It turns out that having 19 or 20 or 40 children and raising them SuperChristian doesn’t guarantee that they will be good people who don’t harm other people. The Duggars are finding that out.
A son in the large Christian family featured in reality television show 19 Kids and Counting issued an apology and quit his job on Thursday after reports that he molested underage girls when he was a teenager.
Josh Duggar, 27, is the eldest child of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, whose long-running show on cable network TLC chronicles the daily struggles and triumphs of a conservative family in Arkansas.
“Conservative” is putting it too mildly. Patriarchal, backward-looking, theocratic, authoritarian – they’re all that and more.
Josh Duggar did not directly address the allegations that were “reported by In Touch magazine and other websites but said in a statement that he felt remorse for what he called “wrongdoing”.
“Twelve years ago, as a young teenager, I acted inexcusably for which I am extremely sorry and deeply regret. I hurt others, including my family and close friends,” said the statement.
Duggar resigned from his job at the Family Research Council, a Christian lobbying group based in Washington DC, according to a statement from the organization’s president, Tony Perkins.
“Today Josh Duggar made the decision to resign his position as a result of previously unknown information becoming public concerning events that occurred during his teenage years,” Perkins said.
“Events.” “Events” that “occurred” – as opposed to actions a person took. Tony Perkins doesn’t seem to be much into forthrightness or taking responsibility.
A Duggar family representative did not respond to requests for comment.
The apology came after In Touch published a document it said it obtained from the Springdale police department in Arkansas alleging multiple instances in which Duggar molested underage girls.
The police department said it could not comment and Reuters could not independently verify the document’s authenticity. In Touch reported that charges were never filed against Josh Duggar.
Well he comes from such a nice Christian family, you see…
I’ve long felt that based on statistics alone, at least one of the Duggar kids is gay. Poor kid…
Slight correction: The Duggars aren’t just now finding out about their son’s actions. They knew, and they hid it from police for quite a while.
I know. I should have read the In Touch article first, but didn’t. Great god almighty this is foul.
But wait! Charges were never laid!! Why are we even talking about (named individual) here?!!!
(Insert several thousand more words here)
/mnugent/ off.
Oh, but you see, Your Name’s Not Bruce? says, it’s OK as long as (named individual) is Christian. You only don’t talk about (named individual) who is not charged when they are members of the atheist community – particularly if they are a thought leader. Josh Duggar is not a thought leader (well, unless you count the Family Research Council as a place that does “thinky”).
A three year statute of limitations? AND the investigating officer has been convicted of child-porn charges…putting the investigation on permanent hold?
However they whitewash it, THIS is what ‘real’ patriarchal societies look like. This is what they raise men to be.
Random Factor, statistics may predict that one or more of the Duggar litter is gay but surely you know that gayness does not predict pedophilic behavior. The great majority of pedophiles consists of heterosexual men.
And “poor kid” only in the sense that he likely has a condition that cannot be prayed away. If he has a sexual fixation on children, God is not going to do jack for him, and neither can most humans.
@johnthedrunkard
There is no investigating officer and there was never any investigation. The child-molesting officer was a family friend. He gave Josh a “stern talking to,” but did not file a report.
Me at #8:
Correction: That particular officer did not investigate, or file a report.
Three or four years later, the PD did investigate, sorta, when Harpo (Oprah Winfrey’s production company) sent them a letter they’d acquired that discussed the abuse. But by then the statute of limitations had expired.
Child molestation does not spring fully formed from a young person like Athena leaping from Zeus’s forehead, you know. Josh was groomed. There is someone (or someones) in that family, an adult, who is molesting (at least some of) the kids as well. A parent, a relative, a close family friend, a pastor, an elder at their church – or all of the above. Sexual abuse is particularly prevalent in these brutal families where obedience is the cardinal virtue for children and they are beaten from infancy to understand just how powerless they are and how helpless. It’s an ideal setup for an adult abuser (who was no doubt similarly abused – in every sense – in his/her own family of origin). The whole thing is rotten and stinking, exactly like a dead criminal hanging limp on a cross would stink.
Last week the politicians were scrambling to get their photograph taken with Josh Duggar.
Today they have a new rule for the office staff: If that bloody Josh Duggar rings, tell him I’m not in!