Sister Wives Family Has Baby Number 17
Has anyone ever figured out exactly what Kody Brown does for a living? There were some vague mentions early on about ad sales and I guess that is what he continues to do, but he must be the best ad sales person in the world to support a family of 17. Last I checked, most of the wives lost their jobs when they moved from Utah to Vegas. How does the guy drive a Lexus and afford 17 kids plus the wives? Plus four separate houses? Is there a polygamist mafia or something because this just looks more and more shady. I know they get the TLC money now, but that was not the case before. What kind of ads does he sell?
Anyway, Robyn just had a baby yesterday so that makes 17 in the family now. Does anyone else get the feeling that he is spending about 70% of his time with Robyn now and the rest of the wives have kind of been pushed to the side?
Our tax dollars at work. Wouldn't we all like to stay at home with free cell phones, free food, free health insurance?
ReplyDeleteYes,I bet he's figured out a way to work the system.
ReplyDeleteOh wait, all the wives must be on unemployment and food stamps...
ReplyDelete^^ and the kids get disability because most of them are diagnosed ADHD. That's my guess. These folks never made an honest living in their life!
ReplyDeleteYep, he's ditched the other wives now, it seems. Which makes him different from a typical cheater...how? On the plus side, at least he's open about it...the thing that really bugs me most about typical cheating is the lying.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to believe that such a upstanding con artist/cheater that has been successful in getting four women into this "lifestyle" has also worked the system to get the taxpayers to pay for all of his kids! Just shocking?! LMAO. What a flipping mess this whole thing is and he just cannot be that talented in the sack.
ReplyDeleteEnty, read up about polygamist families. They work the system to get welfare, unemployment, and other federal aid. Yup - we are paying for this lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteI tried to watch this, but it so sickened me that I made it through only one episode. The books that have been written about polygamy and FLDS make me so ill, I can't support this show or TLC. And yes, I know this family is not FLDS. However, polygamy in general leads to so many problems of abuse and mistreatment.
__-__=__, you don't get disability payments for kids with ADHD. Trust me, as the parent of 2 kids with ADHD and a 3rd who is showing all the symptoms, I would love to have some additional money to offset the costs of treatment, doctors, specialists, etc.
ReplyDeleteNow if they have some of the kids diagnosed with Asperger's or something on the Autism Spectrum, they'd receive money.
This family is just sooo gross to me. I watched part of one episode and can't stomach any more.
ReplyDeleteI refuse to watch these kind of shows. I don't mind the Duggars since they self finance their lives honestly. But the rest are just a bunch of freeloaders.
ReplyDeleteYeah because he is only legally married to the first one, all the others get WIC, food stamps, health care, etc. THESE are the people who suck on the teat of our system.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry (not really), but there's NO excuse for having more than, say, four children nowadays.
ReplyDeleteOur planet CANNOT support so many people. The day will come -- sooner than later, probably -- when we're fighting each other for the resources we've always taken for granted. Breeders make me see red. I loathe them, and I also feel sorry for the children who are bound to not receive the attention they crave and need.
Of course, this show profiles a bunch of morons, so none of this is surprising. I might watch a lot of dumb shit on Bravo, but the shows aired on "The Learning Channel" absolutely enrage me.
*I should amend my comment. If you BEAR more than four kids nowadays, you're kind of an asshole. If you ADOPT more than four kids, more power to you, and you're pretty awesome. I'd love to adopt one day if I ever have the time and financial means to do so.
ReplyDeleteI second what Ida said, especially your clarification. Adopting kids, especially older kids from foster care, is fantastic. My hat is off to people who do that.
ReplyDeleteIf you can support 14 kids, then by all means, have them. I can't judge adults who want to raise a big family if they can afford it and have the time and energy for it. But these people make me ILL. I caught them on Oprah or some other stupid talk show, and the father seems so shady. These women are totally brainwashed.
ReplyDeleteI love how he now has them all going to a gym to work out and lose weight. The only dead weight they need to lose is him.
ReplyDeleteI have never watched this crap and I never will. Seventeen kids should be a crime.
ReplyDeleteI hope this cult bunch goes the way of Kate Gosselin.
Sometimes I have this show on in the background on Sunday nights, so I kinda know about them, and I am not surprised that he is (perhaps) heading in Robin's direction away from the other 3. I saw this coming when they moved into 4 different households.
ReplyDeleteIda, I always love your comments...
ReplyDeleteThis whole family really creeps me out. I can honestly say that I've only watched a couple minutes of a show, BUT I've heard way too much about them in other ways. If I remember correctly one of the wives (#3 or #4) actually had 2 or 3 kids of her own when they got together. So I don't think all 17 of the kids are his. Not that it makes much difference. I've also read in polygamist families the other "wives" are able to collect welfare, food stamps, etc. because they are not legally married. What a bunch of BS!!!!!! I'm so sick and tired of paying for others to keep having kids, when I've chosen not to have any myself. Why don't I get a tax break for not having kids, and not putting a burden on the school system, etc.? I actually end up paying more in taxes because I don't have the write offs. Really pisses me off.
ReplyDeleteOK - sorry for the rant.
LOL Lynette.
ReplyDelete@cyberisis -- Thanks! :-) Is your handle a nod to the Bob Dylan song? Desire is one of my favorite albums. I had to ask.
ReplyDeleteI actually watch the show, they fascinate me. And, they actually seem to be nice people who genuinely believe the way they'll get into heaven is by living like this.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what they do for money now in Vegas. When they were in Utah, the first two wives worked (one at a 'career' type job, another as basically a social worker), the third was a stay at home mom, and the 4th wife couldn't find a job when she moved there.
I can believe that they were self-supporting there, because of the pooling of resources, low cost of living, etc. I think they actually did an episode on how they made the money work, and it was that they were basically making ends meet month-to-month.
In Vegas, I have no idea what money they're living on or what the hell they're doing with their time. The TV money can't be enough to pay for 4 separate houses, can it? They seem not great with money management. I don't think he's leaving the other wives alone more, I think the youngest one gets the most screen time because she's young and cute.
New Life And Attitude - I don't need a tax break for not having kids, but I DO want my own parking space at Walmart!
ReplyDeleteMary - from the SSI site:
ReplyDeleteChildren can get SSI if they meet Social Security’s definition of disability for children and if they have little or no income and resources. We also consider the family’s household income, resources and other personal information.
Mary you're probably just not poor enough! Isn't that always the way??
Ida - the current recommendation is 2 kids, not 4. Who would have thought?!?!?!?
I think TLC could be either paying for and/or comping the homes.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see what these folks are doing 2 years after the show goes off the air.
I'm with Feisty. I actually got hooked into this show after being sick on the couch for an entire day and while I wouldn't want this for myself or anyone I loved, I actually think these are really nice people. They have spent a good couple of episodes talking about how they afford everything - three wives worked when they were in Utah, plus Kody - but yeah, times are tough now that they're in Vegas and two of them are hoping to start selling real estate. I'm sure the TLC money helps. It could be that such families "work" the system, but I genuinely don't get that feeling from this family. And I used to work for welfare in the fraud division.
ReplyDeleteUgh. Disgusting.
ReplyDeleteI third was Ida said. The planet has far too many people and there are loads of older kids no one wants. I was "fixed" at the age of 27 but it took some convincing the Dr. to do it. I told them that if I changed my mind I would adopt. Kids do not have to be from your loins they just have to be loved.
ReplyDeleteAnd potty trained.
ReplyDeleteWHAT IDA SAID
ReplyDelete& What New Life and Attitude said too :D
I had a friend who is my age, had a kid at 16 PURPOSELY and is now a single mom. I chose not to have kids until I have a good job, stable family environment, etc. And I am paying my own way through university.
And yet for my wise choices I receive no assistance while she has dental/doctor and groceries paid for her and her daughter and lives in a nice apt that is lower rent.
I used to get pissed because sometimes it seems like if you have no kids you dont get help for shit. And it's like, just because I dont have kids doesnt mean I couldnt do with some assistance, ya know?
But I was talking to a social work prof at school about it and she said that it wasnt about me being pissed that a single mom had help (which i was feeling guilty for) it was about me being pissed we didnt have a lovely welfare state system like France, England, Canada, hell, even Cuba in some ways. And that I was feeling the tension of that, more than anything.
That was a bit of a tangent about how people without kids might feel less helped sometimes from our govt.
Anyway, back to Sister Wives:I DO think it's not just about if you can provide for all your zillions of kids- its about if the Earth can make room to provide for them. When do people (and this goes for the pro-Dugger ppl too) insist on erroneously thinking resources are solely provided by the parents, uhhh, unless the parents are making their own clothes, have a dairy farm, etc. you're carbon footprint exists. And 17 children is a big fucking footprint. And its all for this dudes ego too! I bet he has small penis issues and this all stems from that. grrrrrrrr
*Why do people, not When.
ReplyDelete@Mary - I have MANY clients who get SSI for their ADHD children. It is usually their only source of income.
ReplyDelete@__-__=__ (I always feel so weird typing your handle, btw. I always want to just call you "equation") -- I think two children seems like a perfect amount if you choose to carry your own. I was an only child and it was mostly awesome, but I often long for a sibling close to my own age now that I'm an adult.
ReplyDeleteFour kids still seems like a LOT, but I also know tons of people who grew up in big families (and six people, to me, IS big) and they really value being one of many sisters/brothers. So, I won't knock that. I can see growing up with two or three siblings and wanting to replicate that scenario when you choose to have kids of your own.
But Jasmine is right -- even if you CAN provide for fifteen kids, the carbon footprint (feetprints?) generated by such a large unit is inexcusable. It's kinda like how one cat can ultimately produce something like a hundred heirs in the span of one decade: those fifteen kids are going to have kids of their own, and grandkids, etc.
I think there SHOULD be incentives for people who choose not to reproduce, or who choose to adopt. People like the Duggars and Browns prove that our culture is getting out of hand when it comes to mindless reproduction.
@ Ida - I don't think these people are proving our culture is getting out of hand, reproductively. Large families were normal until the past 60 years, when the majority of rural Americans were farmers.
ReplyDeleteMy grandma is one of 12 or 13 siblings, the rest of my grandparents were from families with 4-6 kids. Agriculture needs a lot of people to be successful.
I think that these huge families are pretty far out of the normal, which is why they're fascinating enough to be on tv.
I don't think people should have this many kids, and I don't know why people would choose not to use some kind of birth control, but I don't think dictating what a family looks like (number of kids, who is allowed to be a parent) is the way to go.
@Feisty -- My own Grandmother is the youngest of eight, and she was born (and still lives) in a rural area. She definitely knows her way around a garden, and grew up tending to crops and procuring dinner from whatever grew in her backyard. Sadly, though, the agricultural lifestyle has died out over the past few decades in order to make way for factory farms. So the agricultural argument doesn't really fly in 2011. And here in the Land of Plenty, there aren't many people who view children as cogs in some ergonomic/domestic wheel. I mean, how many kids nowadays even have CHORES?
ReplyDeleteThis is America, and people are still free to boink like bunnies and eschew birth control if they want. But I still think it's wrong to produce multitudes of children, and my main problem with gigantic families is how they're environmentally unsustainable -- but, again, I just can't see how those kids will get the proper attention and care they need from mom and dad if they're competing with a dozen other siblings for the same thing. Being babysat by six older sisters is NOT the same as spending one-on-one time with your parents. Just the Ten of Us glamorized having a ginormous family, but it CANNOT be simple.
I agree that families like the Duggars and Browns are anomalies, though. I HOPE.
judging all polygamists based on the actions of a few (or a stereotype) is really no better than the judgements leveled at gays, blacks, jews, etc. based on assumptions about how each must live his/her life.
ReplyDeleteyou do not know whether or not he is manipulating the system and two of the wives were working full time up until they had to leave their home(s) because of the judgements of many.
so prior to being chased out of their home by judgmental assholes who are really only concerned about protecting their (mormon, non-polygamist) lifestyle, the family was supported by three incomes (his and two of the wives).
three incomes for 13 children really isn't that big of a stretch. the fourth wife and her 3 kids receive child support and alimony from her ex-husband, so that makes up for their addition to the family. so where is the fraud? where is the manipulation?
however many wives one wishes to have (as long as all are consenting adults) is really no one's business, as is the case with gay marriage, inter-racial marriage, etc.
i say leave them alone and stop with the judgement.
@ida...absolutely disagree. if you have the resources to raise a large family i see absolutely no harm in doing so. my mom had 5 kids and 2 step kids, and my parents provided for us well. We missed absolutely nothing. I understand that you think its wrong, but i think it's wrong for you to call people assholes because they choose to live their own lives in a way that is inconsistant with your beliefs.
ReplyDeleteThanks, folks, for correcting my error. I'm stunned and, quite frankly, disgusted that people can claim disability for their kids with ADHD. Like I said, I have 2 kids with ADHD, both are in high school and earning good grades, and are planning for college and jobs after graduation. They don't let it interfere with (or run) their lives. They've learned to work around it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm an idiot but I always thought SSI should be for people with REAL disabilities, handicaps that would prevent them from working or something like that.
/ok, rant over and stepping off the soapbox
@Lori -- there's a substantial difference between a family of seven kids (particularly if two of them are stepchildren) and a family where SEVENTEEN kids originate from the same father. And I still think people who breed indiscriminately, with no regard for our already disturbingly-overpopulated planet, are total assholes. But we can agree to disagree.
ReplyDelete@erin z -- I wouldn't have a problem with polygamy if it weren't so patriarchal. As is, you NEVER hear of cases (in Western society, at least) where one woman has eight husbands who take turns doting on her and sexually satisfying her. I think it's a terrible environment for children -- particularly young girls -- but if five childless women want to spend their lives sharing one man, um, I guess that's their prerogative.
@ida - overpopulation isn't necesarily from higher birth rates (in fact, birth rates have been declining), it is from less deaths. People are living longer lives, into their 80's+. So i shouldn't have more kids because your grandma won't die?
ReplyDelete@Monica -- Birthrates *do* tend to decline when a society suffers from a shitty economy, and a healthier geriatric population definitely contributes to an overpopulated planet. That's true. However, that's just Western society. Check out India. They're producing more people as quickly as they're saying goodbye to them.
ReplyDeleteBut I still don't see any excuse for birthing over a dozen kids -- and if tons of people make like the Duggars and
propogate like mad, there WILL be problems. But if you'd
like to squirt out a litter, go for it, I guess.
Oh, and my Grandma's already dead.
"...they actually seem to be nice people who genuinely believe the way they'll get into heaven is by living like this."
ReplyDeleteBut didn't this guy choose this religion because he wanted to justify being a polygamist? So, he isn't living according to his religion, he's playing with religion to accommodate his lifestyle.
@ida, republicans argue that single-parent homes are problematic for children, especially young girls, so perhaps we shouldn't form a similar argument, especially those based on patriarchy.
ReplyDeletethese people are exercising a religious belief that is fundamental to their faith. though i disagree with organized religion and the omission of dinosaurs from the bible, it is hypocritical of me to judge this family while arguing in favor of gay marriage.
considering all western religions demostrate patriarchy, why should we judge this belief/life style?
we may as well ban blow jobs because they are rather patriarchial by nature.
I've read that Kody Brown was not born into a polygamist sect. He converted after his father did, and he saw what a "sweet" deal it was for his father. That makes him an even more opportunistic pig IMO.
ReplyDeleteKody & Meri, as well as Christine or Janelle I forget...one or the other...have filed for bankruptcy in 2005 and 2009. I don't think they make wise financial decisions, but I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteKody totally favors Robyn and it's really sad for the other wives, especially Christine who just had a baby and said she doesn't feel special anymore since Robyn arrived on the scene. It must be really hard for them. I would be so heartbroken.
Lastly, I think it's irresponsible for people to have their own children at all when there are SO many kids in foster care/orphanages. I think if people are going to have their own kids they should adopt as well. That may sound really judgemental, but I don't mean it that way. I just don't understand why people need to have 2, 3, 4 kids with their own DNA, when so many children are out there that need good families. It just seems selfish.
@erin z -- Men give each other blowjobs, too -- and some women actually enjoy doling them out. I don't know if I agree with that example.
ReplyDeleteBut whatever.
@ida: and this family enjoys their situation, hence the irony of my blow job comment...and the overall validity of your taking offense to the patriarchal structure of polygamy.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete@erin -- I don't really care if the family "enjoys" their polygamous lifestyle. That's cool. If that union *doesn't* involve offspring, they can shack up with multitudes of spouses and I don't give a shit. As is, I think it's a lifestyle harmful to women and terrible for children to witness -- but then again, I'm also aware of how Biblethumpers also view homosexual relationships as dangerous for children. But I also think there's a difference between homophobia and being wary of a situation which grants one male far more privilege than the women who cater to his every sexual whim.
ReplyDeleteThat's all.
@ida - i understand all that you are stating, i just think the argument regarding children is not a strong enough one to prohibit their lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteheteronormative/patriarchal structures dominate many families, regardless of the number of wives, and only such families that subscribe to the notion of one husband and one wife are afforded the right to marry. the issue is not the example set for children, as many children have horrible examples for parents.
i think divorce has the potential to be far more traumatic for children than the lifestyle that the brown's lead.
"I wouldn't have a problem with polygamy if it weren't so patriarchal. As is, you NEVER hear of cases (in Western society, at least) where one woman has eight husbands who take turns doting on her and sexually satisfying her. I think it's a terrible environment for children -- particularly young girls."
ReplyDelete^^^^THISSSSSSSS