14 DAY TRIAL // If any kind of criticism is directed towards the Duggars, it usually has something to do with their stance against abortion or their views on the relationship between men and women. Today, Derick Dillard, Jill Duggar’s husband, is coming under severe fire for almost running over a cat while sledding with the family.
Even worse, the whole thing was filmed on a camera phone and then posted to Instagram, as the post available below can confirm. In the footage, other family members, Jill included, are heard giggling as the cat makes a desperate run for its life.
Intentionally aiming for a cat is not cool
As you can see in the short video, Derick is getting ready to have some fun in the show in the makeshift sled. He notices a ginger cat in his way and he’s heard saying “move the cat” or “move, cat,” but he gets into position anyways.
In fact, he gets into position in such a way as to aim directly for the cat. The camera cuts away for an instant, and when it returns, we can see the cat got away and is running for dear life. Everybody else there, including Jill, who is holding the phone, is laughing heartily.
According to the many commenters who have taken to Derick’s Instagram to flood it with negative comments, his intention was clear from the start: he aimed for the cat and might have run it over if it hadn’t moved.
The fact that he and the others are laughing shows immaturity and not enough common sense to understand that hurting another living being on purpose, even if it’s a cat, is simply not cool.
Those who have taken offense with Derick’s gesture even go as far as to point that, as a devout Christian, he should hold all life in the highest regard and not make a mockery of animal abuse.
The cat wasn’t hurt, what’s the deal?
The Duggars have managed to stay on TLC with their reality show for so many years because they’re such polarizing figures. To put it in fewer words, their lifestyle is a rarity in the entertainment landscape, and people will tune in to see them, even if only to hate-watch.
They have defenders as loyal as their “haters” are harsh, and they are speaking up to. The way they put it, if the cat wasn’t hurt, why are people making such a big deal out of this? It’s just a cat after all, others are saying.
Cats are known to be quick on their feet, so it would have been strange if this ginger one had stayed put as Derick came sledding towards it. Since it wasn’t hurt, does it still matter if Derick could have hurt it by running it over?
The Duggar fans believe that the answer to that last question is in the negative. They also believe that Derick’s gesture isn’t indicative of who he is as a person or as a Christian. Do you agree?
Sledding with friends and family at the Duggar home :-) #smallestsled A video posted by Derick Dillard (@derickdillard) on Feb 28, 2015 at 9:18pm PST