For those of you not familiar with the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, here is the synopsis: A conservative family in Tontitown, Ark. is comprised of 19 children and two parents, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar. The show was a simple voyeuristic pleasure until it wasn’t.
You see the Duggars have lived off the carnival nature of reality television since 2008. A logical extension of the Learning Channel’s successful Jon & Kate Plus 8, the Duggars took the concept of a family with a litter of children to the next level. While Jim Bob Duggar did have a short career in Arkansas politics and real estate, his ability to support his family took off when the relationship with the Learning Channel began. No harm, no foul.
Then the Duggars decided that they should become the poster parents and children for conservative values. Their anti-choice message was a simple one, God should determine how many children a woman should have, not a birth control pill. This lifestyle choice was chronicled and celebrated on the Learning Channel which was footing the bill for the Duggars lifestyle.
Can you imagine an African American or Latina who had 19 children because she felt that God should determine the number of children she had? The same conservative supporters of the Duggars would be outraged by the irresponsibility of the Black woman or Latina with 19 children. Michelle Duggar can have as many children she wants, after all she is white with a working husband, but the Latina needs to keep her legs closed because she is a “welfare queen”? Why doesn’t the Latina have the luxury of letting God make the determination? The hypocrisy of it all.
The Duggars’ brand of conservatism also required them to rail against the LGBT community. Whether it was supporting anti-marriage equality initiatives or attempting to demonize transgender people, the Duggar family has left no stone unturned in its desire to deny LGBT people rights. But these conservative paragons were hiding a secret, their son Josh is a child molester.
What psychological nightmare is manifesting itself within the Duggar family? The family has effectively gone from a carnival side show to the center ring of familial dysfunction. What parents would put their known child molester son on a TV show that was espousing conservative family values? What happened to the young ladies that Josh Duggar molested? Were they family members? Or worse, non-family members who were paid off for their silence? Is this the tip of the iceberg?
Adding insult to injury for Josh Duggar’s victims is the Christian right rallying to support the Duggars. Mike Huckabee, a rabid anti-LGBT zealot, has “affirmed” his support for the family. He excuses Josh Duggar’s actions on Facebook quite simply, “No one needs to defend Josh’s actions as a teenager, but the fact that he confessed his sins to those he harmed, sought help, and has gone forward to live a responsible and circumspect life as an adult is testament to his family’s authenticity and humility.” Huckabee has said the soul of America is at risk because two members of the same sex want to marry but I guess molesting children is no big deal.
Now the Duggars will experience the other side of the hot media spotlight. The darlings of the morning news and talk shows, the Duggars will now face some very hard questions. Did God tell them that their son did not deserve to be punished through the court system? Since the statute of limitations for the crime has passed, what do the Duggars think should be done? How would they feel if their daughters were molested and the perpetrator was not formally charged with a crime? Isn’t it hypocritical to rail against the LGBT community in the guise of protecting children’s welfare when you are harboring a child molester in your family with scores of children readily available? Should Josh have to register as a sex offender? The questions for the Duggars are endless. Just don’t expect them to be answered.
The Duggars will likely go into shutdown and avoid the press. It is surely the end of their reality TV saga, the Learning Channel suspended the Duggar show with cancellation likely. The Duggars’ lives will now be truly under the glare of the media spotlight. Unscripted, no holds barred, ultimate reality TV.
I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Given that the Duggars have 42 shoes in their immediate family, there may be a multitude of shoes dropping. Will the victims come forward? Are they Josh’s sisters? Do each of the victim’s families know that Josh molested their daughter? Is there anything else the Duggars are hiding that does not fit with the TV image they have created?
The hubris of the Duggars to tell others how to live their lives while they are harboring a child molester. As the saying goes, those who live in glass houses …
STAMPP CORBIN
PUBLISHER
San Diego LGBT Weekly
