The problem with the Duggars is that most people who know them from TV think they're just quirky. They're not quirky, they're dangerous and they're worming their way into the hearts of many Americans because TLC depicts them as a well-meaning family with "old-fashioned" values. Here are some of their values:
1. Their daughters are "stay at home daughters". They will live with their parents as unpaid maids, nannies and general laborers until their father chooses a young man for them to "cleave" to. They will have very little say in the matter. Ever wonder how Michelle Duggar takes care of so many kids? She doesn't. She gives birth to them and then hands them off to one of her five older daughters (who are not allowed to leave the house alone) to raise.
2. They blanket train their babies. Blanket training involves putting a baby of crawling age on a blanket and forcing them to stay on it for a set period of time. It teaches them "self-control". Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have never publicly stated how they actually keep the baby on the blanket, but many people who blanket train use corporal punishment (yes, on babies) to keep them there.
3, On a related note to number 2, the Duggars, until a couple of years ago, linked to Michael Pearl's (No Greater Joys Ministries) books and website on their own website. They took the links down a while back without saying why, but the probable reason is that at least four children have DIED after their parents followed the advice in the Pearls' book, To Train Up a Child. Here's a link to a good article about the Pearls, complete with an explanation of how plumbing line will help you to raise an obedient kid.
http://www.salon.com.../25/the_pearls/
4. The Duggars are Christian Dominionists. They believe that the United States was founded on Christian principles, and want to put God back in the government. This means on the surface: prayer in schools, Bible study as part of classes, anti-gay rights, no more abortion, etc, etc. How far it goes depends on how far into the belief system a family is. They attribute the evils of the public school system to taking prayer/Bible reading out of it. They attribute abortion, crime, etc, to God being “pushed” out of the government. They want to win back the government for Christ.
5. The Duggars follow Bill Gothard/ATI/Vision Forum. Here’s how Gothard's "Vision Forum" works: you must take the basic seminar before you take the advanced seminar. In the basic seminar, he talks mostly about how to improve your life. His examples are very mainstream. He uses an illustration where a woman wears pants. In his Advanced seminar, suddenly, women should dress modestly (a la the Duggars before TLC gave them a tv show). In fact, even wearing a bit of lace at the collar is immodest. So why couldn’t he be honest about what he believes women should wear upfront? It’s because you get more and more radical as you go. Why do the Duggar kids look so happy? Because you aren’t allowed to be angry in the Gothard belief system. Anger =selfishness= sin. You must always keep a joyful countenance, especially if you are in a position to minister to the people around you. Like on a tv show. So that the Duggar kids look and act happy means nothing. Maybe they are, but you wouldn’t know if they weren’t just by watching them. Michelle Duggar and her daughters have been trained to (and I shudder every time I read or hear this) "keep sweet" at all times. It's even been depicted on the show with the smaller girls. If they raise their voices or lash out in any way, they're told they need to "keep sweet". Good link to the truth behind the Vision Forum:
http://www.widewhite...i-vision-forum/
I could (obviously) go on about this for another five pages. You may wonder why I'm semi-obsessed with the topic. It's because The Duggars TV show is insanely popular among children. Almost every kid in Eve and Cait's classes watch the Duggars. They're parents are thrilled because there's no chance of sex or violence and the family (on TV) project "wholesome American values". I saw a couple of episodes with the girls and decided to read up on them. This is what I found, and lots more. I've gotten more and more into it as time has gone by and the more I know, the more disturbing things become. There are so many blogs out there, an insane amount, written by stay-at-home Quiverfull mothers and stay-at-home Quiverfull daughters, who have drunk the Koolaid and are procreating in greater and greater numbers. They're scary fucking people.
