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@Orchid: I'm a Christian too. But I can't call a family kind who goes out of their way to use their fame to advocate against the rights of other human beings (The right to gay marriage, the right to choose, etc). I also think it's really hard to say that those children are happy when they are given no choice to explore other ways of life that might make them more happy. I would hope my daughter feels free to live her life in the way that she finds most fulfilling, the Duggar children don't get the opportunity.
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@littlejoy: damn! That's an average of 15 kids each. My Irish Catholic family has 18 grandkids from 9 kids. Most everyone had two, one had four, one had none.
The Jana stuff is making me irrationally angry for her. I'm still waiting for one of them to rebel. Come to the dark side, rebel Duggar, we have margaritas and Netflix!
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@Shutterbug: A saw a site referring to Ginger ... Jinger (ugh) ... becoming the rebel. She does seem like the one that will come to the dark side!
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@Orchid: they actually have! I know I bought and read their first book and there's at least one more. Plus the girls all wrote one, although it isn't actually about parenting.
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@Miss Ariel: I will definitely google it.
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@Truth Bombs: I don't know anything about them being unable to choose their own life paths, and I have actually seen many episodes of their show. I think children were raised in such a way that it seems they have truly accepted certain beliefs for themselves and there is little hint that they are dissatisfied with things like dressing modestly, waiting for marriage, etc. As a Christian (and I recognize their are other views), I believe my kids will be happier if they choose to live their lives following Biblical counsel, so I don't really plan to expose them to vice and other worldly practices in their childhood. I hope when they are old enough to make their own decisions, their upbringing will be a positive influence. I think this is what the Duggars have done and it seems like their children have "bought in" if you will.
I'm not familiar with their efforts to deny anyone's rights though, so I can't comment on that. If they're expressing their right to freedom of speech within the appropriate boundaries, I don't have a problem with that.
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@Orchid: Their oldest son Josh is the executive director of the Family Research Council, which is a group that lobbies against LGBT rights. He's not simply expressing an opinion, his job is to lobby to get rights taken away from people. There's a lot about this family that TLC doesn't broadcast because they'd lose a lot of viewers. They've also compared abortion to the Holocaust. I found this article very eye-opening:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelzarrell/timeline-duggar-family-outspokenly-anti-lgbt
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@Orchid: exposing your children to vice and giving your daughters the freedom and opportunity to attend college are two totally different ball games.
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I love following along with the Duggars, but I always feel slightly disappointed when I hear about Michelle, Anna, Jill, or Jessa becoming pregnant.
I just feel so bad for Michelle. Being pregnant and giving birth were challenging and traumatic for me, so I feel empathy for people who go through it over and over and over again in a community where women seem to have little choice to do anything except constantly procreate.
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@Orchid: I used to feel similarly (well, not quite, but I was in the "they seem so happy, and who am I to judge" camp), but after reading articles from others who used to be part of this lifestyle, I am much more concerned about these kids:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2012/02/carefully-scripted-lives-my-concerns-about-the-duggars.html -
@Truth Bombs: yeah I'm with you there. I don't think you need to "live in a bubble" to not know that it's IF week.. you just need to be someone who either doesn't have IF or someone who isn't spending most of their time on TTC websites.
I like them. I don't watch the show, I used to when it was like 16 Kids and Counting, but I cringe when I see all of the hate on them. They're not bothering anyone. They take care of their kids and they have awesome hair. How can you hate them??
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@lawbee11: Thanks for posting that article. I am a Christian and don't agree with many of their views. They are certainly entitled to them, and no one is arguing that, but the consequences are that they are going to be pretty unlikable as a result. I think it is unfortunate that they use their celebrity to vehemently oppose gay rights and abortion. I also have trouble with them, as pimping out the family for wealth is not necessarily consistent with Christian teachings.
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@Jess1483: Yikes. Some parts of the article I don't find surprising (the courting part, etc) but spanking children at 6 months? Wow.
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@simplyfelicity: Yeah. Watching the show after reading that article, I started picking up on some of the controlling. It's so carefully edited, but you can still pick up on it.
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@Jess1483: So interesting. Agree with every word of this article. I know a couple families that follow some of these teachings, and though the results may appear good on the surface, they often are not.
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@MrsTiz: You know who else isn't bothering anyone? Gay people!
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@lawbee11: if HB had the clapping emoji I would use it right now
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@lawbee11:
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@mrscobee: yeah it's kind of always bugged me that they will even be on TV. Seems a bit hypocritical, because as far as I know they don't even watch TV because they find it (or most of it at least) inappropriate somehow? And yet they'll make money by being on TV. Or maybe they think of it as a mission, like spreading their beliefs. I don't really love that idea either...
@lawbee11: agreed. And that article is always so disturbing.
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I don't agree with everything their family does, but I'm sure I disagree with lots of hellobee users too, and unless i have a reason not to, I usually feel happy for people having wanted babies. So, yay for them!
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@MrsSCB: Ha! I'm sure they justify it in some way such as that!
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To me, the Duggars fall in a big gray area. Do they seem like nice, kind, loving parents? Yes. Do they have political views I strongly disagree with? Absolutely. But one doesn't validate or invalidate the other. The fact they are nice doesn't make being anti-LGBT okay, and the fact they are anti-LGBT doesn't mean they are bad parents. And I think taken further, some of their parenting views could be damaging. Like blanket training - sure, I wish I had encouraged my oldest to play independently more. But spanking a baby? Of course not! And I think what they do is somewhere in the middle. It would probably be hard to film if they were having to edit out abusive behavior constantly. So I don't think they are that extreme, but I don't think all their practices are healthy either.
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@jedeve: I pretty much agree with everything you have to say. I don't think they're bad parents even if they parent differently than I do/would. I don't agree with everything they do/believe, but I agree with mrstiz that all the "hate" bothers me.
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