Mother of 19 Michelle Duggar was asked in an interview if she was concerned about overpopulation and her family’s impact on the environment. She then attempted to explain that there was no such thing as overpopulation since everyone in the whole world can fit in Jacksonville, Florida. She really said this.
“The idea of overpopulation is not accurate because, really, the entire population of the world, if they were stood shoulder to shoulder, could fit in the city limits of Jacksonville.”
Technically that could be accurate that everyone could fit in Jacksonville, notwithstanding all the trampling and deaths that would occur if you attempted to shove the entire world together, which would help address overpopulation anyway. There’s no way I could figure out this math on my own, but I found this wiki answer that explains that if you fit three people per square meter you could stick all the people in the world in a space of 2,280 square kilometers [adjusted for current population, which may be underestimated], or 880 square miles. Jacksonville is 874.3 miles, so maybe with some additional trampling you could shove the whole world up in there. So there you go, overpopulation doesn’t exist!
It’s a weak argument against overpopulation of course, as it doesn’t even account for how much space a person needs to live or the fact that the world’s resources are finite, but that’s Michelle Duggar’s message. She’s got her reasoning and she’s sticking to it.
Michelle then went on to say that her family buys things used that people discard, which is actually a nice message so I have to give her credit for that. She also quoted Mother Teresa as saying “to say that there are too many children is to say that there are too many flowers.” Michelle explained that they teach their children to be helpers and give back to the world, which also sounded great to me. It’s true that her children are very kind, giving people. Two of her boys are trained in CPR and actually helped save a little girls life!
At the end of the video, Michelle claims that there are countries where the death rates outnumber the birth rates, and that’s also why overpopulation is a myth.
“We’ve had other countries coming to our doorstep asking us to let people know that they need to have more children, because they are seeing that their death rates are outnumbering their birth rates, and they’re in crisis. They don’t have people of marrying age for their youth now…. So I think we are so deceived when we believe [in overpopulation]. It’s not true, it’s a lie.”
It is true that there are countries with negative population growth. There are more countries with overpopulation issues, which of course affects the entire planet negatively.
Michelle also believes that the earth is only 6,000 years old, and that’s what she and Jim-Bob teach their kids.
Story and quotes thanks to Evil Beet
HUH ????????
She also believes that her hair is good idea. So…
^^ THIS. It reminds me of the fountains at Bellagio.
Yep, very deep-thinking, isn’t she? NOT.
Hairtastrophe
Noooo remember? They posted about her not long ago where she hinted that she doesn’t like her hairstyle but its the way her husband likes it and you should do whatever your husband says, search for it on this site!!!
Yeah, she’s seems so sweet and gentle, I can overlook her illogic, but God help me I cannot forgive the hair!
Poor Michelle. She started out so normal and then she met Jim Bob. She can’t possibly really believe that, not really. I feel very sorry for the Duggar girls and hope they find the strength to be different than their parents but I rather doubt it. To the Duggar girls it really is about be subservient to some male and that’s about it.
Open a damn book! Not what you call “The Book”, but another damn book.
Her innocence is touching yet frustrating: She sounds like those very young teenagers who are repeating, with absolute and ultimate belief, what the father-figure in their family has been touting with much conviction around the dinner table. Her views of the world are childishly simplistic, and disregarding of all things logic, i.e. science, and all things realistic.
And aren’t they followers of Santorum, the quite obnoxious-and-religion-distorting as well as racist Santorum? Yeah, I don’t think in her own little square mile she’d be open to share space with a black man…
I wish for her to really find herself sharing that little square mile of space with a black man. A Physic’s professor black man. A gay physic’s professor black man. She could learn a thing or two about the world beyond her myopic views, and quite outside her husband’s distorted and prejudiced notions.
What you said. Please. Just…. can we agree ahead of time that the requested professor be promised some rather intensive therapy afterwords? Maybe a nice weeklong packaged holiday in someplace sunny? Find a minimum of a half-dozen cuties willing to A) calmly listen to him rant, B) give him all the cuddles he needs, C) promise to never make him see her again… and possibly D) allow him some free time at a range to blow things up until he feels better?
Because otherwise… it would just be too cruel to subject some poor guy to that horror of illogical thought and vapid blind mouthing of nonsense that is parroted out of her featherbrained head.
Too funny @Jenna! But I promise, it’ll be the other way around.
Have you ever met a Physics Professor who doesn’t like to talk about Physics?
How about one that doesn’t thrive on the challenge of convincing a creationist?
How about one who doesn’t feel the need to discuss the Shroud of Turin anytime a Creationist brings on the name of Jesus?
See where I’m going? Can you now imagine poor Michelle Duggar listening to all that evolutionist talk, all bug-eyed dispair!
Believe me, the Physics Professor will go on and on, just like the Energizer bunny, gaining more speed and energy every time he proves his point and discounts her beliefs. Or rather her husband’s.
I’m feeling a tad evil-ish right now.
creepy eyes to the soul
This comment has made my entire day.
🙂
You’re right. And that’s quite a crazed expression she is giving there.
Her hair.
Never heard anything more stupid in my life.
Why don’t we try to squeeze all her 19 kids plus husband and herself in a few square meters and see if they’re happy then, at least those two wouldn’t have any space to have sex and they would probably stop making kids.
I co-sign.
Now THAT is some good reasoning!
HAHAHA Good one.
Word.
I firmly believe in being responsible and not draining the worlds resources by having multitudes of kids…that being said…she seems like a good mother – a highly misinformed – uneducated mother – but a good one nevertheless.
Don’t even get me started with that PERM.
Paola, come on now the perm hair and straight bangs look is all the rage in the 1980s…..
Oh yes! Sorry Jazzmin! silly me.. i thought we were in 2012 but obviously we are still in the 80s!!! Now excuse me but i need to find my Rah-Rah skirt and my lacey gloves on the bottom of my closet!!
It’s like the female version of a mullet. “I like curly, I like straight-why can’t I have both???”
Kind of keeps in line with her selfish way of thinking.
I remember some older girls telling my friends and I how to do our hair like that in Jr. High. Scrunch with mousse. Curl your bangs with a curling iron and spray your hair on the iron. Release. Aqua Net all over.
Hell, my perm in the 80’s didn’t even look that bad.
Huh? I am no expert but Huh? the world’s population could fit in Jacksonville? say what? I must have not been paying attention in class.
Does she know anything at all of the world outside her white picket fence?
No, although I guarantee she and her brood think we’re all going around sinning all day long.
This nonsense about “the whole population could fit in this tiny space” has been going around for years, it’s a common refrain of the Quiverfull-type fanatic, and/or for those fanatics who deny humans could damage the planet by any means.
You know, my basic reaction to her is that I would like her, but seeing this and other things she’s said, it really looks like she enjoys being brainwashed.
Her eyes have cult member written within them. Brainwashed is exactly what she seems like.
Nothing that comes out of that womans mouth surprises me anymore. She lives in a bubble controlled by Jim Bob. But if she wants to live like that, uninformed and subservient to him then go for it. It’s her life.
READ A BOOK WOMAN!! One that’s not from the year 1458 or a sketchy “church”.
Yes! and by book i don’t mean the Bible!
I have to say, for a family that large this is the best case scenario. At the very least, the scores and scores of unnecessary people she’s adding to the population (in a basic sense, I’m not saying they are worthless) are going to be kind, polite, and will be taught to not be over-consumers- Kris Jenner “only” had 6 and hers will wreak havoc on the earth multiple times more than the Duggar 19. Sure, that’s too many *people*, but they’re not the kind of people that are a huge drain on the world.
Not really. Population growth is exponential. Since they keep their children willfully ignorant of other life choices, they will probably follow their parents’ and community’s example. So the Duggars theoretically could have 400 grandchildren and 1600 great-grandchildren. That’s the equivalent of a small town, all kept willfully ignorant of anything outside their narrow faith.
Oh, don’t get me wrong…I don’t support this sh**show of a family at all and I think they are completely backwards, flat out stupid, and wrong. However, I’d rather the Duggars have 19 than the Jenners, you know what I mean? Silver lining? No? Okay.
@Cindy – That reminds me of the movie Idiocracy in which the more educated people had fewer children and thus their lineage died out in the end, but the less educated had more children so the world became populated with idiots.
What she also doesn’t understand (which, I’m sure is quite enough to fill the Atlantic) is that people had 20 some kids hundreds of years ago because most died before reaching age 10. Half or more would die. It was like an insurance policy back then. Medicine has come so far now, you don’t need to have 20 kids anymore! I suppose Michelle was born a couple of hundred years too late.
Yeah, her oldest child is so kind and polite that he made short bus jokes on his instagram page and only deleted them afte 2 solid days of people leaving him comments telling him how inappropriate it was. And even then, he still tried to defend it as “I was just making a joke.”
It amazes me how snowed people are by this family.
And this woman home-schools her kids…
LOL….that was my first thought!
What the hell? Just…what??
I am amazed by Michelle’s patience. She is a beautiful spirit, and now that i have seen the show several times I do not think she is insane. All her children are well-mannered, compassionate human beings. Michelle does buy their clothes from second-hand shops, and everyone works very hard to maintain a solid family unit. Not conventional, but none of these folks are on welfare or Jerry Springer. Most families cannot stay together, or raise 1 or 2 decent children!
Most families cannot stay together, or raise 1 or 2 decent children!
I’m sorry, what? You do realize that the people on Jerry Springer are NOT typical, right? Those are the dregs of society, not the norm. That is why they are on TV, they are unusual.
Yes, there IS a high divorce rate in America. But look a bit below the surface. Divorces are usually for first marriages — young and childless couples. I argue that MOST people do manage to raise 1-2 “decent” children and without welfare or Jerry Springer shows. But who wants to hear about boring, average, middle class, nuclear families?
My key point is this family is very solid and supportive of eachother. I am divorced with beautiful children, and their wealthy father pays no attention to them. The Duggar children always feel wanted by both parents, Jim Bob is a hard working man, and Michelle amazes me with her patience and loving nature. There are more homeless families now than there was during the Great Depression, and neglect + abuse are at an alarming rate. The Duggars put faith and family First, support all their children, do not have conflict and bitterness poisoning their family life. Unconventional but giving, decent folks.
how does the kool aid taste?
But they are kinda on welfare:
Think what you pay for medical insurance, multiply that by 21, and that is how much the Duggar family saves each year since JBD served one term in some official capacity and now they get free health care.
Add on the cost to the state of 19 births + one long stretch in NICU for the premie.
Then, because they’re a
terrifying mind-control cultchurch they don’t pay income tax either.Think of how well you could live within YOUR means if everything in life was (nearly) free!
Honestly, that’s the most dangerous thing about what they preach. They afford their lifestyle because of tax breaks, the show, and commercially viable property, a lot of which they inherited from Jim Bob’s parents. Not to mention that they got a lot of free work from show producers/church members when they built that giant aluminium monstrosity they call a house.
They say “Everybody can do this! Its so easy! We did it! You should do it to for Jesus! Babies are flowers. GROW YOUR GARDEN JESUS BABIES.” and people with no financial upper hand in the Christian movement have tons of kids and live in poverty but its cool cause the LORD wants it that way. So many families in the ATI movement suffer from abuse as well as poverty. Not to mention women are taught to be stay at home moms so they have to be entirely dependent and submissive on a man that can very likely abuse the situation. Its not a life anybody should be promoting in a way that suggests its easy or necessary to be a good Christian.
YES!!! excellent points.
i also wanted to add that TLC presumably pays their bills. try as hard as they may, they would not have been able to sustain 19 children on one income. that’s just total bs.
Thank you! I was about to make the same comment.
What about the fact that they exploit their children for money by allowing a reality show to follow their every movement? It’s not like the children have any say, yet they are the ones who live with the day to day consequences.
As for their children making a difference in the world. From what I have seen, the daughters are indentured slaves who have almost no exposure to the outside world. They are being groomed to live the same lifestyle as their parents.
As for Jim Bob and his “programmed” wife, how much good have they done in the world? They seem pretty self-absorbed.
Who’s telling you these things? Why does it have to be an either/or situation? And as far as well-mannered goes, well, Hannibal Lecter had impeccable manners most of the time. Cloistering yourself in your home and isolating yourself from the mainstream versus living as a heroin-addled and belligerent furniture abuser on a talk show are really extreme lifestyle choices. That’s why the overwhelming majority of us choose a different and more moderate route. How is Jim Bob supposed to keep all of those girls in Final Net? Surely something’s subsidizing him.
What just happened to my note?
Of course that marriage is going to stay together. She has 19 frigging kids, where the hell would she go?
The very word ‘welfare’ has been used as a stand in for every single bad characteristic that can be committed.
‘Who drowned all of those kittens in the well? Someone of welfare, of course.’
‘Who forced Trump Jr. to hunt at knifepoint? A social service bum.’
‘Who hung up a ‘Death To Welfare’ sign?’
In some regards, the only difference between this family and people on social assistance is a camera and inflated allowance.
Why does it have to be an either/or situation? And as far as well-mannered goes, well, Hannibal Lecter had impeccable manners most of the time. Cloistering yourself in your home and isolating yourself from the mainstream versus living as a heroin-addled and belligerent furniture abuser on a talk show are really extreme lifestyle choices. That’s why the overwhelming majority of us choose a different and more moderate route. How is Jim Bob supposed to keep all of those girls in Final Net? Surely something’s subsidizing him.
ah haha, I read Final Net as Auqanet,way off, sorry..but imagine the cans they go through..
Of course Michelle is patient, she’s not actually raising her children. The older children are raising the younger children, as well as doing the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and laundry. It’s easy to maintain your patience when you aren’t in the real trenches of parenthood, doing all the hard work.
I am well educated, from Canada. Do not intend to insult anyone. The hostility and anger directed towards this family is frightening. I believe Michelle is brainwashed, but is a loving mother. I value good manners, modesty, and a healthy ingrained work ethic to provide for yourself and your family. Welfare disgusts me, and is often an abused social benefit in Canada. The Duggars genuinely are a hard working family, and I do not want to hurt the children by insulting their parents on this site. Stop the Hate.
i think she meant to say, “the entire population of the world could fit in my uterus.”
YES!!!
LMAO!!! 😀
Betty, when I clicked the header that’s what I actually thought it said. Great evil minds think alike. 🙂
Lmao u just made my day wit dt comment
I think half the population of the earth came from her uterus.
Ughhhh.
that’s not an “argument”. that’s called straight-up “nonsense”. yet another reason why these people should, i don’t know, leave the confines of their homes, get an education, and expand their extremely limited paradigms. i hope that at least some of the children will break out of this life style.
It makes me sad when grown adults proudly display such ignorance, and even sadder when they’re the only source of education and knowledge for their children.
Can you imagine her kids attending a real science class? Their minds would be blown.
Good God Almighty, this woman is stupid. That sounds like so much fun: put everybody in the world, shoulder to shoulder, in Jacksonville. Imagine the smell!!!
She doesn’t get that it’s not about SPACE PER SAY (though in some countries it really is about space), it’s about resources.
Oh, and the “official” population of the world is probably underestimated. In China alone, there are numerous girls born whose births are not reported to the authorities, lest their parents pay a fine for having too many children.*
*The one child rule in China is not a hard and fast rule. It only applies to the majority, the ethnic Han Chinese, and even amongst the Han, families are allowed to have more than one child until they get a son. After that, any additional children born in the family will cause the family to be fined.
I totally agree. Thanks for stating what you did.
The world’s precious finite resources, overpopulation, and RESPONSIBLE family planning is a real interest/pet peeve of mine. People like this family (Duggars)confound me. They are BLISSFULLY IGNORANT.
I would like to say I’m really, really glad Celebitchy picked up this topic and wrote this article. It never hurts to bring up this subject so that it is on the forefront of people’s minds.
I’m also really, really glad to read the many bloggers that take notice of this issue, as well.
They aren’t blissfully ignorant, they are just selfish, period.
The world’s resources may be finite but even for 7 billion people it’s difficult to even make a dent in those.
I’m sorry, which planet are you from? Maybe check out some science on a few of the resources that we actually need to survive. There is a list, you might want to start with water.
Yeah I suppose we could just use up all the resources for ourselves and let EVERY SINGLE wild organism die out from lack of habitat space.
Say what you what about how silly that whole family is……ITA!
But, I would rather send a week babysitting all 19 of them youngin, than 1 day of babysitting my niece and nephew
Ha! Wow, your niece/nephew must be terrors :0
They are inbred, no-neck little monsters…..disrespectful, selfish, self-entitled, spoiled, undisciplined miscreants……and it isn’t their fault, it’s the parents.
😉
This woman is an idiot.
In high school I had a very hardcore Catholic teacher who said the earth can support 40 billion people. She also said lubricant (you know, that stuff on your night stand) is only leading women into the evils of anal sex.
LMAO! You had a Catholic teacher talking to you about anal sex – in school?! At first I thought you meant like a Catholic school nun telling you about it, but you mean a teacher in a public school that happened to be Catholic. It’s still hilarious.
She was trippin, y’all. Claimed to speak in tongues, too. She was not a nun, but was (and still is) unmarried to my knowledge.
That was one of many gems she produced during the single semester I had her for my teacher. I was already on thin ice with her because of my pro-choice stance in a pro-life school, so I didn’t always get into it with her.
Still, she gave us candy if we participated in class. That was alright.
LOL.. you should have asked your Catholic school teacher what’s anal sex and how did she find out about the lubricant 😉
Here, here!! Anal sex does not produce children. Yay.
Appropriate name is appropriate and made me laugh a lot this morning.
What a selfish, selfish woman. Sure, honey, have a million babies, encourage overpopulation and destroy the planet for the rest of us who have no choice in the matter. This lady really makes me wanna get my tubes tied.
She makes me want to throw up!!
The average reader of this blog fits in the top 10% of the population that has what they need to survive. Pretty easy to say the problem is population when sitting on this side of the fence. The problem is misused resources and the hogging/wasting of these resources. Her explanation maybe be shit but she isnt wrong.
But she’s not really correct either.
Technically, we could support 9 billion people if everyone had a much simpler lifestyle. But that’s not going happen: people who have ‘nice’ lifestyles don’t want to give them up, and many, many desire to have that ‘nice’ lifestyle.
I agree to an extent, but truthfully, it’s not so much those with “nice” lifestyles that are causing irreparable damage to the planet. Look at Belize. 1200 years ago their population was absolutely enormous…. but they weren’t living the high life…. slash and burn agriculture ended up raping their country and the population crashed (one reason out of many… everyone get out your tin foil hats…)
I’m just saying, a “simpler” life isn’t always best if there’s no knowledge/education. This woman terrifies me, but the one thing I can say is that at least they do good (charity, etc). And luckily, they are SO far out there, most people are able to see that they are fringe and don’t really pose a threat to anyone other than their own kids.
Balanced post. Nice. To me it shows how homeschooling is dangerous. Views like “the world is 6000” or “overpopulation does not present a climate change threat to the planet” do not do well in a free exchange of ideas and evidence.
But in the home school world, where your church, your family and your education are all from the same entity, the quality of ideas are not tested. Only your faith is rewarded and praised: conformity to the party line without question is a virtue, the virtue called faith. Dangerous, dangerous stuff. Vonnegut said faith scared him more than anything.
And on a more shallow note: Remember a recent post about the Duggars and her deferring to her husband? She mentioned that she wears her hair this way because her husband likes it. Which I think was her passive-aggressive way of saying that her hair sucked, but she was stuck with it because of her beliefs (which essentially make her a slave to her husband)
My views exactly. I am glad homeschooling ins’t allowed here in Germany, because it almost always attracts those families whose kids would be alot better off in a public school.
I feel like I have to stick up for the home schoolers I’ve known personally because what is being described here–while all too common sometimes–represents the worst of homeschooling and this kind of crap would never earn a diploma.
If for whatever reason a parent decides to homeschool, he or she has to present a case that leaves evaluator confident in your ability to teach and have access to supports that ensure that the child will be educated competently and by people who aren’t certifiable. This means the get the unbridled joy of passing those tests again…yea. They also have case workers come around and evaluate and fine-tune the process so that you don’t end up with a teenager who spells Yale with a 6.
When deployed properly, a student is required to follow the same syllabus as every other student with whom they would be studying at a public school. Same assignments, tests, quizes, exams, essays, textbooks. independent studies–all of it. All of these things must be sent off to be marked by professionals. Online and community in person tutoring is accessible, and peer groups (also online and the community) are formed via professionally moderated fora to act as a supplement to the in-class stuff. Study groups with teachers supervising, basically. And lest you think that homeschooled kids are entirely off the grid, the students and their families do have to establish and maintain relationships with the school board, so they can’t risk overly dogmatic or incompetence or inaccurate indulgences because they have to defer to a higher authority in the school board almost constantly. Computers have also opened up a whole new new corridor in their studies and whole courses are provided by a teacher through YouTube so they can get the full lecture experience verbatim with suggested readings and extra-credit opportunities.
The social development of a student is a really high priortiy with the regulated home school system. Extra-curricular stuff is required, and it is impressed upon families that students need to spend time with people…well, with people.
I went to university with a few homeschoolers and they had all of the academic prowress of someone who attended public/Catholic school not just ‘Pa’s Attic Academy of Pedagogy, Discarded Flash Cubes and Learning Excellence’.
And they were far more at ease with their peers than I ever was.
I hate to disagree with you but this is not so in Illinois. I homeschooled my niece for one semester in a suburb of Chicago. Not only were there no guidelines or requirements, the school never checked to make sure my niece was actually still alive after she disappeared from the school! Noone ever called, showed up, or sent a letter. It was unbelievable. The school did send a letter saying they wanted their textbooks back.
If I don’t know the difference between an example and a bulldozing statement of universal truth means, I should probably give back some of my degrees and tutor myself in my own life history.
I wouldn’t do it, but I saw a discussion about the failures of homeschooling–which can be rampant–but doesn’t *have* to be an academic death trap. As far as location goes, it’s entirely beside the point. I came to defend my personal experiences with people who came up through that system and described how they did it and what was required of them.
I can’t magically intuit how each school board on record deals with these cases, nor do I care to do so because it’s not germane to the point. I was too preoccupied with talking about the system and stringent codes enacted in the school board that shaped our own formative years. It was my story, my observances and my pre-conceptions that were blown away when I first came into contact with those people who were more intelligent than they had any ‘right’ to be. Maybe I just came from a really kick-ass board of education that encouraged mutual support.
Would I do it? No. Have I met some veritable mothers of ignorance who botched the job? Yes. It’s so not for everyone, but is everyone being educated this way categorically doomed forever? No.
Illonois? I’ve never even been to America.
@ #26, Swann —
“in the home school world, where your church, your family and your education are all from the same entity, the quality of ideas are not tested”
It’s interesting that you praise Celebitchy for writing a balanced post, then turn around and present biased, ugly stereotypes about homeschooling families. I am agnostic, and I homeschool my sons using a secular curriculum. Don’t assume that just because I decided my local school was doing a piss-poor job of educating my children, that I share the Duggars’ politics, religion or worldview.
Yeah, I totally forgot that we are the Na’vi and all like to live together, sleeping in hammocks a few feet apart. And our soylent green wafers provide all our sustenance, so we don’t need space for agriculture.
BWAHAHAHA I can’t believe no one praised you for this yet! HI-LARIOUS
While “technically” she is correct, the population of the world could conceivably PHYSICALLY fit in a space a little bit larger than Jacksonville, overpopulation is not a space issue, it is a resource issue. And granted, the Duggars probably use less resources than the average 21 or so people (which is laudable), that mentality and mindset doesn’t carry over to the general population at large, so it’s a mere drop in the bucket in trying to save and conserve this planet’s resources.
And I have personally witnessed the carbon dating of artifacts more than 6000 years old. So, yeah, Michelle, the world is a little older than you think.
P.S. In my clinical opinion, the woman has the eyes of the crazed.
I love starting the day with a good laugh. Thanks CB, and Michelle, albeit inadvertantly.
I am loathe to admit this, but I do give them credit for teaching their children to be givers rather than takers. And I think it’s great that they are resourceful. Over consumption is just as damaging as over population.
Yes, this family to the to the Octomom clan in that regard.
Very true.
I don’t think they’re givers. They use paper plates at most meals, for one thing, which is horribly wasteful.
The crazy is strong with this one.
The expression on that woman’s face says it all: robot christian. I’ve seen that same expression on scientology practitioners. It says “Don’t think, just listen to the sound of my voice and watch the shiny object go back and forth, back and forth . . . .
Utterly creepy.
Goody. Your post gave me the idea for a new TV show: “Robot Christian Star Wars”. The kids can be the extras. She has a hairdo at least as bad as Princess Leia. He can be Luke (oops I mean Han Solo). But who’s going to be – gasp! – Darth Vader?
All things considered, I’d rather have her family for neighbors than most any other people I know of.
I can’t really focus or comment on what she’s saying since I’m transfixed by that gorgeous mullet on her head. Business on the front, party on the back.. whatever makes Jim Bob happy. It’s a work of art. 😉
I’d remind Mrs Duggar that Mother Theresa also said:
“The suffering of the poor is something very beautiful and the world is being very much helped by the nobility of this example of misery and suffering,” and very famously didn’t care at all about suffering but I have a feeling the Duggars may agree with her that suffering just means Jesus is kissing you.
I understand why people have faith but I do not understand why some feel that belief in G-d requires them to stop using their brains
^YES!
This is way way cray cray.
Ugggg the Duggars ALWAYS come up with this backwards five year old logic. I remember once they tried to convert some poor dude on the street(btw, they try to convert EVERYONE they talk to, they’re proud of it). He said he did not believe in God and Jim Bob goes into this whole story about how unlikely it is that our planet is close enough to the sun to create life and only God could make something that perfect. Yeah…Jim Bob….saying that our planet is special in that it is close enough to the sun is also great logic for THE BIG BANG.
Speaking of backwards logic Fundamentalists have told me, I once had this friend from college tell me that she had proof that The Great Flood happened and Noah’s Ark saved all the animals blah blah blah. I asked her what her proof was and she said that in the area where the great flood caused the most damage, the Grand Canyon (???), you could find artifacts of animal bones that showed animals were laying sideways. That meant that the flood pushed them off their feet and that’s why they died on their side. It honestly never occurred to her that animals tend to keel over when they die, flood or no flood. She was in college people. COLLEGE.
Your friend thought Noah’s Ark ended up in the Grand Canyon? Oh my.
Well, if her definition of overpopulation is not enough physical room to stand, then yes, her argument is valid. But the real definition of over population is that there are more people than resources, so in that sense, there is a problem of overpopulation.
But you can’t argue with crazy delusional…
i like her better when she doesn’t speak.
I recommend more education and less screwing for her
you win. that is the best comment i have ever read on this site. thank you.
Too late… Jim Bob already screwed her brains out…
OKAY JACKSONVILLE IS MY HOMETOWN and I DON’T WANT THIS BITCH GETTING ANY IDEAS.
Bwahaha!
Just arm yourselves at the border with science textbooks and hair stylists, that ought to hold them back.
Okay, THAT was really funny 😀
MAKE WAY FOR US WE’RE COMING !!
Don’t even know where to start…
But I recommend reading some of the stats at my favorite charity, Camfed, about girls’ education, fertility, and economic outcomes in rural Africa. While it is true that lots of poor children die in the world, it turns out that if you educate women, they drive their birthrate way down AND MORE OF THEIR CHILDREN SURVIVE THEIR CHILDHOODS.
So what’s better, more kids total and more of them die, or fewer kids total and more of them survive to adulthood? If Jesus were here today I think he would be all about birth control, just from the compassion angle.
Yes. They start later, they have fewer. They have drastrically fewer children.
The comment reminded me of Queen Anne. She had 18 babies and the only one to make it out of its toddler years died when he was eleven.
She died in 1714. I guess Michelle’s got her licked.
This is fascinating to me. Western/European culture has come to dominate this planet {let’s just get that out of the way}. This culture developed as an agricultural society. In an agricultural culture, you need lots and lots of young and strong people. Humans thrived because we have VERY high fertility. Keep popping out babies every year. Sure, about half won’t live until 5 years old, but you need young people working the farm.
That worked for us for hundreds of thousands of years. But is NOT sustainable, at least not in the developed world.The alternative is a hunter-gatherer society, which tend to be egalitarian, have low population, and value experience and wisdom over brute strength. THIS is what we need more of in the modern world. Think about it. I started school at 5 years old, and ended (for now) at 28 years old {with 3 years off}. Those were the prime years of my strength and fertility spent in school because I NEEDED this much education to do my job, and therefore ensure I can provide the same kind of opportunities for my own children. I don’t “need” a whole bunch of offspring to do physical labor. My two children are going to live until adulthood. What they will need to fully take part in this society is years and years of education — they need my time, my attention and my mental support.
Our bodies aren’t going to evolve anytime soon and lose our staggering fertility {millions of sperm! the ability to get pregnant every month!} because Nature doesn’t work that way. But we did evolve giant brains that can figure this sh*t out. We can figure out how to control our population, extend our lives and health, and maximize our LIMITED resources. Frankly, I think using our MINDS to advance ourselves is the greatest praise we can give any God.
Uh, okay, I think I lost my point somewhere.
What! What do poor third-world women know about how to improve their lives via education and birth control and greater societal roles and respect for women?? Michelle D. and the Quiverfull folks know best, and those third-world ladies should be content with losing half their children to disease and ultimately dying in childbirth someday!
Is Michelle Duggar having a Sarah Palin moment? Or has all that excess amniotic fluid gone to her head.
(Granted I just heard recently that the entire population of the world could fit inside the borders of the state of Rhode Island. That I’m slightly more inclined to believe. But then all that BO, no thank you.)
Ask her about the dinosaur period and Jesus.
Actually, I’m more impressed by the other two large families that appear on their show then the fake Duggars. Jim Bob is such a fake politician still and they don’t call Josh “Smuggar” for nothing, wanting to be a chip off the old block. (Try googling why Oprah never aired their visit…possible reason why Jim-Bob is no longer in politics, word travels about such things.)
This view is not her fault. Given the amount of hairspray she must have to use to maintain her 80s bangs and “poof”, she clearly must have brain damage.
Good thing she’s skilled at making babies…cuz the elevator definitely doesn’t go to the top floor in her case.
Crispy Bangs is another Palin disciple; saying ridiculous things about land, geography and population.
What’s with the Stepford Glare?
I’m not even going to get into her reasoning, which is just ridiculous in itself. I just wanted to comment about people who say that the Duggars are great because they are all supporting their kids and doing such a great job, etc.
I’m sure they get a nice paycheck from TLC for their reality show, which also helped complete the building and total decorating of their home. They don’t pay tax, since they are considered a church.
I wonder what this family would look like living without the TLC paycheck. I’ll bet it would be a lot more difficult. I’ve read stories of other families who were involved in the Quiverfull movement (where they believe in having all the kids God gives you) and the stories are not happy ones for the kids or the wife, and there was a lot of poverty and stress.
I’m not saying they aren’t good parents and people because they do seem to try to treat their children kindly, but I don’t believe all those kids get the individual attention they each deserve from their parents, and I think too heavy a load is placed on the older girls to run the household and care for the younger ones. They cook and clean and really aren’t expected to aspire to much more in life than being a good wife and mother. That’s fine if that is what you really want, but they are so sheltered, how can they know what choices even exist?
excellent points.
Being pregnant for over half her life has turned her brain to mush. There is pregnancy/mummy brain then there is Michelle Duggar brain.
Actually her children aren’t kind and giving people. Her oldest son acts like an a%$ on his instagram page. He was mocking the mentally handicapped until people started to protest and then he deleted those remarks. If you read through his instagram page (and I’m personally ashamed of myself for wasting time on it) he comes across as a smug, arrogant, misogynistic, poorly-educated jerk. I have nothing nice to say about him. Who knows what the other kids will be like when they’re out on their own and not spouting the family party line.
Weeds are flowers too, Michelle.
but chlamydia is not
(sorry, I couldn’t resist)
I didn’t know she is also a geography machine!
Religious freaks have a certain look to them, a sort of a blank, innocent stare. This loon knows the truth but since she can’t justify her own ridiculous over-breeding, she makes up some stupid over the top comment.
With 19 kids at least 7 of them have a straight shot at normalcy. I hope they cut off and rebel out.
In other news: I’d love to hear her take on how black people happened.
she’s a bible literalist so she definitely believes in the curse of Ham:
Genesis 9:20 And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard:
21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent.
22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father’s nakedness.
24 ¶ And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him.
25 And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26 And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27 God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
Living well is about quality, not quantity. That Mother Theresa quote bugs me. I’d rather have a few giant gorgeous, healthy, colorful flowers than an acre of tiny struggling ones.
Honestly, a LOT of what Mother Teresa said and did bugs me.
One of my favorite quotes from Christopher Hitchens:
“[Mother Teresa] was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God. She spent her life opposing the only known cure for poverty, which is the empowerment of women and the emancipation of them from a livestock version of compulsory reproduction.”
excellent quote from hitchens. so true.
ugh… why is it always these mouth-breathing moronic zealots who have no problems conceiving children — but in the duggar’s case, i’ll call it breeding.
this is a contemptible and staggeringly selfish couple.
I know in Australia it is predicted that the median age in around 2040 will be 36. The population over here is aging. That’s why the government pays $5000 to a woman who has a baby (means tested of course). Immigration has uped as well. But really ? This woman is crazy, she obviously hasn’t travelled. Go to India and Hong Kong, people everywhere! It’s nuts. That is what over population looks like. Not many people would want to live like that, especially if had a choice. (no offense to people who live in those places, I do like India and Hong Kong, but I like my space).
Even worse than the thought that Michelle is homeschooling these children – Michelle’s homeschooled daughter Jessa is now the teacher.
These people are not benign – there are so many things to be said about their terrible parenting. One of the most bothersome is that the 3 youngest children show signs of speach problems and there is no evidence that they receive any therapy. Baby Jordyn was not quite 1 when the next one was born. Jordyn was on her own as shown by the camera crew. She was constantly left in her clip-on baby chair at the dining table alone and crying. These children do not go to their parents when crying – they go to their “real moms”. When older daughter JIll left to go on a mission trip, her “buddy” Jennifer had to be ripped from her arms screaming. Jennifer did not want mom or dad. The 4 youngest girls do not even have beds. They sleep in pack and plays or in an older sister’s bed – all the boys have their own beds.
Their religion teaches a woman cannot have a hobby because it takes her away from her family. A wife must wear her hair as her husband wishes. A woman must listen to no authority (even God) over her husband. If a woman has a job she steals her husbands self-worth. You cannot have a job if your superiors do not believe as you do. These people do not self-sustain in any way. They do not recycle. They have acres of land but do not garden. They used to buy used but before every trip you see new clothes with tags attached being packed. A daughter must marry a man chosen by her father – not that the Duggar girls have to worry because they will not be allowed to marry until after the littlest are raised. I’m sure one of the daughters will be stuck caring for their parents instead of having a family of their own.
The sexism is this family is outrageous. I first learned of this family about 6-7 years ago in a Chicago Tribune article.
The chores were divided like this: Oldest boy – feed the dog. Two oldest girls – make all meals every day. Next oldest boy – take out the trash. Two next oldest girls – do everybody’s laundry, etc. It was outrageous!
I am not fooled by their soft, gentle voices. It’s simple indoctrination. The man they follow – Gothard – dictates how a husband and wife and marriage must be handled. Gothard himself is unmarried.
These soft, gentle people believe in blanket training babies. Babies are taught to remain on a blanket without rolling or crawling away by being terrorized by a wooden spoon hitting them or being beaten on the ground near them. How in the world can a baby develop properly when it stays laying still on a blanket?
Absolutely not benign. You guys did two great posts. It really irks me when people say “their kids are polite, they are doing a great job”. BFD.
I’m going to check out that instagram page, too.
I am so glad that so many see through the smiling facades of these people. They are in a cult, no question. ATI and IFBLP have all of the tenets of a cult and when people comment on how the children are so polite and seem so “happy”, it gives me chills. They do not have a choice in what emotions they show. Even being in a bad mood is considered an act of rebellion and disobeying your parents. I have relatives involved in this organization and they aren’t just uneducated, they are indoctrinated into believing that everyone outside of their group are evil, dangerous and on the path to hell. The misogyny is one of the most prevalent teachings. Michelle does look robotic because she is brainwashed. She is not raising her children. The infants and toddlers share a room with their adult siblings. Michelle can sleep through the night while her older daughters are up with the youngest children. On what planet is that a good Mother? The fact that this vapid, ignorant woman has home schooled her children should frighten people. At least most see this family for what they really are. Uneducated, brainwashed cult members who get to sugar coat their beliefs and pad their lifestyle with a reality program that exploits their children.
She and Janelle Evans are about as ignorant and dumb as they come, but at least Janelle doesn’t homeschool her offspring. Or belong to a cult.
::headdesk::
Hmmm, and the world is flat in her world? What kind of cool aid do they drink? Where is she getting her information? Must be a nice little bubble they live in.
Her eyes are nutty looking!
Why did she have to say Jax, FL? My city is bad enough without any help from the Duggars!!!!
First off, that “whole population of world could fit in one city” statement is ludicrous. Secondly, what countries “have been begging us to have children” because “they now do not have people of marrying age for their youth”? Excuse me, but how can “countries” have youth without other youth of marrying age for them? Did these alleged countries all have one gender of children?
She does not even make sense when she speaks. Poor woman!
Well, since she has so many kids, will she let them help the world and marry those foreigners who can’t find spouses? Or would Jim Bob nix them as being unpure? Let’s ask her that question.
By the way, I’m so sad Christopher Hitchens is dead. What wouldn’t I have given to see him in the same room with this woman.
This woman is so ignorant.
It is a dangerous and evil thing she is doing – using her fairy tale mumbo jumbo instead of facts. It’s a lie. It’s morally wrong. It hurts people.
Erm…thanks for enlightening us, Mrs. Duggar.
She has such a crazed look in her eyes…scary.
I suspected she was crazy and delusional, but I didn’t know it was to this degree. It doesn’t matter how many people can FIT in Jacksonville, FL – what matters is how many people can LIVE in Jacksonville, FL. Her point is moot. And, besides the space issue, there’s probably only enough resources there to feed a very, very small fraction of the population.
Whenever I see a photo of her husband, I get the creeps. There’s something about him that makes him look like he’s the leader of a cult, which, now that I think about it, he probably is.
I didn’t have more children because I was worried about over population or the world’s resources I just didn’t want to have to deal with anymore whinning. I know the older kids help out with the younger ones but at least they aren’t hiring people to raise their kids like some parents with large families. As far as her religious beliefs it is better to have some than not. I don’t think the bible was always ment to be literal. I don’t get why there has to be such a gulf between religion and science. God gave us everything including the scientific aspects of existence. Maybe he got us here thru Adam and Eve or maybe it was evolution but we are here because of him. It seems to me when people follow and believe the bible word for word they are wasting the greatest gift we were give the ability to reason for ourselves. I think God wants us to question and the true test of faith is to question but believe he is behind it all. I would not choose her life style but I can respect her right to it without having to be catty about her hairstyle.
I understand how you could possibly think that hiring qualified nannies would be worse than forcing the older children to shoulder the burden of raising the children. If they hired nannies to do all the childcare then they would be shortchanging the younger children – but by forcing the older children to raise the younger children, they are shortchanging all of their children. Not to mention being unbelievably lazy.
Reality shows are going to be a demise of everything intellectual… When you have talentless uneducated idiotic people like these Bible-wielding Jesus freaks (or the Kardashians :shiver:), it can only lead to complete idiotism (idk the word in english, but you get the point). As a Physicist doing my masters in the field of Nuclear Fusion ( clean “green” energy source, nothing to do with Fukushima/Chernobil which was fission in case you were ready to pounce on me) I KNOW we have enough resources left for only about 50 years. And this is GENEROUS prediction! So whoever gave this family a platform to preach their stupidity, is also directly accountable for the fact that in 50 years we will tweet (blargh) on a pergament under the candle light. -_- I have never seen their show (i dont really watch reality tv, general stupidity in it makes me mad), but i read about them here and they enrage me. Also to add that I am religious, in my own “sciency” way. So its not the religiousness that buggs me, its the extremism of it.
p.s. I really love this blog. So many witty people with their funny comments. Awesome! 😉
She is so beyond help.
She reminds me of this pastor’s wife I once knew who thought ‘fisting’ was when gay people beat each other to death.
Seriously.
I can’t taut the benefits of a real education enough. Some of these home schooled, Christian college attending people end up with grossly ignorant ideas.
I thought that quote was going to end with “in my vagina,” not “in Florida.”
Oh, Lisa. That comment is just too funny! Love it.
I do not agree with this family always looking happy. Some of the boys openly complain, and I do agree the eldest son says inappropriate statements.
However, I support all the young women in this family. Very respectful, incredibly hardworking & nurturing.It makes me sad to know that these articulate young women are trapped in this lifestyle, and will be shunned if they express the desire to have more options for their future. I sense Michelle is feeling rather inadequate since she is now 46 + her fertility is waning..i believe she is very depressed & fragile since her miscarriage.
I wish loving Michelle well, sincerely hope she can survive the rest of her marriage to controlling JimBob, and does not go insane when menopause arrives.
A woman with low self esteem and that is what Jimbob looked for so he could use her as a brood mare and control her every waking thought. If she has ever had a thought of her own it was to marry HIM. It is a sin that her daughters are being raised to be airheads and cult material and her husband is just a shame. She has the kids and her other kids raise them this is not mother hood this is brood mare.
She is stupid and that her daughters will be raised to be stupid is a shame and any woman that her sons marry will be treated as a brood mare unless one atually has a thought of his own and says he doesnt want kids. The men go to collage anhd the women stay at home and clean and scrub and raise her babies and are taught to be subserviant to men lol Yup a reak mental giant that is..Lord have mercy on those kids. One of them will break from the fold and write a book and I bet it will include a bit of domestic violence…a few other shocking things too..I dont buy the whole planned plots in this tv show..more to see behind closed doors.
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