I woke up this morning and, as I do every morning, I checked out Facebook.  I saw nothing but story after story about Joshua Duggar.  For those of you who don’t know, he is one of 19 children belonging to Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar.  Still don’t know who I’m talking about?  If you google Joshua Duggar, you will find that the Duggar family has a show on TLC called “19 Kids and Counting.”  I have never watched the show on the regular basis.  I have seen a few episodes here and there but most of my knowledge came from interviews I have seen with the family.  Don’t get me wrong, I love reality shows just as much as anyone else.  I watch Survivor and Big Brother, I love controversy and nastiness, I am a glutton for scandal.  However, when it comes to family shows like the one mentioned above, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, or the Shahs of Sunset I have to draw the line.  I find them creepy.  Being on a game show is one thing, but putting your family on TV is completely different.  If you don’t want to be chased by paparazzi or want private moments than don’t open your doors to the public it’s as simple as that.

Anyway, I digress.  Let’s get back to the subject, Joshua Duggar.  It seems this very religious and self-righteous family has a not so nice side.  This man has come forward and admitted to sexually abusing at least 5 young girls when he was 14.  This would be 13 years ago as he is 27 now.  I am not sure how this story made the media now, but it has and I am absolutely disgusted with the comments I am reading on each story.  “He was young…”, “He came forward and told his parents so it must have been bothering him.”  “It’s in the past.  Let him live his life.”   In my opinion, that doesn’t matter.  What matters is the victims.  Even if it just happened once, it will be with them forever.  Four of them were, apparently, his sisters.  All we have heard is how badly he feels and how badly his parents feel.  We have heard how he did some very bad things but they prayed together as a family and got even closer to God.  What the hell?

Here is how I feel about the whole thing.  Let’s start by going through the timeline of events and I will let you know how I feel about each individual item before telling you how I really feel…

1)  On March 22, 2002:   A young girl told Jim Bob (the father) that Josh (then 14 years old) “had been touching her breasts and genitals while she slept.”  So,  people have been saying things like “If she was sleeping how would she know.”  “How old was she and why didn’t she get help?”  .That doesn’t matter, what does matter is that Jim Bob did nothing at all at this time to even try to stop it or to find out the truth.

2)  July 2002: Josh admits to fondling the young girl from March.  Again, according to reports,  nothing was done but apparently Dad had a talk with him.  The family prayed and it brought them closer to God I guess.

3)  March 2003: Josh is accused of having molested “several” more minors, “often when they slept, but at times when they were awake.” So now it’s a year since the first incident, nothing has been done to this date.  However, rather than go to authorities and/or seek help for his son, Jim Bob goes to the church elders with the information.  They collectively decide to send Josh to a “program that consisted of hard physical work and counselling”.  Funny thing is, Michelle (mom) later admitted to police in 2006  that it wasn’t really a work program.  They simply sent him to the home of a family friend who was in to home renovations and he didn’t receive any counselling.  This “Counselling” and programming went from March 2003 to July of the same year.

Just a little sideline here…Notice how a year has already gone by and authorities have yet to be notified.  Keep this in mind for later.

4) July 2003: Joshua returns home from his “programming” in Little Rock Arkansas and is immediately taken to a State Trooper (a friend of the family and fellow church member) along with church elders and his father.
Nothing has been done at this point other than Josh being given a “stern talking to” by the officer and no charges were laid.  That same officer is now serving 56 years for child pornography.  I personally find that a little strange and disturbing.

Somewhere around this time a close family friend apparently wrote a letter explaining in detail the entire scandal, the family’s involvement in the scandal and the names of the victims.  The letter was never sent but was folded up and placed in a book which, for some reason, was eventually loaned to a member of their church who discovered the letter inside.

5)  2006:   A source identified as a woman in her 60s, emails Harpo Studios ahead of the families scheduled appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s show and warns the producers about Josh’s “alleged” sexual misconduct.  The studio apparently faxed the letter to the Department of Human Services hotline (GOOD FOR THEM!).  That was when the report was opened for investigation which lead to the investigation by Springdale police.  When Jim Bob was asked to bring his son in for an interview in 2006, he attempted to hire a lawyer (two refused to take the case) and refused to bring his son in for questioning.  The investigating Detective received a voice mail from Mr. Duggar saying that an attorney had been hired and that Joshua would not be coming in for an interview.  Harpo Studios faxed the letter to the Department of Human Services hotline. The report was then opened for investigation, leading to the investigation by Springdale police.  When police asked Jim Bob to bring Josh in for an interview in 2006, he attempted to hire a lawyer and refused to produce his son for questioning. At least two lawyers refused to take his case. “Det. Hignite received a voice mail from Mr. Duggar stating that he had hired an attorney and would not be coming in for an interview.  Needless to say the Duggars did not do the Oprah interview at that time.

Have you noticed anything at all here?  Remember I mentioned that the timeline would be important later on.  By 2006 the statute of limitations had expired therefore it was too late to do anything.  Does anyone else find this suspicious?

So now here is how I really feel.  Not only did the family not do anything at all when the allegations were made but they covered up what he had done, tried to use the church as their means of rehabilitation and the father deliberately kept it silent until the statute of limitations had expired.  Some people have said that since he was a minor nothing would have been done but that means nothing now.  It would have been put on his record, had he been charged.  They could now go back and put him on the ‘sexual Predator” list.  I don’t care if he has become closer to God and that maybe he has been rehabilitated in some way that still doesn’t help his victims.  And if you notice, in none of the stories about this has anything at all been mentioned about what happened to the victims.  Why?  Because in their religious teachings victims of this kind of abuse are taught that they are in the wrong, that they, for some reason, brought it on themselves.  It is no secret how they home school their kids or what platform they use.  Check out Quiverfull and Advanced Training Institute, these are the two programs they use to home school their children combined with state approved homeschooling programs.

I mentioned yesterday that they are a cult or are cultish in their beliefs.  Why do i feel this way?  I feel that any religion that dictates how a person dresses (at home or else where),  what they watch on tv, what they read, how they wear their hair, who to marry, etc is a cult.  This is what the Duggars themselves are teaching their children and they are doing it through their church.

Anyway, that’s how I feel like it or not.  And I am out of here.