alternet | Mega-family superstar, Josh Duggar, has resigned his position as lobbyist for the Family Research Council after In Touch Magazine
published a police report confirming that JimBob and Michelle Duggar of
TLC’s “19 Kids and Counting” fame’s oldest son confessed to molesting
several female minors in 2002 - 2003.
According to
the 2006 police report, Duggar family patriarch, JimBob actively covered
up Josh’s confession and neglected to notify authorities or provide
professional help for Josh and/or his victims. To make matters worse,
Josh’s pregnant wife, Anna Duggar, believes her husband is a changed man
and continues - along with the couple’s three young children - to live
with an admitted child sex offender. And to top it all off, the Duggar
family publicly declared that God used the tragic situation to draw
their family closer to Him.
Jesus Friggin’ Christ, what a mess! As a former Quiverfull
believer, I recognize in this Duggar family debacle several essential
beliefs which are widely held amongst fundamentalist Christians which
shackle True Believer’s™ common sense to an outdated and irrelevant
god-myth and seriously impair their ability to make sound moral choices.
JimBob and Michelle Duggar live in a fantasy world of their
own making, and they believe that, just like in the fairy tales, they
all will live happily ever after. While confessing to not being a perfect family,
and admitting their family faces challenges and struggles every day,
the Duggars are convinced “that dark and difficult time caused [the
family] to seek God like never before,” which in their minds, means the
molestation really wasn’t so bad, and in fact, has turned out to be a
kind of blessing in disguise since each one of them “drew closer to
God,” as a result of “something so terrible.”
According
to the “eternally happy ending” story which the Duggars are telling
themselves, the little girls whom Josh allegedly groped and fondled are
not victims or even survivors of sexual abuse, but are instead equated
with the “highly favored” Old Testament Joseph whose brothers sold him
into slavery: What Satan meant for evil, God used for good.
Suffering in this life is insignificant - even trifling - compared to the faith-strengthening
and soul-saving purpose of trials which will be richly rewarded with
eternal life in Heaven … so praise the fucking Lord for whatever misery
He sends to you and your children.
