These days, it seems hardly a week goes by without the Duggar family being embroiled in some sort of controversy.
Often, the complaints from fans and detractors are legitimate (We won’t even bother to rehash the many ugly chapters of the Josh Duggar sex scandals.), but sometimes they’re classic cases of manufactured Internet outrage.
The latest kerfuffle – having to do with the above photo of baby Israel that was posted by Derick Dillard last night – seems to be somewhere in between, but leans closer to the latter category.
In anticipation of the Oklahoma State University football season (It’s still July, Der! Chill!) Dillard posted the above photo with a caption reading:
“Pistols firing! Only 45 days til some OSU cowboy football starts! Go Pokes!”
Fans saw two causes for complaint, both of which smacked of serious nit-picking.
For one, there was baby Izzy’s hand gesture and Derick’s caption, which some believed to be insensitive in the wake of recent gun violence.
Far be it for us to defend anyone in the Duggar clan (even if they happen to be a Dillard), but Pistol Pete has been the OSU mascot for decades, and it’s not like Derick put an actual gun in the kid’s hand.
The other complaint is almost as baffling, as several fans took issue with the placement of the straps on Israel’s car seat:
“Good god someone please adjust that child’s chest clip. That’s horrific,” wrote one follower, instigating a tense debate about the importance of car seat safety.
The whole thing was reminiscent of the time Jinger Duggar was criticized for failing to properly secure Josh and Anna’s 4-year-old son.
Thankfully, in both cases, someone pointed out that there was no indication that the car was actually in motion at the time the photo was taken.
