Sure, I am not disturbed by the fact that people are judging reality TV stars. I watch Flavor of Love or I Love New York on occasion for that very reason. What bothers me is that people are judging people for having children that they can support. It’s not that they are judging it’s WHAT they are judging that I find repellant. (in my own judgmental opinion) How dare those people bring human life into this world!
I don’t think it’s a hatred of people having children. Look at Jon and Kate, prior to the whole blowup. I never heard anyone making comments about Kate having eight children, but just that she was often a bitch. That had nothing to do with having children.
People make fun of the Duggars because of their kooky (yes, my opinion, but I’m not alone) religious belief that the role of women is to have as many kids as possible, health consequences be damned. People have made fun of traditional Catholics for the same reason.
The extra bit of weirdness that people like to focus on with the Duggars, though, is that their whole rationale for having as many kids as possible comes from one line in the OT about a man being blessed if he has a quiver full of children. The Catholics at least have a more thought out (but idiotic, IMO) doctrine for multiple children.
I guess so. As I was telling my husband about this, it occurred to me that there was probably an episode on the Duggars’ reality show about going wedding dress shopping for the vow renewal.
Mrs. Cake - 
They aren’t complaining about being judged, we are.
They went on the show because they were hoping to encourage others, who enjoy parenting, to have more children. That’s part of their belief, a belief that they are entitled to whether you share it or not.
And, again, they don’t need the money.
Do tell, what, precisely is ‘unseemly’ about a large family? And what’s the cut off? 4, 8, 12?
I thought part of the Full Quiver mentality was to outbreed other religions and win by default.
But that doesn’t make them look silly it makes YOU look silly. They take their name from one line, so you focus merely on that one line. It doesn’t similarly mean that they don’t care about the rest of the bible. I mean it’s obviously culture war rot as I said before. “Lets point and laugh at the people who believe differently from us.” You have a point about pointing and laughing at Catholics for the same reason though. Whether or not they’ve thought more deeply about their decision to have children is not something that I know, because I clearly haven’t spent time asking them their intimate thoughts about having children like you have. It’s not evidence that THEY haven’t given it deeper thought, only evidence that YOU haven’t given it deeper thought.
I’m wary of any religion that uses a single line from its holy book to justify its actions. There are the snake handlers that take a single passage from Matthew, and Pentacostals who claim that speaking in tongues (the gift given to believers in Acts in the NT) means babbling, and then make that a central part of their religious observance. These behaviors distinguish these forms of Christianity from others. Similarly, the Quiverfull movement distinguishes itself by using a single passage from the OT to justify having as many children as possible.
Now, I’ll agree that there is probably slightly more to their theology than just having lots of kids. But it’s the one that they choose to highlight. And while they might have given it deeper thought than I give them credit for, that does not mean that I haven’t given it deep thought. I have, and IMO, it’s a misogynistic, simplistic, socially irresponsible, idiotic theology.
I guess you have a point. I am acquainted with families with 14 or so children. But they are very private. If I ever mention them, I wonder if that would cause a ruckus on the SDMB.
Part of the problem is having the older kids being responsible for helping to raise the younger children. I think they call it the “buddy system” or something. Then there’s the homeschooling (a hot button on the SDMB), the courtship system, and, perhaps, they’re conservative religious beliefs. They’re being judged by a lot of different factors though having all those children is the primary one I’m sure.
Dude, these people are actively fighting the culture war with their genitals. Literally. Like, that’s why they have the kids, to literally and directly outbreed me. Well, I ain’t fighting fire with fire, but I can fight it with ridicule.
Plus there’s the whole “take 18 kids with you to pick out a wedding dress” thing - really? You needed all 18 of your kids to come with you for this?
Y’know I get the feeling that this family just does everything together. I don’t see a problem with that, if they groove on it, and they appear to.
As for the buddy system, family dynamics are a little different for a large family I don’t see the problem with this either. They put all the kids in the same colour shirts when they go to parks and malls, just to make keeping an eye on them a little easier. I’ll get upset about it as soon as I hear one of them complain about it or demonstrate some ill effect from it. Yeah, it’s different from our families, so what?
And last time I checked people were free to raise their family in their own faith or lack thereof, surely you’re not faulting them for living as they believe?
For what it’s worth, the Duggars have never claimed any identification with the Quiverfull movement, or stated that the passage you refer to is an important inspiration to them. That seems to be something that’s been attributed to them by their critics.
Newsweekseems to think they are Quiverfull, and according to this articlelinked to from the family’s own website, Quiverfull describes them pretty well.
Of course, Newsweek and MSNBC could both be getting it wrong. But it doesn’t seem as if the family is trying to fight the characterization either.
The argument about the Quiverfull movement belongs in Great Debates, not Cafe Society. If y’all want to talk about that, please start a new thread yonder and link to it here.
In the meantime, please get back to the topic of the OP, whatever that was … cross promotion by reality stars, I guess.
Thanks,
twickster, Cafe Society moderator
The topic was about how the person was disgusted by the fact that the Duggar family showed up. So discussing the Duggar family is on topic, correct?
But I don’t care about the Quiverfull argument. It’s silly to say that the brand name they use to define themselves is the sum totality of their ideology. So that’s not really worth arguing with. So I have nothing further to say about Quiverfull and will speak about the Duggars.
Cat Whisperer You’d prefer that they left the 18 kids at home to be tended to by the older children then? Rather than the Mother bringing her kids with her? She shouldn’t bring her family to pick out a wedding dress with her?
I’m not reading disgust at the Duggars in the OP, I’m reading bemusement at the “when reality shows collide” thing.
Discussing large families qua large families is not an appropriate for Cafe Society. I repeat, if you want to discuss the politics or logistics or theology of them, take it elsewhere and link to the new thread here.
twickster, Cafe Society moderator
LOL ok.
I dub thee mod threadkiller.
I’m not sure where you got “disgust” from my OP, mswas; “bemusement” is a good word for it, like, “Hey, I know those people! They have their own reality tv show!” Just another element of the reality tv weirdness going on in the world.
“She wore white?”
“She put her past behind her.”
Loves me some Steve Carrell.