John and Alyssa Webster 14: Is It Time to Say the Family Is Complete?

[Bassett Lady]

10 minutes ago, lumpentheologie said:

Many fundie parents with higher education have come to think of 99.9% of colleges and universities (even Christian ones) as liberal brainwashing machines/pits of sin

Yes, that attitude is present in a part of the homeschool community. All four of my adult kids went to public universities. Each one of them is living a Christian life as adults of their own free will. I had no worries sending my kids to a public university. We had raised them in love, encouragement, acceptance, and respect. 
 

If they had chosen a different path, I would have been slightly disappointed, but we would ALWAYS love and support no matter what. 
 

I think fundies are terrified of college for their kids because deep down they know that they have been horrible and that their kids would happily choose anything over the misery they have experienced their whole lives. 

[lumpentheologie]

25 minutes ago, Bassett Lady said:

All four of my adult kids went to public universities. Each one of them is living a Christian life as adults of their own free will. I had no worries sending my kids to a public university. We had raised them in love, encouragement, acceptance, and respect. 

Thank you. This is actual faith. Faith is trust and hope about things that are out of your hands. Fundies prefer fear and control, which are essentially the opposite of faith. They have built their houses on sand. 

[GuineaPigCourtship]

I thoroughly enjoyed my various dens of sin from high school onward.  Sin has apparently served me well, as I am a career woman AND a wife and mother... whose husband has to fold his own laundry.

[LillyP]

Honestly, these days having your kid in public school is sometimes no better advantage (education wise) than homeschooling. Now if you are a kid who has the worth ethic to put the time in, do you work, study, etc...you're fine. It also helps to have parents who are actively involved and stay on top of what their child is doing. But the sheer number of people I personally know (and graduated high school with) who shouldn't have graduated? It's crazy. And I don't mean that in an ugly or joking way. I mean, I have no idea how they actually managed to graduate other than just being pushed through. 

I always think back to a mutual friend of my brother and husband, a very very nice guy, but he is a classic example of a kid just getting pushed to the next grade. We used to joke that reading his facebook status was like trying to de-code a secret message because it would be 95% misspelled with no punctuation. Looking back, it's really sad. The education system (and his parents, frankly) failed him - and there are many more like him. 

[Kiki03910]

9 hours ago, GuineaPigCourtship said:

I thoroughly enjoyed my various dens of sin from high school onward.  Sin has apparently served me well, as I am a career woman AND a wife and mother... whose husband has to fold his own laundry.

I LOVE YOU.

I was the outcast nerd who hung out with the other outcast nerds, theater kids, artists, LGBTQ+. I'm a happy professional editor nerd now. No kids; serial rescuer of cats. I'm currently visiting my bestie. We've had so many laughs about HS and college. It's so sad that these fundies close themselves off from so much joy.

[Vivi_music]

On 8/5/2024 at 11:44 PM, Kiki03910 said:

Abraham, the Exodus, and Jesus lack almost any (if any!) verifiable historicity and should not be taught as history in any context other than being presented as stories that appear in a couple old religious tomes. Faith is one thing. History has an entirely different definition that is based in facts and evidence. It's distressing to see the two conflated and presented as equivalent.

I am in no way an egyptologist, I just took a few ancient history classes when I did my history degree. But I swear, the number of people who are surprised to learn that the pyramids and other egyptian monuments were probably not built by slaves, but most certainly by paid and skilled workers (it is the main accepted theory today). I'm not talking about fundies or Christians, just very secular people, some with an extended education too. The presence of enslaved jewish people in Egypt for more than 400 years is really disputed as well. One can imagine that a people with their own unique customs and traditions living in a country for centuries would have left traces, yet their are very little archeological evidence of that said presence.

I understand it can be a sensitive subject for any believer. I know that for people of Jewish faith, these stories are part of their history and identity. So I'm not trying diminish any part of that. But as someone who teaches ''Intro to qualitative research in social science'' to freshmen, I can't possibly go against the scientific method.

PS: The historicity of Jesus is more accepted from what I remember. A lot of scholars seem to think he has existed. But to have the scientific mind is to be able to differ from the beliefs and teachings of the Bible, and separate Christian Jesus VS Historical Jesus. In fact, most of what is in the New Testament seems to be disputed except for two events in Jesus' life: the fact he was baptized and the fact he was crucified.

[GuineaPigCourtship]

I'm 38 and I only just heard the change in theory about using paid labor over slaves in the past few years.  I got a pretty solid education, although admittedly I didn't focus on ancient history and haven't had a history class since 2005 or 2006.

[HereticHick]

Thank Rufus, I was concerned that there wasn't enough Bates family branded Made-in-communist-China useless merch in the world.  Guess I will have to remove my "Stew Crew" hat and replace it with whatever this is.  

[JermajestyDuggar]

13 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

Thank Rufus, I was concerned that there wasn't enough Bates family branded Made-in-communist-China useless merch in the world.  Guess I will have to remove my "Stew Crew" hat and replace it with whatever this is.  

Yes, just what the world needs. More useless crap to clog the landfills. That spreads so much joy! Thanks Alyssa!

[Melissa1977]

That's ridiculous!

[JDuggs]

What does CheerfullyU even mean? What man or child would want this? It’s not intended for women who might actually be interested in a product created by Alyssa. They are delusional if they think that fans are going to go crazy for these.  I understand pity purchases for Renee Rodrigues’s earrings, but I don’t know why fans should make pity purchases from the Websters.

[marmalade]

I don't think anyone, even the leghumpers, gets it. 

[HereticHick]

I hope that they have shirts because my "Duggar Studios" tee is about wore out.😁

[postscript]

Of course, shilled by Rhett, the favored child. Even the almighty boy has to start earning his keep before he’s old enough to realize what he’s doing. 

Is merch (I hate that term) a necessary component of being an influencer? Maybe I’m old, but I fail to see the need for every person with a niche Instagram or YouTube channel to have a sideline in overpriced hats and T-shirts. Or is Alyssa trying to ride the coattails of Bates Sisters Boutique?

[Mrs. Kravitz]

19 hours ago, HereticHick said:

Thank Rufus, I was concerned that there wasn't enough Bates family branded Made-in-communist-China useless merch in the world.  Guess I will have to remove my "Stew Crew" hat and replace it with whatever this is.  

I love that the first comment was someone who assumed an announcement with coordinating outfits is for another baby and then the second comment is literally, "What is it?"

[rebeccawriter01]

I sell more variety on my Etsy store and it is just filled with sarcastic comments on mugs, t-shirts, water bottles, and hats. I'm thinking Alyssa and John haven't actually thought this through yet. I heard someone ask the other day that if overthinking was something she would always do or were there people who under thought. I think Alyssa is an underthinker. 

[gobucks]

According to this week's vlog, John did the legal business stuff and Alyssa did the website, design, and photography for their new business.  Website says "Our aim at CheerfullyU is simple: to create smiles, one item at a time. Founded in 2024, our small family business is built upon the pillars of faith, love, and happiness. We're dedicated to spreading cheer through every product we offer. Join us on our journey as we strive to make the world a brighter, happier place, one smile at a time." The kids can help because it is "good to teach your kids how to work". Her long term vision is to have Mommy Daughter sets and Daddy Son sets of items. 

Edited August 16 by gobucks
ETA

[Kiki03910]

On 8/14/2024 at 9:12 PM, rebeccawriter01 said:

I sell more variety on my Etsy store and it is just filled with sarcastic comments on mugs, t-shirts, water bottles, and hats. I'm thinking Alyssa and John haven't actually thought this through yet. I heard someone ask the other day that if overthinking was something she would always do or were there people who under thought. I think Alyssa is an underthinker. 

I'd love to drop by your Etsy shop if you don't mind posting a link or (if that's not allowed) DM me. Thanks!

[gobucks]

Clicked on their vlog today. It's a kids' Q+A. Comments are already turned off. 

Allie~ How hard is it to be the oldest? Pretty hard, I have to do all the cleaning and cooking and stuff. Alyssa responds that she never does any of those things? And Allie responds that she means when she is babysitting. 

 

Edited Saturday at 04:35 PM by gobucks

[Melissa1977]

14 minutes ago, gobucks said:

Clicked on their vlog today. It's a kids' Q+A. Comments are already turned off. 

Allie~ How hard is it to be the oldest? Pretty hard, I have to do all the cleaning and cooking and stuff. Alyssa responds that she never does any of those things? And Allie responds that she means when she is babysitting. 

 

I can't understand why they post a video like that. Do they think it's funny? 

Allie has been working for years. She was like 6 or 7 years old and was in charge to wake up sisters, dress them, make breakfast and homeschool*, while mom and dad were sleeping. You have kids? You wake up early. Lazy couple! Isn't laziness a sin?

*She didn't actually homeschool, but put her sisters on their computers and looked after them.

[JermajestyDuggar]

37 minutes ago, gobucks said:

Clicked on their vlog today. It's a kids' Q+A. Comments are already turned off. 

Allie~ How hard is it to be the oldest? Pretty hard, I have to do all the cleaning and cooking and stuff. Alyssa responds that she never does any of those things? And Allie responds that she means when she is babysitting. 

 

I really hate how the Bateses exploit their kids so much on social media. Allie does do a ton of work around the house and we all know it. The girls seemed like they knew what they “should” say. They knew they had to say Bible is their favorite subject. It all seemed pretty fake. Like the kids were mostly answering how they knew their parents wanted them to answer. 

Edited Saturday at 05:09 PM by JermajestyDuggar

[gobucks]

I like that Lexi said she doesn't like school. Preach, Girl. I wouldn't either if that was the school I had. 

[GreenBeans]

1 hour ago, gobucks said:

Clicked on their vlog today. It's a kids' Q+A. Comments are already turned off. 

Allie~ How hard is it to be the oldest? Pretty hard, I have to do all the cleaning and cooking and stuff. Alyssa responds that she never does any of those things? And Allie responds that she means when she is babysitting. 

 

How old is Allie? I thought none of Alyssa’s kids was at an age where they’d be old enough to be babysitting.

[JDuggs]

4 minutes ago, GreenBeans said:

How old is Allie? I thought none of Alyssa’s kids was at an age where they’d be old enough to be babysitting.

I bet it’s something like while Alyssa is working out in the garage, Alyssa tells Allie that she is babysitting the little ones.

[GreenBeans]

6 minutes ago, JDuggs said:

I bet it’s something like while Alyssa is working out in the garage, Alyssa tells Allie that she is babysitting the little ones.

Yes, but would she be cooking and cleaning then?

And even then - they have FIVE kids. Which means Allie has to look after FOUR kids, one of them a toddler. It’s crazily irresponsible.