The “Learning” Channel has taken the plunge at last and terminated the Duggar show. The Duggar family (or their PR staff) have issued a “statement” (as if they were public officials). Let’s read their “statement.”
Today, TLC announced that they will not be filming new episodes of 19 Kids and Counting.
Years ago, when we were asked to film our first one hour documentary about the logistics of raising 14 children, we felt that it was an opportunity to share with the world that children are a blessing and a gift from God.
No, not “share with the world that.” They mean “try to convince the world that.”
Children are a good thing (a “blessing”) if you want them. It’s not up to anyone else to decide for you that they are a good thing for you. It’s certainly not up to a pair of religious fanatics in Arkansas to decide that, or to try to convince you to have them.
Children are not a “gift from God.” They’re the product of the fertilization of an egg by sperm. The Duggars don’t know anything about “God”; they only think they do. They think this fictional knowledge that they think they have entitles them to tell everyone else what to do, especially when it comes to sex and marriage and childbearing.
Over the last several years people have said to us, “We love your show!” We have always responded, “It’s not a show, it’s our lives!” Our desire in opening our home to the world is to share Bible principles that are the answers for life’s problems.
No, they are not. Many “Bible principles” are horrific, and the bible is not the only or best (let alone most reliable) source for any principles whatever, good or bad. The bible is just a book, a compilation of stories and poetry and polemic; it’s just one book of many.
It is our prayer that the painful situation our family went through many years ago can point people toward faith in God and help others who also have lived through similar dark situations to find help, hope and healing, as well.
Why would it do that? Why wouldn’t it rather clue people in that the Duggars are just as self-justifying and callous as anyone else, and more so than some?
God’s faithfulness and goodness to us, along with His abundant grace have given us strength and joy even in the most difficult days.
We have committed to Him that in all things—difficulties or success, good times or bad—we will purpose to bring Him honor by staying true to our faith and our family.
Cool justification loop there – if good things happen it’s god’s grace and if bad things happen it’s god’s grace. Nothing can happen that isn’t god’s grace, so god is always graceful, and there is no way out of the loop.
We know Who holds the future and are confident that He will work all things together for good.
Of course you are, because you’ve just said it’s all good and from god, no matter what it is. More high scores for god, who can do no ill.
We love each of you and look forward to unfolding the future with peace and joy.
They love each of us – even me! – despite not knowing us. How godlike, and even ineffable.
Oh. Is it, now?
It’s my fond hope that the exposure given to the general toxic awfulness of the situation certain of your family members find themselves in in part as a consequence of the cracked ethos you espouse will actually contribute to others more easily escaping similar situations, through perhaps increased awareness of those on the outside who might be able to offer escape routes, and those in the inside maybe actually deciding with the reinforcement seeing this may offer, despite the suffocating conditioning they’ve grown up within that this just ain’t right…
But you know me. Accentuate the positive, and all. And hey, thanks, ‘Learning’ Channel, if, indeed, people do learn a bit of that from this.
“It’s not a show, it’s our lives!” is such a weird lie to me. For instance, when Jill announced her pregnancy on the show, everyone in that scene had already been told the news off camera. Every single person in that scene was acting, lying that they had not already disclosed the news or lying that they did not already know. It’s not your lives, it’s a damn show. A show that was heavily edited to tell the false, sometimes harmful, stories that the producers wanted to tell,.
Oh those poor persecuted Duggars! Obama! Or something.
… and anyway, our accountants have told us that we have enough in the bank to live out our lives in semi-luxury and buy fast food franchises for the boys and sons-in-law.
… and we did get a little tired of and annoyed by all the extra shit that we had to put up with by being celebrities.
We’ll see y’all in about 10 years for the retrospective.
“Went through many years ago”
Here’s the thing about the phrase “it’s not the crime; it’s the coverup”. If they’d not covered up the crime, it would be something they went through many years ago, and if they’d handled it like they should have (ie., not covering it up) it would be over.*. But they covered it up, and did so until they couldn’t cover it up any longer. So it wasn’t something from long ago, it was just recently. From years ago until a few months ago, for years and years (meanwhile scolding others from their highly moral – more moral than you, dear reader – vantage point.
* it probably wouldn’t be completely over, given that the teachings that underlay the molestation also inform the rest of their philosophy. But it would be a fairly small audience who cared that much about it (unfortunately) and they would be constrained by the general reluctance to criticize religious-based choices in the USA (well, some religions, that is). It would’ve been one of those obstacles God put in their path to test their faith, which emerged all the stronger for their trials. But they didn’t do that; they covered it up and piled on the hypocrisy.
Hmm, “share with the world that children are a blessing and a gift from God” is a strange way of saying “make a shit ton of money by hypocritically moralizing and lying about how we live”.
Yeah, if by “lives” you mean, as far as what is seen on TV, is scripted and edited to show what you want the audience to believe is your life, while you actually hide all the truly dark, evil and abusive shit. In that way- the one that matters in this context- it is definitely like any other show on TV, but beyond that, yeah, it’s totally your lives.
Which apparently includes how to cover up and minimize certain proclivities one might have and deflecting blame to everyone else when the shit hits the fan.
Again, this “help, hope and healing” is limited to covering up, minimizing and deflection. It dos not include acceptance of responsibility or self-reflection and it certainly excludes holding the belief system up to harsh scrutiny, particularly where its features of abuse is concerned.
Which we’ll be happy to tell you more about in the next robo-call we record to disingenuously paint one group of people we hate or another as pedophiles and monsters.
I’ll bet the TLC crew are pissed off. All those potential profits and Josh ruined it for them! They’ll never forgive the randy little sod.
That’s what they told us every day in elementary school and every Sunday in church. It took a while, but I finally found a way to slice through that loop. Know it for what it is: bullshit. Complete and total BS that grown people who should know better wholeheartedly believe.
Yeah, whatever. Good riddance to them. May we never hear from them again.