A comment by isavaldyr on Big Amish Brother. Life among the Amish.
I grew up in a very rural part of Ohio less than a mile from some Amish families. My parents, who were (and are) avid gardeners, had dealings with them related to seeds, produce and simple woodcraft–stakes for tomato plants, things like that. It’s not uncommon for the Amish to have small businesses. Sawmills (only gas-powered machines of course–being connected to an electrical grid is too worldly) and things like that. Less entrepreneurial Amish men often fall into the same niche that Mexican illegal immigrants do in many other places, providing cheap labor for things like home renovations, since Amish will work for less than an “English” roofer or sider and won’t sue you if they get hurt on the job.
Some Amish are fairly well-to-do and have pretty luxurious lives (by Amish standards–meaning they can afford battery-powered headlights and a plastic windscreen for their horse-drawn buggy), but the ones I grew up around lived in grinding poverty. Think subsistence agriculture. The father worked part-time picking fruit at an orchard, but no one else in the family had an income. And it was a BIG family. At least 12 kids–I wish I was exaggerating. Male children (often at really horrifyingly young ages) were expected to do the farm work, while female children did everything else. The family bathed once a week, all using the same tub of water and homemade soap made from animal tallow. The father and some of the older male children had shoes, but most of the family didn’t. A few years back, the mother died from cancer; she was younger than 50. A lot of Amish will go to chiropractors or veterinarians instead of medical doctors when they have health problems, or rely on folk remedies. I remember hearing about a man from another local Amish family who was badly burned in a workshop accident and rushed to the hospital by his English coworkers. He was bandaged and given instructions to come back for a follow-up appointment, but as soon as he got home he took his wound dressing off and went into the woods to gather herbs for a poultice. I wouldn’t believe that this kind of thing still went on in 21st century America if I hadn’t seen it myself.
Amish children go to special Amish schools whose curricula have little or no science and only go up to about 8th grade. They have inadequate nutrition, inadequate healthcare, and live in homes without running water or electricity, meaning no cooling in the summer and no heat in the winter that can’t be provided by a wood-burning stove. It’s hard for me to imagine what it’s like for the women, especially, who have to work outdoors in the brutal heat and humidity of the Ohio summer wearing heavy, black or dark blue-colored dresses and tight-fitting bonnets. They can’t even count on having a glass of ice water to cool down when they’re done–no freezer. (We’ve let this family use our freezer to store their meats more than once.) It’s just an awful, awful life of deprivation that “English” people, even poor ones, can scarcely imagine. It’s also worth noting that Amish parents very much believe in corporal punishment.
The thing that pisses me off is that the way Amish people live would be considered abusive to their children if “English” people did it. But because they believe it’s mandated by their religion, they get a free pass. People I know don’t understand why I get so worked up about the Amish, but I’ve lived around them, talked to them, seen where they live, and it’s awful. One thing I will always remember: when I was younger, we used to have a trampoline in our front yard, and whenever the Amish kids would come down to ask a favor of my parents or barter on behalf of their father, they got to jump on it, and they were more thrilled with it than I’ve ever seen anyone be about anything. They’d also stand outside and look in our livingroom window at the TV, standing utterly still and transfixed in complete wonder. It makes me sick to think of how many other amazing things they’ll never get to experience simply because they had the misfortune of being born into a religion that rejects the whole world.
Oh, goodness. I didn’t expect my first comment to make the front page. I’ll share something else I’ve learned, then: Amish buggies are dangerous as hell to have on the road. Particularly at night. They’re black, which makes them rather hard to see until you’re close to them even in clear conditions–nevermind if it’s foggy or raining. Some of them have reflective tape on the back, but most I’ve seen carry only a small lantern on the back for illumination. Yes, an actual lantern with lantern oil in it. For real. Plenty of buggies have been hit by cars, and it’s usually only fatal for the Amish people and their horse, given the construction of their vehicle. It’s just a wooden frame with iron wheels. Not the most survivable thing to be in when a speeding car or truck rear-ends you. (As an aside, the iron wheels of buggies and the metal shoes of the horses cause damage to the road surface, which then experiences further degradation in the winter due to frost heave–when water from melted snow seeps into the cracks and chips in the asphalt, then expands when it freezes. So they damage our roads, but don’t contribute to fixing them, since they don’t pay taxes… sounds fair.)
One particularly nasty winter–2004 or 2005, I think–we had an ice storm that made the roads very un-fun for driving. Early one morning, at an intersection a few miles down the road from our house, a car came up on an Amish buggy, slammed on its brakes, slid on the ice and careened into the back of the buggy, and just utterly demolished it. I don’t know if the whole family died, but I remember hearing that at least one of the children did. When we were driving into town to get groceries, we went past the scene, and the dead horse was still lying alongside the road. It was just a surreal sight to see on a road in the 21st century. It seemed really large. You don’t typically see roadkill that big, or dead horses in general, you know?
I never had a particularly romantic view of the Amish, but these things you are sharing are horrible.
I hope US gets rid of religious exemptions. Having a little kid in the car without a special car seat will get you a ticket, but driving them around in a death trap is apparently perfectly fine because religion!
Not to mention all kinds of abuse that are rampant in these isolated communities.
Do many people leave the Amish faith and community? I mean in the sense of escaping it?
According to Wikipedia, Amish teenagers are not required to be baptized as adult Amish practitioners, and before they do (usually around the ages of 16 and 17) many of them experience life outside Amish communities, including technology, before deciding whether or not to become baptized. Even though they leave their communities for a brief period and are given the option to leave their community and religion permanently, most return to be baptized and live as adult Amish. Adolescence in general is referred to as rumspringa by the Amish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumspringa
A perfect example of how effective brainwashing from birth is…
@3 thecalmone
That is a good question. I do know one woman who did leave the community. It may be worth noting that they have a ritual known as rumspringa, where they are given the option to leave. The Wikipedia page I linked to says most stay. I would suspect that many would just be overwhelmed with how different “English” society is. (As an aside, I do not know if the woman I know left during her rumspringa. It is a question I should really ask. I do know that she does have occasional contact with her family, as she has posted pictures with them on her Facebook page.)
I’ve always viewed rumspringa as a false choice. Of course almost none of them will choose the confusion and culture shock of the English world–for which they have had little or no preparation–over the familiarity of Amish life, especially given the knowledge that they will be shunned if they leave, with various degrees of severity depending on their particular community. Amish teens usually have no guidance during their rumspringa and live to excess, drinking too much, taking drugs and getting in trouble. It’s a caricature of what normal life is like.
It’s like keeping someone in a basement their whole life until they turn 16, then pushing them outside at high noon and asking if they want to live outside from now on, while they scream in pain and terror from the sunlight. Of course they’ll go back down into the basement.
Hmm, my parents are hippies. They bought a more then hunderd year old ship & took off.
I grew up without electricity & running water. Bathing once a week with iron bucketts warming on the stove & poored in the bath. My mum went first, then my brother & me, & my father went last. On other days one used a pitcher & bowl.
I must be soooo deprived!
Differences; we went to normal schools, got all the shots etc. we needed & there were only two children.
I learned to grow my own food, can chop wood etc. Never learned to knit though… I still hate washing clothes by hand, particularly the rinsing & drying by winding them, it hurts your hands.
I think americans are crazy for using airconditioners, but shamefully those things are seen more & more here in europe too.
I think the dependence on so much senseless machines is depriving future generations of nessecary stuff like fridges, washingmachines & all that is used in hospitals. I happen to like computers too. 😉
Oh! Another fun tidbit I forgot. Amish communities have higher rates of genetic disorders than the general population, owing to inbreeding. They don’t marry anyone except other Amish people, so, as you might expect, the gene pool is pretty small, especially among the more isolated communities. Almost all Amish people alive today are descendants of the same group of about 200 people from the 1700’s. It’s pretty amazing. The language they speak dates from around the same era, an outmoded form of a regional dialect of German. I’m mostly fluent in German, but I can’t really follow them when they speak “Pennsylvania Dutch”, apart from picking up a few words here and there. It’s easier to parse when it’s written down, but, of course, it usually isn’t. Most of them speak English to some degree of fluency, with a characteristic accent.
I was brought up in the UK just after WW2. When I was very young we all bathed once a week in front of a coal fire. We also had newspaper instead of blankets on our beds. But my parents made sure we got out of that pretty quickly and by the time I went to school everything was more or less normal. We got a car when I was 7 and a few years later we had a tele. Strangely it was disguised to look like a cocktail cabinet.
About the inbreeding – my mother’s father’s parents were both Mennonites, and they were second cousins.
Explains a lot! Hahahaha
And about the religious exemption – a famous Supreme Court decision, Wisconsin v Yoder, turned on that. It found that Amish parents have a right to ignore laws mandating education, because religion. It was a horrible decision. (A dissenting Justice – Douglas? – pointed out that the children’s rights were being ignored. Well quite.)
No one is saying that everyone who grew up without modern conveniences is horribly deprived and abused by default. Particularly if you grew up in a time period when the things we take for granted in 2012 were uncommon or nonexistent. Given that we have those things now, though, how is it not awful and unconscionable to force your children to toil and suffer when they don’t have to? How is it not outrageous to make an eight year-old boy till a field with an iron plow and a team of horses when it could be done safely and in a fraction of the time by an adult with a tractor? How is it not unacceptable to make your young daughter weed the garden by hand in a stifling, floor-length homemade dress and bonnet when she could be wearing a t-shirt and shorts (or, better yet, in school)?
Nobody (I hope) would argue the cruelty in forcing a child to cut the lawn with scissors, because there are better ways of doing it. There is a better way of doing things than the Amish way–but we let them continue maintaining an oasis of poverty and deprivation in one of the richest countries on the planet, trapping their children in an 18th century time-warp, ’cause it’s their religion and we gotta respect it. No. Fuck that. I don’t respect the religious right of the Amish to abuse their children any more than I respect the religious right of the Taliban to keep girls from going to school.
…..aaaaand Leafhuntress comes along to derail the thread with her hippy-crunchy sense of superiority, missing the entire point of the post: religious oppression.
And these are such minor differences, eh?
Tell that to the families of the 15,000 people who died during the heat wave about a decade ago.
I run an air conditioner in the summer because I can’t breathe well when it’s 100° Fahrenheit and the humidity is 70° Fahrenheit. If that burns you, too bad.
You all must have smelled delightful.
I spent my first seven years on a farm (in Missouri) without electricity, running water, indoor plumbing. And we did the Sat night bath ritual because it was way too hard to haul indoors all that water and then heat it on a wood burning stove.
I also went to a one-room school.
But as soon as my grandmother could persuade my grandfather, we got the hell out of there and moved to California. Back in the sixties when people would rhapsodise about the simple life, I would just shake my head. I knew exactly what that life entailed.
My great-grandmother and great-grandfather were first cousins. They had to go to Iowa to legally marry.
I second what Beatrice said in #2. Thanks for sharing this, isvaldyr, and thanks for bringing it to my attention, Ophelia.
There’s another big ex-Amish show running right now on National Geographic (ugh, “NatGeo”) called Amish: Out Of Order. It’s surprisingly un-faith-coddling for a mainstream US cable channel. The show’s tagline: “It takes a lot to leave the only life you’ve ever known—for one you’ve been told will lead you straight to hell.”
Two’s a trend!
I once knew a gal who had lived in eastern PA, in a community with a large population of Amish people. She worked as an assistant in an OB/GYN office and the things she saw and heard did not leave her with a good impression of the culture, for the reasons you might expect. It’s a patriarchal agricultural culture, with all that implies.
I won’t go in to a lot of the stories, but one in particular stayed with me; a woman came into the office for a follow-up after a particularly difficult birth. Her husband didn’t seem overly concerned about his wife’s misery. He looked at the doctor and bluntly asked, “When can I breed my wife again?”
I grew up in East Ohio and can relate to those hard to see Amish black buggies. One night on the way back home from college (I was near Millersburg IIRC), I topped a hill going too fast and came very close to taking one out. The buggy driver cracked the whip and darted for the ditch while I simultaneously swerved left of center. It was a very close call which scared the heck out of me, but fortunately we avoided contact.
I didn’t live close to any Amish families so I wasn’t aware that there lives were quite so harsh. I was raised by my grandmother who would often tell stories of life before elecricity and telephones, so I just figured the Amish were living in some analogous fashion (to hear my grandmother tell it those were mostly happy times).
We didn’t get air conditioning until I was in my teens, but at least we had electric fans and a fairly well insulated house (with a basement) to hide in when it got really hot. And, of course, we didn’t have to work in the fields. When we went outside it was to ride our bikes or shoot basketball.
\BCT
Another factor to consider is that heating by wood burning stove is being revealed to be more and more unhealthy as time goes on: asthma, long term exposure and lung cancer risk, etc.
There is an excellent documentary on the Rumspringa thing called “The Devil’s Playground.” As I recall it was pretty good. There’s definitely a fear factor and psychological hamstringing effect going on, which I consider a level of cruelty above the ordinary. I’m not really one to fall for moral relativism enough to just let things like this slide.
Leafhuntress:
Shamefully?
You speak as though there’s something wrong with technology making people’s lives better.
Why do you think using an air conditioner is crazy? If you’re living in an area with oppressive heat, wouldn’t an effective means of cooling off be welcome (obviously if the option is available)? I find extremes of temperature to be stifling. That’s why I like to stay warm in the winter and stay cool in the summer.
What are the benefits you perceive in not having air conditioning?
@Billy Clyde Tuggle: Ah, Millersburg. I’ve been there a few times. My parents had friends in Holmes County they liked to visit. There are definitely plenty of Amish out there, too. I grew up in Wayne County, which has Lehman’s Hardware, a specialty store with a lot of non-electric appliances designed to appeal to Amish people. You have to admire the hard-nosed business savvy of someone who looks at a community of insular borderline-Luddites and thinks “untapped market”.
isavaldyr @ 12 – Indeed, and one of the guys said just that – he was sick to death of doing everything the hard way.
One of the interesting things about this show is that the subjects really dislike it, just as we would. I’m a little surprised that’s not prettied up or anything. They sound grumpy and annoyed and fed up and as if they feel generally fucked over. They hate the bishop and the bishop’s wife and all the spying, they hate the stupid hard work, they hate having no education, they hate the clothes – they don’t want it.
The Italian/Puerto Rican adoptee cried over the letter saying she was going to hell – the nasty cold cruel letter.
It’s all vile.
Millersburg, eh? My great-grandparents, the Mennonite cousins? Millers, both of them.
Ophelia, you probably know this, but there’s not much risk of problems with second cousins, or even first cousins. Problems start when you have second cousins who had parents who were second cousins. Several generations of not so close inbreeding is worse than a one off case of much closer inbreeding.
Someone made a comparison between the Haradrim and the Amish in the previous thread. I agree they are quite similar, though I think the Haradrim are perhaps a little more oppressive.
Billy Clyde Tuggle (#17)
I don’t know how, but I misread that as “life before electricity and tampons.” Now I’m trying to decide which would be worse to go without.
Haradrim. LOL! Picturing men with Oliphaunts and side-curls in the streets of Brooklyn now.
That said: it is spooky, isn’t it? There is this sort of blueprint for repressively patriarchal, pseudo-old-fashioned, isolationist religious cults, which is being followed by the Amish and the Haredim and the FLDS and I’m sure a dozen others outside my knowledge. Is there a handbook or something, or do abusers-of-authority just all want exactly the same things?
@9
I don’t suppose you were ever on TV?
@4
It’s not just brainwashing. They also try to sabotage any chance their adolescents have of transitioning to adulthood in the outside world. There’s also the implicit threat of being rejected by your own family and community if you refuse to join the Amish church. So it’s effectively a choice between staying Amish or being cast out without help into a world you know nothing about and are ill-equipped to deal with, to eek out a niche for yourself starting from nothing.
The prospect of losing your family must be terrifying, but the prospect of coping alone with a world you’re not prepared for must be very intimidating too. Is there a such a thing as a non-profit to help people who want to leave, so they actually have a choice? Stuff like counselling, but also practical advice on, say, opening a bank account and getting a driving licence and using the internet. Is this something A+ might do?
Interesting idea, Sheila.
There are some somewhat-similar nonbeliever-oriented organizations I’m aware of:
http://clergyproject.org/ – Clergy Project for helping people leave being priests/preachers
http://www.takeheartproject.org/ – Take Heart Project for helping people leaving Quiverfull lifestyles
Specifically for helping people leave Amish life, the only thing I see currently is:
http://www.mapministry.org/i-am-new/about-map – Mission to Amish People, an evangelical Christian organization that does the things you mention, but accompanied by evangelizing.
Mose Gingerich, an ex-Amish (but still Christian) man who’s been on TV a number of times, said a couple months ago that he’s working on starting an organization to help ex-Amish people, something he’s done as an individual for a number of people already.
http://amishinthecitymose.com/2012/06/leaving-a-way-of-life-and-leaving-this-life/
It will be called the Cephas Yoder Foundation, after one of his ex-Amish friends who died in a car wreck: http://amishinthecitymose.com/cephas-yoder-foundation/
Every few years I read another story about the Amish fucking their own children. They seem to be just as bad as the Catholics.
Montréal has a huge comedy festival every summer that is attended by 100s of 100s. Most of it takes place in the streets and some of the material is a little lewd.
This summer while watching some street comedy I chanced upon an entire Amish family ( beards, dowdy clothes…the whole bit) laughing it up and having a great time.
They live a pre-industrial lifestyle, but appear to have accommodated modernity on many levels without compromising either their principles or beliefs.
That kind of balancing act requires quite a bit of effort.
@Anonymous Atheist, I’m glad to hear there’s some help available, and I can’t help thinking that ex-Amish would be able to do it best.
I would second the recommendation made in post #18 to see ‘The Devil’s Playground,’ which follows a group of Amish teens during their period living a modern lifestyle. What struck me most was how many of them have substance abuse problems–it’s like having been deprived their whole lives, they go overboard during their period of freedom and end up getting themselves into trouble. Not to trivialize it, but it reminds me of my first semester in college, where a lot of kids just went to pieces without parental guidance to keep them in line.
Good film, though. Worth a watch if you want to know more about this culture and some of it’s ugly aspects.
isavaldyr:
I grew up in northeastern PA in an area that had a small Amish population (about 80 families — or 18-ish depending on whether one counted households or kin relationships). My experience was pretty similar to yours.
Most of the families were dairy farmers, with the poorer men working “outside” jobs in construction. The wives and daughters often ran roadside vegetable and baked good stands, in addition to all the housekeeping and child-rearing — all made more difficult and labor-intensive by their refusal to use modern technology. Few Amish women had any schooling past the 6th grade.
The amount of abuse that Amish women and girls experienced (then and now), and the degree to which it’s simply accepted by everyone in the Amish community as an expected, normal, day-to-day experience is sickening.
Trigger Warning for a description of abuse:
I still remember seeing the girl who sold baked goods on the corner being whipped by her father (with a buggy whip) for failing to sell as much as he’d expected. I was crying and begging my grandmother to stop the car and help.
.
.
I was only 7 or 8 and didn’t understand any of her explanation of why we couldn’t interfere. Someone is being hurt, what do you mean we can’t do anything?! I’m still brought to tears by that memory and the sick sense of horror and utter helplessness. And I remember how disillusioned I was, realizing that adults could not be counted on to act to protect someone in danger.
From that day on, my grandmother would go to the stand on Saturday evenings and buy whatever was left so that Dora would not be hurt. It was the only form of protection she could offer (and which Dora would accept).
Yikes. That’s another one that needs to be on the main page.
You were right and (with all due respect) your grandmother was wrong. I can easily imagine making the same mistake myself, at least before I’d thought about these things, but I would have been wrong. (Of course, it would have been a big nightmare to interfere, but all the same – it has to start somewhere.)
It sounds like the kids going on rumspringa could use a guide, too.
Is there any organized effort to help these Amish teenagers deal with the outside world, and avoid the worst excesses? Having a good experience might make it harder for the elders to say “We told you so”.
And, Sheila, I agree that formerly-Amish people might be best for that kind of task.
What about an organization that provides “foster” care for Amish children on Rumspringa? Basically it would organize households who are willing to extend a friendly hand and a room for young men (and women? Are they allowed rumspringa?) out of the environment for the first time.
Friendly faces and a helping hand in navigating what must be an incredibly confusing world would, I think, help many folks leave the lifestyle.
If I ever found myself living anywhere near any Amish communities I would gladly participate in such a project (and the chances aren’t that low. My wife eventually wants to have a place where she can keep horses).
Dangit. I need to refresh more.
Ophelia: It’s tough because stepping in almost always ends up bringing more abuse on the victim because now they’ve shamed the family by bringing their “private matters” to the attention of the “English.” When two boys on my bus stood up for an 11 or 12yo girl who was being abused by her older brother, she ended up being yanked from school and forced to kneel in their side yard for 12 hours a day reciting prayers, for six weeks straight.
It’s an incredibly complex problem. Even when you step in, the victim has been brainwashed from birth to believe this is the natural order of things and is unwilling to accept help. There are no support services to provide shelter or relief to battered Amish women because a) nothing exists within the Amish community, and b) they won’t take advantage of outside agencies/services because it means cutting ties with their entire community — which, they have been taught, also means they lose all hope of salvation.
Even when law enforcement is willing to step in (such as a child sexual abuse case) often they cannot do anything because the victims are not willing to give up their “immortal souls” by testifying and being shunned.
I know Leafhuntress said it way up thread but their comment:
“I think americans are crazy for using airconditioners,”
Pissed me off to a fair degree. I live in Arizona, the Valley to be exact. Almost every day in the summer it is over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (I think that’s 37 degrees Celsius.
During heat waves all across America you hear about the elderly dying of heat stroke. Here in the Valley it’s not uncommon to hear about the odd elderly person (usually the very, very poor) dying of heat stroke. It’s not at all uncommon for people to suffer from heat exhaustion (not something to laugh at either).
I count myself as damned lucky to be able to have an air conditioner, especially after it broke a few years back and we went without for a good long while. OR my old car which had no AC after it got broken into and the stereo stolen (they had to pry off the whole front display which took out the AC too). I had to drive to and from work an hour each way in good traffic with no air. Had to drive with the window down and I would still end up drenched with sweat and dehydrated at the end of the day.
Just… kinda hit a nerve there. If people can afford comforts that don’t hurt people… why fault them for having it? And why do so in a manner that dismisses all the people who actually suffer without such a luxury?
Two thoughts. My first thought is on air conditioners, as it keeps cropping up. Where on earth did anyone get the idea that air conditioners don’t hurt anyone? It’s a vicious cycle with air conditioners using green house gasses, causing more climate changes. They use a lot of electricity and fossil fuels (in building them and through the electricity). It shocks the hell out of people when I tell them I don’t have an air conditioner, my part of Ontario gets hot and humid in the summer. But I find fans, keeping windows open at night, and going outside in the evening helps. I didn’t see anything in that reply saying she thought they should be banned or nobody should use them. By all means, the sick and elderly should go ahead. But everyone else should stop and think before plugging them in. The more you use them, the less you can handle the heat to begin with. And yes, I’m aware all technology has an environmental impact. Picking the technology we need the most is better than going with it all. And I’m not willing to join the Amish in avoiding it entirely.
Second thought. I disagree with abuse in all forms. People should have the right to their own beliefs. That right should not extend to the abuse of others in the name of religion. I think children should be getting the same education that everyone else is entitled to.
I wonder if there’s any research being done on ‘green’ air conditioners then? It sounds like it’d be an improvement.
You sound like a snob, sorry but you do. Not all Amish people are as evil as you make them out to be. Let them do what they do and keep your nose out of it. I think most have a better way of life than the majority of the world. Just look at what most of our house hold technology has done to the U.S. Lazy fat spoiled people have no idea how to fend for them selves if they where to lose there dear T.V or computer. I bet most would perish to small things, god forbid it get over 90 outside about half the pop would drop with out air conditioners. Its sad that we have became to smushy because of being pampered by out technology. About the child punishment, look at how most of them turn out when they are grown. Respectable and kind people, if anything we should take lessons from them. Sick of going into stores and hearing bratty kids screaming on the floor and hitting parents over not getting a sticker. Take that kid out side and spank and yell at it for gods sake then toss him or her in her room for an hour to think about how she was acting.
when i was younger, my parents had everything but electricity shut off so they could pay my horse’ s vet bill. i wasn’t very miserable even though it was my job to walk a whole mile to fetch water from the creek. my horse saved my life on more than one occasion though. totally worth the back- breaking work.
Finally!!! Thank you @MoxyShock!!! First of all, I lived near a very large Amish community & have done a lot of research on the Amish & Mennonite culture. I don’t know if you realize this but abuse happens in every culture, religion and race. It has nothing to do with that group or community and everything to do with the abuser. There are just bad people who do bad things everywhere. Now if you are pointing this out because you think their religious beliefs should prevent this behavior, I invite you to take as close of a look at Catholic priests, those who practice radical Islam, and general citizens. It happens in every culture. As for the family structure and the children working, the children are not thrown into unsafe situations (ie. plowing a field) without first having years of instruction from their mother or father. As far as these commenters who have a superiority complex over anyone who does anything based on religious faith, I’ll remind you that the U.S. was built and founded on freedom of religious practices. Unless you yourself relocated here from another country, there’s a good chance someone in your lineage fought for that freedom…..so you could pass judgement on people you know little about or have stereotyped based on a few of the bad.
Oh, I have lineage who were Mennonites. That doesn’t mean I can’t criticize Mennonites. And as for Catholic priests and Islamists…I have.
I am a South African and I feel that if more people had the Amish morals and values, there would be less problems in the world – divorce, abuse, drugs, alcoholism, war! I am all for the Amish ….
Uh huh, and everybody would leave school at 14 to do primitive pre-technological farmwork for the rest of their lives. Fabulous idea.
i life nere an aimsh comunity and the way they disaplen there kid is not as bad as you think. i am english and was wiped as a ponishment and i will wip my kids. the aimsh here drive black bugges with badery lights. back roads are were they drive the most. state road 3 they tend to stay away from. the have no ac as religion says. i read some of the comments at the top and religion and state are sepreat.
This article is ridiculous. First, the Amish are some of the healthiest people in the US because the kids do work and don’t sit around all day watching television. They haven’t bought into conventional medicine because conventional medicine kills hundreds of thousands of people a year and the FDA is a complete joke. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met and to make them sound like uneducated vagrants is disgusting. They work hard and care about their families. They are family oriented. Our society in the US is sick and has morally degraded where most are divorced and live to make money and send their kids off to be raised by someone else. Are there bad Amish people? Sure…There are terrible people everywhere but as someone who has lived around them I can tell you they are nothing like this article portrayed.
Also, whoever said we should get rid of the opting out for religious reason…Oh my dear Lord in heaven…In the United States of America we have freedom of religion. That is why the Amish came over here because they were being persecuted in Europe! Lets just burn our US Constitution too! Because Hey! We all need vaccines, listen to the FDA and look down on those who have deep set beliefs and moral values!
Rachel Abrams: I’m guessing by your illiterate post that you in fact are Amish. Although they say education stops at 8th grade, I have a feeling you dropped out much sooner. Good god, you have a computer or access to one. Hit spellcheck! I’m ashamed for you.
On a side note. Here’s my problem with the Amish or any other group of conscientious objectors. You are able to live your choice of life in this country because others have sacrificed their lives fighting for that right.
If you aren’t willing to fight for your freedoms then you aught not have any.
Also, if they’re so against violence, how do you justify buggy whipping your daughter over unsold goods.
Stephen Leonards: you should be ashamed of yourself for such a discriminating arrogant, rude, obnoxious comment. You just bullied Rachel Abrams who apparently is dyslexic. Your parents should have taught you some manners instead of shoving a Nintendo Gameboy in your hands. Most on this blog need to remember if you want to be respected then show some respect for others regardless of color, race or religion.
Thank you Lizzy and Thomas Edison! Different faithed peoples who will never see these posts sure do make easy targets for the simple minded. Seems almost like taking jabs at animals or the elderly to me. The bottom line is that the Amish don’t use your computers, don’t subscribe to all of your ideas, won’t see these posts, but do make an honest living. Do you really expect them to debate you on here, with arguments you learned in “English” school?? The mountain doesn’t come to Muhammad people…
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@52:
You’re not doing the Amish any favours there, Russell.
So what’s the claim here? That Amish rules and ways of treating each other shouldn’t be criticized because they don’t have computers?
No, that won’t do.
We have a few hundred around here now. Some are the best people you could ask for. While some of them are sorry as can be. Will take advantage of people in a heart beat, but then again almost all of them here will do that. While they don’t want anything modern. Show me where a Band saw mill is not modern? Or that gas pump they use to pump there water into tanks that feed there homes with running water? How they can burn the leftovers from there sawmills! While the Tax paying people of our county can’t burn anything at there mills. That pays local sales tax, Road tax, Income tax.
Now our car’s have to meet EPA standards, but there horse can leave crap all over the road. And that is ok?? As for there buggy’s, dark and nothing to let you know there in front of you until its almost the last second. Now If I run my tractor down the road even in daylight I have to have flashers on it or a Farm TRiangle or its breaking the law. But for them there’s no law?
These double standards to me is about to blow the tops of a lot of people that has lived here for years. While the people move in and try to take over. we have over a dozen saw mills in our section of the county that they run. They have put over 40 people out of work. AS they can saw it cheaper, there no paying all the taxes our other sawmills have to pay. Plus the guys that pay them to saw the logs keeps one guy at each one to run his loader to unload and load the lumber back up. While they destroy our local roads and nothing is done about it. Other mills are shut down if its muddy and there tracking up the roads. But not the Amish!
I can get along with anyone, but will not breath the smoke from there slabs burning every day of the week. it may come to Calling the EPA each day but I will do it. And please understand some of the Amish are good. But half of these will do about anything other then steal.
I visited an Amish community and stayed at the home of one of the families for a week in Indiana, and I can say that most of these “facts” are untrue. In my 2 weeks there, I didn’t see a single child spanked (and I was around dozens of families). The family had incredible meals 3x a day and the young children did chores such as chopping strawberries or helping with dishes. The children bathed every day with running water fueled by a generator. I’ve never seen children that joyful and grateful for what they had, nothing like the many spoiled kids in the schools I’ve worked at. They were gracious, quiet families that said “Hello” to every person they passed and told me to come back anytime I’d like. I’ve never felt so at peace than the time I spent at their farm.
Incredible how you judge. The glass house you seemingly live in (and get a great Internet connection from) must have a beautiful view of those miserly otherfolk Amish.
I have never seen anyone hate a group of people as much as I see here. I am appalled. I also have met and have neighbors who are Amish. We own a propane company so we deal with them often and live in a community where there are many Amish. They are well respected and admired people in our community. Also I have seen studies where the happiest people in America are the Amish due to their sense of belonging in their family and community. Such a snobbish and hateful article I don’t know that I have ever seen. Perhaps the author does not understand that money does not buy happiness, family and community have far greater worth. Well chickie, you just keep going after that almighty dollar by throwing God’s people under the bus on your way up. You come across as a bitter woman who expects everyone to run their lives as you do. My guess, athiest who spends all her time making sure no one has the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution.
CindyC, you are absolutely right. Not only is the article full of hate, but it is also full of false generalizations. The type of Amish the author describes sounds like a sub-sect of the Amish that believe that self deprivation is akin to holiness. This is not your typical Amish. How do I know? I am an Anabaptist that has stepped out of the low-tech for a while for work. In December I am returning to life that would be much like the Amish. No electricity, no running water, etc. My wife and I both have Masters degrees and have been public school teachers. When we look at the apathy in our students’ eyes, we see the need to be like the Amish. At least their children are not obsese video game addicts who cannot pull their own weight in society. I am greatly disturbed by this article…
BTW, that Amish family probably had more money than the author has ever seen. They just chose not to flaunt it…
Howdy read this whole thread and all the comments wow ! This is a lot.of mixed up crap grew up Amish left at age 21 its a hard life yes it is but its not as bad as the author has made it out to be these are extreme causes being mentioned Amish women over all are not abused they are not treated like cattle they have a great deal of say in what goes on in the home u have to choose to be Amish not forced anyone can leave yes u will be shunned but u are free to leave that just how it works stay and follow the rules or leave and start your own life Amish survie becouse they work as a community not as one live is less stressfull becouse you know your place u know were u belong and how to fit in ever one is needed everyone belongs its only when one feel in contented with one place in the community that you might feel oppressed how ever most people are very content and happy to be Amish so they stay in many washed its a much more fullfilled life
I am no expert on the Amish, but I think that the writer’s observations are limited to one community, and that isn’t enough for such broad generalizations. It seems as if you are presenting a caricature, or focusing in on the worst of the worst, and blaming it on religion. Perhaps it would put it in clearer perspective if the term ‘freedom of conscience’ was substituted for ‘religion’.
The real issue is deeply held beliefs. All should be free to live as they wish if they don’t truly harm any one else. The writer and other commenters may not realize it but their very strong opinions were also shaped by strong influences that they don’t question – modern media, the school system, etc. So what is the difference, really? The writer and those who agree with him are zealous about their beliefs and have no question that they are correct, in spite of the fact that many thoughtful and well educated people would disagree with them.
One half of me always had a yearning to live a simple and communal and mostly outdoor life like the Amish, the other half wanted modern conveniences and modern life. I came up with a compromise idea when my children were growing up and decided that working as an interpreter in Williamsburg, VA and living in the historic section would satisfy both desires, but I couldn’t persuade my husband to move his business and do that. Earlier, as a teacher in Maryland, I had some contact with the Amish, and was favorably impressed with them.
A friend of mine student taught in an Amish area, where the majority of the students in the public school were Amish. She was totally unprepared for teaching in the ‘normal’ school where we met – where a lot of kids were angry and aggressive or just didn’t care. She said that the Amish students would all stand up when she entered the room, greet her with a cheerful ‘Good morning, Teacher!’ and kiss her goodbye in the afternoon. They were attentive and good students. There were no discipline problems. When she went to visit at their homes, she was treated very hospitably.
Eventually, I quit working and decided to home school my 4 children. Partly for budget reasons, I ended up using a set of Amish / Mennonite published basal readers called “Pathways” for primer through 8th grade as part of our curriculum. They were excellent, well laid out, thoughtful stories that had the added benefit of promoting good character traits. Also did a good job of teaching vocabulary and comprehension. The stories were based on Amish type families, so that was different, and interesting.
Another thought that comes to mind is the attack on the Amish kids by the deranged milk delivery guy. I believe 2 girls were killed, as well as the attacker. The Amish families grieved with dignity and reached out in sympathy to the widow of the killer. That was an impressive example of living out their religious beliefs that the rest of us would not be able to duplicate. I know I could not.
I also know that federal agents used to kidnap the children in an effort to force them to go to public schools beyond the 8th grade. They endured all that with patience, and finally won the right to live as they see best.
Last of all, years ago, my husband and I joined a group with the intent of fighting IRS overreach. We traveled from VA to PA for a meeting, where I met members from PA for the first time. The majority were Amish and Mennonite. So I don’t know about the statements that they don’t pay taxes. If they don’t, why would they be involved in a group like that? I remember wearing a cherry red coat and speaking out in the meeting, and thinking “They probably think I’m a brazen hussy or something” because they don’t wear red or speak up, but afterward, we mingled and the women told me they agreed with my comments and complimented me on my coat. They couldn’t have been nicer. They obviously understood we came from different cultures, and didn’t have an issue with it. They live and let live; I wish everyone would do that.
As far as some Amish being sick of doing things the hard way – so what? They don’t have to stay. Consider Burt Shavich of Burt’s Bees – raised in Manhattan, a successful photojournalist – he was in his 20’s (I think) when he decided he’d had enough – moved to Maine, lived in a tiny little Walden style cabin with no modern conveniences and still does. He’s in his late 70’s now. So it goes both ways.
Jonesy – How neat to be able to live the life you describe and just “step out” as needed for funds. I yearn for a simpler way of life and it seems so many people I know are tired of the rat race, just going to work and home, tired all the time – not a physical tired like one gets at the end of a hard working day but emotionally drained. It seems everyone I talk to these days yearns for the simpler life of the Amish type living – whether they actually would ever give up cell phones, internet and cable tv are questionable. Personally I don’t know how you do without electricity or running water, don’t know if I could give that up and I hate to be cold and think of long winter days with nothing to do but be cold and what? read? You’d have animals to take care of I’m sure but then what? Anyway, I admire that you’ve given up the trappings of this crazy world. I hope to at some point but don’t know if I can get my husband to agree. 🙂
CindyC… The whole point of leaving the world behind is to explore all the natural activities that comes with the seasons. In the winter we do read quite a bit. We did that with electricity though. The winter is also a time for projects. Building projects, planning, etc. can be active during winter. In February we will start getting our fields ready. In Mexico we will have warmer days, so there will be quite a bit to do on the farm. As far as getting used to it, that will be part of our point in Mexico. We will band together to help those who are not used to the lifestyle. People can come to work without the pressure of immediately “producing.” Living without electricity and running water is not as hard as you would think. Both of my parents had times during childhood without those things. So, I am just one generation removed from them. Don’t get me wrong, it is more difficult, but you are slowing down to be productive. The work is part of the joy. Right now I am discussing the practical ways to get our waterwheel to turn our wood saw. It is a slow process, but enjoyable. I can’t wait to get there. We have already moved our stuff down. We leave December 19th and will be there, off grid and living our new life on the 20th. My wife and I and our 5 children are looking forward to the change.
Here is a listing of our community:
http://www.ic.org/directory/tres-hermanos/
The address on the listing is messed up… the city and state of the mailing address is Eagle Pass, TX
Jonesy- An intentional community! Very cool. I have looked several times at the ic. website. I’m just curious if you feel safe in Mexico? Mexico scares me very much. The cartels are getting scary. At any rate, that’s just great if you feel safe, I’m sure your children will get a much better and well-rounded education as opposed to government school in the US (assuming you home school). Hope it all works great for you and your family. We’re kind of off thread now (no longer talking of Amish) but basically Amish communities are like that – intentional communities with people of like minded thoughts.
Yeah, we feel safe. A year ago it was kinda touchy. The cartels have settled immensely. The thing to remember is that the media will not give you an accurate portrayal of Mexico. Drama sells. I you look at the murder rate for Mexico, it is lower than Belize, Honduras, and many US cities. If you take the murder rate for Americans in Mexico, you are safer there than most of the US. Thousands of US citizens live there year round. Thousands visit daily. Rarely do we hear of a problem. I’d venture that most of the stats for American problems in Mexico can be attributed to criminal activities by the US citizen. The assault, rape, and kidnapping rate in Mexico are much lower than the US. If you mind your own business and keep safety in mind, you will be ok. Our friend has lived there mostly alone this year and has not had one scare or bother (except for petty thieves who hit while he was on an extended leave).
As far as children go, they will be fine. Matter of fact my four sons and one daughter will be much better off there. Yes, we plan on having a community school.
And… we are still on thread. We are German Baptist Brethren. We are an Anabaptist group that is similar to the Amish in many ways. We are often mistaken for Amish. We normally do not have internet, but I have it for work for a season. So, I will be off here very soon.
I’ll add to the safety thought… I am currently teaching in a public school. I am always aware of the potential of a shooter entering the school. You never hear of that in Mexico. Look at the news, the shooter in Austin and many other cities, reservations, etc. make the US seem like a killing field. No, the numbers are not the same, but this is not criminals shooting criminals. This is citizen on citizen violence. That is not a problem in Mexico like the US. The US is a materialistic, self centered society that produces these killers. A few years ago I was at a WalMart in NM. We left and a few hours later a gunman shot several people. Later I was in TN at a WalMart standing just outside the entrance talking to a friend. We heard a loud pop and turned to see people running in terror and a man laying shot just 20 feet from us. A man had taken out a gun and shot himself. If he had wanted to shoot someone before he died, I would’ve been his first target. Safety is a mirage. We can only live every day with faith in God and an attitude to serve Him and others. We are choosing Mexico to do this…
If you wonder why we feel this way, just compare the reaction of Ferguson, MO to a death to that of the Nickel Mines shooting. There is a better way to live. The Bible gives us that direction. That is what makes the Amish beautiful, not their pies, furniture or horses.
Hello everyone. This seems a little akward but I left the Amish 9 years ago. Reading some of these comments makes my blood absolutly boil. I beleive that people who are constantly saying that they have such nice Amish neighbors, they never see anything out of place, they are so well mannered and so on are just plain ignorant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you know anything about the Amish you will know that they are a closed society and they will not let you see anything they dont want you to see. The things I have seen and heard would leave you truamatized for the rest of your life. Mainly the Amish practice of silenceing thier sex abuse victims, while many may say that this happens in every cultutre it is not true, not like in the Amish. In the Amish if you are raped by your Father you are not taken out of the home, you are made to forgive him and must live in the same house with him till you marry and more than likely he will continue to rape you your whole life.
This practice and many like it make me want to vomit and that is why I ran to a police station a little over 9 years ago. I am sorry but I have no love for the Amish and while some may say that I am biased I will tell you I saw to many victims to care what anyone would retort to me becuase I would tell you in return” If you were never Amish you dont have a clue what you are talking about, end of story!”
To learn more about my story you can see it on Amazon( Tears of the Silenced)
I was not born Amish but was taken to them after being held captive by my crazy mother and stepfather. I was held prisoner on a mountian until I was eighteen and after nearly being killed by my step-father I was dropped off at an Amish community. My sister and I had been raised by Amish tradition so the transition was not very difficult. My sister is still Amish and the sting of being shunned is emence. Anyone who says we should learn from the Amish must be not thinking clearly, if we all lived like the Amish we would still be liveing in the 1600s, people would be dyieng of the plague, there would be no vaccines no freedom of religion, no freedom at all pretty much. People would be dying in their mid thirties and so on. Sometimes people just do not know what they are talkinng about I guess.
Misty, I am so sorry about your experience. You are correct, some of the Amish are horrible people. That is human nature. Yet, to say that your experience should be used to judge the whole lot would be irresponsible. I was molested in the basement of a Southern Baptist church when I was a boy. Later, when I wanted to expose the perv who did it, I was told that it would harm me to reveal him. My wife was molested by a Jehovah’s Witness. When she told someone, he was somewhat protected. Child molestation is not an Amish problem, it is a human problem. To say that the Amish are the only ones to make the mistake of being quiet about molestation would be false. All societal groups hide this sin to some degree. However, with increased awareness, yes even among the Amish, these crimes are increasingly being reported and dealt with.
I am sorry that you feel the way you do. You weren’t raised by the Amish were you? How many years were you with them? You were shunned when you left the Amish church weren’t you? To say that you were raised “like” the Amish is not the same as growing up in their church. Misty, you probably need to find someone to talk to about all of this instead of attacking a group of people. Counseling helps.
Sometimes when we want a reason to hate someone, we will work very hard to find it…
HUGE FAVOR TO ASK OF ANYONE WHO IS EX-AMISH!!!!
I have a question for you. I wonder if you might be interested in an interview about your life as Amish and now ex-Amish person. I am currently working on my dissertation at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mi. Below is a little more detail about my research, which is backed by WMU. If you would like more detail please let me know. I hope with the best of intentions to provide an accurate understanding of what it means to be ex-Amish in contrast to what is shown on TV through the “reality” shows. I think you’d all have a very unique perspective that should be shared with the academic world.
I look forward to hearing from you and have a wonderful day!
Best, Jessica Sullivan
My name is Jessica Sullivan, and I am a PhD candidate in Sociology in Kalamazoo, Michigan, at Western Michigan University. For my dissertation, I am interested in finding out more about the ex-Amish. With the rise of mass media’s portrayals of the process of becoming ex-Amish, I hope to shed light on this important topic that I feel may be misrepresented by the programs on television like Amish Mafia. My focus for this research lies in understanding the process of becoming ex-Amish and the various life circumstances that are interrelated with the transition on a personal level. If you are interested in participating, the process would involve an interview with me lasting approximately thirty to ninety minutes, and the desired way of interviewing is up to you. We could talk in-person at a location of your choice if you live within 100 miles of Kalamazoo, MI, over the telephone, or even via Skype if that is something you are comfortable with. If you would like to learn more, my contact information is: email- [email protected] or phone- (309)-830-0572
They do have a choice, you know. I do agree with a few of your points, but on others, I think it might benefit you to be more open-minded. You complain about their buggies, but act like there is nothing wrong with cars on the road. Cars emit exhaust into nature, emit dangerous EMF’s upon the occupants, often kill wildlife, and often kill pedestrians and other car occupants in accidents. Did it even occur to you that WE might not be the normal ones? How much safer would they be if our cars weren’t on the roads? They wouldn’t damage “our” roads if we hadn’t paved them in the first place. I won’t say that I think Amish living is perfect. It’s far from it, and I hate how many communities control the people by not giving them a Bible they can understand, thus creating ignorance of what the Bible actually says and the salvation message. Then again, that’s true just about anywhere, mostly because people don’t know anything about biblical societal structure, the moral, civil, and ceremonial laws, and practices during biblical times that impacted how something was written or preserved and why something was done a certain way. And in fact, many will assert how much the Bible isn’t true but can’t really tell you why or even answer questions when asked face to face.
But I digress. I do live near some Amish people, a small community. I’ve also extensively researched the many communities around the U.S. Here is what I found. The Amish people’s life is really no different than ours. Sound strange? What I mean by that is that you have poverty and plenty in the Amish cultures, same as in “English” culture. You have ignorant and educated families, same as in “English” culture. You have kids that are curious by what is not normal to them, same as…. Yeah, I think you get where I’m going by now. Plenty of Amish people can probably look at your life and point out plenty of things they hate or find oppressive. They may read some of our information about how EMF’s are linked to childhood leukemia, Lou Gehrig’s disease, miscarriages, etc. They might see how many people die from modern medicine mistakes. They might see how inactive our lives have become, how many of us spend our lives working outside of nature, how many of our children die from neglect and abuse, how we have become so separated from each other out of apathy, fear, and technological interference that many of us don’t even know our neighbors. How we waste our lives watching television or doing things that really don’t matter in the scheme of things. They probably look at us and think how sad our lives are. So before judging another culture, look deeply at your own and make sure there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Modern medicine nearly killed my baby. It also saved her. Even in medicine, there is bad and good.
P.S. The father who worked part-time? Not sure what that is about, but there is always a market for Amish-made items. I’m not sure how accurate it is to believe that out of a family of 13, only one is working. Many Amish kids who are old enough will get part-time jobs to help the family if needed. Hard work is accentuated, and you seem to have created a picture of a lazy family, which is counter cultural. How else can they eat or have those large pieces of property? In addition, many communities do use some technology, such as a generator, to work their tools, to communicate for business, to have indoor plumbing. Yes, many Amish do have running water. I haven’t seen evidence of air conditioners that aren’t run on electric being approved in communities yet, but I haven’t looked in awhile. Keep in mind that air conditioners contribute highly to indoor air pollution and force the body to adapt unnaturally to artificial weather, which makes people unable to “weatherize” themselves, thus contributing to deaths in hot summer months. An interesting side note here: Did you know that ancient Romans had air conditioning? Pretty ingenious how they ran cold water through their walls to create a cooling atmosphere in intense heat without making it unnaturally.
P.S. Herbs are still used these days for healing and have been around far longer than modern medicine. In fact, I’ve seen essential oils heal 3rd degree burns quickly and leave no scarring, far better than modern medicine.
Also, kids are expected to do their chores just like most other kids in the world. But they do still get plenty of time to play. They probably regard going without shoes as normal, not the other way around. In fact, we are meant to connect with the ground, which has healing and regenerative properties (scientifically verified), by being barefoot.
As for only going to school until 8th grade, put an average American side by side with an 8th-grade educated Amish, and you will probably find that the Amish is more educated. Though on that note, I do support higher education to a point. I did graduate from college, fat lot of good my degree did me, though.
Half of you all don’t seem to have the slightest ideas on the reality of the Amish. I grew up in Ohio, an ex Amish farm to be exact. No running water except handpumps, an outhouse, no electric. We had a cooling trough in the barn, for milk. We lived that way for 6 months. Kerosene lamps yada yada. Our family was very close and tight knit. I am an ex city worker, and mainly worked on streets. Never did we have to work on a road due to horses and buggy’s. Semi trucks? All the time. But no horses and buggies and we have a lot of them. The bishop is the reason for no reflective tape, lamps, etc on the buggy’s. The people want them. The children are genuinely happy. I know not all Amish are good, but neither are the English. They are tight communities. We drove them places, took them shopping, they used our phone when they needed. They never made a nuisance though, our life was quiet. They moved, we still heat with wood and only have one Amish family as neighbours. They are just as good of people. The shows are fake (the ones I have seen at least). They have their enjoyment. Their lives don’t have the chaos we have. People get on their case a lot, but their really is no purpose. Make sure when you say “think of the children”, you aren’t just using the children as an excuse of your own bias or prejudice. They seem happy in their lives, content. I envy the simplicity. People throw rocks at the Amish, scare the horses on purpose. There was a drunk driver who hit and killed some Amish here awhile back. They go through quite a lot. But they keep their faith, their lifestyle. I think it is admirable. I am sure I ruffled a few feathers and you will throw back at me stories of incest, beatings, and more but that goes on in the English too. Everything the stories say the Amish do, I guarantee the English do. They are just people. The ones I have been friends with, good people. Why judge the action of many by a few? Isn’t that a hot topic these days? It applies to the Amish as well. So read up on FACTS. Forget TV, forget biased stories. I agree, the Amish aren’t all good, but neither are we. Same with any religion.
My sister rents from an amish person.
They bring their tools and freezer to her garage and plug it in for free
and basically use her modern day stuff.
Then they charge exhorbitant rent and refuse to repair anything on the house. I believe a lot of it is they are simply too ignorant to understand electric and plumbing.
They DO understand getting top dollar in rent though!
I have lived in Lancaster County most of my 60 years and I can say
nearly all the so-called ‘religious’ beliefs of the amish are simply ways they can take advantage of the system we have in place today.
From not paying road taxes and destroying our roads with steel wheels and horseshoes to using the hospitals when they get sick for free. They pick and choose which laws they want to follow as per cost. I come from a Mennonite background and I can tell you it’s all about the MONEY for the amish and the Mennonites. Tight with a dollar and totally devoid of compassion or human understanding towards others is part of their culture.
Side note:
On the amish men. They are very sexually repressed as when I worked at sperry new Holland co. in new Holland pa I worked with a few amish. They seemed to all have had sex with sheep and animals on their farms when growing up. animal abuse is no big thing to them
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We live in a society built on the so called abundance of oil. Because of that our sole existence, comfort and money is supported by a finite resource that will deplete. That said, yes the amish live hard lives. But there dependence on a govt system built on the continual growth of non-existent resources… means they’ll survive when this system we accept fails. So there buggys cause an inconvence for our cumbustion driven engines. But what good will those cars be when gas is 100+ a gallon or more, and oil looses its place as a “resource”? I’d rather have a buggy, non connected to a life dependent on fossil fuels. Funny that a meteor killed the dinosaurs but our dependence on there remains will do the conventional world in. Yea… its like that.
All of you crack me up. Cause the day Americas dollar falls. Economy goes flat lined. They are going to be the only civilization that would survive the depression do to already lack of electricity if there is none they’ll just carry on while everyone else is looting , killing , riots, etc. I mean think about it . but I mean ya the abuse and neglect is dumb but in reality one day america will fall and everyone will run to the Amish for help watch!
WOW…..I can’t believe how arrogant and ignorant some of these posts are against Amish people. Are the Amish perfect? Probably not. But who the heck is? Amish are hard working, family oriented people, who try to live the best way they can. Just like the rest of us. As for the freakin air conditioner issue….Get Over It….If you are someone who chooses NOT to use it.,…ok.., but how dare you try to guilt someone or JUDGE, someone else who does. Not your place. Last I know this is a free country. Obviously some people need to put other people down to make themselves feel better about themselves.
Thank you, isavaldyr, for your clear concern and detailed account. We would be glad to repost your comment on our Page – Amish Truths. https://www.facebook.com/AmishTruths
Almost all the “facts” in this “article” are untrue. I am a person who is soon joining an Amish community. The run around teens do is not encouraged or some right of passage. It just happens. Just like English teens. Most do not even participate. 99 percent join the church. Why not talk with Amish folks yourself. Not a wise idea to base our perception of people on secondhand information from outsiders. You do not see the Amish sending there children and wives to be suicide bombers? Funny thought on children farming. Apparently some of you have no farm background, tractors or horses children help out on most family farms. I watch 10 year olds operate combines, boilers and all manner of implement. I guarantee that Amish children know that food does not come from a frozen food aisle. Most 9 year old Amish girls can out work the 35 year old cashier at your local McDonald’s. Education is important to simple living. They will build or farm. No degree needed. They have a life of skilled apprenticeship. Amish ladies in general are content and happy. As are most of the rest. It is simply what we are taught, to be content. I wonder how we made it this far as a civilization without AC. Maybe water? Maybe people were not so spoiled. Maybe they had to work. Maybe the Amish have not changed. Maybe americans have. 150 years ago you might have a hard time pointing out an amishman. Junk food, Tv, public school,video games, Facebook, lack of parental care, and cellphones that have more computer than Apollo 11 have ruined a generation. Just My observations humbly submitted.
God bless.