http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/why-the-duggar-abuse-investigation-end what else does having a presidential candidate as a friend buy you?
Huckabee's outward support this weekend is a head scratcher....sort of....he is kind of a doofus. However, he had nothing to do with what happened over the course of the last 12 years. Duggar and his family did far more after the fact than most families do when confronted with a charge of molestation. I do think they took moves to avoid public attention but their TV show didn't start until 2008, long after the 2006 police investigation. Shame will drive the behavior of even really nice people and the Duggars are no different. What bothers me about this situation is the hypocrisy from both sides. With something so shady in his past, Josh should never have taken that position on the FRC board nor ever spoken out against the gay lifestyle as perverted, etc. Judge not and all. Those who are harpooning Duggar at this point are acting like he's a pedophile currently molesting his own children. Absolutely no acknowledgement on their side that they did go to police and they did arrange counseling for him and the other victims.
it almost reads as a defense, for waiting a year after they found out about this and taking their son to talk to a state trooper who inspects buildings and a "mentor" who made him do hard labor for his punishment. Huckabee is just a side show to me, his defense of this will come back to bite him. But, for me this is more about the hypocrisy this family has displayed and how do we know he is not doing this to his children. Sexual molesters usually are repeat offenders. but i read your response again and its fair. I still cant understand you giving these people some sort of kudos of their subsequent actions. They are deplorable for this and how they handled it.
The defense was certainly odd. Not sure why he felt the need to do that. Certainly adult sexual offenders are. I'm not sure on kids. Should a 14 year old who touches other kids inappropriatley have his life ruined by it. I'm not sure. It's really the only part of this I can't get my arms around. Does a 14 year old understand fully what he's doing. I think that's the question we should be looking at here. The rest of it is typical bullshit that would be outrageous if it weren't so common. I pray I never have to find out how hard it is to deal with a situation like this when it's your kid. I think people end up doing a lot of things they never thought they'd do. And just as background, i only found out who the duggard's were through this article. I know nothing about them or their show.
I didn't intend a defense in as much as wanting to stay within facts. He was 14 when he did this, not a legal adult. Some states only view it as sexual molestation if there is at least a 5-year age difference between perpetrator and victim. In other words, 2 14-year olds fondling each other certainly shouldn't be under the guise of sexual molestation. Molesters are often repeat offenders precisely because so many of their crimes go unreported and they avoid jail time or any type of counseling. Victim shame and fear are two of the biggest reasons why victims don't report. Yes, Josh and the family have behaved hypocritically. And yet it is still true that in acknowledging and dealing with it, they behaved differently than the vast majority of families who become aware of similar situations with their children. Do you know how common it is for a mother to overlook/ignore/deny a molestation of her son/daughter by the step-dad simply because of their economic situation? So, it's not kudos exactly but saying that they were willing to admit what happened and at least attempt to deal with it in some way. I suppose he could be doing it to his own children but that is a huge leap based on what happened 12 years ago.
I agree with all of what you are saying. my only issue is how the beat people over the head with the bible. Judge lest you be judged. And now look at how they handle this.
I agree with you, i dont agree with their own hypocrisy and how the police handled it. you are right a lot of this goes un reported.
Agreed. By all accounts I have read, he has taken as much responsibility as one possibly could. What else is left? They certainly do. A mother can look into her child's eyes and say "you are lying" even though she may know what she's hearing is the truth. Or a parent might think that a police investigation/trial/public knowledge might be more harmful to the child than just trying to deal with it within the family unit, in private.
