tennis/basketball courts, a patio with a fancy built in but rarely used grill, a paved sidewalk that the kids have been shown riding scooters on, a wooden swing set (not sure if TTH or pool house), some kind of shed the Howlers used as a fort, etc. So there are plenty of places for the kids to play.  They are at the age where they shouldn't need constant (outside) supervision  with Jinger or Jana having to watch them, but we know the Duggars don't see it that way.  I was going to ask why don't they get some large appliance sized boxes for them to play with but that involves thinking & imagination on the kid's part, which aren't allowed.

[kokapetl]

There seems to be like 0 days per year of comfortable outdoor weather in Arkansas. When it's not hot and humid it's icy roads and frozen ground.  

[bigskygirl]

Darn Duggars. I saw my uncle last Thursday, and I gave him a side hug when we said goodbye. Why am I hugging people sideways. I do not remember doing this before I ever heard of the Duggars.

[lookeyloo]

The side hug became a joke between me and the oldest grandson.  He is going on 16 and past hugging grandma but tolerates it for me (waiting for him to get through this stage) but we agreed that a "Duggar side hug" will work for both of us.  And then we laugh about it.  

[Absolom]

50 minutes ago, ingenting said:

There seems to be like 0 days per year of comfortable outdoor weather in Arkansas. When it's not hot and humid it's icy roads and frozen ground.  

There are at least four months a year of tolerable weather.  :)  Spring and fall aren't usually bad.

[Sew Sumi]

Four? That many? I say this as a resident of the city that NOAA has determined has the best climate in the US. Almost never hits freezing, and if it does, it's only for a couple hours at a time, for a handful of days a year. Rarely too hot (most places around here don't even have a/c), with absolutely zero humidity accompanying that heat. We have the cooling influence of San Francisco's fog in the mornings and evenings May thru August, or as we call it "Nature's air conditioning,"  but far enough away from the coast to be around 10 degrees warmer than San Fran during the day (ie. leave your sweatshirt at the hotel).Our "summer" generally happens in September and October, usually ending abruptly right on Halloween, when our "rainy" season starts. 

And that's a big reason why people pay through the nose to live here rather than there. :D 

Edited May 22, 2016 by Sew Sumi

[GeeGolly]

I just looked at the yearly average temps for their area. Temperature wise it really isn't drastically different than New England. Our winters tend to have a few colder days, and the cooler fall weather starts earlier here, and their summers have a few hotter days.

Folks are outside in my area year round, except for a few days in the winter, and maybe a few in the summer without access to swimming. Not that we don't gripe about the weather, but when you're young, not so much.

[SometimesBites]

I'm up the road from Sew Sumi (by about 250 miles) and in recorded weather history it's never gotten hotter here than 87 degrees (yet...the way things are going, I keep expecting to see that old record break.) I begin to decompensate when it's hotter than 75. Arkansas wouldn't work for me, even if the Duggars weren't there stinking up the joint.

[Portia]

I do not get them citing the weather as the reason their kids don't  play outside. I lived in Arkansas when my kids were young, and our part of the state had hotter summers than the Duggars'. My kids played outside year round because they were normal, active kids and also because I encouraged outdoor exercise it as an important part of a healthy childhood. During the hottest part of the summer, they played outside before 10 am and after supper, or they cooled off in the sprinkler or wading pool.

[MunichNark]

How much is 87 degrees? I just looked up Arkansas temperatures, and the hottest average was only about 33 degrees C. Whilst that is hot, it isn't THAT hot. Hell, Germany gets worse than that these days. Did I mention I hate summer now? And we don't have air con anywhere usually.

[Rabbittron]

I feel the real reason they don't let the kids play outsideis because someone from the big bad outside world might entice one of the kids to leave the cult and get a real lifestyle. 

[Barb23]

5 minutes ago, Portia said:

I do not get them citing the weather as the reason their kids don't  play outside. I lived in Arkansas when my kids were young, and our part of the state had hotter summers than the Duggars'. My kids played outside year round because they were normal, active kids and also because I encouraged outdoor exercise it as an important part of a healthy childhood. During the hottest part of the summer, they played outside before 10 am and after supper, or they cooled off in the sprinkler or wading pool.

I'm with you.  I do feel sorry for the Duggar kids, esp the boys in not being allowed to wear shorts.The boys wearing heavy jeans & polo shirts & the girls with all their layers having to deal with the outside heat would be hard.   But then again, I swear kids don't notice the heat as much as adults.  For example, my niece when she was younger wearing her bathing suit in the winter (inside the house) or trudging around in heavy snow boots in the summer.

[Absolom]

1 hour ago, MunichNark said:

How much is 87 degrees? I just looked up Arkansas temperatures, and the hottest average was only about 33 degrees C. Whilst that is hot, it isn't THAT hot. Hell, Germany gets worse than that these days. Did I mention I hate summer now? And we don't have air con anywhere usually.

That may be the daily average but I wasn't too far from the Duggars last June and it was over 100 F for several days straight.  It didn't prevent people from going about their business, but there were heat warnings about avoiding outdoor activities if possible during the middle of the day.  I believe the Duggars play outside as much as most children do, but during winter and summer the children aren't outside all the time and that may get on Michelle's nerves.

[polandspring]

On 5/20/2016 at 10:32 AM, Arwen Evenstar said:

Annoying bug eyed selfies of Duggar parents and married Duggar kids sharing a malt.

i wonder if sharing a malt with 2 straws isn't allowed until after marriage.

On 5/20/2016 at 11:50 AM, Aja said:

Come to think of it, you're right. There is a statistically weird high number of those.

I think it's because they're trying to emulate an imagined Norman Rockwell time before things like birth control, women's education, and later marriage for both sexes corrupted wholesome 'courtship' into dating.  

Of course, that time never existed and teenagers have been groping each other furtively since the beginning of time.  The only difference is what they do beforehand.

[lookeyloo]

Raised the kids in South Louisiana.  Very hot and very humid.  They didn't seem to care when they were kids.  In the summer, back in the day before internet scares, they left the house in the am and only came back when they were hungry. And nothing happened to them, nor did we expect anything to happen to them. Anyway, they came home hot and sweaty and took a shower and started the whole thing over again the next day. When they got to be teenagers they didn't love the heat so much.  

[SometimesBites]

Couldn't help myself (what with my new McDonald Family interest). Here we have two young women, one age 24, one age 23, both of whom come from families that claim to embrace deeply fundamental Christianity. I find it particularly interesting that in both cases, the young women eschew pants and embrace exceptional modesty. The McDonalds don't make a fuss about this belief--they just do it. The Duggars FLAUNT their modesty (which sort of defeats the purpose...doesn't it???) Not making a judgment call on whether the life outcome for the McDonald kids will be a lot better than the Duggar kids, but in terms of the Duggars' holier-than-thou modesty claims, I find the photo comparison interesting--a visible marker for how their different approach to modesty looks, side-by-side:

[riverblue22]

Ain't nothing modest about marketing yourself on television to millions of people.  

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, SometimesBites said:

Couldn't help myself (what with my new McDonald Family interest). Here we have two young women, one age 24, one age 23, both of whom come from families that claim to embrace deeply fundamental Christianity. I find it particularly interesting that in both cases, the young women eschew pants and embrace exceptional modesty. The McDonalds don't make a fuss about this belief--they just do it. The Duggars FLAUNT their modesty (which sort of defeats the purpose...doesn't it???) Not making a judgment call on whether the life outcome for the McDonald kids will be a lot better than the Duggar kids, but in terms of the Duggars' holier-than-thou modesty claims, I find the photo comparison interesting--a visible marker for how their different approach to modesty looks, side-by-side:

And you wouldn't even need the clothes and the hair and the posing to make the point. The facial expressions do it all by themselves. Modest and natural versus phoney baloney and arrogant as hell.

Thanks for the all-telling side-by-side.

[Jenilane6]

Jessa the Bratz doll driving Bin crazy prior to the wedding.  UGH

[kokapetl]

Non Jessa seems to be wearing a hair covering of some sort. 

[Arwen Evenstar]

15 minutes ago, Kokapetl said:

Non Jessa seems to be wearing a hair covering of some sort. 

Jessa's hair covering is Aqua Net.

[queenanne]

Is Real Jessa being a still from an episode which aired?

I ask this because I'm not sure sunlight can naturally do that across a cheekbone, even considering that rays of the sun slant.  I think it was "sweetened" by photography or Photochop tricks.

[cmr2014]

6 hours ago, SometimesBites said:

Couldn't help myself (what with my new McDonald Family interest). Here we have two young women, one age 24, one age 23, both of whom come from families that claim to embrace deeply fundamental Christianity. I find it particularly interesting that in both cases, the young women eschew pants and embrace exceptional modesty. The McDonalds don't make a fuss about this belief--they just do it. The Duggars FLAUNT their modesty (which sort of defeats the purpose...doesn't it???) Not making a judgment call on whether the life outcome for the McDonald kids will be a lot better than the Duggar kids, but in terms of the Duggars' holier-than-thou modesty claims, I find the photo comparison interesting--a visible marker for how their different approach to modesty looks, side-by-side:

I find both of these pictures disturbing. This phoney-baloney "modesty" stuff is just as awful in both pictures.

Many of us have posted in the past that there are women all over the world who dress "modestly" and attractively.

To me the Duggar girls always look awful in their layers of ill-fitting thrift store clothing and layers of makeup, but the girl on the left looks ridiculous, too. This is a pretty girl. It's possible to style your hair and wear nice clothes without being a shameless slut. There is nothing wrong with a girl, especially a young woman this age, looking nice and feeling pretty.

[louannems]

What's up with the Duggars' forever taking photos of themselves in their CARS?  I don't think I have ever done it! Until I recently retired, I was forever commuting to work, or driving kids places.  Since the Duggars all seem to hang at home all day, maybe all their car photos are to tell us that, "See, we DO do things!

[SometimesBites]

I don't find the woman on the left ridiculous, and I don't have a problem with it, per se. I have friends who are Hassid, Muslim, and Mennonite; each of them wear some sort of head covering. Each of them is an intelligent, funny, generous, thinking woman. They're writers, professors, world travelers. If the woman on the left is wearing a head covering because she's been coerced or brainwashed, that's fucked up and I wish for her a way into a larger world. But if she is choosing that for herself, if it's part of her genuine belief system, then I have no words of condemnation or derision.

The question of intelligent, deeply considered CHOICE is, of course, the real sticking point.

[BradandJanet]

I was nearly blinded by the wallpaper in the photo on the left and almost didn't notice the woman's frumpy homemade jumper. Jessa looks like a wild-eyed siren about to take off for Vegas. These people make me so glad to not to be them. 

[queenanne]

Well, the disconnect is, IMO, because the "frumpy jumper", on second look, appears to actually be a short-sleeved dress worn over a black turtleneck.

[Arwen Evenstar]

9 hours ago, SometimesBites said:

I don't find the woman on the left ridiculous, and I don't have a problem with it, per se. I have friends who are Hassid, Muslim, and Mennonite; each of them wear some sort of head covering. Each of them is an intelligent, funny, generous, thinking woman. They're writers, professors, world travelers. If the woman on the left is wearing a head covering because she's been coerced or brainwashed, that's fucked up and I wish for her a way into a larger world. But if she is choosing that for herself, if it's part of her genuine belief system, then I have no words of condemnation or derision.

The question of intelligent, deeply considered CHOICE is, of course, the real sticking point.

Agreed... That is the sticking point.  How much of this do they consciously choose? One Muslim woman was interviewed on TV and she gave the best answer to the head covering belief. She said, "I may cover my head, but that does not mean I cover my mind." 

Observant Muslim men wear a prayer cap, and observant Jewish men wear a yarmulke or hat, and Amish men wear a hat. Many religions require some kind of head covering for both sexes.  Islam has well over a billion adherents worldwide. Much is made of women's hair covering

The girl on the left is a natural beauty. Her skin is healthy and so is her hair and she's wearing little to no makeup. She reflects peace and serenity and humility and an inner beauty that The Vapid One clearly doesn't possess. Jessa is vain, vapid, self centered, arrogant, full of stank and she has bad skin and wears too much makeup. Though Blessa is far from being ugly physically, she's got some very ugly ways.

[cmr2014]

11 hours ago, SometimesBites said:

I don't find the woman on the left ridiculous, and I don't have a problem with it, per se. I have friends who are Hassid, Muslim, and Mennonite; each of them wear some sort of head covering. Each of them is an intelligent, funny, generous, thinking woman. They're writers, professors, world travelers. If the woman on the left is wearing a head covering because she's been coerced or brainwashed, that's fucked up and I wish for her a way into a larger world. But if she is choosing that for herself, if it's part of her genuine belief system, then I have no words of condemnation or derision.

The question of intelligent, deeply considered CHOICE is, of course, the real sticking point.

My post was not in reference to the hair covering, but to the look in general. The middle east is full of beautiful, stylish women in headscarves; Hasidic women wear somber, but beautifully made and well fitting clothing; etc.

I have issues with religious hair coverings in general, but my post was in reference to a passing feeling. The girl on the left looks, to some degree, like me, and it was a personal thought, a personal memory of being a young woman, and getting dressed for a special occassion and simply feeling pretty.

The Duggar girls always look like garbage. They wear layers of clothing, and nothing ever fits them. I think that the only time that Jessa has ever had the opportunity to feel like a pretty young woman was when she got married and she got to wear a new dress that fit her.

The other girl looks like she is dressed to look like a 19th century farm girl, except that 19th century farm girls wore clothes that fit them (because they made them), and also got to wear pretty dresses for special occassions.

[SometimesBites]

3 hours ago, cmr2014 said:

The other girl looks like she is dressed to look like a 19th century farm girl, except that 19th century farm girls wore clothes that fit them (because they made them), and also got to wear pretty dresses for special occassions.

She (and her sisters and mom) definitely have an Amish-inspired wardrobe--and I mean that literally. It isn't what 99.9% of young women would ever choose for any reason. Still, I don't find that wardrobe choices "ridiculous," just outside the norm. I'll be the first to admit, though, that my eye is arguably skewed. I hail from the Pacific Northwest, and in my corner of the world there are actually LOTS of women (all ages) who dress sort of like this (the McDonalds live in Washington state, BTW.) 1960s sensibility is still ingrained for a lot of people where I live--it's just as culturally influenced as other fashion sensibilities are elsewhere. There's even a term here in Humboldt County: "Humboldt Honey." I have a hunch that we'll have to agree to disagree about what necessarily constitutes a pretty dress for a special occasion, since one woman's pretty is another woman's uh...no thanks!

And having said all that, I'll add that there is something wardrobe-related that looks ridiculous to me--that's when the Duggars make cheap, oddball modifications to their clothes. As we've all noted, if your goal is exceptional modesty, then make or purchase modest clothes to start with; their efforts to modest-up their special-occasion clothing are atrocious (like Michelle's hideous silver mother-of-the-whatever dress.) So probably the Duggs would tell me to heed my own ideas about eye-of-the-beholder fashion. ;)

[questionfear]

Not sure where to put this,but given how much profanity it made me drop, I will put it here.

 

Sos are a bunch of motherfucking assholes  http://www.inquisitr.com/3138421/you-wont-believe-what-the-duggar-familys-favorite-mission-group-said-about-transgender-bathrooms/

[Arwen Evenstar]

29 minutes ago, questionfear said:

Not sure where to put this,but given how much profanity it made me drop, I will put it here.

 

Sos are a bunch of motherfucking assholes  http://www.inquisitr.com/3138421/you-wont-believe-what-the-duggar-familys-favorite-mission-group-said-about-transgender-bathrooms/

The Duggars are connected to way too many haters to be good for the image of anyone in the public eye or anyone trying to revive their brand. 

[Quilt Fairy]

On ‎5‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 0:11 AM, SometimesBites said:

The question of intelligent, deeply considered CHOICE is, of course, the real sticking point.

But if this is the culture she grew up in and the only one she really knows, the idea of "choice", especially "intelligent, deeply considered choice" simply doesn't apply. YMMV.

[BradandJanet]

11 hours ago, questionfear said:

Not sure where to put this,but given how much profanity it made me drop, I will put it here.

 

Sos are a bunch of motherfucking assholes  http://www.inquisitr.com/3138421/you-wont-believe-what-the-duggar-familys-favorite-mission-group-said-about-transgender-bathrooms/

I hate to be logical, but the "Middle East" is not a single country with a single set of laws and customs. The article assumes that there are no laws or systems in any of these countries--just instant mobs with handy stacks of rocks everywhere dispensing "justice." It's so simple. 

For missionaries, SOS comes across a sad group that traffics in scary stereotypes about the people they hope to charm and convert. The wackos running this organization are about as dumb as the rocks they secretly admire. 

[SometimesBites]

14 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

But if this is the culture she grew up in and the only one she really knows, the idea of "choice", especially "intelligent, deeply considered choice" simply doesn't apply. YMMV.

My mileage doesn't vary a bit--which is is precisely why I said choice is the sticking point, and exactly where I think the cult of "Daddy knows best" (in all its funky iterations) fails the children, particularly when they become young adults: choice is too often abrogated.

[Marigny]

On 5/27/2016 at 11:25 PM, louannems said:

What's up with the Duggars' forever taking photos of themselves in their CARS?  I don't think I have ever done it! Until I recently retired, I was forever commuting to work, or driving kids places.  Since the Duggars all seem to hang at home all day, maybe all their car photos are to tell us that, "See, we DO do things!

I think the car is the only place they get to be alone. 

[MunichNark]

On 27.5.2016 at 11:46 PM, SometimesBites said:

Couldn't help myself (what with my new McDonald Family interest). Here we have two young women, one age 24, one age 23, both of whom come from families that claim to embrace deeply fundamental Christianity. I find it particularly interesting that in both cases, the young women eschew pants and embrace exceptional modesty. The McDonalds don't make a fuss about this belief--they just do it. The Duggars FLAUNT their modesty (which sort of defeats the purpose...doesn't it???) Not making a judgment call on whether the life outcome for the McDonald kids will be a lot better than the Duggar kids, but in terms of the Duggars' holier-than-thou modesty claims, I find the photo comparison interesting--a visible marker for how their different approach to modesty looks, side-by-side:

Jessa looks like a trashy Wannabe, and that girl on the right, whilst dressing strangely, looks cheerful, with a glow on the inside that would proclaim to me that she is a genuine and nice person.

Still don't get why you need to dress like that though. No need to look frumpy.

[Arwen Evenstar]

On May 29, 2016 at 8:30 AM, BradandJanet said:

I hate to be logical, but the "Middle East" is not a single country with a single set of laws and customs. The article assumes that there are no laws or systems in any of these countries--just instant mobs with handy stacks of rocks everywhere dispensing "justice." It's so simple. 

For missionaries, SOS comes across a sad group that traffics in scary stereotypes about the people they hope to charm and convert. The wackos running this organization are about as dumb as the rocks they secretly admire. 

Logical? LOL.  Why would any missionary group have any cred if they think the Middle East is a country? Just goes to prove that if they don't even have basic geography down that it's no wonder they send their drones to countries that already have a majority Christian population?

Guess it's not hard for anyone to see how Muffy and Scruffy got accepted to SOS; the bar seems very low. Perhaps they take on all the rejects of SBC and other churches that have higher standards for selection.

15 hours ago, Marigny said:

I think the car is the only place they get to be alone. 

Nope, they usually gave to have a Howler in tow

[Aja]

On 5/28/2016 at 8:32 PM, questionfear said:

Not sure where to put this,but given how much profanity it made me drop, I will put it here.

 

Sos are a bunch of motherfucking assholes  http://www.inquisitr.com/3138421/you-wont-believe-what-the-duggar-familys-favorite-mission-group-said-about-transgender-bathrooms/

Yes, in the Middle East it is simple as hell. How very admirable their culture is. Fundie Christians are renowned for how much they respect and admire the culture of the Middle East. We should all be like the Middle East. Except for how they keep building mosques everywhere (very next item in the e-mail.) 

Skid marks.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Aja

[monkeypox]

"...it is very simple in the Middle East…if a man goes into a women’s bathroom it is capital punishment, they will stone him to death on the spot.”

In the Middle East, what do they do to a teenager who sexually molests four of his sisters and another girl? Just asking.

[Aja]

8 minutes ago, monkeypox said:

"...it is very simple in the Middle East…if a man goes into a women’s bathroom it is capital punishment, they will stone him to death on the spot.”

In the Middle East, what do they do to a teenager who sexually molests four of his sisters and another girl? Just asking.

Whoa, my hair got singed in that burn. *high five*

[Arwen Evenstar]

3 hours ago, Aja said:

Yes, in the Middle East it is simple as hell. How very admirable their culture is. Fundie Christians are renowned for how much they respect and admire the culture of the Middle East. We should all be like the Middle East. Except for how they keep building mosques everywhere (very next item in the e-mail.) 

Skid marks.

Exactly, Aja.  They scornfully declare how Muslims want to revive a 12th century theocracy, while it is their sworn mission  to create a theocracy of their own, also setting women and society back centuries. I guess they think their vision for a theocracy us better than anyone else's.  They also seem to praise stonings and other "simple" remedies for what they perceive to be society's ills. For people who don't like Islam, they sure like a lot of their fundamentalist ideas.

Edited May 31, 2016 by Arwen Evenstar

[sometimesy]

2 more infuriate thingys:

The adult kids get too many passes for being raised by JB and Michelle. They have lot's of contact a variety of people through travel and comment deletions. They know. 

Triggered by Josh and Anna thread: Weddings with the goal of hauling in prezzies. No costs are taken into account for the registry, but give them ice cream in the parking lot to save costs. I can just imagine JB replenishing the TTH etc through his daughters registries, while calculating the cost per inch of cake. 

[Defrauder]

The whole freaking Duggar philosophy - we can judge you and everyone else but you can't judge us!!  Fundie hypocrites so typical.  

[maraleia]

The fact that the parents keep the kids isolated from the world and accurate history and science information.