Please Ignore the Duggars

The Duggars are a family embroiled in controversy and I'm not entirely convinced that they don't want to be there. Reality television stars by nature, the family of 19 (and counting) is well known for making headlines for their shitty opinions and much sought after presidential stamp of approval. The latter seems to be at thing of the past with even Mike Huckabee dropping the family from his endorsements, but they're certainly still milking the hell out of the former. 

And why wouldn't they? They've all seemed to have collectively decided to throw Josh Duggar under the bus and just come out and accept the molestation charges as true. That's good, I guess. The overwhelming evidence sort of forced them into this situation, but the honesty is appreciated regardless. This doesn't mean they aren't spending a good amount of time downplaying Josh as a sexual offender, however. As long as they can continue getting air time and internet space, they're going to continue weaving a disjointed narrative with an ever-growing and enraptured audience.

This is America's annual summer criminal case! One of this country's favorite things to do is watch someone spiral towards a very humiliating and very public downfall. Admittedly, it's hard to feel any sympathy for this one. But, the scumbaggery notwithstanding, this case is not worth following. This doesn't mean it's not worth addressing. Certainly, prosecute this piece of shit to the full extent of the law. If only to burn every last shred of credibility this family might have had, make an example of Josh Duggar. But the media doesn't need to be frothing at the mouth for a story every five minutes. It's sensationalistic bullshit and has very little to do with preserving integrity and very much to do with racking up easy viewers. 

Fox News, national champs of sensationalizing, has already dedicated two news segments to sitting down with the Duggars and letting them ramble on about how Josh is misunderstood and being vilified by the media. They certainly have the second one right. The media has taken Duggar to task for what he's done and, really, that should have been the end of it. But news outlets live and breathe hollow controversies that affect a small amount of people and they've managed to drag out every minute facet of this case and examined them in excruciating detail. 

I'm not implying that details should be overlooked or that molestation is not a serious crime/topic of discussion. But if we're going to talk about molestation that occurs between young siblings in families, let's talk about that and not the Duggars. The latter, while a prime example of a power structure in place that allows for this sort of thing, has too big a name attached to it to produce any worthy discussion. The issue is marred by celebrity and any possibility of serious investigation is overshadowed by blaring CNN headlines and TMZ reports. For any issue to be honestly and seriously examined, the element of entertainment has to be removed. 

This case and the controversy attached to it are just an extension of the Duggar's reality show. This is the best episode they've ever aired and they haven't had to pay a cent. Ratings are through the roof, the audience grows nightly and there isn't a network on television that would turn down the story. A nation that complains about the evils of reality television sure is spending a lot of time watching it right now. Caught up in the drama, we've forgotten what news is supposed to look like and accepted the showy theatre that it's become. Stop supporting the Duggar's fame. Make this the last post you ever read about that useless fucking family and go read a goddamn book.