To Dugg or Not To Dugg

The bombs have fallen this past week, igniting an internet firestorm.

19 18 Kids and Counting, the popular (maybe?) television show on TLC has found itself in a graveyard of other cancelled programs. As is becoming more common, the internet was at the forefront of the news and opinion pieces. Blogs were thrown around like water, and Facebook has been bombarded by another wave of likes and shares. Condemnation first, followed by a spirited defense, with the title of King (or Queen!) Holier Than Thou as the prize. Being a "blogger" myself, I figured that I should jump in, get my feet wet, and, perhaps, secure the crown.

I have my fingers crossed for it being a big crown of the purest yellow gold. Rubies should adorn the pointy parts, with a modest diamond above the forehead. The diamond will be something small and insignificant, just a bit of a sparkle to catch a Kardashian's eye. I would wear it on my trip to Africa or Vietnam, where I will adopt an adorable little baby. The baby will grow up and be loved by the nanny and, of course, the television. Perhaps I will name the baby America, to give him a hope of the future. Because that's what America is. It's hope...hope for wealth if you're a white guy, hope for life if you're black, and hope for liberty for all. But I digress...

Back to the Duggars!

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I would like to start with a hypothetical story. In this tale, our protagonist is a young teenage girl by the name of Jess. As our story begins, we find Jess on the cusp of young adulthood. It is her first day of high school, and she has decided that she wants to be the first female President of the United States, when she gets older. Her father, the town mayor, beams with pride as she steps onto the bus that first day, and her mother's tears of joy fall heavy upon the pavement. Their daughter has the potential to change the world, and they know it.

The first half of the passes for Jess, cloaked in anxiety and syllabus shock. She laughs with her friends, groans when the boy next to her treats the room to a healthy dose of methane, and smiles when the teacher praises her for bringing a fancy calculator to class. Everything goes so well that, by lunchtime, she is full of confidence and assurance. She will be a somebody, and she will make a difference.

At lunch time, the mood turns sour. The seniors, bedecked in their hideous letter jackets, choose to pick on a small freshman boy. While not encouraged, hazing is certainly only rarely punished by the administrators. Thus, the first few weeks are frequently rough on the new students. Jess's friends tell her this in conspiratorial whispers as they watch the scene unfold.

Jess tries to ignore the bullying, until one of the young men shoves the boy off his seat. Shouts and cheers erupt from the cafeteria, as the remaining seniors circle around the boy.  Nostrils flaring, Jess stands tall and pushes her way through the gathering crowd. Fists raised and feet squared, she stands over the new boy, ready to fight off his attackers. The senior who instigated the fight makes a crass remark about trees and kissing before attempting to step around Jess.

Her training from her martial arts class kicks in. Jess brings her foot down at an angle and smashes into the young man's shin. Another strike brings her knee to his groin. The young man collapses on the ground at her feet, his shattered shin bone poking up beneath his jeans, while blood pools around him.

Overcome with shock and grief, Jess barely registers as the paramedics rush him away. She is led to the office to await the arrival of her parents. A long talk between the principal and her parents erupts in a shouting match before cooler heads prevail.

The senior's parents pressed charges. Their son would have a parent limp and had to have both testicles surgically removed due to rupture. The judge was merciful and sentenced the girl to community service, allowing her record to be sealed and expunged. It was in defense of another, which affected the outcome of the trial, in addition to her age. Her parent's attorney argued quite persuasively that Jess did not know what she was doing. It could not be considered assault since she was so young.

Jess returned to school after a 2 week suspension, and her life began to normalize. The community service was served during the 3 summers of her high school years, but even that was over before she knew it. College came and went. Her parents were there to cry more tears as she was handed her bachelor's degree in political science, and 2 years later they were there again to watch as she received her master's degree.

A few words in the right ear and her father landed her a job in the campaign office of the soon-to-be President of the United States. From there, it was all downhill, as they say. From the campaign office to the cabinet and then into the Senate. Years later, she was preparing herself for her first Presidential debate, when an aide handed her a tablet and played her a clip. In the video, a news anchor accused Jess of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. They labelled her a child murderer and condemned her campaign as hypocritical. According to the news, while her platform hailed peace as the savior of mankind, her actions so many years ago clearly indicated that she was a rage-filled miscreant with a strong inclination to harm others.

The higher ups in the political party were appalled. They immediately pulled their support of Jess's race, and she was left out to hang.

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Now, this hypothetical story does not match perfectly with the story of the Duggars. It wasn't designed that way. It was merely created to make the reader think about actions and consequences and the over reliance on media. We let ourselves be fooled by what we read. It's a dangerous thing to do. When you don't know all the facts, at what point do you say that you know enough to condemn someone?

~The Piebald Penguin