Everyone’s human. The Amish are zealotous humans. Being a zealot doesn’t help anything, especially your concern for others. Use their tactic: Turn the other cheek and call the police.
Wasn’t sure I was going to post this but here goes.
An Amish woman is trotting along in her horse and buggy when a police officer pulls her over.
He says, “Ma’am, I’m not going to order you a citation but I am going to issue you a warning. Your reflector in the back is just about to fall off and it needs to be replaced.”
The woman says, “I will have my husband Jacob tend to it. He can fix it in two minutes.”
“Fine,” the officer replies. “One other thing. I don’t like the way one of the reins is positioned around your horse’s back and how it loops around one of his testicles. That’s considered animal abuse or cruelty to animals as we sometimes call it. Have him fix that too.”
So the woman goes home and tells her husband about her encounter with the police officer. She tells him about the relector and the husband says “No problem, I can fix that this evening. Anything else?”
The woman says, “Yes. He also said something about the emergency brake.”
Well, like with everyone there are good Amish people, and there are bad Amish people.
They make GREAT quilts though…and furniture, from what I understand.
I’ve also heard that there are different classes of how strict they are…some will use cars, others use only buggies, etc etc.
The language the Amish speak (sometimes called Pennsylvania Dutch) is a German dialect that’s closest to Palatine German in Germany. It split off from German about 300 years ago, which would be about the time of early Modern English, not Middle English. The Amish are closer to standard German than our English is to the English of Shakespeare.
Scylla, if you want to convince us with your complaints about the Amish (and I actually do think you have legitimate complaints), get the details right. Don’t call it Dutch when it’s actually German. You did that in the last thread too.
What gerbel crawled up your ass and died TVeblen?!?! Step back and take a fucking chill pill. Talk about dropping off the deep end of the fucking pool, maybe you’d like some ice for that black eye caused from your violent knee jerk.
I’m 100% with Veb on this one.
Just go back to Scylla’s first thread on this same subjecthttp://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=9619
This is just a rehash of the first thread.
While I have sympathy for anyone who has problems with bad neighbors, this is nothing more than what Veb said.
Scylla You probably don’t hate the Amish, just your nasty neighbors, some of whom happen to be Amish.
Reread drainthelizard’s post. It is imformative.
And, if you can’t solve some of your problems since April by bringing in the proper authorities, then should we expect this thread to be repeated quarterly?
Yes, DTL’s post was indeed informative. But why was it directed at me?
coldfire It wasn’t directed at you. While it was titled to you, it meant no harm nor blame your way.
Yeah, I thought so. In any case, I couldn’t find a single inflammatory remark 
But I am a foreigner. So who knows what I had missed??
I speak Dutch, but I don’t drive a buggy. And I shouldn’t post after 4 glasses of wine, probably.
Carry on.
coldfire “living up to his reputation”
Most likely to post drunk??
Look, sammy, I aint drunk until i strat makin hueg s[peling and gramer errurs. Got thet?
At least you didn’t say “Almish”
Sure, I’ll be happy to repeat this rant quarterly, samclem. Perhaps that is an atrocious waste of bandwith, but hey, that’s got to be better than another evolution vs. creationism/felching rehash. If you would rather discuss Libertarianism go right ahead.
I was particularly angry about the fireworks hazard last night. THey were lighting them off and throwing them over my field with dried hay in it.
These neighbors moved in since my last thread on the subject.
What makes me mad are the derogatory comments and snide remarks from people with no experience of the PA dutch.
I’m certain that somewhere their is an Amish person that I would get along with perfectly fine. In the seven years that I’ve lived here though I have yet to have a positive experience. It’s not the Amish religion I have a problem with, it’s the Amish people.
If you think I’m a bigot, fine. I’ll remind you from the last thread, that I’ve both been shot at by trespassing Amish on my own property (who shoot first and ask questions later about anything that might resemble game,) and I’ve also had an insolent teenager point a .30-06 at me.
After any time at all in proximity to the Amish around here, it becomes clear that they are extremely prejudiced against us “English.”
The puppy mill sucks. If you doubt its existence, post a reasonable request for evidence, and I’ll comply.
Clearly we can’t do anything to help you. Call the police.
Wendall:
That’s why I posted in the pit. Clearly you can’t do anything to help me. I’m just sharing my frustration. If you’ve read my previous post you will also note that I called the police on more than one occasion.
You made a blanket indictment of an entire people and faith. Read your own OP, fercryoutloud. You have some rotten neighbors, so you immediately declare your hatred of the entire group.
Scyalla, Whammo, neither one of you have said a single intelligent thing yet, so frankly your opinions aren’t worth a cup of warm spit.
See, hatred of an entire group based on religion and lifestyle is called bigotry. Do try to connect the few brain cells you lay claim to and try to grasp the concept.
Yeah, I’ve lived near Amish. Some were more congenial than others. Big raving whoop; same goes for any other group. Yeah, some are mored adamant than others about staying remote from the “English”; part of their faith is rejection of much of modern life. Get used to it. They have the complete right to accept or reject whomever they want.
If individuals cross legal boundaries, then it’s up to law enforcement to deal with them. If that isn’t being done, that’s the fault of the cops/system.
But a blanket condemnation of Amish, hating them based on the actions of a few? Wrong, folks, purely, simply wrong. No, few Amish I’ve met have been friendly. Tepid tolerance is about the most they offer to outsiders. They don’t like our world, and prefer their version. So get the hell over it.
And Whammo, dear, what ever led you to believe that I, or anyone else, would condone senseless bigotry to please you? You seem to have a large, prickly foreign oject inserted into a sensitive orifice, so until you have it removed and recover your manners, I do believe I’ll dispense with your opinions.
Veb
I have always had a lot of respect for the Amish and their choosing to follow different ways. I don’t think it’s up to US, as outsiders, to decide when they are being hypocritical and disobeying their own beliefs and laws. Like any group, they probably have some who adhere to tenets stronger than others, and different ways of interpreting the bible. Sheesh, they’re not all gonna be like the movie Witness.
Veb is dead on, many Amish go through a “wild period” that is in fact allowed by the elders. It’s a chance for them to get it out of their system, and if they choose to live plain after that, it’s truly a choice they made with their heart. There is a term for this period but I’ll be damned if I can remember it.
Unfortunately, on some of my dog-related lists I have begun to hear tales of Amish (and Mennonite, for that matter) puppy mills. Given the source, I am sorry to say that it appears to be true, that there are SOME Amish who will exploit dogs in this way. They are effective sellers because so many people like the idea of a quaint bunch of folk raising puppies in some natural, godly way. Ugh.
So I think there is a kernel of truth in just about all the posts I’ve read so far. Like any bunch of people, there are good and there are bad. I’d like to believe that most Amish are good. I could be wrong. It certainly appears that Scylla’s neighbors aren’t providing much evidence that they fall into that category, anyway. And the puppy mill thing? Don’t get me started. Grrrrrrr.
A few points [ul]Language:Their name for their own language is Pennsylfawnish Deitsch.
Telephones: They are not allowed to have telephones in their houses, but they are allowed to speak on the phone. Near my sister’s house in Maryland is an Amish neighborhood that has a pay phone at the end of practically every other driveway.
Automobiles: They are not allowed to own a car, but are allowed to ride in one. A lot of people near my sister make extra money ferrying the Amish around in their cars.
Technology: I’m not sure I get the rationale behind their attitude. Natural gas washing machines and dryers are permitted, but electric is not. Why don’t they use natural gas automobiles and tractors? Or for that matter, why don’t they build themselves some natural gas sewing machines and table saws?[/ul]
Scylla, perhaps you should address this issue on the AMB (Amish Message Board).
Because natural gas is just that - natural. And they are allowed to use tractors and other things that use fossil fuels, because they come from the ground. Some Amish in Pennsylvania use trucks in order to ship their produce over long distances.
The emphasis is not so much on avoiding technology, as it is on segregation from the world and living a simple lifestyle, which are considered essential to living a moral life.