What to Know
Now that Joseph Duggar is the second Duggar son arrested for a crime related to children, and a serious one at that, it makes every storyline and scene with him from 19 Kids and Counting and even Counting On that much harder to watch. It also makes Joseph’s scenes totally different when you consider what he was accused of and what his life was like growing up in his Independent Fundamentalist Baptist Christian household.
In one clip from 19 Kids and Counting that was posted on Reddit, Jim Bob Duggat talks up Joseph as he prepares to leave home for Alert Academy. For those who aren’t as knee-deep in Duggar lore as some of us, Alert is a military-style school that a lot of young boys in the Duggar family’s circle are sent to at some point, Josh Duggar included.
Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar sent Joseph Duggar to a boys’ training camp.
@itsrowsdower Replying to @hope why is Joesph’s head shaved in this episode of 19 Kids and Counting #josephduggar #alertacademy #joshduggar #19kidsandcounting #iblp ♬ original sound – Itsrowsdower
In the clip, as Joseph prepares to leave home for more than two months, Jim Bob tells him he is a “fine young man” and that he and the rest of the family will see Joseph again in nine weeks. Jim Bob then speaks to producers about his son’s impending trip to Alert for his training that won’t amount to any sort of military skills or placement.
“It was very difficult saying goodbye to Joseph,” Jim Bob says in the clip. “I really believe that these nine weeks are gonna take Joseph from being a little boy to being a man. Not having his family around, being pushed physically to excel, physical training, and then all the things he’s gonna be exposed to. He’s going to really become a man.”
When the Redditor made a post with that clip, users commented to share how wild it now is that Joseph was revered as such an upstanding young man in light of the allegations against him in the present day. At this time, he hasn’t been convicted of anything, but he was arrested on charges related to child molestation.
“Spoiler: he was NOT a fine young man,” someone commented on Reddit.
“Nice hand shake,” another wrote, in reference to Jim Bob stiffly shaking Joseph”s hand on-camera. “So weird. God forbid you hug your son.”
Someone else said in the comments, “The way they act like they are sending them off to war is hilarious. It’s nine weeks of low key military style summer camp.”
A user also asked, “Isn’t Alert for Christian families to send their wayward sons who need punishment & secrecy? How many Duggar boys went to Alert?”
To that, someone replied, “It’s kind of like a fake Boy Scout camp and they pretend they are training to help with disaster relief.”
No one agrees with Jim Bob’s assessment of Joseph.
In the clip, Jim Bob later adds, “We are so grateful for Joseph’s maturity, how he is somebody that sees tasks and just does them. He has a lot of initiative, he has a lot of diligence, and I think Joseph is gonna do great at Alert.” Again, it’s all about hindsight, right? That’s especially true when it comes to the Duggars.
You don’t get multiple reality TV shows and multiple scandals involving the adult sons in the family without needing to take a step back and wonder what is even going on with these people. If Alert was Jim Bob’s way to “straighten out” his sons before they entered the real world, it’s safe to say that was a fool’s errand.
Someone called it “Fundie larping.”
@itsrowsdower IBLP’s ALERT is giving cult army #duggartok #duggartiktok #duggarsnark #joeduggar #19kidsandcounting #19kidsandcountingclips #iblp #iblpcult #iblpalert ♬ original sound – Itsrowsdower
According to the website for Alert, the academy is “an intense, post high-school, Christian discipleship and training program for young men who want to live with purpose and make an impact.” When someone asked on TikTok that it’s “giving cult army,” someone else commented on the video of Joseph at the academy to say, “Fundie larping!”
Someone questioned, “Why would a church need to train youth for this? Are other faiths doing this?!?” It’s a fair concern, because teenagers like Joseph at the time were in no place to seriously train for something by attending a nine week program.
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