Have any of you had any dealings with the Amish? Known any? Been Amish? Wanted to join? Many Amish have been moving into my area lately as they are selling their farms in Southern Ontario and are able to buy much more land for cheaper prices in the north. I talked to some of them and they seem to be really nice people. Not at all unfriendly or cultish. I have always admired their way of life and the fact that they are able to live without so much of the technology that is destroying this planet.
I have friends who "rescued" a man and his wife from the Amish community. They're very cordial to outsiders, but don't be fooled. The majority of it is a messed up community.
Like it or not, they are living in my area now and many more are on their way so I want to try my best at getting along with them and understanding more about their religion and way of life. I felt that I hit it off right away with one Amish guy who seems to be one of their leaders, as we share a common interest in organic farming and horse-drawn farm equipment. What makes you think that they are "messed up"? Most people would probably say the same about me because of my interest in back to the land communal living. By the way, many people have also been "rescued" from hippy communes (seen by many as destructive cults), usually by their parents, and then re-programmed to return back to the meaningless 9-5 world.
I'm all for organic living, and even communal living off the land. I'm sure there's a lot of great people in their community. My experience has just been not so great. They won't come out and tell you these things. There's a lot of incest, statutory rape, is extremely common for the men to rape their wives. I've heard of many incidents where they will rape their wives immediately after they give birth, because they think it will get them pregnant again faster.
I do appreciate your input as you seem to know about this community. I know some people who idolize them but I am more inclined to think that they are human like all of us and there are bad apples in every religion and ethnic group. I assume that there are Amish in your area? I will probably be dealing with them quite a bit since one of my hobbies is rescuing old farm equipment from the scrapmen who want to send them to China to be melted down. Since they actually still use horse-drawn plows and other equipment, they are one of the few sources of parts and they are also good for advice.
This is very very true. Just know the things I mentioned (among a lot of other corrupted things) are not isolated instances. You're an outsider, so they'll be nothing but nice to you. By all means enjoy learning new things. They are nice people. Just terribly misguided.
My understanding of their religion is that they believe that "the devil finds work for idle hands" and in order to stay out of trouble, you must work hard. I know that this idea applies to me and most people that I know. I guess that some of them may not be working hard enough
Lol . No, they just don't think what they're doing is wrong. I really admire that you're interested in that type of farming.
Thanks for the compliment! If you are interested in this kind of farming, I will reserve a place for you in the commune that I am setting up I do really believe that the only type of farming that is sustainable is with the use of animal or human power. The golden age of farming was before the war and it has gone downhill ever since. Farmers spend more money on bigger equipment and then need to work more land and still can't pay their bills. Most farmers I know get their food from grocery stores and do not bother even having a vegetable garden or keeping chickens. Most of their children move to the city when they finish school and the farm ends up being sold to a developer. Things are really getting interesting now that peak oil is here and the price of diesel fuel has gone up so much. I wonder how long this unsustainable monoculture farming can last? I am interested in any group that still farms the old way. I know that the Amish are not the only ones. The Hare Krishnas set up a few rural communes in the USA where they used oxen. There have been others too but most of the ones that have succeeded have usually revolved around a religious philosophy.
I've always wanted to live on a self sustaining commune, but family and friends have me planted here. At the rate things are going, were going to be in a major food crisis very soon. Between Monsanto, depletion of resources, and the mass killing of bees, small self sustaining farms are our only hope! Right now I do organic vegetable gardening, and hope to have my own chickens eventually.
i admire the non-dependence on prevaiing assumtions and infrastructure. but i believe they make a number of completely unneccesary assumtions of their own. i would admire them more if they were a sect of buddhism or daoism then of christianity. indiginous traditions weren't far from that non-dependence either. maybe even closer to it. keep everything simple enough to be able to fix it yourself is fine. but it IS possible to do that and still not have to do EVERYTHING the hard way. electric motors are not that complicated, an neither are low power generators driven by small windmills and water wheels. the mechanical escapement of a grand father's clock, the weights lifted by the action of wind or water, can store energy. biological waste can be methane digested by a very simple mechanism, and the remaining solids composted. as i would imagine they already do with animal wastes. it is good to not depend on oil or coal or a power grid, that may very well some day fail. using only what can be made and readily understood is good, but a lot more falls into that catagory then i think they are willing to accept. but yes, i DO admire their determination to avoid dependence on the complexities that human society has come to be. and the fragility of how dependent they are, on politics and environment continuing to work the way they do, which there is a very real possibility they won't always.
