Monday, June 21, 2010

Free Jinger: From What?

Jinger seems to have a huge cult following and that just makes me smile. It's curious to wonder why, out of all of them, Jinger is the one the following wants to "save." Just what do they want to save her from?

It's been reported from the family that Jinger wants to take photography classes and do something with her apparent talent. She also has be featured in the orchestra at Big Sandy camp so we know that she enjoys playing her violin. I suppose of all the Duggar children, she seems to be the one with the most attitude. It isn't a bad attitude or a grim attitude, it's just the one you notice. Could it be teenage hormones? Only those living with her have the answer to that.

I would love to know why people seem to see her as a "weak link" in the Duggar belief system. I think this past season was a turning point, but not necessarily for the reasons the "Free Jinger" people may think. Yes we saw Jinger a bit more scowly and subdued, however I don't think people are putting that in its proper perspective. I don't think anyone took seriously the situation the Duggars were in last season. Yes they continued to film even though their lives were being ripped apart with the unknown that was a child in the NICU, but no one really seemed to focus on the pain that family was in. Just because the cameras were rolling and the family was obviously trying their best to put on brave faces doesn't mean that each one of them had a heart that was absolutely breaking. Add to that Jinger's age and the liklihood that hormones and teen angst coupled with a family in crisis and you have the recipe for a cranky teenager.

I think what baffles me the most is: WHY JINGER? If people think that one needs to be freed, why not all of them? Jinger is obviously one of the favourite "out front" Duggar kids who we see a lot of, but is that the reason, or is there more to it? Someone please enlighten me.

25 comments:

  1. I think Jinger will 'free' herself. From what exactly, well that remains to be seen. I think she has a strong sense of self, and has said she doesn't enjoy looking after the kids like Jill does. I don't think she's a weak link. I think she's a strong link. Jinger strikes me as the type to maybe be more brutally honest and less delicately polite? I don't know, it's hard to explain, but I see her doing something, having some type of job or career before she 'settles down'.
    I did see an episode recently(a rerun from 17kids I think) where Michelle said she thought her girls hearts were to be taken care of and get married and be housewives. I'm not so sure that's the case with Jinger or Jessa either for that matter. They may want that eventually, but I think Jinger and Jessa want that right away.

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    1. Well, Ginger's are sassy and have attitude. I would know cause my name is Ginger. But I think people say 'Free Jinger' because she probably wants to live life normally. Meaning being a teenager, hanging with friends, experience life, that sort of thing. Plus she wants to go places and see things, and of course her parents don't agree with some of the things she wants to do. Maybe that could have something to do with it.

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  2. Jinger has seemed the unhappiest child since the filming began, when she was about 10.

    She almost never has a genuine smile on her face. Not at age 10, not at 12, not now at 16.

    I think people feel sorry for this obviously unhappy child.

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  3. No one is wishing this family to fall apart at least not me. I may not agree with their beliefs but the way they have held up during Josie's ordeal is amazing. The way Jinger rolls her eyes at 'modest' bathing suits and expression at the announcement of a new baby makes me wonder. I agree with the first poster Jinger will free herself if she desires. Teens are unpredictable lol I was a teen once. I believe All teens at some point think their parents as 'old fashioned' an out of touch.
    On a sad note Michelle's father passed away at 85. He had 31 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren. They have my sympathy.

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  4. Not sure why people want to free her. I just want her and Jessa to have some time away like Jana and JD. Yes they have traveled MANY places, but the WHOLE family is almost always with them. Then again, the older girls did go on a Gothard retreat together.

    Jinger shows the most emotions. Sometimes the younger kids misbehave. To me this is "real" reality TV when a person's emotions aren't kept in. If there is something that Jinger doesn't like...it isn't difficult to tell. I have heard Jinger say she doesn't like to cook or that Jill has more patience with the kids. She was open and honest. But, time will truly tell because she is still a young girl. She might be the one to turn out more like Michelle...just a more feisty version. Nothing wrong with that. :)hehe

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  5. I think people want to free Jinger because she densn't seem into the whole thing. The camera has caught her rolling her eyes when her parents were reading the bible, she didn't seem to thrilled when Michele announced her pregnancy, and she is just very different than her sisters. There was even a report that she said some bad things at a photo shoot for the show. She just seems like the child most likely to rebel(not in a bad way) against the way she has been raised. On a side note in one episode all of the girl wore blue shirts with th exception of Jinger who wore black, and in another episode she left the room while her sisters did their make-up. Itjust seems like she's her own person.

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  6. It's because Jinger is the Duggar who hasn't had her spirit broken. Yet. Her eyes aren't dead, she doesn't look eternally exhausted from mothering her hoard of siblings, and she hasn't been brainwashed into the "keep sweet" mentality. There's hope for her to go on and live a life full of her own choices, not the choices forced upon her by her parents. I have very real, very serious issues with the Duggar parents and what they're doing to their children. Not just the enslavement and brainwashing of their daughters, but also the expectations they have for their sons: to father a double-digit family and support them without any kind of education or world experience.

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  7. People want to "free" Jinger because she shows the most spunk. She lives a life where all of her choices are dictated to her and she must raise her mother's children. Mrs. Duggar may be super fertile and a mother of 19 but it's hard to argue that the oldest four girls aren't "mom" to the younger kids. Mrs. Duggar had the opportunity to choose her religion and accompanying belief system; Jinger has these beliefs thrust upon her. Does anybody really think for one second that those girls will be going to college to become midwives or doing anything other than getting married and popping out 10+ children? Don't get me wrong children are wonderful but one can still have interests/hobbies beyond birthing.

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  8. I would want all the duggar kids to have the freedom to chose what kind of life the want to live. They should not feel obligated to live the same life as their parents. And the older girls should not be obligated to do all the work of running a household and raising the children. there's no way Michell could have had 19 kids if she didn't have 4 built in junior moms. There's a difference between helping out around the house and parenting and the fact that the youngest duggers view their older sisters as mothers is a sign that Michelle has failed them.

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  9. I don't entirely get. I think a lot
    of people see her rolls her eyes or stand with her arms crossed, things that could just r attrributed to her age, and assume things. I will say that despite joyanna being the one thatvpeople say is a tomboy jinger strikes me as more of one. Not oneto truly enjoy the traditional female roles etc. She sees them as her duty but maybe not as her true heart? Just a thought.

    I can see her being a bit more of a tomboy in jeans and a colorful streak in herbhair etc if not part of the duggars family (but then she wouldn't exist) lol. I dunno what it is about her but I think spunk is the best word.

    I don't really see what she has to save herself from though. Asyou mentioned before Marybeth, the girls can all easily go live with Amy or someone else and we have no reason to believe that they can't or are being held against their will.

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  10. Val, maybe this is just me, but I have to say, that all children are brainwashed. studies show that most children do follow in the footsteps of their parents to some degree - mainly in the areas of religion, politics etc. while some (like Marybeth who later found out she was adopted) do not, there are big life changing events for them

    personally, im glad to see them live like this and be brainwashed by the bible - something that teaches good values and right from wrong - rather than much of what society deems acceptable. i shudder at the thought of those beautiful girls out there doing drugs or drinking - all very common occurences at the highschool and even middle school age group.

    i, though not rich, went to school with a lot of pretty rtich girls. none of them ever got pregnant adn were a drain on society, but i can guarantee you there was a good chunk (and i dont mean like 10- it actally ranked a decent percentage out of my 750 graduating class that started at 2000) that were getting stoned, or drunk and having sex with random people long before we ever got close to graduation. some of the stories these girls told as early as middle school are shocking. I thank God these Duggar girls are not into those things and are kept away from it by LOVING parents.

    now, there are a lot of good kids out there that dont get themselves in trouble, but i for one, would rather watch them than some of the other people i see on tv that brainwash kids. watch abc family's secret life of the american teenager. everything they talk about goes on in an average highschool anywhere in america.

    everyone is brainwashed to some degree by their parents, society, or media etc. so maybe they are brainwashing their kids? but i have yet to see a parent that isnt.

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  11. Rebecca, you made an interesting point about "brainwashing". I'm gonna look deeper into that. I've heard Fundamentalist(this is from many religions, not just Christianity) say that Feminists are brainwashed and dangerous to the role G-d created women for. Then the Feminists are saying the Fundamentalist are crazy for wanting to let a man be the head of them.

    There are parents who tell their girls to go out and get a good education or find a good job. Then there are parents who teach their girls to follow scripture and be more Godly and not worldly. When these 2 types of women collide in the real world as adults...there are sometimes going to be conflicts. Each will think the other is wrong for how they live. I read about this all the time on different blogs. I will be glad to give you the names so you can read for yourself. Some have even said they are at "war" with unbelievers.

    The Duggar girls are safe for now.

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  12. I am the 2nd of 10 children, 7 of which are boys. I guess I know a teeny bit of what it is like for the Duggar girls. And guess what? I LIKE being 18 and at home. And baby sitting. I'd rather look after the little guys and do housework than move out and go to uni or get a job or something. And it's not like I'm doing nothing, I teach a class at the local school each week, I have sewn Victorian dresses, do kids camps etc. I don't get how a lot of people assume that the Duggar girls need freeing. I guess they just assume that because the Duggars don't live the way most others do, they must be unhappy. I'm not saying that Jinger isn't happy stuck with a huge family, I'm just saying it's quite possible that she could be completely content. After all, she could just move out if she wanted to, right? Good post, Marybeth!

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  13. All children aren't brainwashed. Teaching your children your morals and values is not the same thing as brainwashing them. You start when they're babies, teaching them the way you expect them to behave, helping them learn to make the right choices. And as they grow, you let go, little by little. You let them make their own choices and decide what's right. You hope that you've done your job well enough while they were young to ensure they make the correct choices in life, but in order for them to grow up to be functioning adults, you have to allow them the freedom of choice. But boxing them in and denying them choices and freedoms at the appropriate ages, burdening them with your responsibilities, refusing to allow your children to have any choices in life, to sacrifice their childhoods caring for your children, to deny them a social life outside of the family... that's brainwashing. I don't care if it's a Christian, Muslim, Jewish, or Atheist family. Refusing to allow your children to make a single choice of their own is wrong. Both parents had the opportunity to have a normal childhood. To have friends, be active in social groups, have a part-time job, and learn the necessary skills to navigate through life in a healthy way. These are things they're denying to their own kids. Neither of them have said that their childhoods were sad, difficult, unfortunate, or damaging, so why can't their own children be allowed the same freedoms? Every girl in the family has voiced the desire to be something outside the home, from nursing to photographer to beautician, but none of them have been allowed to pursue that dream. Once upon a time, John David wanted to be a pilot. But that dream was never given the freedom to grow beyond his own mind, and that is a shame.

    I don't want to see the Duggar family crushed, broken up, or ruined. I'd just like to see the parents behave like parents instead of teenagers, and the teenagers behaving like teens instead of mini-moms.

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  14. Val--where is your proof that they aren't allowed to do any of those things...i don't have a job outside the home so does that automatically mean that i'm not allowed to? Just because they aren't doing things you think they should doesn't mean they aren't allowed to do them...it just means they AREN'T doing them...

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  15. "i don't have a job outside the home so does that automatically mean that i'm not allowed to?" Like myself,You choose to do this. I know I'm free to get one if needed. There are certain situations that may require two incomes.
    "And baby sitting. I'd rather look after the little guys and do housework than move out and go to uni or get a job or something." Young adults at home was viewed as lazy in my day.At least by 21 you had some kind of plan. I don't understand this new trend. Everyone talks about how other young adults are lazy playing video games but it is ok for 'Christians' to live at home until they are 30? . If the Duggars were a smaller family and Jon David ,Jana or Jinger laid around laying video games watching tv, all day what would you say then?

    "I thank God these Duggar girls are not into those things and are kept away from it by LOVING parents." Some may not agree but it is easy to be moral when someone watches your every step. Like why couldn't the Duggar girls stay at their own house instead of with Josh?

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  16. A. Roddy: again with the insistance that they weren't ALLOWED to stay home...do you have proof of this? Is it so out of reach to think that they may have WANTED to stay with josh and anna---that perhaps they MISSED them and wanted to be together in a time of grief? Of course that never occurred to you---why would it?

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  17. its true. we dont know that they are denied to make choices. we do know however, that some of the kids have even stricter dress codes than their parents enforce. purely because it is what they feel to be right. whether or not you like this or think its ok is a different matter.

    we are supposed to live in a society that allows people to practice their beliefs in any way they choose as long as it does not cause another physical harm or break any laws of the land. the duggars are doing none of this that we can see. so why are we so quick to say they are wrong and weird and all the other rather mean things i have read in these comments. why dotheir children have to be brainwashed? why cant we think that MAYBE they WANT to live like this adn their parents DO give them a choice? why is everyone so focused on the negative and not thinking about the fact that there are people who CHOOSE this lifestyle?

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  18. Okay, some of these takes are bizarre. Perhaps because I know the Duggar family. Jinger is no rebel. Not in the least. In fact, all three teenage girls are remarkebly stable, happy and sharp.

    Jinger has a very soft heart. Cameras don't capture Jinger all that well, in my opinion. But she is very fun, always smiling and quite funny.

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  19. Episode where Josh takes his sisters to Florida to help Anna with wedding plans: Josh stated to the camera that the sisters could not stay very long because JimBob & Michelle needed their help back home with the little ones.

    Free Jinger from what? The answer is very clear. Free Jinger from a lifetime of childcare for children she did not give birth to.

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  20. It was said in half in Jest... WHEN that episode was being filmed G'pa had already moved into the Duggar house.

    What people also tend to forget is when the older kids go on missions that leaves Michelle and JimBob there with the little ones. Some times its JimBob an the older girls again leaving MICHELLE with the little ones. So yes Michelle CAN do it alone, but the children have been raised to HELP one another so when the girls are there yes they are helping and being a part of the family.

    Life simply goes better if the family works together, the younger kids will learn more faster because of the older children.

    There are more OLDER children to help with the younger children. The Buddy system is now almost team sets... there are 3-4 kids in each "buddy group".

    Jinger as every one seems to forget is a MINOR but once she is 18 she can leave at any time. So can any of the older girls.

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  21. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCLxAvkHsSc

    Believe it or not, the whole thing STARTED because people felt sorry for her because her name is spelled wrong. They wanted to free her simply because of that. Then, we saw the personality. And so as time has gone on, more things have made people want to free jinger. But it all started out as a simple "Jinger's name is spelled wrong. I feel sorry for that poor child. I want to free her and take her to change her name" sort of deal.

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  22. I have a friend who thinks Jinger is gay, maybe she isn't the only one, personally I don't have an opinion on that. Though I do wonder how the Duggar family would react to that, would family be the most important or would they allow religion to get in the way, which I think is wrong on so many levels, including the belief that it is a choice, who would choose to be shunned by not only a vast majority of ignorant people but their family and that christianity is a religion based on the teachings of Jesus and it seems to me that his biggest lesson was love, pure and simple.

    On a side note why did the Duggars skip names like Judy, Jamie, Jarod/Jarret, and Joan, and even June and July and other regular J names before going weird and misspelling other names.

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  23. i personally think at least 2 of their kids are gay, but Jinger isn't one of them...although i can see why people would think that and now i'm wondering that myself...i'm guessing the Duggars would still love their children, but they strike me as the "love the sinner/hate the sin" types and would likely not accept that as a "lifestyle choice" (no i don't think it's a choice but i have a feeling they do)....

    i have a huge problem with some of the names they chose and i make no secret of that...there are several names i think they should have used but didn't....who knows why they chose what they chose? likely because they vote as a group and majority wins....but then i get a lot of weird comments because i named my daughter Zephyr...

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  24. wow i thought it was just me

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