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It is certainly interesting from a "segregation" viewpoint. If the Amish were immigrants arriving in American today they would (Warning: generalization incomin

It is certainly interesting from a "segregation" viewpoint. If the Amish were immigrants arriving in American today they would (Warning: generalization incoming) probably be demonized by a decent % of the population for refusing to integrate into mainstream American society, the fact they arrived a long time ago insulates them from that. From reading about the selective service / social security bit it is almost like they are not US citizens and their lands are not US lands. Weird situation.

baddox 12y ago
I think their "PR" is just really good, for some reason. I feel like most Americans that live near Amish communities (I did growing up) might gently joke about how weird it is to live like that, but I think we tend to think of them as a romanticized version of pre-industrial American farmers, despite that not being very accurate. I don't think they are considered not US citizens or their lands not US lands. They pay local and state property taxes on their land.
- icelancer 12y ago
  They are largely pacifist, known for incredible work ethic (work alongside one at a manual labor job and you'll understand), and isolationist. Basically they are how we perceive older generations of Americans (romanticized no doubt given the "pacifist" label isn't quite applicable to early-stage Americans). They don't try to force their views on general society and leave well enough alone while providing unique cultural contributions for those who visit them and purchase goods/services. Not really "PR," they just leave others alone and have enough positive traits that everyone seems to respect. EDIT: I countered the random downvote you had.
bryanlarsen 12y ago
Much of the tolerance for the Amish has been able to happen because they didn't pose any sort of threat to their neighbours or Americans in general. With a combination of a high birth rate and a large amount of money, this may change. The Hutterites in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana form colonies similar to those of the Amish. From an outsider's perspective, the major difference between the Amish and the Hutterites is that the Hutterites embrace more technologies that have a primary work purpose. They may not have cars, but they do have trucks and million dollar combine harvesters. The nature of their colonies makes the Hutterites very good at surviving and thriving the boom and bust cycle of modern farming. They save up money during boom years (like the past few years), and then buy up a large amount of land and equipment during the bust years (excessive rain has already drowned a large portion of this year's crop). The birth rate of the Hutterites means that they're always expanding. Non-Hutterite farms are expanding too due to the ever increasing cost and efficiency of farm machinery, but they're also selling out to the Hutterites as sons and daughters move to the city. Having a colony expand into your area can destroy a community. Hutterites are good neighbours, but they are not part of the community. Your community school may close due to poor attendance. Machinery dealers that have a good reputation may thrive, but other businesses wither.
- rmc 12y ago
  Having a colony expand into your area can destroy a community. Hutterites are good neighbours, but they are not part of the community the community? or your community? Aren't they part of their own community?
jimktrains2 12y ago
You don't think that's always been the case with immigrants? At least since the Civil War.
A_COMPUTER 12y ago
They were here before there was a United States of America, and they never really signed on for that whole social experiment, so I guess you could say they are like Native Americans in that regard.
xsmasher 12y ago
> the fact they arrived a long time ago insulates them from that Being white doesn't hurt either.

baddox 12y ago

I think their "PR" is just really good, for some reason. I feel like most Americans that live near Amish communities (I did growing up) might gently joke about how weird it is to live like that, but I think we tend to think of them as a romanticized version of pre-industrial American farmers, despite that not being very accurate. I don't think they are considered not US citizens or their lands not US lands. They pay local and state property taxes on their land.

icelancer 12y ago
They are largely pacifist, known for incredible work ethic (work alongside one at a manual labor job and you'll understand), and isolationist. Basically they are how we perceive older generations of Americans (romanticized no doubt given the "pacifist" label isn't quite applicable to early-stage Americans). They don't try to force their views on general society and leave well enough alone while providing unique cultural contributions for those who visit them and purchase goods/services. Not really "PR," they just leave others alone and have enough positive traits that everyone seems to respect. EDIT: I countered the random downvote you had.

bryanlarsen 12y ago

Much of the tolerance for the Amish has been able to happen because they didn't pose any sort of threat to their neighbours or Americans in general. With a combination of a high birth rate and a large amount of money, this may change. The Hutterites in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana form colonies similar to those of the Amish. From an outsider's perspective, the major difference between the Amish and the Hutterites is that the Hutterites embrace more technologies that have a primary work purpose. They may not have cars, but they do have trucks and million dollar combine harvesters. The nature of their colonies makes the Hutterites very good at surviving and thriving the boom and bust cycle of modern farming. They save up money during boom years (like the past few years), and then buy up a large amount of land and equipment during the bust years (excessive rain has already drowned a large portion of this year's crop). The birth rate of the Hutterites means that they're always expanding. Non-Hutterite farms are expanding too due to the ever increasing cost and efficiency of farm machinery, but they're also selling out to the Hutterites as sons and daughters move to the city. Having a colony expand into your area can destroy a community. Hutterites are good neighbours, but they are not part of the community. Your community school may close due to poor attendance. Machinery dealers that have a good reputation may thrive, but other businesses wither.

rmc 12y ago
Having a colony expand into your area can destroy a community. Hutterites are good neighbours, but they are not part of the community the community? or your community? Aren't they part of their own community?

jimktrains2 12y ago

You don't think that's always been the case with immigrants? At least since the Civil War.

A_COMPUTER 12y ago

They were here before there was a United States of America, and they never really signed on for that whole social experiment, so I guess you could say they are like Native Americans in that regard.

xsmasher 12y ago

> the fact they arrived a long time ago insulates them from that Being white doesn't hurt either.