On Wednesday, Jill Duggar announced her upcoming book that aims to expose further wrongdoings from her parents.
Everyone knows that Jim Bob and Michelle are terrible people. But it’s more meaningful, to some, when their children discuss it.
Not everyone is prepared to have that honest conversation, however.
Jill’s own brother, Jed, is very openly shading his sister’s upcoming book. Some people feel that you should take ugly family secrets to the grave.
On May 31, Jill Duggar announced the upcoming memoir, Counting the Cost.
The book is not hers alone. She wrote it with husband, Derick Dillard, and with Craig Borlase.
In the wake of that announcement, her 24-year-old brother, Jedidiah Duggar, made his feelings clear in a very public forum.
How did Jed announce his thoughts? By going on a liking spree on Instagram, clicking that little heart next to a bunch of negative comments.
“I can’t help but feel bad for your parents. I cannot imagine my children writing tell all books about my family,” one absurd comment read. “Here’s the thing Jill, NO family is perfect. Not one. And yes, while most do not have reality TV shows, you would also not have the opportunity to profit from your story.”
Jed liked that one. Even though, obviously, if you don’t want your kids writing a memoir about how much you suck … just don’t suck.
Social media likes are not a secret. On almost every site and app, they are visible to other users.
One commenter called out Jed, noting that he should feel “ashamed of liking these types of comments.”
And the same commenter added that Jim Bob was the wrongdoer. Specifically, that he should have protected his daughters from Josh.
This commenter spoke to Jed in his own language — that is, using specific references to Christian religious texts.
“You’re not proving to be a real Christian, but a Pharisee. A real Christian would stand up for injustice,” they scolded.
“But I guess your Pharisee father sharing his portion of the family fortune with you and your brothers is more important,” the commenter lamented. “It’s really shameful how your siblings turned on Jill instead of your father.”
However, Jed fired back.
“Excuse you, but you don’t know our family at all,” he claimed.
“Please don’t make assumptions about things that 100% [are] none of your business,” Jed wrote. “The true shame is on you.”
Again, if you don’t want your children to grow up into people who resent you and write memoirs about how you wronged them … maybe don’t wrong them?
A lot of Duggar critics miss the point when they focus upon Josh. Josh’s sex crimes, and the cover-up, are a horror. But they’re not an isolated incident in the cult, and there’s more than molestation going on.
The Duggar family would still be a toxic nightmare even if Josh had never been born. Or never preyed upon little girls. The root of the problem is Jim Bob and Michelle, and the twisted ideology that they used to shape their family.
But that’s also why Jed thinks that any criticism of his parents is unfair — and an attack.
Remember, when Josh’s crimes first came to light in 2015, the family framed it as an attack by the literal devil. Not just the molestation, but the public revelation of it.
When you raise your children to believe that any criticism of you is the work of Lucifer, they will turn on their siblings for speaking the truth.