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This article is interesting, but it perpetuates a generally positive impression of Amish life. It's important to know that the Amish community is extremely con

This article is interesting, but it perpetuates a generally positive impression of Amish life. It's important to know that the Amish community is extremely conservative. In general, it does not have the protections that most Americans have put in place for their children (working conditions, etc.). Women in general are also very poorly treated, and lack many of the rights that we as Americans believe they should enjoy (like being equal to their male counterparts). The response by the community to anyone who disagrees is expulsion. http://fourhourworkweek.com/2008/07/15/escaping-the-amish-part-1/ http://fourhourworkweek.com/2008/07/15/escaping-the-amish-pa... http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/3348 http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/3348

sytelus 11y ago
My knowledge of Amish lifestyle comes from the book Growing up Amish. I really don't think most Amish people, including women, will agree with what you are saying. It's a deliberately different lifestyle and different set of belief system which might look operassive to someone living in American city but those values are very dearly held by those people, both men and women.
- techiferous 11y ago
  I think this oversimplifies it. I didn't grow up Amish, but I grew up in a tiny Anabaptist denomination that had a lot of cultural similarities with the Amish (but technology was allowed). While it could be true that "those values are very dearly held by those people" you are not counting those who grew up Amish and left (or were expelled) because the values were not dearly held. Speaking of my own experience growing up Anabaptist, I witnessed misogyny (women were not allowed to teach men) and a forced social cohesion that bordered on cult-like (people had to vow to follow very serious rules, including never to visit any other denomination, and pledge themselves to the denomination, and if they committed a "sin unto death" they were excommunicated from the community with no chance for reconciliation). I can say with confidence that although there were some aspects of my religious upbringing that I appreciated, overall it was a bad religion that did not bring the best out of people.
jhonovich 11y ago
I live in the area where this article covers, though not Amish nor related to Amish. First of all, no one is expelled for disagreeing. And Amish regularly leave with no issues nor problems, making that decision before adult baptism. We know lots of people who do that. They still happily and friendly live next to and interact with Amish. The problem (shunning) tends to come if Amish leave after baptism but I have yet to hear anyone expelled for disagreeing on issues. As for children working condition protection, what do you think Amish children / teenagers do? They primarily do lots of household chores, certainly more than regular American kids but they do it with their parents and their siblings. Amish are not focused on making lots of money and they tend to do things at home so it's far unlike factory farms or third world factories one might imagine. As for woman being poorly treated, it's quite rare for anyone, man or woman, to be poorly treated, attacked, demeaned, etc. among the Lancaster Amish from what I have seen and heard. I think what you are getting at its restriction of typical American freedoms. But the same goes for Amish men. Going out for beers with your buddies, getting a girlfriend on the side, building a corporate career, doing a YC tech startup, hanging out on a boat / yachet, etc. are all no goes for men. It's certainly not for everyone. I would encourage you to check it out, it's less than 3 hours away from NYC and it's quite an experience. You might be surprised about how happy and fulfilled the Amish in Lancaster are. Net/net, the article perpetuates a generally positive impression of Amish life because Amish in Lancaster generally have a positive / fulfilling life.
- bluejekyll 11y ago
  I grew up near Lancaster, got my first drivers license there. I am Pennsylvania Dutch, so am related to them. My parents now live in Chautauqua, NY. I often go to the Amish to purchase leather, quilts, and food. I don't think they are evil, and I don't think that people (women) are necessarily unhappy in that community. Lancaster is practically cosmopolitan compared to the Amish of Ohio and Western NY. So they are less restrictive than Amish of other areas. In general they have always been kind people in all of my interactions. That being said, I do think that children have a false choice when they are offered to go live in the outside community. They have an 8th grade education. They might be able to get very manual labor jobs, but are most likely incapable of getting a college degree, without a lot of support. And chores are one thing, but when we talk about a lot of the other work on a farm we aren't looking at just cleaning up your room. Focusing on children alone, I think that community is one which does not even give their children an option of existing in the real world, without a ton of struggle.

sytelus 11y ago

My knowledge of Amish lifestyle comes from the book Growing up Amish. I really don't think most Amish people, including women, will agree with what you are saying. It's a deliberately different lifestyle and different set of belief system which might look operassive to someone living in American city but those values are very dearly held by those people, both men and women.

techiferous 11y ago
I think this oversimplifies it. I didn't grow up Amish, but I grew up in a tiny Anabaptist denomination that had a lot of cultural similarities with the Amish (but technology was allowed). While it could be true that "those values are very dearly held by those people" you are not counting those who grew up Amish and left (or were expelled) because the values were not dearly held. Speaking of my own experience growing up Anabaptist, I witnessed misogyny (women were not allowed to teach men) and a forced social cohesion that bordered on cult-like (people had to vow to follow very serious rules, including never to visit any other denomination, and pledge themselves to the denomination, and if they committed a "sin unto death" they were excommunicated from the community with no chance for reconciliation). I can say with confidence that although there were some aspects of my religious upbringing that I appreciated, overall it was a bad religion that did not bring the best out of people.

jhonovich 11y ago

I live in the area where this article covers, though not Amish nor related to Amish. First of all, no one is expelled for disagreeing. And Amish regularly leave with no issues nor problems, making that decision before adult baptism. We know lots of people who do that. They still happily and friendly live next to and interact with Amish. The problem (shunning) tends to come if Amish leave after baptism but I have yet to hear anyone expelled for disagreeing on issues. As for children working condition protection, what do you think Amish children / teenagers do? They primarily do lots of household chores, certainly more than regular American kids but they do it with their parents and their siblings. Amish are not focused on making lots of money and they tend to do things at home so it's far unlike factory farms or third world factories one might imagine. As for woman being poorly treated, it's quite rare for anyone, man or woman, to be poorly treated, attacked, demeaned, etc. among the Lancaster Amish from what I have seen and heard. I think what you are getting at its restriction of typical American freedoms. But the same goes for Amish men. Going out for beers with your buddies, getting a girlfriend on the side, building a corporate career, doing a YC tech startup, hanging out on a boat / yachet, etc. are all no goes for men. It's certainly not for everyone. I would encourage you to check it out, it's less than 3 hours away from NYC and it's quite an experience. You might be surprised about how happy and fulfilled the Amish in Lancaster are. Net/net, the article perpetuates a generally positive impression of Amish life because Amish in Lancaster generally have a positive / fulfilling life.

bluejekyll 11y ago
I grew up near Lancaster, got my first drivers license there. I am Pennsylvania Dutch, so am related to them. My parents now live in Chautauqua, NY. I often go to the Amish to purchase leather, quilts, and food. I don't think they are evil, and I don't think that people (women) are necessarily unhappy in that community. Lancaster is practically cosmopolitan compared to the Amish of Ohio and Western NY. So they are less restrictive than Amish of other areas. In general they have always been kind people in all of my interactions. That being said, I do think that children have a false choice when they are offered to go live in the outside community. They have an 8th grade education. They might be able to get very manual labor jobs, but are most likely incapable of getting a college degree, without a lot of support. And chores are one thing, but when we talk about a lot of the other work on a farm we aren't looking at just cleaning up your room. Focusing on children alone, I think that community is one which does not even give their children an option of existing in the real world, without a ton of struggle.