Shiny Happy People: Duggar Family Secrets

I did not grow up watching the Duggar family on TLC but like everyone in America, I knew about them. A conservative, religious family where the mom had 19 kids and everyone seems really well behaved. With 21+ people in the family, there's so much to talk about it won't all fit in one post. The oldest son Josh was made to be the golden boy from day one. However, you find out later Josh had been doing some evil things and his dad Jim Bob had been doing everything in his power to sweep it under the rug.

I have been doing deep dives into the Duggar family, learning about their past and the show. Although Duggar family secrets in written into the name of the show, there's actually a lot more to it and it involves people who have been victimized due to IBLP. A good portion of focus is on the Duggars since they became a household name based on the very values IBLP preaches. The part that shocked fans most was the fact they praised these values to such a high standard but lied and deceived the people by not truly upholding themselves to them, rather profiting off hypocrisy.

According to the docuseries, Jim Bob profits off the show, not his children. He has not dished a singe payment out for the years of work and invasion of privacy his family has endured. Jim Bob has his own contracts with his children through his media production company Mad Family.

Jill, one of his oldest daughters who has seemingly broken out of the cult as she is shunned by her family and ostracized as a dangerous liar, claims her parents forged signatures for her and her adult siblings. There's also reports on her signing contracts that she was not informed of what she was signing, but rather pressured into it due to the controlling lifestyle her family lives.

The Duggars are part of a religion called IBLP, the Institute of Basic Life Principles. Its essentially an extreme cult based on the principles of the wife/mother being under the umbrella of authority of her husband, the kids fall under the umbrella of the mother and the father's umbrella is under Bill Gothard, the founder of IBLP.

I won't give away too much, but it does provide a lot of insight into the IBLP lifestyle. Something we hear a lot about is this term 'blanket training'. The IBLP housewives, in their pretty, polite, gentle, smiling voices, try to convince you this practice benefits children by essentially beating the will out of the baby. They 'train' the children by putting them in the center of the blanket on the floor and hit them with rods if the baby tries to crawl out of the blanket to get the toy or item of interest the mother puts there as a motivator for the baby to crawl towards. Sounds like it doesn't make any sense if you ask me. The IBLP believes in corporal punishment, many of the Duggar children have spoke out today and confirmed JB and Michelle used corporal punishment on them as children.

The main point of this documentary is to shed light on the secrets of the IBLP. To show what goes on behind closed doors at the well mannered, religious, traditional, conservative Duggars, is what is happening behind other families of the IBLP. The outrage is that JB and Michelle built their family brand on the basis of these sugar coated clips and highlights from their life, while not practicing it. They lie and hide the bad parts that need not be ignored. They neglect the needs and safety of their children and family by putting their religion first. They deceive their fans by profiting off these lies, which goes against their Godly views as lying is a big ol' sin.

Sources say Jim Bob and Michelle are outraged at the release of the documentary and have banned their children from watching it. If they watch it, it would challenge their perspectives on their lives and give them an opportunity to open their eyes and look around. Which is how JIm Bob would lose control of his entire family.

I don't claim to know any of the Duggar family, these are just notes and thoughts expressed in the docuseries. As the family grows, children grow older and some may learn to use their voices to share their stories.

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