Shiny Happy People Docuseries

[kymom99]

Technically, they are supposed to lose their tax exempt status if they do.

You can file a complaint with the IRS using form 13909. One of the violation checkboxes is "organization is involved in a political campaign"


But, almost no one did and many still wouldn't for those reasons. Many viewers thought it was absolutely fantastic that these girls were "helping out" so much around the house. Many thought it was a sign of great parenting and/or good character. I believe that many even wished that their own daughters would be more like the Duggar girls.

Honestly, that was what sealed my dislike of them. That first special, Michelle explained how she weans her babies at 9 months and then hands them off to be one of the older girl's responsibility. She was literally bragging about her "buddy system" which was essentially a way to justify forcing her own daughters to raise her kids for her. How brainwashed do you have to be to think that it's right to make your CHILD have to stay up at night to care for a fussy baby so you can be free to have intercourse as much as your spouse wants in order to produce more babies?

I watched the documentary and it sickened me. I watched a few episodes of the show and didn’t care for it much. Now that I’ve seen what was revealed, my thought was, how could they bond with those babies when they would just hand them off at such a young age? And perhaps the fact that they didn’t completely bond might make it easier for the kids to not support their parents once the allegations were made.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Of course, we all knew Jim Bob and Michelle were awful people from the get go. Who has all of those children and forces other children to raise them? A bad person. And then, of course everything with Josh sealed the deal. Just awful humans.

But I did not realize what an absolute psychotic sociopath Michelle was until this docuseries. The blanket training segment where she talks (in a baby voice) about the child picking their favorite toy, so she could then abuse said child when he/she reaches for the toy Again, I hope they under constant scrutiny. And I also hope Jim Bob and Michelle are brought to justice one day.

I've only watched 2 episodes of SHP but I do wonder: Who is raising all the children left in the househould because the older daughters are now out of the house? I guess Michelle must be.
I could care less. I've always thought they were all nut jobs. I also remember when Josh and Anna were expecting Baby#1 and thinking to myself " I bet he is an abuser because there is something"wrong" here". I trust my gut and I was right about him- he's a creep!

 

[sk!mom]

Regarding the “Joshua Generation”, that isn’t named after Josh Duggar. It’s a movement based on Joshua from the Bible. And I think the documentary had an axe to grind against all Christian’s based on that segment alone when speaking of the Joshua Generation.

Having said that, the IBLP movement is definitely a cult.

“Ax to grind?” I don’t know. They pointed out despicable people and behaviors. It seems that there are elements of what some call Christianity that don’t fare well when brought into the light.

 

[Southernmiss]

“Ax to grind?” I don’t know. They pointed out despicable people and behaviors. It seems that there are elements of what some call Christianity that don’t fare well when brought into the light.

Yes, I took a deep dive into learning about these. Many organizations at first blush sound benign enough, but wow! if you really look into them.

 

[disykat]

There is a big difference between homeschooling because it works best for your child/family or doing it so they are not exposed to people from different backgrounds. Unfortunately, my closest connection to homeschoolers were in the "isolate your children" category and the children were subjected to abuse in the home. They were definitely
"shiny happy people" and we did not suspect. Their academics were fine because their mom did a good job of that, but they all have chosen to put their kids in school when they had their own. I don't think all homeschooling is bad, but you do want to look closely as to what other connections the children have or it can be a situation ripe for abuse.

The other funny thing is that they considered my kids to be under the "bad influence" of public school, but my kids learned new dirty words etc. every time they spent time with their kids. I always had to debrief my kids afterwards, lol.

 

[superme80]

As someone who grew up with a light version of this, my mom went to one of the early conferences, I was not surprised by any of this. There are many churches that still push a lot of these ideas.
I get the want of extra oversight for homeschooling. As a homeschooling parent, I don't want the extra work, but I do understand. Homeschooling has evolved a lot over the past 30 years. When my mother homeschooled me for high school, there were few resources. Now there are so many secular resources and classes. Majority of homeschoolers I know homeschool for education reasons. Religion seems to be lower on the list.

 

[DisneyHardin]

I binged all 4 episodes this afternoon. I always liked the Duggar show and watched many, many episodes. I always thought they were a little weird, but had no idea how crazy their beliefs were.

 

[nancipants]

Regarding the “Joshua Generation”, that isn’t named after Josh Duggar. It’s a movement based on Joshua from the Bible. And I think the documentary had an axe to grind against all Christian’s based on that segment alone when speaking of the Joshua Generation.

Thank you for clarifying that! I still think it’s an unfortunate name, haha.

I didn’t see a grudge against Christians if only because a lot of the ex-IBLP folks are still pretty religious and talked about how IBLP beliefs were against God. Cousin Amy is a devout Christian.

 

[Southernmiss]

I admit that I watched their shows for a long time. The younger kids were cute( as little kids are) and entertaining. I was fascinated by their household organization for so many people under one roof.

But, as the kids got older, so many things became ewww and weird. And Jim Bob and Michelle were just too perfect to be true. And the way she fawned over him double eww.

I binge watched SHP on Friday and didn't learn much. I have long lurked on the Pickles and Hairspray Facebook page where a lot has been told about the family. There's long been a running 'free Jinger' thread that she would come out and tell all the secrets.

I was glad to see Amy and Deanna speak out and wondered why they didn't sooner.

Poignant that this came out and Pat Robertson died today.

Maybe these are dominoes in motion to help others in similar situations.

 

[disneychick0412]

I've only watched 2 episodes of SHP but I do wonder: Who is raising all the children left in the househould because the older daughters are now out of the house? I guess Michelle must be.
I could care less. I've always thought they were all nut jobs. I also remember when Josh and Anna were expecting Baby#1 and thinking to myself " I bet he is an abuser because there is something"wrong" here". I trust my gut and I was right about him- he's a creep!

Jana, the oldest daughter is unmarried and still lives at home (or in a tiny house on the property I recently learned). There are many theories about why this is. One of which is that she is not allowed to leave because she must stay to raise the rest of the kids (and also help raise Josh and Anna's young children now).

 

[CdnCarrie]

Jana, the oldest daughter is unmarried and still lives at home (or in a tiny house on the property I recently learned). There are many theories about why this is. One of which is that she is not allowed to leave because she must stay to raise the rest of the kids (and also help raise Josh and Anna's young children now).

And Anna is on the property as well.

And the youngest is like 10 or 11 so just have to make them sit and do their wisdom books I guess.
Oh and Johanna is like 17 or 18 I think.

 

[sk!mom]

I've only watched 2 episodes of SHP but I do wonder: Who is raising all the children left in the househould because the older daughters are now out of the house? I guess Michelle must be.
I could care less. I've always thought they were all nut jobs. I also remember when Josh and Anna were expecting Baby#1 and thinking to myself " I bet he is an abuser because there is something"wrong" here". I trust my gut and I was right about him- he's a creep!

The oldest DD, Jana, is unmarried and assumed to still be living under her dad’s authority in her 30’s (I need a shower after typing that.) Plus the youngers have been growing up as the oldest married and moved out. Josie (youngest) is 13. This is a cult/system that makes them grow up quickly.

Never fear, Michelle is still serving in mid management only. Plenty of kids still around to do the work.

So so abusive! I wish more would be able to get out.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I used to watch their show, then when they started to marry off I began to realize how really, *really* weird it was. The whole courtship thing was so strange. Still, it took the eldest son getting arrested for me to see how deeply abusive their beliefs were to women and children in particular. And now the documentary, which I binge watched. I was horrified at how closely Michelle and JimBob followed IBLP teachings, right down to blanket training. before, I just thought that they were old-fashioned and that it was a shame that none of their kids were prepared for the real world beyond their church. Finding out about IBLP and hearing the survivor stories had me almost in tears. Good for Jill for getting as far away as she has, although she and her husband still hold some harmful beliefs. I hope they continue to move away and that there is growth.

 

[Pink Partridge]

So so abusive! I wish more would be able to get out.

And I wish they would be investigated.

 

[lisaviolet]

Not finished but that blanket training made me weep. I had to turn it off for a bit.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I used to think the Duggars were just quirky and marched to their own drummer. While having 19 kids, or even being a sibling in such a large family (not that the kids have a choice), doesn't appeal to me, I figured it's fine for them. To each their own.

However the more I've learned, the more disturbing it becomes. The idea of having tons of kids is so they can add to the IBLP "army" and someday achieve world domination? Wow. So the kids are just a means to an end. They're trained to be obedient, not taught or encouraged to think for themselves and punished if they step outside of some very strict principles. Their homeschool curriculum is designed to basically brainwash them with the IBLP way of thinking. They can't watch TV or otherwise be connected to the outside world. It's emotionally and physically abusive ("stay on this blanket you little 6-month old or I'll swat you with a stick!). How can anyone even treat their own kids that way?

 

[NotUrsula]

I don't remember where I saw it, but the must striking comment I've ever heard about IBLP, blanket training, & the Duggar's adherance to the hegemony of adult males went something like this: "So you expect a baby to learn to completely control the urge to reach for tempting things that they have been told not to touch, but you don't hold a grown man to the same standard?"

Josh was told that what he was doing was wrong and needed to stop, but the burden of preventing his access to porn content was placed on Anna. They put the Covenant Eyes web-tracker software on his laptop and expected her (a homeschooled teen girl who was a near-total novice re: computers) to police the online activity of a young man who had been closely bird-dogging TLC's crews & editors for years? It was laughably easy for him to just partition the hard drive and waltz right on past the software -- and Anna. To this day she probably has no clue how to actually check for a partioned drive.

 

[disney4us2002]

These shows present as if all religious people or homeschoolers are one way and that is just as false as assuming they are all good. It makes me crazy that people stereotype all as belonging to these abusive sectors when it is rarely true. Especially, since COVID, there are many families that have adopted a homeschooling program and have found it very beneficial for their children. Just as in any religion, there are good people and bad. Please refrain from lumping everyone together.

 

[sk!mom]

These shows present as if all religious people or homeschoolers are one way and that is just as false as assuming they are all good. It makes me crazy that people stereotype all as belonging to these abusive sectors when it is rarely true. Especially, since COVID, there are many families that have adopted a homeschooling program and have found it very beneficial for their children. Just as in any religion, there are good people and bad. Please refrain from lumping everyone together.

Homeschoolers…ok. Lots of reasons, lots of motives, lots of skill levels.

Religious people? I’m so disheartened. I was raised in what I now realize was a fundamentalist cult. I see the rise of Christian Nationalism and Americans supporting despicable people in the name of…what???

I’m done. Prove me wrong. Honestly, I’d love for you to prove me wrong. Religion is a broken machine.

 

[DisneylandFreak2013]

I'm going to be honest - I follow all of the fundamentalist family drama/news via Reddit and so nothing in this documentary provided anything new. With that being said - I don't see what was so outrageous about it? I never did like the Duggars, but from my recollection none of the children ever said they were hit or physically disciplined. And Michelle Duggar never mentioned hitting the kids during blanket training. I feel like there are assumptions being made because of what the IBLP director did and assuming that the family followed it strictly. Unless I'm missing something?

Yes, what Josh Duggar did was horrifying. They should have made him get professional help before he continued to spiral. But even Jill Duggar said she never wanted that to come out because they wanted it to be dealt with in the family. Whoever released it to the media should be ashamed.