Earlier today, I happened to notice a couple of posts in the Duggar Family News Facebook Group that made my eyebrows raise. The first one was regarding the Rodrigues family, headed by Jill. Jill and David Rodrigues, you may or may not know, are the parents of thirteen children. Jill wears a shit ton of makeup, sells Plexus, and plays homophobic songs on her banjo. The family has a “printing ministry”, which I guess means that they print religious tracts. Their eldest daughter, Nurie, married Nathan Keller, who is brother to Anna Keller Duggar. That means Nurie’s infant son is Josh Duggar’s nephew.

Well, it seems that another Rodrigues is getting married. Sister Kaylee, who is 21 years old and looks a lot like Nurie, is now engaged to a guy named Jonathan Hill. Below, you can see a few screen grabs from a couple of videos posted on Jill’s very public Facebook page. Apparently, the engagement was a “total shock”. But it looks like she was standing in a big heart, and the couple is dressed alike. Wouldn’t that give her a clue as to what was about to happen? It seems like whenever there’s a big event in that family, everyone is there to witness it.

I hope the couple has a happy marriage. Truly, I do. I like to snark on fundies, but I see no reason to rain on their parade.

The next bit concerns Rodrigues son, Tim. He posted something kind of strange. Again, I don’t follow the Rodrigues family, as a general rule, but I do take notice when they get discussed in the Duggar Family News group. And today, someone posted these “words of wisdom” written by Tim, which he allegedly wrote after the marriage announcement.

The person who shared this in the Duggar Family News group cut most of this post down to the part that made me stop and take note. Because God knows, I’m not wading through all that religious stuff to get to the point. I noticed with amusement that the poster referred to Tim as TIMMMAAY, and Jill as “Godjilla”. That’s pretty funny!

In reading this, I’m thinking that perhaps Tim missed out on a good education. He’s not wrong that it’s good to treat the women in one’s life well. I would expand that to mean that one should treat everyone the way they would like to be treated. I would say that Tim seems “nice” enough… but if I were still looking for a spouse, the poor writing skills would turn me off. Also, I would be put off with the comment about wanting to date my sisters. That’s a little too much like Trump wanting to date his daughter. Yuck.

I try not to be too tough on the Rodrigues kids. It’s not their fault their mother is the way she is. My experiences dealing with Bill’s kids make me realize that sometimes, kids do stuff to keep peace in the home. And I’m sure it’s not easy to recover from being raised in a fundie home. Still, I think Tim has a ways to go. Once again, I thank God I wasn’t raised in a super religious home. Boring Presbyterianism was enough for me.

People in Duggar Family News also shared a blog post by Debi Pearl, infamous co-author of the horrible child rearing “how to” guide, To Train Up A Child. That book is condemned by most sane people, because it includes discipline tips such as “blanket training” (using pain to teach babies to stay on a blanket) and using dowels to beat one’s children for any and all disciplinary infractions.

The blog post was about what single “girls” should so with any money they have before they get married. Pearl says that when you get married, “what’s yours is his, and what’s his is yours.” But I think in a lot of fundie marriages, the truth is that “what’s yours is his, and what’s his is his.” Debi writes about how she once owned a little Volkswagen that she had taken meticulous care of and paid off completely. When she married her husband, he had a gas guzzler that he still owed money on. He used to enjoy “hot-rodding” her VW, which really upset her. But she bit her tongue, because her car was now “his”. It sounds like Debi was on her way to being a self-reliant woman when she got married, but then wound up with an immature, abusive, and inconsiderate husband. She’s stuck with him, now.

Debi did include a couple of hopeful anecdotes about decent guys who used their wives’ money and resources for things that benefitted both of them. But unfortunately, I know that’s not always what happens. Bill’s ex wife was basically a parasite who wasted his money and drove them to financial ruin. Granted, I am kind of a parasite too, but at least I do housework and at least try to save and invest some of what he makes. I don’t just buy Swiss Colony snacks and Disney plates to sell on eBay. 😉

I could write more, but I don’t really feel like it today. We had nice weather, but we didn’t go out because we have to leave town in a few days and don’t want to risk getting sick before seeing the dentist and going to France. I’m so sick of the COVID lifestyle. I hope like hell the incidence drops more so we can abandon this reclusive life for something a little less claustrophobic.

Hope you had a good Saturday. I had to call my bank again to get them to unlock my account… which gets locked at the drop of a hat.