Hmmm....an insider-turned-outsider's perspective on the Duggar abuse case

I could’ve been a Duggar wife: I grew up in the same church, and the abuse scandal doesn’t shock me

Unlike most of the writers covering the Duggar sex scandal, I was raised in Advanced Training Institute (ATI), the fundamentalist Christian organization with which the family is affiliated. Joshua Duggar’s confession of sexually molesting young girls in his family’s home when he was a teenager didn’t surprise me, nor should it surprise anyone with any intimate knowledge about this organization, because ATI’s theological beliefs and practices cultivate an environment where women and children are more vulnerable to rape and sexual abuse. Ironically, the same theological beliefs and practices at the heart of this scandal are the same beliefs that created the Duggars as a media phenomenon, and drew viewers and fans to their TLC show “19 Kids and Counting.”

Personally, I don't get the appeal that the Duggars had for viewers. Having that many children, in my opinion, in a world that has birth control and where people know how to use it, seems insane, irresponsible, and environmentally disastrous. I think people like the concept of good, wholesome people who are God-fearing and the such. But I think that's just a concept, an ideal, in this case. I don't have an issue with most people's beliefs, so long as there is no one being harmed by those beliefs, but if there is harm, then it really has to be examined and made right. And while I'm not against homeschooling, by any means, I think there are people out there who quite frankly don't know how to teach, don't know the subjects themselves, and don't bother to teach children with the rigour they should.

I hope that viewers get a clue and stop supporting these type of shows. Reality TV in and of itself is not really true entertainment, and quite frankly is deplorable. It's fake, but claims to be real. It amazes me that there are people out there who are famous and fabulously rich because they starred in a reality show. Come on, Hollywood, use some creativity--give us stories that matter, yet are riveting, and not in a train-wreck sort of way. And people need to hear about the darker side of these religious groups, whether it be ATI, or Scientology, or Child of God, or any of a number of movements that hold sway over their members down to their very thoughts.

What I find most deplorable of all about this situation is that while some amount of concern was shown for helping the teen who was the perpetrator in these sex abuses--however weak--no attempt at all seems to have been made to help the girls who were abused. And that, in my opinion, is not just wrong, un-Christian, and so sad, but is monstrous. But then, apparently female lives don't matter, and male ones do, in the Duggar world. If that's true, then it is a horrible place, and it should be shunned rather than broadcast to the masses as entertainment, for it could be damaging to other young girls in terms of its supposedly wholesome message.

'The 100'

was very good tonight, for the finale, and had a great twist at the end, which I won't disclose here. They're showing the episodes from the beginning again starting next week, so if you haven't seen it, you might want to check it out, especially if dystopian survival stories are your thing.

I broke down and called my doctor's office today about the knee issue, and getting a general checkup, and I have an appointment at 8:30 tomorrow morning. I just got in a little while ago from my friends' house and from watching the show, have put away groceries, have eaten a light snack, and I am very seriously considering going to bed. But first I must mention something YKWIA found and it so hurt his brain that he called me this afternoon and told me. It's a reality show, 'I Wanna Marry Harry', where American women are set up Bachelor-style to supposedly get coupled with Prince Harry (as in the fourth in line for the British throne, if I'm doing my math right), when in actuality he's just a guy who's not-really-that-closely-resembling Harry and the girls don't get it. As if the Queen would allow her grandson to pick a wife that way. Apparently if you start to get an idea that this whole thing is fishy, they bump you from the show. Gee. I think reality shows in general are stupid (and they shouldn't call them that, as they are far from it; unscripted might be a better term), but this one seems dumb, dumb, dumb.

YKWIA also showed me a 'M.A.S.K.' episode (you know, the animated series from the mid-80s) that was set in Australia that is, shall we say, beyond the pale of racism. The Aborigines are drawn as dim-witted savages who make ape sounds when encountering a guitar. It's like they took the worst of racial stereotypes of Africans and American Indians and put them together and set them down in Australia. They also blew horns (yes, the mighty horned marsupials) and had lots of minted gold in their temple under Ayers Rock. It was terribly 'ooga booga' and just plain horrible and the worst thing of all is that this series was released in Australia. Hello, the Aborigines do have TVs. Granted it was 30 years ago, but that's really no excuse. And don't even get me started on Bruce Sato, the inscrutable Asian that no one but Matt Trakker can understand because he speaks in riddles. Also, you really have to suspend disbelief, as YKWIA pointed out. After all, where do those masques go in terms of storage when they're not using them? In the vehicles, right? So where does the motorcycle one store its, or the sports car with a low roof? YKWIA also pointed out that Matt Trakker is quite possibly the worst father in the TV world. He leaves his son Scott with random strangers or a ineffectual robot, usually right where he's going to go into danger, only to need a rescue from the team. It's yet another one of those precocious kid with either cute robot or animal sidekick that was once so popular on TV (often having both, like the original 'Battlestar Galactica' with Boxey and his Daggit, but sometimes one or the other (Wesley Crusher on 'Star Trek: the Next Generation being an example of annoying super teen, or the Bear on 'BJ and the Bear' as the chimpanzee companion to the trucker BJ.)) It was a plague in TV land which with any luck has run its course. Dont' believe me about the racism? Check out io9's article: The time M.A.S.K. took a super racist Australian vacation". It's a little inaccurate (Scott says at one point that the Aborigines are doing a 'war dance', not a 'water dance'), and the author admits to knowing nothing about Aboriginal culture, but hey, he got that it was racist as hell. Sorry to trample over a beloved childhood show, but, goodness it's so wrong.....

Okay, enough about TV; time for bed.