What's Wrong With People?

I know some people will disagree with me on this and for the record, I’m fine with it. I don’t watch reality TV and truthfully, I think reality shows have ruined TV in general, but that’s another tirade all together. Except for the constant media coverage, I wouldn’t know who any of these "reality stars" are.  For the most part it’s just average people who want their 15 minutes and go about doing outrageous things (probably staged) for attention. I usually ignore it and pray the world doesn’t think this represents the South any more than Jersey Shore represented folks from Jersey (I know a few folks from Jersey, believe me, it doesn’t). A while back, the world found out that the Honey Boo Boo Mom was dating a man who had molested her older daughter. The network pulled the show and no one defended her…how could they. She brought a known pedophile, one that had molested her own daughter, back into the home with her younger daughter.

Fast forward a couple of years and we find out that the oldest son of the Duggar clan molested – I’m sorry – inappropriately touched – 5 young girls when he was 14 years old. Four of his victims were his own sisters. I’m not going to rehash all of the details because it’s out there. Yes, TLC has pulled the show…great. However, unlike the Honey Boo Boo situation people are defending him and his parents for hiding it. Why? He said he was sorry and asked to be forgiven. Well, that’s makes everything ok doesn’t it. Never mind, he said he was sorry…no crime was committed, nothing to see here folks, move along. What a load of crap! By this standard, no matter what you’ve done, if you say you’re sorry and you ask for forgiveness, then there should be no punishment. Thief? Murderer? Rapist? Sure, why not, but only if you’re really sorry. Why not? Clearly it works for a child molester. Can he be forgiven by his victims? That’s up to them. Can he be forgiven by God? If he asks and in his heart he truly means it, yes absolutely. Should he be forgiven by the justice/legal system? Absolutely not. Come on people, it’s not like he smashed his Daddy’s car into a mailbox. He molested 5 girls –his younger sisters! Isn’t the first instinct for a parent to protect their children? To me, it looks like they were more concerned with protecting their son from being labeled what is was/is than protecting their young daughters from what could happen again. I don’t have older brothers, but I do have older cousins and I can’t imagine any of them doing this to any of us. I don’t have to imagine what they’d have done to anyone who had done this to me. The thing that disgusts me the most is that his parents virtually did nothing. Yes, they contacted law enforcement. Who did they turn to? A state trooper who is currently doing time for possessing child porn. I know for a fact that Mama & Pop would never have done what these parents did. 

Unfortunately there is a statute of limitations on child abuse/molestation, so nothing can be done legally. While Josh Duggar can’t actually be called a pedophile (apparently you can’t be considered as a pedophile until you’re 16), in my opinion, he’s still a pervert. He should have been arrested and prosecuted for his actions and his parents should have been considered accessories after the fact. I wonder if Mama & Papa Duggar would have hidden this if someone from outside their circle had molested their daughters. If the individual asked them (and the girls) for forgiveness would they have forgiven him? Probably. If he asked God to forgive him, would He? I believe so. Would they have not only let him go unpunished but protected him?  Doubt it…at least I hope not.