Kate Plus Eight!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mushybrain;3927050;

Hi rebotco. Thank you for this information. I am beyond disgusted. I don't believe for a hot second that Kate's assignment of the pinatas was "random." Her main focus is always on the 6 little ones. I think your observation is spot on about Kate having to have known that one pinata was empty. It's no wonder that the twins are having feelings of resentment and are acting out. And I hear you as far as Kate's terrible grammar is concerned. Reading her words "she and Cara" made me laugh out loud. She also uses "I" and "me" incorrectly. I guess she is trying to sound educated.



Hi woofgang. First of all, as I stated above, I am sure that Kate was completely aware of which pinata contained no candy. Any loving and reasonably competent parent would make sure to check that all the pinatas contained candy. And if the twins did, in fact, pick a certain one, I'm sure she knew all along which one they would be drawn to. I also don't believe that Kate laughed "along with the girls." It is more likely that she laughed "at" the girls. She is twisted. I know of no child who would think a stunt like this would be amusing. Anybody with half a brain would be able to understand that the twins would be confused and hurt by this, especially since they were already feeling hurt that they were just a side-note to their six siblings once again.

I have no idea if you are a parent, but I will tell you this. It is cruel and evil and abusive and indefensible for a parent to deliberately set her children up to be hurt or disappointed. No loving parent would even consider doing such a thing. It is unconscionable to do this to any children, much less to those who are already struggling with privacy, individuality and resentment issues. She is more than a very bad parent. She is reprehensible.

---

I got involved in this particular discussion so indulge me and allow me to say a few further words. Woofgang's assertion that Kate didn't know the pinata would be empty could be right. All the pinatas looked the same and were already hung when the Gosselins got to the party. In that case, there was an oversight and one of the pinatas wasn't filled and I retract my earlier assessment of the situation.

I'm neither fan nor foe of Kate but I'll say this: there's an awful lot of speculation about her motives and judgment of her actions, and an awful lot of it comes from commenters who aren't watching her but are commenting about how she is portrayed or commenting about what they hear about her. I think that's unfair, the same way it wouldn't be fair to review a movie before seeing it or a book before reading it.

I think anyone who wants to discuss Kate (or any other show or personality) owes it to themselves and the subject to watch the show before commenting.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rebotco;3927121;

I got involved in this particular discussion so indulge me and allow me to say a few further words. Woofgang's assertion that Kate didn't know the pinata would be empty could be right. All the pinatas looked the same and were already hung when the Gosselins got to the party. In that case, there was an oversight and one of the pinatas wasn't filled and I retract my earlier assessment of the situation.

I'm neither fan nor foe of Kate but I'll say this: there's an awful lot of speculation about her motives and judgment of her actions, and an awful lot of it comes from commenters who aren't watching her but are commenting about how she is portrayed or commenting about what they hear about her. I think that's unfair, the same way it wouldn't be fair to review a movie before seeing it or a book before reading it.

I think anyone who wants to discuss Kate (or any other show or personality) owes it to themselves and the subject to watch the show before commenting.

---

Hi rebotco. Point well taken. In this particular situation, I was basing my reply on the observations of a lot of other people (not just from here), and on my knowledge and my own observations of Kate's past behavior and how disrespectfully she has treated her children. This is not entirely fair, because certainly my perceptions may differ from someone else's. I apologize if I offended you with my rather passionate response.

Having said that, I will not apologize for criticizing Kate based on all the lies I have heard her tell in interview after interview (on TV and in magazines) and on her terrible treatment of others (including her children) that I have observed. It is valid for me to use that information to form opinions and express them. A person's past behavior is a very strong indicator of current or future behavior. And to my knowledge, Kate has never complained that she has been misrepresented on her TV show.

In this particular situation, I will give Kate the benefit of the doubt about her not knowing one of the pinatas was empty. But ignorance is not an excuse for parental disregard or laziness. She was involved in throwing a party for her own children. This was not a giant extravaganza with scores of other children. I don't think it is unfair to expect her to oversee the preparations for that party, especially since she is the one who is constantly saying that she does everything for her kids, and that she must be in control, and that she has no help. If these statements are true, then she was responsible for the details of the party, including making sure that the pinatas were filled so that none of her children would be hurt.

I am not interested in the least about Kate's manner of dress or her hairstyles. My judgmental attitude about Kate (and Jon) is borne out of my concern for the well-being of their children (and all children being shamelessly exploited by greedy individuals or corporations). It is a subject that I feel very passionate about. One only needs to look back in history to the Dionne tragedy to make an educated assessment determining the probability that this will end very badly for the children. The fact that child labor laws that could protect the interests of children in reality TV are non-existent or are woefully inadequate just increases the probability for a bad outcome.

I no longer watch any reality program that includes or is centered around children, and I will not start again. It is not necessary for me to watch these shows to justify my opinion that anyone who would put their children on TV and expose their most private moments to strangers for the sake of money and fame is doing harm to their children, now and in the future. There is too much evidence that supports this assertion.

Thanks, rebotco, for bringing up some valid points and giving me food for thought. I will be more diligent in the future. Have a great day.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mushybrain;3927260;

Having said that, I will not apologize for criticizing Kate based on all the lies I have heard her tell in interview after interview (on TV and in magazines) and on her terrible treatment of others (including her children) that I have observed. It is valid for me to use that information to form opinions and express them. A person's past behavior is a very strong indicator of current or future behavior. And to my knowledge, Kate has never complained that she has been misrepresented on her TV show.

---

I appreciate your thoughts, mushybrain.

I agree it's fair to form opinions based on what we observe - we all do it, and we air our opinions on forums such as this one. I only urge people to refrain from speculation based on hearsay - on forums as in real life. Our legal system disallows hearsay and, for better or worse, for good reason.

I don't think the pinata was empty to begin with. A couple of times when Cara or Mady hit it, you could see pieces flying out, and they ran over to the grass to pick them up. So I think the candy just was coming out at intervals while they were beating on it, and by the time they knocked it completely down, it was empty. I wasn't watching that closely and I'm not going to bother going back and re-watching, but that was the impression I got. Besides, if it had been completely empty and Cara and Mady hadn't gotten any candy at all, I think we would have seen another major meltdown.

I have two quick questions;

If you (that's just a general you, not specific to anyone) are against reality tv based on children, does that include the Duggar family? I always wonder why they seem to get a free pass when the parents are essentially filming their kids' lives same as Jon and Kate.

If posters dislike Kate so much, why continue to write about her? Doesn't that just boost her fame quotient?

Just curious.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Denna40;3927340;

I have two quick questions;

If you (that's just a general you, not specific to anyone) are against reality tv based on children, does that include the Duggar family? I always wonder why they seem to get a free pass when the parents are essentially filming their kids' lives same as Jon and Kate.

If posters dislike Kate so much, why continue to write about her? Doesn't that just boost her fame quotient?

Just curious.

---

For me the difference is I don't think the Duggar's values have changed with all this fame. Sure they have some nice things, but they still shop at Aldi, they still go to thrift stores and I don't see Michelle going for thousand dollar haircuts, plastic surgeries or getting on tv crying "woe is me!" etc.....

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by libgirl2;3927361;

For me the difference is I don't think the Duggar's values have changed with all this fame. Sure they have some nice things, but they still shop at Aldi, they still go to thrift stores and I don't see Michelle going for thousand dollar haircuts, plastic surgeries or getting on tv crying "woe is me!" etc.....

---

I don't think you will hear Michelle crying "woe is me" like Kate because Michelle doesn't take care of her kids. Her kids take care of her kids.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tapper01;3926779;

Did not watch, Will not watch and will never support that lying heffer ever. But, thank you for those that did watch and post here to let us know she has not changed and even gotten worse!

---

AMEN!

For those commenting on the pinata "incident". Here is a pretty detailed description of what happened. The party was held at a location that the people throwing it said would be not have any paparatzis (sp?) present. It was at the conclusion of a swamp boat ride. Kate said she gave them detailed instructions on what to have at the party but even she was suprised by some of the things (i.e. the cake was much more detailed and extravegant then she thought it would be.)

Kate said she let the kids pick which pinata was theirs, with the two older girls given first choice, the younger boys given their own and the younger girls given their own. Those are the only facts we know.

Whether Kate actually said to not put candy in one of the pinatas or not we don't know. I personally doubt it. It was probably an oversight of the people throwing the event. It appears this party was put on by the people that own the swamp boat company. My bet is that Kate was told that this company could guarantee a swamp boat ride and a party without papparatzi. She probably said I want:
a) a cake that reflects it their 6th birthday and has dolphins on it (since their main present was a swim with dolphins)
b) 3 pinatas with candy
c) streamers
d) games
e) etc.
Of course a TLC PA probably got involved in addition to Kate's requests.

The only thing about the episode that bothered me was one of the older girls complaint that the younger kids had 3 parties (one at home with mom, one at home with dad, and one in FL for the cameras) and they only get one a piece. That honestly sounds like a pretty valid complaint to me. I know some will say its a spoiled kid, but most parents realize that at that age, it is a pretty typical response. Kate probably should have told the older girls that this was a TV party or something like that (before the cameras showed up.)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TheIrishEyes;3927310;

I don't think the pinata was empty to begin with. A couple of times when Cara or Mady hit it, you could see pieces flying out, and they ran over to the grass to pick them up. So I think the candy just was coming out at intervals while they were beating on it, and by the time they knocked it completely down, it was empty. I wasn't watching that closely and I'm not going to bother going back and re-watching, but that was the impression I got. Besides, if it had been completely empty and Cara and Mady hadn't gotten any candy at all, I think we would have seen another major meltdown.

---

This is what I saw. I agree.