Georgia Mom's Open Letter to Anna Duggar Goes Viral: 'We Must Do Better By Our Daughters'
As Anna Duggar sticks by her husband, Josh Duggar, despite his confirmed infidelities and scandals, people around the country are speaking out against the blind support from the 19 Kids and Counting star's wife.
Suburban Atlanta mom Jessia Krammes Kirlkland penned a lengthy open letter on Facebook on August 20 that has gone viral after she called out Anna's situation and explained that she will teach her own two daughters "to think they breathe fire."
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In the post, Kirkland asks that more people talk about Anna, as she is in the "worst position she could possibly be in right now" because she's following the rules that had been laid out for her.
"Anna Duggar was crippled by her parents by receiving no education, having no work experience (or life experience, for that matter) and then was shackled to this loser because his family was famous in their religious circle," Kirkland writes. "Anna Duggar was taught that her sole purpose in life, the most meaningful thing she could do, was to be chaste and proper, a devout wife, and a mother."
Kirkland goes on to explain that she understands where the plight is coming from, as Anna's religious environment restricts divorce. "Her beliefs, the very thing she would turn to for comfort in this kind of crisis, are the VERY REASON she is in this predicament in the first place," the author continues. "How can she reconcile this? Her parents have utterly, utterly failed her. Think of this: somewhere, Anna Duggar is sitting in prayer, praying not for the strength to get out and stand on her own, but for the strength to stand by this man she is unfortunately married to. To lower herself so that he may rise up on her back."
The note ends with both a battle cry and plea to parents. "WE MUST DO BETTER BY OUR DAUGHTERS," Kirkland writes. "Boys, men, are born with power. Girls have to command it for themselves... We HAVE to teach our daughters that they are not beholden to men like this. That they don't have to marry a man their father deems "acceptable" and then stay married to that man long, long after he proved himself UNACCEPTABLE."
"Educate them. Empower them," she adds. "Give them the tools they need to survive, on their own if they must. Josh Duggar should be cowering in fear of Anna Duggar right now. Cowering. He isn't, but he should be… I wish someone had ever, just once, told Anna she was capable of this. That she knew she is."
WATCH: Anna's Brother Slams Josh: 'I Won't Stop Trying to Get That Pig Out of Our Family'
The letter, which as of Tuesday afternoon had over 433,000 likes and 239,000 shares, spurred its own hashtag, #BreatheFire, a tattoo design from a Des Moines artist and, least surprising, a Daenerys-inspired meme.
Kirkland spoke with local Atlanta news station 11alive on Tuesday, saying the letter was not meant to be an attack on Christianity, but rather a way to speak out against the idea that "you need to be a certain way in order to meet a standard your community demands of you."
"I hope the message stands alone," she told 11alive's Julie Wolfe. "I want girls to know their worth and accept nothing less."
MORE: Jessa Duggar Posts Bible Passage in Wake of Brother's Infidelity Confession
Anna's brother, Daniel Keller, is also among those hoping the 27-year-old mom of four will leave Josh, who she's been married to since September 2008. In fact, Daniel mimicked very similar words to those in Kirkland's letter. "My parents are preaching stay w him," he wrote on Facebook. "They're more interested in how their daughter getting a divorce will make them look than they are in trying to truly get Josh some help and getting Anna and the kids out of there till he has gotten that help."
The backlash comes in the wake of Josh's admission that he had "been the biggest hypocrite ever" after cheating on Anna. His infidelities were discovered after two Ashley Madison accounts were found under his name. The online site, which is targeted to people seeking extramarital affairs, was hacked earlier in August.
This was the former lobbyist's second major scandal in just three months. In May, he admitted to molesting five young girls, four of whom were his sisters, as a teenager.
Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi also had some blunt words for Anna in her Naturally Nicole podcast, which was posted on Tuesday. "His wife is still standing by him," the Jersey Shore star said. "It's like, 'What the f**k is wrong with you? What are you doing?'"
As her husband, Jionni LaValle, had also been accused of having an Ashley Madison account, Snooki took to Instagram on Tuesday to slam the rumors surrounding her own family. "My husband didn't sign up on that website to cheat on me," she wrote. "Honestly, if he wanted to cheat- he would go out and do it… Jionni is a good guy and doesn’t need his name being tarnished. Nor does our family."
Get the full details on Snooki's relation to the hack in the video below.
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