Breeding program
So we’re not rid of the Duggars after all. They’re back, in the form of two of the daughters who show us what it’s like being raised as a breeding cow by fanatical Christians.
I spotted it while channel-surfing and watched a few minutes. (I can’t take them for very long – the hostage smiles freak me out.) It’s horrifying watching one very young woman, pregnant for the first time, talk to her slightly older sister who has already given birth, her “nervousness” about what childbirth is going to be like. It’s horrifying because we know she was raised to do exactly this, so it’s not a matter of a very young woman who is keen to have a baby for her own reasons and based on her own feelings, it’s a matter of her Christian Duty. It’s also horrifying because we know she’s expected to keep doing it as many times as she possibly can. It’s horrifying because the Duggars are Quiverfull.
The Washington Post reports on the “what about that Josh guy now, huh?” aspect.
Now, “Jill & Jessa: Counting On” was a fairly brutal emotional look into what his siblings have gone through since Josh’s “wrongdoings” went public, as they talked about feeling betrayed by their brother. In between updates about Jill’s missionary work and Jessa’s pregnancy, the special interviewed eight Duggar siblings, as producers asked them to describe the last four months. On-screen text helpfully popped up to remind viewers: “Several months ago, a police report was released containing allegations that, as a minor, Josh inappropriately touched five people.”
The Duggar kids all followed the same script in their responses: They couldn’t believe that (a) the police report was released and (b) the media was so interested in events that happened in Josh’s past so long ago. Jessa and Jill, who already sat for an interview with Fox News’s Megyn Kelly, described how (as two of Josh’s victims) they had already forgiven him and moved on.
“So the police report was released to the world. And I know that wasn’t right,” Jill, 24, said. “We had to work through it because as a victim, you’ve already worked through that — you’ve already dealt with it and you’ve already moved on. And you don’t want that rubbed in your face all the time and for everybody else to see.”
She said, on tv.
I had a hunch things would take this turn. The Duggars are just too profitable to shelve. Even Michele appeared briefly in a clip, so it appears they’re attempting to reintroduce her through the back door. I betcha that by Christmas next year there’ll be a Duggar holiday special…minus Josh
“In between updates about Jill’s missionary work…”
“Missionary work, ” aka vacation.
http://www.inquisitr.com/2473939/jill-duggar-and-derick-dillard-rejected-as-missionaries-by-southern-baptist-church/
Blaarrggghhhh….
The issue is not that Josh Duggar, as a sexually confused pubescent, victimized his sisters. That’s tragic, but it’s not, in itself, a cause for national outrage. Hell, had the incidents been handled properly, it never would’ve gone public, because juvie records are usually sealed.
The issue is how the parents and their church, including a police officer later convicted of possession of child pornography, failed to report the abuse, failed to actually intercede in any useful fashion, and forced the girls to accept Josh’s pro forma apology for his misdeeds.
Unfortunately, focusing on this aspect–the harms caused by the Duggars disgusting form of Christianity, the harms caused by a society that still doesn’t treat women’s victimization as anything more than a transitory issue–requires that media think beyond Twitter-speak.
I think the revictimizing of the girls Josh assaulted is a valid issue. Sadly it’s also a common issue. Is it appropriate to keep referring to it under these circumstances – basically for “entertainment”? I’m a bit uncomfortable with that.